U.S./World Sports category, Page 246
Ex-NASCAR driver Eric McMclure dies at 42; autopsy pendingVideo
ABINGDON, Va. — Former NASCAR driver Eric McClure died Sunday, his family and the series said. He was 42. No details were given about his death. McClure had posted on social media as recently as Saturday. The Washington County sheriff’s office said McClure’s body was sent to Roanoke for an...
Baffert mulling Medina Spirit’s next step after Derby winVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Medina Spirit’s surprising Kentucky Derby victory gave Bob Baffert a good problem to have: figuring out where to hang another sign on his barn’s already crowded wall of glory. As the Hall of Fame trainer digests a record seventh Derby win that caught even him off guard,...
Man United’s game off after fans storm stadium in protest
MANCHESTER, England — Anti-ownership protests by Manchester United fans forced the postponement of Sunday’s Premier League game against Liverpool as supporters stormed the stadium and reached the pitch, while thousands of others gathered outside Old Trafford to demand the Glazer family ownership sell the club. Long-running anger against the American...
Pine-Richland grad LaNeve improving with Vanderbilt baseball team
Troy LaNeve doesn’t like to put much weight into an at-bat that’s good or bad, but after his first collegiate home run for Vanderbilt in late March at Oklahoma State, he soaked in the moment. “After the game was over and I was able to check my phone and read...
Burns struggles to keep share of Tampa lead with Bradley at Valspar ChampionshipVideo
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Keegan Bradley hit one of his worst shots of the round, and it led to eagle. Sam Burns hit a pair of tee shots right where he wanted, and they cost him bogeys. They finished where they started Saturday in the Valspar Championship, tied for the...
Medina Spirit gives trainer Baffert his record 7th Kentucky Derby titleVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Medina Spirit fought off three challengers in the stretch to win the Kentucky Derby by a half-length Saturday, making Bob Baffert the winningest trainer in the race’s 147-year history, with seven victories. Jockey John Velazquez earned his fourth Derby victory Saturday aboard the dark-brown colt that was...
Harvick, Hamlin hoping to get elusive NASCAR win this seasonVideo
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kevin Harvick learned the importance of survival when not having the best car early in his racing career, whether it was in go-karts as a kid or late models in the long-defunct NASCAR Southwest Tour in the early 1990s. “My first year in late models,” Harvick...
Malathaat rallies in stretch to win Kentucky Oaks
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After Malathaat outdueled Search Results down the stretch to win the 147th Kentucky Oaks by a neck, runner-up jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. patted Malathaat’s jockey, John Velazquez, on the shoulder to congratulate him. “We just got beat today,” Ortiz said. “She ran a really solid effort and...
This date in sports history: May 1Video
1920 — Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves and Leon Cadore of the Brooklyn Dodgers both pitch 26 innings in a 1-1 tie, the longest game in major league history. 1943 — Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, wins the Kentucky Derby by three lengths over Blue Swords. 1948 —...
Mickelson misses cut and is worried about lack of focusVideo
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Phil Mickelson said he is struggling to keep his concentration on the golf course, leading to short spells where his mind goes numb. One such example came Friday at the end of his round, and it cost him at the Valspar Championship. Two bogeys over the...
With fans and flowery hats, Kentucky Derby is back at home in May
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The bourbon is flowing again, flowery hats and humans are on the scene and 20 horses are ready to run the most chaotic race of their lives. After being disrupted by a pandemic, the Kentucky Derby is back with many of its traditions intact. America’s longest continuously...
Kansas hires Buffalo’s Lance Leipold as football coach
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas hired Buffalo’s Lance Leipold on Friday, turning over one of college football’s worst programs to a longtime Division III coach with strong Midwestern roots. Leipold signed a six-year contract and takes over for Les Miles, who won a national championship at LSU. Miles parted with Kansas...
Fans still mad as Man United pledges no Super League revival
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United tried to reassure skeptical fans that it won’t revive plans for the Super League, though many supporters still expressed outrage on Friday. The exchange took place in a team-run fan forum with United attempting to make amends amid reports that thousands of supporters plan to...
Explainer: English soccer leads social media racism boycott
There will be no goal clips, lineup announcements, banter between clubs or even title celebrations. Four days of silence across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by soccer leagues, clubs and players in England began on Friday in a protest against racist abuse that has been adopted more widely. Such is the...
Derby favorite Essential Quality brings strongest resume
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Horse racing could be in line for another Triple Crown bid, and this time the likely candidate is an undefeated horse from a barn other than Bob Baffert’s. Baffert, of course, is the sport’s dominant trainer who guided American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 to...
Bradley has no stress and no bogeys to lead at PGA Tour Valspar ChampionshipVideo
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Keegan Bradley can’t recall having an easier time than he did Thursday at Innisbrook. He missed only one green. His longest par putt was just over 4 feet. It added up to a 7-under-par 64 and another great start in the Valspar Championship. It is the...
This date in sports history: April 29Video
1901 — His Eminence, ridden by Jimmy Winkfield, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Sannazarro in the only Derby ever raced in April. 1961 — ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” debuts. 1970 — Los Angeles Lakers guard Jerry West hits a 60-foot desperation shot at the buzzer...
Casey goes for 3-peat at Innisbrook against top-heavy fieldVideo
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Paul Casey is going for his third straight victory at the Valspar Championship, a feat difficult enough that only eight times in the last 40 years has a player won the same tournament at least three times in a row. It didn’t take long for Casey...
Kendrick Carmouche to be 1st Black jockey in Kentucky Derby since ’13
Long before Kendrick Carmouche started riding horses growing up in Louisiana, Black jockeys were synonymous with the sport. Black riders were atop 13 of the 15 horses in the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 and won 15 of the first 28 editions of the race. Everything has changed since: Carmouche...
NCAA extends contract of President Mark Emmert through 2025
The NCAA Board of Governors voted Tuesday to give President Mark Emmert a two-year contract extension through 2025. Emmert’s contract was set to expire in 2023, but the board voted unanimously to extend his deal, the NCAA said in a statement. The announcement comes less than a month after the...
Golf notes: Peter Uihlein trying to decide best path to return to PGA Tour
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Good play brings tough decisions for former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein. Uihlein worked hard to return his swing back to where it needed to be, and the results were encouraging. He won on the Korn Ferry Tour two weeks ago in Las Vegas, and then...
Essential Quality 2-1 favorite for Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With the rail still open and Kentucky Derby post positions dwindling, Brad Cox grew anxious about the most notable of his two horses drawing the least desired spot. The homegrown trainer soon breathed easier. Essential Quality got something more palatable, though the hardest part awaits with the...
Shades of gray rare among Kentucky Derby favorites, winners
Chris Goodlett has walked around Churchill Downs many times since joining the Kentucky Derby Museum and heard admiring fans say to each other, “Oh, look at that beautiful gray horse.” Not many of those remarks have come while looking at the winner’s circle after the Derby. Essential Quality is expected...
This Date in Sports History: April 27
1956 — Rocky Marciano retires as the undefeated heavyweight boxing champion. He finished with a 49-0 record, including six title defenses and 43 knockouts. 1960 — The Minneapolis Lakers announce they will relocate to Los Angeles. 1968 — Jimmy Ellis wins the heavyweight boxing title with a 15-round decision over...
Dubai sheikh still chasing elusive Kentucky Derby victory
Winning major horse races around the world is the lifeblood of Godolphin, and there’s no bigger race than the Kentucky Derby. Getting his hands on the gold winner’s trophy on the first Saturday in May has been a decades-long quest for Godolphin founder Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime...
