U.S./World Sports category, Page 133
Ronaldo left off FIFA award list headed by Messi, Mbappé
ZURICH — Cristiano Ronaldo was left off the the 14-player shortlist for the annual Best FIFA Men’s Player award for the first time, with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé among those selected. Ronaldo, who was released by Manchester United and benched by Portugal during the World Cup, won the FIFA...
Harvick: ‘It’s just time,’ racer says of 2023 final season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kevin Harvick received the same answer nearly every time he asked another athlete how they decided to retire: Harvick would just know it was time. The driver thrust onto the global stage when he was named Dale Earnhardt’s replacement just days after Earnhardt’s fatal 2001 crash will...
Naomi Osaka says she’s pregnant, plans tennis return in 2024
Naomi Osaka is pregnant and plans to return to competition in 2024, the tennis star announced Wednesday. The former world No. 1 posted what she called “a little life update for 2023” on social media, including a picture of an ultrasound. The 25-year-old Osaka has been dating Cordae, a rapper,...
Unvaccinated Djokovic back, year later at Australian Open
Novak Djokovic had just wrapped up last season by winning the ATP Finals for a record sixth time when, rather than looking ahead to 2023, his mind immediately went back to the way 2022 began: He was unable to compete in last year’s Australian Open after being deported from the...
Players praise embattled U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter
SAN JOSE, Calif. — National team defenders DeAndre Yedlin and Walker Zimmerman praised U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter for bringing the Americans together at the World Cup in Qatar even as he’s currently under investigation by U.S. Soccer for a 1991 incident during which he kicked his future wife in the...
Dawgs for 3?: Georgia has chance to make football history
Kirby Smart has spent the past 16 years coaching at the top two powerhouses of this era in college football, so he already knew the question on everybody’s mind the morning after his Georgia Bulldogs won their second straight College Football Playoff championship game. “I really don’t want to talk...
Georgia’s Stetson Bennett an underdog again in NFL’s QB draft class
Stetson Bennett has a new world of doubters to disprove. After winning a second consecutive national championship at Georgia, the 25-year-old quarterback is facing questions about his NFL Draft qualifications. Bennett (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) is seen as undersized and lacking elite arm strength — the same issues he faced when...
Column: Collin Morikawa the latest case study in a bizarre collapse
State-of-the-art video boards on the PGA Tour don’t tell the whole story. The numbers were enough to tell Jordan Spieth what happened to Collin Morikawa at Kapalua. He just didn’t know how. Morikawa was leading the Sentry Tournament of Champions by six shots at the start of the final round....
Tennis sans Serena Williams starts in earnest at Australian Open
Tennis will move on from Serena Williams. It has to. Might not be easy, mind you, given what a transcendent figure she was, on the court and off. But that is what sports do, even when superstars leave. They all leave, of course, and sports always move on. The matches...
Georgia throttles TCU to win back-to-back national titles
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores in the first half as No. 1 Georgia demolished No. 3 TCU, 65-7, Monday night to become the first team to win consecutive College Football Playoff national championships. The Bulldogs (15-0) became the first repeat champs...
Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow make College Football Hall of Fame
Reggie Bush, whose Heisman Trophy victory for Southern California in 2005 was vacated because of NCAA violations, was among 18 players in the latest College Football Hall of Fame class announced Monday. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman in 2007, was also elected to the hall by the...
Illinois women end 23-year AP Top 25 drought, LSU on rise
Off to one of the best starts in school history, Illinois cracked The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll for the first time in 23 years on Monday. The Illini (14-3) are ranked No. 24 in their first Top 25 appearance since Nov. 27, 2000. It’s been a remarkable...
Houston back at No. 1, Kansas State jumps to 11th in AP poll
Houston is back at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the second time this season, while Kansas State continued its unexpectedly strong start by leaping from unranked to the verge of the top 10. The Cougars received 34 of 60 first-place votes in...
Jon Rahm wins a stunner at Kapalua after Morikawa wipeout
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm left Maui with a trophy he wasn’t expecting, all because of a collapse from Collin Morikawa no one saw coming. Rahm started the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions seven shots behind. He bogeyed his first hole. He was six shots back at...
Different Dakota: SD State wins 1st FCS title over ND State
FRISCO, Texas — Mark Gronowski threw three touchdowns passes and ran 51 yards for another one as South Dakota State won its first national championship with a 45-21 win Sunday over North Dakota State, which lost for the first time in its 10 FCS title-game appearances. As a freshman two...
No. 1 Georgia tries to launch dynasty against emboldened TCUVideo
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart was part of college football’s greatest dynasty as an assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama. Now, he is on the verge of launching his own. After going through the Crimson Tide last season to win Georgia’s first national title in 41 years,...
Mikaela Shiffrin shows her emotions after matching Lindsey Vonn’s record
KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — The emotions came pouring out of Mikaela Shiffrin when she matched Lindsey Vonn’s women’s World Cup skiing record with her 82nd win Sunday. First there was a scream of delight following a serious case of nerves that had been building inside her throughout the day. Then...
Stars matter? Georgia, TCU both excel in player developmentVideo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Based solely on the recruiting rankings, this national championship game between No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 TCU is the most lopsided in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs are a recruiting juggernaut, brimming with four- and five-star high school players. The...
3-3-5: Atypical defense takes TCU to national title gameVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — Sonny Dykes needed only about five minutes with Joe Gillespie to know that he wanted the defensive coordinator who wields an atypical 3-3-5 base scheme on his staff at TCU. While utilizing the unorthodox lineup with three linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs, the Horned...
Mark Madden: Reyna-Berhalter saga makes U.S. Soccer an international laughingstock
U.S. Soccer is a nonstop PR nightmare. The U.S. women’s team went from being arguably America’s most beloved athletes to being disliked by half the country via over-politicizing that resulted in polarizing (but did get them paid more). Now Claudio and Danielle Reyna are treating the U.S. Soccer Federation like...
WWE’s Vince McMahon is back after misconduct investigation
Vince McMahon is rejoining the board of WWE several months after he retired from the sports entertainment company during an investigation into alleged misconduct. WWE said Friday that McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, would return as executive chairman. It also announced a board shakeup. Shares surged more...
Michigan: NCAA looking into potential football infractions
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan announced Friday that it has received notice from the NCAA that it is looking into potential rules infractions in the Wolverines football program. Athletic director Warde Manuel said the “draft allegations” were received Thursday. “We have cooperated and will continue to cooperate with this investigation,”...
QB Sam Hartman announces transfer from Wake Forest to Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sam Hartman is transferring to Notre Dame, giving the Fighting Irish a dynamic quarterback for coach Marcus Freeman’s second season. Hartman, a three-year starter at Wake Forest, was widely regarded as the top quarterback in the transfer portal. He announced his decision Thursday by tweeting pictures...
Changes on horizon for bowls as CFP expands to 12 teamsVideo
College football’s bowl season began Dec. 16, at 11:30 a.m. with two .500 teams squaring off in a 15,000-seat stadium in the Bahamas. UAB’s 24-20 victory against Miami (Ohio) drew an average of 822,000 viewers to ESPN. It ended up being the least-watched of 39 bowl games on ESPN’s networks...
Jim Harbaugh: ‘I expect’ to be back at Michigan next season
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jim Harbaugh said he expects to coach Michigan’s football team next season, posting a statement Thursday on the team’s social media accounts following reports of his interest in returning to the NFL. “I am aware of the rumors and speculation over the past few days,” Harbaugh...
