U.S./World Sports category, Page 269
NCAA announces tighter schedule for March MadnessVideo
INDIANAPOLIS— That much-anticipated opening Thursday of March Madness will belong to the play-in teams, part of a scrambled and modestly condensed schedule for the 2021 tournament released Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic forced the NCAA to move the entire 67-game tournament to Indiana, which means the schedule doesn’t have to be...
Kyrie Irving rejoins Nets, says he ‘just needed a pause’
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving rejoined the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, saying he took a leave of absence because he “just needed a pause.” Irving practiced with the team and could play Wednesday in Cleveland. He has missed the last seven games — five while away from the team and...
NASCAR to hold pre-race Daytona 500 concert with Luke Combs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR will attempt some normalcy at the season-opening Daytona 500 with a live pre-race concert — the first big performance at a track during the pandemic — featuring country music star Luke Combs. Combs, who performed virtually for NASCAR’s season finale in November, has not done a...
This date in sports history: Jan. 19
1937 — Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the second year of voting. 1952 — The Professional Golfers Association approves the participation of blacks in golf tournaments. 1972 — Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the youngest player...
Sam Mewis’ hat trick leads U.S. women past Colombia 4-0Video
ORLANDO, Fla. — Samantha Mewis scored three goals and her big sister Kristie Mewis added another to give the United States a 4-0 exhibition victory over short-handed Colombia on Monday. The U.S. extended its unbeaten streak to 33 matches. The defending World Cup champions have a 49-game undefeated streak on...
NASCAR legend Tony Stewart balances personal bliss, professional angstVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Stewart is angry — what else is new? — and wants the record set straight regarding recent business decisions. He also is in love — wait, who? Smoke? — and five months away from his 50th birthday finds himself happier in his personal life than ever...
Tennessee fires football coach Jeremy Pruitt, 9 others for ‘serious’ NCAA issuesVideo
The Tennessee football program is starting over again, this time after coach Jeremy Pruitt and nine others were fired Monday for cause when an internal investigation found what the university chancellor called “serious violations of NCAA rules.” Chancellor Donde Plowman said Pruitt was responsible for overseeing the program. Tennessee has...
Duke falls out of AP Top 25; Gonzaga, Baylor remain 1-2
Gonzaga and Baylor maintained their grip on the top two spots in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll Monday. If third-ranked Villanova ever plays a game, perhaps it will make a run a them. The Bulldogs again racked up all but the two first-place votes that went to the Bears,...
Kevin Na has a big finish and wins Sony Open
HONOLULU — Three shots behind with six holes to play, Kevin Na birdied three straight holes and finished with an up-and-down birdie from behind the 18th green for a 5-under-par 65 and a one-shot victory in the Sony Open. Na won for the fifth time in his PGA Tour career,...
Marshall hires Alabama, Penn State assistant Charles Huff as football coach
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Marshall has given Alabama’s Charles Huff his first head coaching job. Marshall announced Huff’s hiring Sunday. Huff spent the past two seasons as the Crimson Tide’s associate head coach and running backs coach and is widely known as a top recruiter. The 37-year-old Huff is Marshall’s first...
Lionel Messi sees red, Athletic beats Barca in Spanish Super CupVideo
Lionel Messi lost his cool after another Barcelona collapse on Sunday, hitting an opponent away from the ball and being sent off for the first time while playing with the Catalan club in the team’s 3-2 loss to Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Spanish Super Cup. Iñaki Williams’...
Penn Hills grad Adia Brisker finding new role after transferring to Morgan State
Adia Brisker has experienced her fair share of trials and tribulations throughout her life. The most recent obstacle involved her choice to transfer to Morgan State after a rocky first season at Niagara. The Penn Hills alum didn’t struggle statistically on the basketball court in her freshman year at Niagara....
This date in sports history: Jan. 17Video
1961 — The Cincinnati Royals’ 22-year-old rookie sensation, Oscar Robertson, becomes the youngest player to receive NBA All-Star MVP honors. Robertson has 23 points and 14 assists in a 153-131 victory for the West at Syracuse, N.Y. 1971 — The first Super Bowl under the NFL-AFL merger ends with Baltimore...
Australian Open arrivals hit by 3 covid-19 positive testsVideo
Three coronavirus cases have been detected among charter flights carrying tennis players, coaches and officials to Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, health authorities and tournament organizers said Saturday. Forty-seven players from the two affected flights — arriving from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi — are in a strict 14-day...
Bowl games look to future after weathering challenging year
LOS ANGELES — Even after canceling the Tournament of Roses parade during the summer and scaling back the pregame festivities normally associated with the Rose Bowl, David Eads and his staff were still preparing for a College Football Playoff semifinal on New Year’s Day to be played at the picturesque...
This date in sports history: Jan. 16Video
1962 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors finished with 42 points and 24 rebounds, winning NBA honors even though his East team loses to the West, 150-130, in the NBA All-Star game. The West’s Bob Pettit pulls down an All-Star record 27 rebounds. 1972 — The Dallas Cowboys dominate...
FCS schedules near completion as season set to begin in FebruaryVideo
One college football season just ended, and another one starts in just over a month. All but a few teams in the Football Championship Subdivision shut down in the fall because of the covid-19 pandemic and will play a spring season culminating with the NCAA playoffs in April and May....
World Golf Championship moving from Mexico to FloridaVideo
The World Golf Championship is moving from Mexico City to the Gulf Coast of Florida, a change driven by the covid-19 pandemic that has put restrictions on travel and kept away spectators. The PGA Tour sent a memo to players Friday informing them of the relocation for Feb. 25-28. It...
More NBA games off, coaches vow to improve mask-wearingVideo
The NBA gave Orlando coach Steve Clifford a call recently, telling him he had to do a better job of keeping his mask on during games. Clifford’s answer was concise. “Yes, sir,” he said. He didn’t argue. He knows the rules and how important they are. It has been a...
NCAA expects straightforward March Madness for this year onlyVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — There will be a bit less mystery to the March Madness bracket now that the NCAA selection committee no longer has to adjust matchups for travel concerns. With the entire tournament taking place in the Indianapolis area this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Division I Men’s...
UFC won’t punish fighters for marijuana use in policy change
The UFC will no longer punish fighters for using marijuana in most cases, making a major change to its anti-doping policy. The world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion confirmed Thursday that it will no longer worry about positive tests for carboxy-THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, unless it believes a...
Andy Murray tests positive for coronavirus before Australian Open
Andy Murray has tested positive for the coronavirus days before he was due to leave Britain for the Australian Open, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday. The three-time Grand Slam champion is isolating at home near London and still hopes to compete in...
Olympian Klete Keller charged with taking part in U.S. Capitol riot
Five-time Olympic swimming medalist Klete Keller was charged Wednesday with participating in a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol after video emerged that appeared to show him among those storming the building last week. An FBI complaint, citing screenshots from the video, asked that a warrant be issued charging Keller...
James Harden headed to Nets in 4-team blockbuster trade
HOUSTON — The Brooklyn Nets agreed to acquire three-time scoring champion James Harden from the Houston Rockets, a deal that reunites him with Kevin Durant and gives him the move that he has sought for weeks, said a person with knowledge of the situation. Harden is going to the Nets...
To cancel or not?: IOC, Japan press ahead with Tokyo Games
TOKYO — Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency last week for Tokyo and surrounding areas. Amid the surging virus, he again promised the postponed Tokyo Olympics would be “safe and secure” and tried to disconnect the state of emergency from the fate of the games. But opposition...
