U.S./World Sports category, Page 108
Heat looking to get to the line more, while Nuggets vow to be better in Game 2Video
DENVER — For the Miami Heat, shooting at Denver’s mile-high altitude during Game 1 of the NBA Finals wasn’t a problem. Not shooting from 15 feet — the distance from the basket to the free-throw line — was. The Heat made NBA history — and not the good kind —...
Corey LaJoie gets long-awaited Hendrick Motorsports shot in NASCAR Cup SeriesVideo
MADISON, Ill. — Corey LaJoie finally is getting a chance to drive for Hendrick Motorsports this week. He wanted so badly to drive for the team a few years ago, that when it became common knowledge Jimmie Johnson was retiring as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, LaJoie used his...
Suh, Matsuyama ride hot putts on steamy day at the MemorialVideo
DUBLIN, Ohio — Justin Suh signed for a 6-under-par 66 at the Memorial and then made a few stops to speak with the media. His putter stayed with him the entire time, which probably was wise. The way it behaved Friday, when he holed eight putts from the 10-foot range...
Mile-High NBA advantage: Denver altitude helps Nuggets go unbeaten at home in playoffsVideo
DENVER — Joking around before the start of the NBA Finals, Charles Barkley and Grant Hill took hits from oxygen masks they brought onto the set for a pregame TV show. But the thin air in Denver is no joke. There’s a reason it’s known as the Mile High City....
Churchill Downs implements safety, performance standards to address recent spate of horse deathsVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Horse racing’s oversight authority and Churchill Downs have each announced additional safety and health measures in the wake of 12 recent deaths since late April at the home of the Kentucky Derby. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will conduct additional post-entry screening of horses to...
Jokic gets triple-double, Nuggets roll past Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of NBA FinalsVideo
DENVER — Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets were facing some questions going into their first NBA Finals, and their answers came in resounding fashion. No, a week and a half off didn’t hurt them. And, no, the NBA’s biggest stage isn’t too big, either. Jokic got a triple-double in...
Riley avoids big numbers for 67 on tough day at MemorialVideo
DUBLIN, Ohio — Davis Riley opened with a 67 at the Memorial to finish atop the leaderboard after the opening round for the second straight year. And that’s where the similarities end. Riley birdied three of his last four holes Thursday afternoon when the turf was firm and the wind...
U.S. Soccer’s Nations League roster includes Folarin Balogun’s first call-upVideo
LOS ANGELES — Two days after B.J. Callaghan was officially being named interim U.S. men’s national team coach, he called up his first roster Thursday, inviting 24 players to training camp at Dignity Health Sports Park to prepare for the final four of the CONCACAF Nations League later this month...
Mirra Andreeva, a teen who doesn’t like homework, wins easily at French OpenVideo
PARIS — Mirra Andreeva is the latest teen sensation in tennis, a 16-year-old Russian who is the youngest player to win a match in the women’s main draw at the French Open since 2005. Do the math: That’s before she was born. The 143rd-ranked Andreeva made her way through qualifying...
Memorial boasts stacked field in crowded PGA Tour schedule
DUBLIN, Ohio — The Memorial has a loaded field, just like always, and that much was evident by pockets of crowds spread around Muirfield Village for the pro-am Wednesday. Also playing Wednesday were Masters champion Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and 38 of the top 50 players in the...
Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jokic lead Heat, Nuggets into NBA Finals after unconventional paths
DENVER — Nikola Jokic wasn’t supposed to be here. Neither was Jimmy Butler, for that matter. Jokic was drafted behind 40 other players in 2014. Butler was drafted behind 29 others in 2011. Jokic grew up in Serbia, not even thinking about the NBA. Butler didn’t have the easiest upbringing...
2 teams, 2 chances at titles: Heat, Panthers ready for their finals tests
DENVER — They were No. 8 seeds. They barely got into the playoffs after up-and-down regular seasons. They had to face the No. 1 overall seeds in Round 1 of the postseason. They had to win Games 7 in Boston just to keep their seasons alive. They are Eastern Conference...
With matchup finally set, Nuggets’ Michael Malone says beating Heat will be ‘biggest challenge of our lives’
Aaron Gordon bristled at the notion the Denver Nuggets must operate the “rust versus rest” seesaw with 10 days between their Western Conference title celebration in Los Angeles and the start of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Rest? “We’ve been working,” Gordon declared about 15 hours after the...
Column: A year later, LIV Golf is fitting into golf landscape as an islandVideo
DUBLIN, Ohio — The catchphrase at LIV Golf seems to have changed in recent months to a bolder tone. Gone is Greg Norman’s tired pitch that “Golf is a force for good.” More common these days is the pronouncement that “We’re not going anywhere.” That appears to be true. Much...
NBA Finals finally set with Nuggets, underdog Heat squaring off
Cancel that flight plan, Denver. Turns out, the NBA Finals are starting in the Mile High City after all. And Jimmy Butler was proven right. Finally, we have a title-series matchup: The Miami Heat, champions of the Eastern Conference even after getting in as only the No. 8 seed, will...
French Open’s No. 2 seed, Daniil Medvedev, loses to 172nd-ranked qualifier, Thiago Seyboth WildVideo
PARIS — If anyone thought a couple of recent runs to Week 2 at the French Open and a clay-court title a little more than a week ago made Daniil Medvedev a little fonder of the red stuff, forget it. A first-round loss as the No. 2 seed at Roland...
NASCAR suspends Elliott 1 race for intentionally wrecking HamlinVideo
CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott for one race on Tuesday, less than a day after the five-time most popular driver and former Cup champion deliberately wrecked Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600. Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement it will not appeal the suspension, and Corey Lajoie will...
Panel of historians starts 3-year review of 1972 Munich Olympics attack
BERLIN— A panel of historians set up to review the 1972 attack on the Munich Olympics is starting its three-year mission to examine what happened before, during and after the events of five decades ago on Tuesday, the German government said. In April, Germany’s Interior Ministry named the eight-member international...
Stables, trainers try to move through grief over euthanized horses as racing thunders on
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Frank Sumpter has spent the past few weeks reflecting on Wild On Ice’s remarkable journey to somehow work through his grief over the horse’s catastrophic injury just nine days before he was supposed to race in the Kentucky Derby. Coming so close has provided some consolation through...
Post-soccer match brawl in Germany leaves teen with life-threatening injuries
FRANKFURT, Germany — A 15-year-old soccer player has been hospitalized with life-threatening brain injuries after being struck by an opposing player in a post-match fight during an international youth tournament in Germany. A 16-year-old from a French team was jailed pending further investigation by a judge in Frankfurt, where the...
Caleb Martin helps Heat to Game 7 win over Celtics, spot in NBA Finals
BOSTON — Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night to help the Miami Heat beat the Celtics, 103-84, and turn back Boston’s attempt at an unprecedented comeback. The Heat recovered after blowing...
Ryan Blaney wins Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte to end drought
CONCORD, N.C. — Ryan Blaney held off William Byron to win the rescheduled Coca-Cola 600 on Monday at Charlotte Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the Memorial Day weekend’s top races in the United States. Josef Newgarden won a record-extending 19th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday for Team...
Column: Indy 500’s ending creates controversy and conspiraciesVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — It’s called “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” because the Indianapolis 500 is supposed to be one of the most dramatic and difficult races in the world. Sure, it’s an automobile race. But it’s also very much entertainment, even if Marcus Ericsson vehemently disagrees. The controversial ending to the...
Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic face brief trouble at French Open
PARIS — Pretty much everyone expects to see, and likely wants to see, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic face each other in the French Open semifinals. There’s work to be done first, of course, and both began their journeys at Roland Garros with straight-set victories Monday against opponents making Grand...
Roger Penske: Investigation into Indy 500 wheel that flew over stands coming
INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar owner Roger Penske says he is certain series officials will investigate what led to a wheel coming loose during a crash in the Indianapolis 500. The wheel sailed over the catch fence and grandstands before landing on a parked automobile. “We haven’t had a wheel come off...
