U.S./World Sports category, Page 48
Celtics, Pacers will try to overcome bad habits in Game 2 of East finals
BOSTON — There was a dominant refrain ringing in Jayson Tatum’s head following the Celtics’ comeback 133-128 overtime win over the Pacers to open the Eastern Conference finals. “Don’t relax,” he said. In each of the previous two rounds, Boston opened its series with Miami and Cleveland with lopsided victories,...
Hornets star LaMelo Ball faces lawsuit for allegedly driving over child’s foot
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets organization are facing a civil lawsuit from a woman who alleges the star guard hit her son with his car outside Spectrum Center last fall. The suit, filed this week by Tamaria McRae in Mecklenburg County Superior Court, contends Ball ran...
Rafael Nadal’s last French Open should be like Serena Williams’ last U.S. OpenVideo
If this is, as expected, Rafael Nadal’s final French Open, it will be one that everyone — the 37-year-old Spaniard included — surely will remember vividly. No matter how healthy the guy everyone calls “Rafa” might be. No matter how long his stay in the bracket lasts. No matter whether...
After ’embarrassing’ Indy 500, Rahal Letterman Lanigan searching
INDIANAPOLIS — The was a quiet sort of confidence among the four drivers at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on the eve of Indianapolis 500 qualifying this year. The team had invested heavily over the previous 12 months, shoring up parts of its program that had fallen behind, and there was...
Towns treasures Timberwolves’ trip to West finals as Doncic-Irving duo hits stride for Mavericks
MINNEAPOLIS — The road Karl-Anthony Towns has taken with the Minnesota Timberwolves to reach the Western Conference finals has been far more lonely and rocky than smooth and straight. For all the setbacks and struggles over nine NBA seasons that largely overshadowed the success, Towns has seen the payoff this...
Ricky Rudd, Carl Edwards and Ralph Moody selected to NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2025Video
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ricky Rudd was clearing away leaves by his pool when he got an anonymous text message that he might want to make the 20-minute drive south to Charlotte. And quickly. Rudd knew right away that he was finally getting into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in his...
U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff calls on young Americans to get out and voteVideo
ROME — She’s the U.S. Open champion. The highest paid female athlete in the world. And a frustrated Floridian. American tennis player Coco Gauff has never been afraid to use her voice. Not when she delivered an impromptu speech at a Black Lives Matter rally at the age of 16....
NASCAR star Kyle Larson is embracing his Indianapolis 500 debut, right down to milking a cowVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson has been adamant about soaking up the entire Indianapolis 500 experience as the NASCAR superstar prepares to make his debut in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Memorial Day weekend. He didn’t expect to find himself under an udder Tuesday. One of the most accomplished drivers...
Analysis: Kyle Larson enters conversation with Max Verstappen as best driver in world
INDIANAPOLIS — Ask almost any hardcore motorsports fan who the best driver in the world is right now and the answer is probably going to be Formula 1’s three-time reigning champion. But Alexander Rossi has raced against Max Verstappen, just as he has raced against NASCAR star Kyle Larson. And...
Analysis: When 2024 NBA champion is crowned, a young star likely will lead the way
LeBron James will turn 40 in December. Stephen Curry is 36. Kevin Durant will turn 36, and Jimmy Butler will turn 35 by the time training camps start in the fall. They have been stars of the playoffs for years, players who come up biggest at the biggest times. But...
Scottie Scheffler’s Louisville court date postponed after arrest during PGA Championship
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky court postponed pro golfer Scottie Scheffler’s appearance on charges he injured a police officer and disobeyed commands outside the gates of Valhalla Golf Club as the venue hosted this year’s PGA Championship. Scheffler, who was handcuffed and briefly jailed Friday, had been due in court...
Joey Logano dominates All-Star Race, takes home $1 million prize at North Wilkesboro SpeedwayVideo
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Joey Logano dominated at North Wilkesboro Speedway, leading all but one of 200 laps, to win his second All-Star Race on Sunday night and earn $1 million. Logano started on the pole after posting the fastest time in qualifying Saturday and was never really challenged, setting...
Preakness winner Seize the Grey likely running Belmont … at Saratoga
BALTIMORE — Even without a Triple Crown on the line, the upcoming Belmont Stakes is one of the most anticipated horse races in the sport’s history. That’s because it’s being run at Saratoga Race Course for the first time, part of a two-year hiatus in upstate New York while the...
Team Penske locks out Indy 500 front row qualifying as Larson makes ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’Video
INDIANAPOLIS — Scott McLaughlin in the famed “Yellow Submarine” entry led a Team Penske sweep of the front row of Indianapolis 500 qualifying with a track record Sunday around Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McLaughlin’s four-lap average of 234.220 mph broke the mark set by reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou last year...
Pacers rout Knicks in Game 7 to reach Eastern Conference finalsVideo
NEW YORK — Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points and the Indiana Pacers rode one of the most sensational first halves in Game 7 history to a 130-109 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 10 years. The Pacers...
Kyle Larson qualifies fifth for Indianapolis 500 debut, then catches flight to NASCAR All-Star RaceVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — NASCAR star Kyle Larson looked like an Indianapolis 500 veteran Sunday, reaching the final round of pole qualifying and putting his No. 17 Arrow McLaren on the second row for his debut in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” next weekend. Larson’s four-lap average of 232.846 mph was fifth...
Lafrenière continuing breakthrough season as solid contributor for Rangers in NHL playoffsVideo
After a breakthrough regular season, Alexis Lafrenière has continued to be a solid contributor for the New York Rangers in their run to the Eastern Conference final. Selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Quebec native came into the league with high expectations for...
NBA features two Game 7s Sunday between teams that have experienced both ends of blowouts
DENVER — Denver coach Michael Malone calls them “the two greatest words in sports.” Game 7. The NBA has two of them Sunday, and all four teams — the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Knicks and Pacers — have experienced both ends of blowouts in their otherwise scintillating semifinal series. In the East,...
Record set for most goals in a single season in the Premier League
LONDON — The Premier League has never seen so many goals in a single season. Jarell Quansah’s strike for Liverpool against Wolverhampton at Anfield during Sunday’s final round took the number of goals scored in England’s top flight this campaign to 1,223 — a record. The final goals total was...
Simone Biles shines in return while Gabby Douglas scratches after a shaky start at the U.S. Classic
HARTFORD, Conn. — Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months to go before the Olympic games begin. The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the U.S. Classic on Saturday, posting an all-around score of 59.500,...
Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision Sunday to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years. Usyk (22-0) added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a spectacular late rally highlighted by a ninth-round knockdown in a...
Shane Lowry ties a major championship record by shooting a 9-under 62 to get into the mix at the PGAVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Shane Lowry switched putters in New Orleans last month, frustrated by what was happening on the greens. Or not happening, to be more specific. The immediate returns were pretty blah Lowry. Irish countryman and good friend Rory McIlroy paired up with Lowry for a narrow victory at...
Schauffele and Morikawa are tied at the PGA Champion with a lot of company, except for SchefflerVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The cheers were endless Saturday in the PGA Championship, and when another record day of scoring finally ended at vulnerable Valhalla, so were the possibilities. Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa were tied for the lead. Shane Lowry thrust his way into the mix with a 62 to...
Rough return to ‘normal’ sends Scheffler down the leaderboard at PGA ChampionshipVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Scottie Scheffler arrived at the golf course Saturday in plenty of time. Once he got there, nothing felt quite right. A day after he powered through his odyssey to the jailhouse, then back to the course just in time to get to the opening tee box, Scheffler...
Seize the Grey wins the Preakness for D. Wayne Lukas and ends Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bidVideo
BALTIMORE — D. Wayne Lukas worked his way to Seize the Grey after his horse won the Preakness Stakes and kept getting interrupted by well-wishers offering congratulations. “I think they’re trying to get rid of me,” Lukas said. “They probably want me to retire. I don’t think that’ll happen.” Not...
