U.S./World Sports category, Page 154
Speedy delivery: Medals at worlds given out almost instantly
EUGENE, Ore. — It takes speed to win some of these medals at world championships. Speed to hand all of them out, too. A little bit of jumping ability doesn’t hurt, either. In a new twist at track and field’s biggest event this side of the Olympics, athletes no longer...
Georgia’s Kirby Smart gets 10-year extension, raise to $10.25M
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s Kirby Smart has agreed to a contract extension through the 2031 season, a 10-year agreement worth more than $110 million that makes him the latest coach to land the type of megadeal that is becoming increasingly common in college football. The deal announced Thursday has been...
Jonas Vingegaard drops Tadej Pogacar in final Tour mountain test
HAUTACAM, France — Barring a crash, Jonas Vingegaard is likely to be wearing the yellow jersey when the Tour de France ends in Paris on Sunday. Vingegaard responded to a series of attacks from defending champion Tadej Pogacar on Thursday and ultimately dropped his main rival in the last big...
Megan Rapinoe, Billie Jean King urge freedom for Brittney Griner at The ESPYS
LOS ANGELES — Soccer player Megan Rapinoe admonished her fellow athletes for not doing enough to speak out and encouraged them to support detained WNBA star Brittney Griner at The ESPYS on Wednesday night. Griner was arrested in Russia in February after customs officials said they found vape canisters containing...
Transfer portal windows endorsed for final NCAA approval
INDIANAPOLIS — Division I college football players would have two periods of time — one in the winter and one in the spring — to enter the transfer portal and be immediately eligible to play if a proposed rule change gets final approval. The Division I Council endorsed on Tuesday...
Sage Karam returns to Pocono for 1st time since fatal wreckVideo
Sage Karam planned to keep it simple, just a bike ride this week through the first turn at Pocono Raceway. An easy outing, no reporters around to ask questions, no fans wondering how he’s feeling in his return to his hometown track. Seven years ago, Karam triggered a wreck at...
Cameron Champ aims to defend 3M title in another challenging seasonVideo
BLAINE, Minn. — Cameron Champ fought off dehydration and dizziness down the stretch to win the 3M Open last year with a bogey-free final round, a confidence-boosting win for a young player trying to establish himself on the PGA Tour. The challenges for Champ have persisted this season, and he...
Hornets’ Miles Bridges pleads not guilty to domestic violence
LOS ANGELES — Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony domestic violence charges filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend in front of their two children. District Attorney George Gascón announced Tuesday that his office filed one felony count...
Henrik Stenson joins Saudi tour, removed as Ryder Cup captain
The Ryder Cup captaincy of Henrik Stenson lasted all of four months. Ryder Cup Europe removed Stenson as captain for the 2023 matches — still 14 months away from being played in Italy — when the Swede decided to choose the guaranteed money of the Saudi-funded rival league over the...
Tadej Pogacar wins Stage 17, Jonas Vingegaard moves closer to Tour title
PEYRAGUDES, France — Tadej Pogacar claimed a third stage win as he sprinted away from Jonas Vingegaard in the punishing last climb of a grueling trek in the Pyrenees on Wednesday but failed to take significant time out of the Tour de France leader. As it has been so often...
Nick Saban: Alabama players topped $3 million in NIL money
ATLANTA — Nick Saban has been vocal about his issues with the status quo in name, image and likeness deals and their use in recruiting. But it’s not like Alabama’s coach and his players haven’t benefited, too. Saban said Crimson Tide players have made more than $3 million in NIL...
NASCAR to hit the streets of Chicago with downtown raceVideo
CHICAGO — NASCAR will celebrate its 75th season with an unprecedented street race through downtown Chicago in yet another radical change to the once staid schedule. The Cup Series will race against the backdrop of Lake Michigan and Grant Park next July 2 in the debut race of a three-year...
On The Fringe: Major disappointments belong to more than McIlroyVideo
The trouble with winning so much so early is that the losing can feel worse than it really is. The British Open stung Rory McIlroy, even if he said it wasn’t life or death. It might have hurt even more than his 80 in the final round of the 2011...
Hugo Houle takes emotional Tour stage win, Jonas Vingegaard keeps lead
FOIX, France — Canadian cyclist Hugo Houle claimed an emotional first-ever grand tour stage victory Tuesday, while Jonas Vingegaard stayed in the overall lead of the Tour de France after a tough 16th stage as the race hit the Pyrenees. Houle attacked on the approach to the final climb, the...
Inside the ‘crazy’ plan to boost track and field’s popularity before the 2028 Olympics
With a gold-medal stride and an image gracing Nike marketing campaigns, Sanya Richards-Ross was one of the United States’ most successful track and field stars during her decade-plus career — a stature she sustained, every year, by leaving the United States. The strongest competition, attention and most lucrative paydays each...
Steph Curry steps out of comfort zone as host of The ESPYS
LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry lets his play do the talking during the NBA season. Give him a mic as host of The ESPYS and some famous folks might finally be hearing trash talk from one of the league’s best-liked players. Just how worried should the audience be Wednesday night...
Cameron Smith a British Open champion and man for any course
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Cameron Smith made eight birdies on the final day of the British Open. His 8-under-par 64 was the lowest closing round at St. Andrews by the champion golfer of the year. His name on the claret jug includes his score of 268, the best ever on...
Column: Alex Palou contract fight is business, not personal
It couldn’t have been more than a decade ago that Chip Ganassi hosted a dinner at his usual window table in his favorite downtown Indianapolis steakhouse. The movers and shakers of the local IndyCar scene were present, including Zak Brown, and the group played credit card roulette to determine who...
Greensburg Salem grad Shane Talarico hired to Princeton men’s hockey staffVideo
Hockey has been Shane Talarico’s life. He started skating when he was 3 years old, and, thanks to being pulled along by his brother B.J., who is 6 years older, he started playing at age 5. The 2008 Greensburg Salem grad transitioned from playing to coaching as he grew up...
Christopher Bell crashes crowded NASCAR playoff field with win at New HampshireVideo
LOUDON, N.H. — Christopher Bell crashed the NASCAR playoffs, winning Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to become the 14th Cup Series winner this season. “That one was much needed right there,” the 27-year-old Bell said. Bell mastered the track where he won Xfinity Series races in 2018, ‘19 and...
Rory McIlroy regrets cold putter as wait goes on for 5th majorVideo
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Every day, Rory McIlroy would gaze out the window of his hotel room overlooking the 18th hole at the Old Course and envision seeing his name atop the giant yellow leaderboard as a British Open champion at the home of golf. It was there Sunday, when...
Scott Dixon ties Mario Andretti with 52nd career IndyCar winVideo
TORONTO — Scott Dixon had been waiting more than a year to join Mario Andretti in second place on IndyCar’s career wins list. The only one ahead of him now is A.J. Foyt. The six-time series champion finally snapped a 22-race winless streak Sunday when he held off pole sitter...
Cameron Smith rallies to beat Rory McIlroy at British Open for 1st major
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — The stage at St. Andrews was all set for Rory McIlroy. The show belonged to Cameron Smith, and so did that silver claret jug he won in a Sunday stunner at the British Open with the best closing round the Old Course has seen. Smith was...
Jasper Philipsen wins Tour stage, Jonas Vingegaard keeps lead, Primoz Roglic out
CARCASSONNE, France — Jasper Philipsen of Belgium braved a heat wave to win the 15th stage of the Tour de France in a sprint on Sunday as Jonas Vingegaard kept the leader’s yellow jersey. Primož Roglič, the 2020 runner-up and a key teammate for Vingegaard, abandoned the race before the...
Champion driver Bobby East fatally stabbed at gas station
WESTMINSTER, Calif. — Bobby East, a three-time U.S. Auto Club national champion driver, has died after being stabbed this week at a Southern California gas station. He was 37. The Westminster Police Department issued a statement Saturday identifying Robert John East of San Dimas as the person stabbed in the...
