U.S./World Sports category, Page 96

HOYLAKE, England — The British Open is back at Royal Liverpool, a course more than a century old and filled with rich golf history. And the thing attracting everyone’s attention this year is a new par 3 created to add more drama. The challenging 17th hole was bulldozed into place,...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Zach Arnett is not only the lone rookie among the SEC’s 14 coaches, he’s also the youngest at 36 along with being the first of Hispanic descent in the league’s history. He’s been around the league long enough to know Tuesday that he broke the standard set...

LOUDON, N.H. — With three wins, a lead in the points standings and a NASCAR championship push ahead, the good times are rolling again for Martin Truex Jr. So why quit now? Joe Gibbs asked himself the same question about Truex as the Hall of Fame owner tries to keep...

AMSTERDAM — Former Netherlands goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been released from an intensive care unit in a Dutch hospital and hopes to return home next week as he recovers from a bleed around the brain, he said Tuesday in an Instagram post. “I’m happy to share that I’m...

A former Northwestern football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job. The player, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, alleged Tuesday in the Cook County Court in...

HOYLAKE, England — The most telling comment from Rory McIlroy about this British Open, and his hopes of ending an astonishing nine-year drought in the majors, is that he said nothing at all. For the second straight major, McIlroy removed himself from the lineup of pre-tournament news conferences, instead offering...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi jogged a lap with his new teammates, took part in a warmup drill of players making short passes in a tight circle and before long tapped his left foot at a ball that wound up in the back of an open net. Inter Miami’s...

The United States will play for an unprecedented three-peat at the Women’s World Cup. It won’t be easy for the No. 1 team in the world. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the quadrennial tournament for international soccer’s most coveted trophy kicks off July 20 and features an expanded field...

There could be some surprises at the Women’s World Cup. Sure, the U.S. is still considered dominant, and those elite European teams have developed even more with the rise of competitive clubs. Then there’s Brazil, which always seems on the verge of a breakout. But an expanded field of 32...

FUKUOKA, Japan — Snicker if you wish. Guffaw for good measure. Bill May and other male synchronized swimmers — now called artistic swimmers — have heard the putdowns before. But they’re getting the last laugh. Men have competed in synchro at the lower levels for decades. Now they’re being included...

TORONTO — Christian Lundgaard couldn’t wait to shave off his moustache, removing the hair from his upper lip right there on victory lane at the Honda Indy Toronto. Lundgaard started on the pole and took advantage of the car troubles of IndyCar standings leader Alex Palou to hang on to...

WIMBLEDON, England — Carlos Alcaraz said he wanted another shot at Novak Djokovic. Said it would make winning a Wimbledon championship more special. Well, Alcaraz got his chance to face Djokovic. And he beat him. Alcaraz put aside a poor start and surged down the stretch to end Djokovic’s 34-match...

WIMBLEDON, England — Novak Djokovic paid quite a compliment to Carlos Alcaraz. Before they’ll face each other in the Wimbledon final Sunday, Djokovic was asked to size up Alcaraz — and he compared the kid to himself. Pretty good company. “He’s been incredibly successful in adapting to the surfaces and...

LOUDON, N.H. — Martin Truex Jr. stood with his back to a table where hours earlier Kevin Harvick had been gifted a colonial musket from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in honor of the driver’s final race at the track. Harvick made his retirement call ahead of the Daytona 500 and...

HOYLAKE, England — So many players showed up at Augusta National with high hopes for the major championship season. In the 105 days between the opening rounds of the Masters and the British Open, so much hope has given way to a small measure of desperation. The British Open, which...

Lionel Messi has finalized his deal to join Major League Soccer, and after years of planning and pursuing, Inter Miami has landed a global icon. Messi’s contract became official Saturday, a little more than five weeks after he declared that he would be coming to Inter Miami. The team will...

GULLANE, Scotland — Rory McIlroy made just enough birdie putts for a 3-under 67 in increasingly windy conditions Saturday to keep his one-shot lead over Tom Kim in the Genesis Scottish Open. McIlroy still didn’t make as many as he expected, a common refrain for most players, though he has...

FUKUOKA, Japan — Retirement isn’t anywhere in sight for swimmer Katie Ledecky, one of the greatest freestylers that swimming has ever seen. Ledecky is preparing with the American team in Singapore for the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, starting on July 23. Speaking with reporters on Saturday, she said she...