U.S./World Sports category, Page 136
No. 7 Oregon State dominates Florida to win Las Vegas BowlVideo
LAS VEGAS — Deshaun Fenwick came off the bench to rush for 107 yards, and No. 17 Oregon State nearly dealt Florida a rare shutout, winning the Las Vegas Bowl, 30-3, on Saturday. The Beavers (10-3) reached 10 victories for the third time program history and the first time in...
Louisville beats Cincinnati for Keg of Nails and Fenway Bowl
BOSTON — Jawhar Jordan ran for 115 yards, breaking free for two long touchdowns, and Louisville beat erstwhile rival Cincinnati, 24-7, on Saturday in the twice-delayed first edition of the Fenway Bowl at the chilly home of the Boston Red Sox. With a gridiron laid out over the diamond and...
Croatia beats Morocco to take 3rd place at World Cup
AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Luka Modric led Croatia to third place in what was likely the midfield great’s last appearance at the World Cup. The runners-up from four years ago secured another medal by beating Morocco, 2-1, in the third-place match Saturday. Mislav Orsic scored the decisive goal shortly before...
Brown’s 2 TDs lead UAB past Miami (OH) 24-20 in Bahamas BowlVideo
NASSAU Bahamas — Jermaine Brown Jr. rushed for 116 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Trea Shropshire had 183 yards receiving and a score, and UAB held off Miami (Ohio), 24-20, on Friday in the Bahamas Bowl. UAB (7-6) won its second bowl game in a row — beating No. 13...
Lionel Messi’s hometown in Argentina yearns for World Cup victory
ROSARIO, Argentina — Fernanda Quiroga still remembers how Lionel Messi played soccer in what were then dirt roads around their working class neighborhood in Rosario, Argentina’s third-largest city. “(Messi) was always kicking something, a ball, a bottle cap,” said Quiroga, who at 35 is the same age as the captain...
No. 22 Troy rallies past No. 22 USTA 18-12 in Cure BowlVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Gunnar Watson’s 12-yard scoring pass to RaJae’ Johnson in the third quarter put No. 23 Troy ahead to stay, and the Trojans forced five turnovers in an 18-12 come-from-behind win over No. 22 USTA in the Duluth Trading Cure Bowl on Friday. Troy (12-2) closed out the...
Deion Sanders aims for perfect finish with Jackson StateVideo
ATLANTA — It goes without saying that Deion Sanders is eager to win his last game with Jackson State. The Tigers (12-0) aim to beat North Carolina Central (9-2) in the Celebration Bowl on Saturday and cap an unbeaten season. Sanders then will turn his focus to Colorado, the next...
Brittney Griner says she’ll play in WNBA next season
Brittney Griner said she’s “grateful” to be back in the United States and plans on playing basketball again next season for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Her comments came a week after she was released from a Russian prison, freed in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange. “It feels so good to...
Messi, Mbappe, other leading storylines for World Cup Final
DOHA, Qatar — Lionel Messi’s last chance. Kylian Mbappé’s shot at emulating Pelé. A third World Cup title for either Argentina or France. Sunday’s final is rich with storylines as the 22nd edition of the World Cup ends with a title match fit for the occasion. Here are five things...
Don’t look now but it’s bowl season! 42 picks for them all
The bowl season is now three years removed from the last time every postseason game was played. The pandemic whittled the 2020 bowl season down to a shell. Last year, a December spike in cases led to five games being canceled and some games using replacement teams. So we step...
Former North Allegheny star Ayden Owens runner-up for top college track award
North Allegheny graduate and Arkansas decathlete Ayden Owens-Delerme was the runner-up for college track and field’s top honor Thursday night. The Bowerman Award, created in 2009, is awarded annually to the top male and female athletes by the U.S. Track Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Florida State’s Trey Cunningham,...
FCS features numerous potential NFL draft picksVideo
Most of the attention leading up to the NFL Draft centers on the top players, the ones who can change the fortunes of a franchise, help it climb up from the bottom. Far less attention is generally paid to the players in the Championship Subdivision and below, players who probably...
Kylian Mbappe, France can make World Cup history against ArgentinaVideo
DOHA, Qatar — World Cup history is beckoning for France, star player Kylian Mbappé and coach Didier Deschamps. When France walks on the field Sunday for the tournament final against Argentina and Lionel Messi, soccer lore is waiting to be written for the team. Les Bleus could be the first...
Lionel Messi carries weight of Argentina into World Cup finalVideo
DOHA, Qatar — As Lionel Messi approaches his second and likely last World Cup final, the stakes hardly could be higher. The same goes for Argentina after more than 30 years of disappointment since it last won soccer’s ultimate prize. For Messi, victory against France at Lusail Stadium on Sunday...
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to be next NCAA president
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will be the next president of the NCAA, stepping in to lead an organization with diminished power amid sweeping changes across college sports. The NCAA announced Thursday that Baker will replace Mark Emmert as the head of the largest college sports governing body in the country,...
Former Arizona coach Sean Miller not sanctioned in NCAA caseVideo
Former Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller escaped sanctions Wednesday when a report from the Independent Accountability Resolution Process largely accepted the program’s self-imposed penalties stemming from a NCAA rules violations case that dates to 2017. Arizona’s athletics program was put on three years of probation through 2025. The school announced...
Mississippi State hiring defensive coordinator Zach Arnett
Mississippi State is promoting defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to head coach to replace Mike Leach, who died suddenly of a heart condition earlier this week. Mississippi State was working to finalize a four-year contract with the 36-year-old Arnett, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on...
Kylian Mbappe, France advance to World Cup final, beat Morocco
AL KHOR, Qatar — Kylian Mbappe vs. Lionel Messi. It’s the World Cup final for which just about everyone was waiting — and hoping. France and Mbappe are headed back to the biggest game in soccer, and to a much-anticipated matchup with Argentina, after ending Morocco’s historic run at the...
Soccer writer Grant Wahl died of heart aneurysm at World Cup
NEW YORK — Grant Wahl died of an aneurysm in his heart when he was stricken while covering a World Cup match last weekend, according to an autopsy of the well-known American soccer writer. Wahl’s wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, said Wednesday that an autopsy was conducted by the New York...
Mind of Mike: Expansive coaching tree part of Leach’s legacyVideo
When Mike Leach first moved to Mississippi State from Washington State, he stayed in the Left Field Lofts at the Bulldogs’ baseball stadium. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments have balconies that look out at the diamond at Dudy Noble Field and are a 3-minute walk from Mississippi State’s football facility and...
Purdue hires Illini coordinator Ryan Walters as new coachVideo
Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski promised to conduct a national search for Jeff Brohm’s replacement. He found the new guy just across the state line. The Boilermakers announced Tuesday they had hired Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as their head coach less than a week after Brohm left for his...
Column: PGA Tour year in review based on shots from 14 clubsVideo
One swing can go a long way, whether the shot ends up in the water, on the green or in the hole. One swing cost Mito Pereira his first major championship. It validated the rise of Tom Kim. And for Jordan Spieth, it had observers on the edge of their...
Moroccan World Cup ‘dream’ faces biggest test against FranceVideo
DOHA, Qatar — Morocco’s improbable, history-making run at the World Cup is about to get its ultimate test. Africa’s first World Cup semifinalist is playing defending champion France and striker Kylian Mbappé, the leader of a new wave of soccer superstars coming out of an era dominated by Lionel Messi...
Lionel Messi, Argentina beat Croatia to reach World Cup finalVideo
LUSAIL, Qatar — Lionel Messi is back in the World Cup final with Argentina on his mission to win soccer’s biggest prize for the first time. And, at 35, he could hardly be playing any better. Messi converted a penalty kick and had a hand in the other two goals...
NBA rebrands, redesigns its MVP award as The Michael Jordan Trophy
Michael Jordan was moments away from hoisting his third of what would become five NBA Most Valuable Player awards, and then-Commissioner David Stern greeted him at the midcourt ceremony with words that were both simple and profound. “You are simply the standard,” Stern said that night in 1992, “by which...
