U.S./World Sports category, Page 134
Texas fires Chris Beard amid felony domestic violence charge
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas fired basketball coach Chris Beard on Thursday while he faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from a Dec. 12 incident involving his fiancée. The Associated Press obtained the termination letter that was sent to Beard’s attorney. Beard had five years left on a seven-year...
‘Been Everywhere’: TCU conference-hopping run to title game
FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU had quite the conference-hopping journey on its way to the national championship game. The Horned Frogs won or shared titles in three leagues over 16 seasons after the Southwest Conference disbanded. The small, private school was left out when four other Texas schools from the...
Canada thumps U.S. in world junior hockey semifinalsVideo
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Adam Fantilli scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, Thomas Milic made 43 saves and Canada overcame an early deficit to beat the United States 6-2 on Wednesday night to advance to the world junior hockey championship game. Seeking its 20th title, Canada will face...
FCS football title game features battle of North, South DakotaVideo
The tiny South Dakota town of Rosholt isn’t that far from the North Dakota state line and is a place where allegiances are split between the Jackrabbits and Bison year-round — and never more pronounced than this week. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits from Brookings and North Dakota State Bison...
Reyna family flagged Gregg Berhalter incident; interim U.S. soccer coach namedVideo
NEW YORK — The U.S. soccer team was plunged into public turmoil Wednesday when the family of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna said it notified the U.S. Soccer Federation of a decades-old incident involving Gregg Berhalter and his wife in response to the coach’s disparagement of Claudio’s son, young star...
Brazilian players face backlash for skipping Pelé’s funeral
SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer stars past and present are under fire from fans for skipping Pelé’s funeral and opting to pay their respects on social media. The three-time World Cup champion was buried in his hometown Tuesday after more than 230,000 mourners passed by his casket at Vila Belmiro...
Georgia’s 2-TE set uncertain for national title game vs. TCUVideo
ATLANTA — A big part of Georgia’s offense — big in every way — could be hampered in the national championship game against TCU. Georgia’s two-tight end formation is uncertain because of an ankle injury suffered by Darnell Washington in Saturday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal win over Ohio State....
Ronaldo rejected offers elsewhere for top salary Saudi dealVideo
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Cristiano Ronaldo was presented as the superstar new signing of Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on Tuesday, with the team’s president saying the Portugal great deserves to be the highest paid player on the planet. Ronaldo said he turned down “many clubs” around the world to...
Pele buried at cemetery in Brazilian city he made famousVideo
SANTOS, Brazil — Brazil said a final farewell to Pele on Tuesday, burying the legend who unified the bitterly divided country. Newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid his respects at Vila Belmiro, the stadium where Pelé played for most of his career. Pelé was laid to rest...
Ken Block, champion pro rally driver and social media icon, dies at 55
LOS ANGELES — Most of Ken Block’s social media messages to his nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers and half a million Twitter followers touted the “Go Fast Risk Every Thang” mantra that enabled him to become the world’s most famous rally car racer and ambassador for the sport. But his...
U.S. men’s coach Gregg Berhalter admits kicking future wife in 1991
NEW YORK — The U.S. Soccer Federation revealed Tuesday it is investigating men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter for a 1991 confrontation in which he kicked the woman who later became his wife. The federation said it learned of the allegation on Dec. 11 and hired the law firm Alston...
Column: New year on the PGA Tour more mysterious than everVideo
KAPALUA, Hawaii — One moment the splash of a humpback whale’s tail pierced the Pacific blue below the Plantation Course at Kapalua. Before long, as players began lining up for practice rounds, a brief shower sent everyone seeking cover. It was a fitting start to a new year on the...
Masters invitation goes to wrong Scott Stallings
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Scott Stallings received an invitation to the Masters, and the Georgia resident most likely will be there — as a guest of the PGA Tour player by the same name for whom the coveted invitation was intended. Stallings, who qualified for the Masters by reaching the Tour...
Tulane scores 16 late points, beats USC by 1 in Cotton Bowl
ARLINGTON, Texas — Tulane tight end Alex Bauman caught a 6-yard touchdown from Michael Pratt with 9 seconds left to cap a frantic finish by the 14th-ranked Green Wave in a 46-45 win over Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and No. 8 Southern Cal in the Cotton Bowl on Monday....
Malik Nabers helps LSU rout Purdue in Citrus Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. — Malik Nabers threw for a touchdown, caught one and had 163 yards receiving in No. 16 LSU’s 63-7 rout of Purdue in the Citrus Bowl on Monday. LSU never trailed against the Boilermakers, recording 594 yards of offense and concluding the scoring with Quad Wilson’s 99-yard interception...
Martina Navratilova diagnosed with throat, breast cancer
NEW YORK — Tennis great Martina Navratilova said Monday that she has been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer. In a statement released by her representative, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame said her prognosis is good and she will...
Mississippi State wins 1st game since Mike Leach death
TAMPA, Fla. — Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with 4 seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game’s last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois, 19-10, in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday in the Bulldogs’ first...
Fans mourn Pelé at public viewing in Brazil stadium
SANTOS, Brazil — Thousands of mourners began paying their respects to Pelé in a solemn procession past his coffin at the Vila Belmiro Stadium in his hometown of Santos on Monday. The Brazilian soccer great died Thursday after a battle with cancer. The three-time World Cup winner was 82. Pelé’s...
Duggan vs. Bennett: 2 onetime underdogs fight for CFP titleVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — TCU thought so much of Max Duggan at the beginning of the season that he lost his job. Georgia seemed like it spent years trying to give its starting quarterback job to anyone not named Stetson Bennett. If they gave out five stars for resiliency, these two...
Defending champ Georgia vs. Cinderella TCU for CFP title
After the best semifinal day in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff, the title game will match the defending national champion against the closest thing the sport has had in years to a Cinderella team. It will be No. 1 Georgia (14-0) looking for its second straight championship...
No. 1 Georgia rallies to beat No. 4 Ohio State in semifinal
ATLANTA —Kirby Smart will ask his Georgia players to execute better when the Bulldogs play for second straight national championship next week, but the coach knows he can’t ask his players to be more resilient. Georgia remains undefeated because the Bulldogs never gave up while rallying from two-touchdown deficits in...
No. 3 TCU upsets No. 2 Michigan in wild CFP semifinal
GLENDALE, Ariz. — TCU’s wild ride has one more stop. The Horned Frogs are headed to Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California, about 10 miles from Hollywood, just about the perfect place to end a storybook season for the most improbable College Football Playoff team. Max Duggan accounted for four touchdowns,...
Bryce Young throws for 5 TDs, Alabama tops Kansas State in Sugar Bowl
NEW ORLEANS — Bryce Young passed for 321 yards and five touchdowns in a game that other top NFL prospects might have skipped, and No. 5 Alabama responded to an early two-score deficit with 35 straight points to defeat 11th-ranked Kansas State, 45-20, in the Sugar Bowl on Saturday. While...
Iowa posts 1st Music City Bowl shutout topping Kentucky
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Joe Labas threw for 139 yards and a touchdown in his first start and the Iowa Hawkeyes posted the first shutout in the Music City Bowl’s 24 years by beating Kentucky, 21-0, on Saturday. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz also capped his 24th season by matching the late...
Tennessee caps breakout season with Orange Bowl win over Clemson
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The only thing that stopped Tennessee fans from singing “Rocky Top” as time was expiring Friday night was the need to serenade Joe Milton with something else. “M-V-P!” they chanted, over and over. With good reason. Milton — who regained the starting job only after his...
