U.S./World Sports category, Page 20
NASCAR returns from only break of season with drivers hoping to stop Bell, Hamlin and LarsonVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — NASCAR is back in action after its only weekend off of the 38-race schedule with a Sunday showdown at Talladega Superspeedway, where the drivers will try to halt the early domination shown by Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. The trio arrived at the Alabama track...
WNBA training camps set to open this weekend with Caitlin Clark preparing for Year 2Video
A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier will be back on the court Sunday to renew their chase of a coveted WNBA championship when training camps open and last year’s rookie sensation Caitlin Clark begins Year 2 in the league. Stewart and the New York Liberty will be chasing a...
Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby with 2 contenders after serving a 3-year suspensionVideo
Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby for the first time in four years, having served his punishment for Medina Spirit’s failed drug test and coming to the place where he has won a record-tying six times. He has settled in at his old Barn 33, the signs boasting...
Warriors’ Draymond Green wins NBA Hustle Award for 2024-25 season
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors is this season’s winner of the NBA Hustle Award, the league announced Friday. The award has been presented since 2017. Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace was second, Philadelphia’s Guerschon Yabusele was third, Oklahoma City’s Lugentz Dort was fourth and Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels was fifth....
Kyle Larson’s 2nd try at racing’s ‘double’ starts tough at Indy 500 testing
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson survived his first Indianapolis 500 unscathed. His luck ran out Thursday. The 2021 NASCAR champion and defending Brickyard 400 winner spun coming out of the first turn on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, hit the wall, bounced down the track to the warmup lane, then went...
Chippiness heating up in the NBA playoffs. Familiarity breeds contempt in Bucks-Pacers seriesVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The usually good-natured Indiana Pacers star, Tyrese Haliburton, has shown he refuses to back down from his Milwaukee Bucks rival and fellow All-Star, Damian Lillard. It’s been part of the chippiness and chirping that is beginning to heat up as it usually does during the NBA playoffs. Haliburton...
Celtics’ Payton Pritchard wins the NBA sixth man of the year awardVideo
Payton Pritchard came off the bench and changed games for the Boston Celtics this season. He was the only player in the NBA with more than 1,000 points in games that he didn’t start. He set the league record for 3-pointers made by a backup. And the voters took notice...
NASCAR’s Katherine Legge says she has been receiving death threats after Xfinity crash at Rockingham
NASCAR driver Katherine Legge said she has been receiving “hate mail” and “death threats” from auto racing fans after she was involved in a crash that collected veteran driver Kasey Kahne during the Xfinity Series race last weekend at Rockingham. Legge, who has started four Indy 500s but is a...
TCU and North Carolina will open ’26 in Ireland after Belichick’s debut this year at home vs. Frogs
FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU and North Carolina will play their 2026 opener in Ireland, which will come a year after coach Bill Belichick’s debut with the Tar Heels at home against the Horned Frogs. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic will be played at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on...
NBA playoff teams focus on defensive effort
INDIANAPOLIS — After seeing Indiana’s defense stifle the Milwaukee Bucks’ shooters, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made it clear to his team that it needs to be even better in Game 2. Yes, even in an NBA era defined by pace, spacing and 3-point shooting on offense, Carlisle knows postseason success...
Sharon Lokedi breaks Boston Marathon course record. John Korir joins his brother as a Boston winner
BOSTON — Sharon Lokedi broke the Boston Marathon course record, and fellow Kenyan John Korir joined his brother as a race champion on Monday as the city celebrated the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War. Lokedi outran two-time defending champion Hellen Obiri over the final mile a...
Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Antetokounmpo are NBA MVP finalists; Jokic, Daniels up for 2 awards
It’s now reasonable to think Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third in this season’s balloting for the NBA MVP award. The NBA released the three finalists for its major trophies Sunday night, with Antetokounmpo on the MVP list alongside Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the runaway frontrunners for...
U.S. wins women’s hockey world championship against Canada
CESKE BUDEJOVICE, Czech Republic — Tessa Janecke scored the winner as the United States prevailed in overtime over defending champion Canada, 4-3, to win the women’s ice hockey world championship Sunday. Janecke struck with 2 minutes, 54 seconds left in overtime for the Americans to claim the 11th title at...
Thunder beat Grizzlies by 5th-biggest margin in NBA playoff history
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 131-80, in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series Sunday, the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history. Jalen Williams scored 20 points, and Chet Holmgren had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Oklahoma City, which finished the...
Donovan Mitchell, top-seeded Cavaliers ready to face Heat
Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers go into the NBA playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the highest-scoring offense during the regular season and one of the favorites for the championship. However, Mitchell knows this season’s accomplishments will be hollow if the Cavaliers can’t make a deep...
Celtics have tunnel vision on Magic as they begin repeat attempt
BOSTON — It’s been six months since Celtics star Jayson Tatum stood at center court in Boston’s TD Garden and addressed fans minutes after receiving his 2024 championship ring and watching the franchise’s 18th banner raised into the rafters. Tatum welled with emotion as he thanked fans for their support...
NBA playoff guide: Who plays when, how to watch, what the odds are
It’s go time. The race for the Larry O’Brien Trophy is finally beginning. The 2025 NBA playoffs started Saturday with four games: Indiana-Milwaukee, Denver-Los Angeles Clippers, New York-Detroit and Los Angeles Lakers-Minnesota. The other four Game 1s are Sunday: Oklahoma City-Memphis, Boston-Orlando, Cleveland-Miami and Houston-Golden State. Miami and Memphis claimed...
Boston Marathon and city insist all are welcome. But some runners say politics will keep them home
BOSTON — The Boston Marathon and Mayor Michelle Wu insisted on Friday that international runners and other foreign visitors remain welcome in the city and said there is no evidence that travel for this year’s race has fallen off in the face of increased border scrutiny. “Regardless of what’s happening...
Kawhi Leonard is fresh as streaking Clippers open playoffs
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kawhi Leonard is fresh in mind and body this year, no longer relegated to watching from the sideline when the Los Angeles Clippers begin the postseason. After appearing in just two playoff games over the last two years, the 33-year-old two-time Finals MVP is healthy and looking...
Luka Doncic eager to start playing big games for Lakers
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Luka Doncic has been with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2 1/2 months now, and he’s feeling fairly comfortable in his new home. He is building chemistry with his new teammates, who are getting used to his brilliant passes, prolific scoring outbursts and fiery competitiveness. But...
NBA playoffs might be wide-open race to title again
There was Toronto in 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023 and Boston in 2024. Six seasons, six champions. A run of parity like none other in NBA history. And now the Celtics get their turn at bucking that trend....
A sweet 16 for Dude Perfect, from college trick shots to trusted sports and entertainment brand
FRISCO, Texas — The five buddies who now comprise Dude Perfect had no intention of creating a brand or even a business 16 years ago when they started making a video of basketball trick shots while they were attending Texas A&M. “My dad would say we were procrastinating studying for...
Hilary Knight gets assist record as U.S. shuts out Switzerland at the women’s hockey worlds
CESKE BUDEJOVICE, Czech Republic — Hilary Knight set an assist record as the United States wrapped up the group stage at the women’s ice hockey world championship by beating Switzerland 5-0 on Tuesday. The U.S. topped Group A with a perfect record of four wins from four and will face...
Play-in time as NBA postseason begins with Magic-Hawks, Warriors-GrizzliesVideo
Steve Kerr, the basketball fan, raves about the play-in tournament and the drama it creates down the stretch of the NBA’s regular season and leading into the official start of the playoffs. Kerr, the basketball coach, doesn’t like it so much. “I haven’t loved it because we’ve been on the...
Paige Bueckers is No. 1 pick in WNBA Draft, going to Dallas Wings
NEW YORK — Paige Bueckers is headed to Dallas as the first pick Monday night in the WNBA Draft. The versatile UConn star is the latest Huskies standout to go No. 1, joining former greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. “Dallas I’m so excited, a new...
