U.S./World Sports category, Page 239
More fans, May weather: 2021 French Open is closer to normalVideo
PARIS — Still not quite its packed, pre-pandemic self, Roland Garros bubbled with tennis, cheers and sun-kissed pleasures again Sunday as this year’s tournament began with some color back in its cheeks compared to the bland edition held in the autumnal chill last year. Nearly 5,400 people per day are...
Kokrak gets 2nd win quicker, overcoming Spieth at ColonialVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — Jason Kokrak played in 233 PGA Tour events before getting his first victory. The big hitter didn’t have to wait nearly as long to win again, though this one might have been harder because he had to overcome a local favorite at Colonial. Kokrak shot an...
U.S. loses 2-1 at Switzerland ahead of Nations League semiVideo
Steven Zuber scored after failed clearances by Sergiño Dest and Tim Ream in the 63rd minute, and Switzerland beat the United States 2-1 on Sunday night at St. Gallen to stop the Americans’ nine-game unbeaten streak. Sebastian Lletget put the 20th-ranked U.S. ahead in the fifth minute, but Ricardo Rodriguez...
Helio Castroneves wins Indianapolis 500 for 4th timeVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Written off as too old to race full-time, too old for a fourth Indianapolis 500 win, Helio Castroneves at long last joined that exclusive club in a popular victory for the old guys. Then Spiderman scaled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway fence for his trademark victory celebration at the...
Pine-Richland grads row to NCAA’s biggest stage
Gabrielle Krieger and Abbi Altman grew up on the same street, but their paths didn’t cross until they met while taking novice rowing lessons at Pine-Richland. From there, a friendship started that has grown immensely through the years even though the pair ended up competing at rival schools, Alabama and...
Rafael Nadal’s magic French Open numbers are 14 and 21
Go back, for a moment, to May 8, 2005, when Rafael Nadal was still just 18 and yet to appear in a French Open, let alone win one. After collecting his first trophy on the red clay of Rome — which had been preceded by his first trophy on the...
Resurgent Jordan Spieth 3rd-round leader at ColonialVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — Jordan Spieth knows how to finish right out of the rough, and he still had the lead after three rounds at Colonial. After hitting his final drive Saturday into the thick grass on an incline right of the No. 18 fairway, Spieth recovered with an approach...
Chelsea beats Manchester City to win Champions LeagueVideo
PORTO, Portugal — As Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta cradled the European Cup before thrusting it into the air to the backdrop of fireworks, Pep Guardiola and his distraught Manchester City players stood way behind the winner’s rostrum and looked on in anguish. Champions League glory once again for Chelsea, nine...
Buzzing again: Indy 500 is biggest sports event of pandemic
INDIANAPOLIS — The milk is on ice, celebrities are in the house and Indianapolis Motor Speedway is buzzing again both with the roar of engines and the largest crowd at a sporting event since the start of the pandemic. The Indianapolis 500 will welcome a sold-out 135,000 spectators Sunday —...
Open-wheel racing at peace 25 years after CART/IRL split
INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Andretti hears the line repeatedly. Yes, he’s led more Indianapolis 500 laps than any driver who never reached victory lane. He also knows it’s a title that could have been avoided if the Championship Auto Racing Teams series and the Indy Racing League hadn’t parted ways in...
Hendrick eyes all-time Cup Series win record at Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. — Those who’ve been around Hendrick Motorsports over the past few years know all about the record. It’s impossible not to. Car owner Rick Hendrick has made no secret to his employees about how badly he wants to surpass Petty Enterprises for the most Cup Series wins in...
Mark Eaton, shot-blocking king and Utah Jazz legend, dies at 64
Mark Eaton, the 7-foot-4 shot-blocking king who twice was the NBA’s defensive player of the year during a career spent entirely with the Utah Jazz, has died. He was 64. The team announced his death Saturday but did not give a cause or details, saying only that it was “unexpected.”...
This date in sports history: May 29Video
1922 — The Supreme Court rules organized baseball is primarily a sport and not a business and therefore not subject to antitrust laws and interstate commerce regulations. 1946 — Two-year-old fillies Chakoora and Uleta become the first thoroughbreds to complete a transcontinental flight. They are flown from New York to...
Spieth holds solo lead at Colonial; PGA champ Mickelson misses cutVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — Jordan Spieth has started playing well again just about everywhere he goes. He always has felt comfortable close to home at Colonial, where he is in the lead. PGA champion Phil Mickelson was headed home to California after he bogeyed two of his last three holes,...
IndyCar veterans still going strong as careers wind downVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Tony Kanaan sat in Chip Ganassi Racing’s suite one day this May, savoring a rare second IndyCar farewell tour. At age 46, running a part-time schedule with no future guarantees and a talented crop of young drivers chasing them, Kanaan and his fellow veterans can see the sunset...
Plum native Bjorn Fratangelo qualifies for French OpenVideo
Plum native Bjorn Fratangelo will play in this year’s French Open after winning a qualifier Thursday in Paris. The nine-year pro secured his spot with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win over Australia’s Alexsandar Vukic. Fratangelo, 27, will enter his 11th Grand Slam tournament. He is 2-10 in 12 Grand Slam...
Japan extends virus emergency with safe Olympics at stake
TOKYO — Japan extended a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas for 20 more days on Friday, with infections still not slowing as it prepares to host the Olympics in just over 50 days. Cases remain high and medical systems in Osaka, the hardest-hit area in western...
New York Knicks tickets to go only to fully vaccinated
The New York Knicks will sell tickets only to fully vaccinated fans if they reach the second round of the playoffs. The Knicks announced Friday that Game 5 of their first-round series against Atlanta has already sold out, with more than 16,000 fans expected on Wednesday. More than 90% of...
Tour, players react to Naomi Osaka: Talking to media part of job
Naomi Osaka’s declaration that she won’t participate in news conferences during the French Open was a natural, if slightly awkward, topic for discussion on a tournament media day already awkward by nature because it was conducted via video conference. “I understand why she does it. I respect her opinion,” Daniil...
IndyCar courts Black fans, drivers in its push to diversify
INDIANAPOLIS — Rod Reid ran a program full of young, Black kart racers locked out of a venue because of the pandemic and needed a track to race. Indianapolis Motor Speedway had spent millions on upgrades on the historic property at the same time last year when the coronavirus had...
WWE returns to Pittsburgh this summer
After a last-minute cancellation in 2020, the WWE is coming back to Pittsburgh. The sports entertainment company on Friday announced new live event dates for this summer. Pittsburgh is slated for a Supershow at 7:30 p.m. July 24 at PPG Paints Arena. The arena has the event listed on their...
Who’s the boss? At Indy 500, women play large role for IMS
INDIANAPOLIS — Simona de Silvestro was still in her helmet when her race team owner threw her arms around the driver who had just qualified for the Indianapolis 500 by the narrowest of margins. De Silvestro’s pony-tailed crew members stopped by to congratulate her, as did 2018 Indy 500 winner...
Boorish fans: 76ers, Knicks, Jazz issue bans after incidents
The New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz banned a total of five fans from their respective arenas and issued apologies Thursday for incidents during playoff games, and the NBA said rules surrounding fan behavior will be “vigorously enforced” going forward. All three incidents took place during playoff games...
Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia lead Colonial; Phil Mickelson 10 back
FORT WORTH, Texas — Phil Mickelson kept hearing congratulatory words as he made his way around Colonial, and there was a huge roar from the crowd when the PGA Championship winner made a long putt to finish his round. Jordan Spieth kept making birdies in the same group. Spieth shot...
Full bowl lineup for college football returns after pandemic-shortened 2020-21
After the pandemic cut the college football bowl season almost in half last year, a full lineup of 44 postseason games is scheduled for 2021-22. The Bowl Season schedule was announced Thursday. The bowls will begin on Dec. 17, with Bahamas Bowl kicking off at noon ET and the Cure...
