U.S./World Sports category, Page 25

NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Blaney dominated the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday night for his first victory of the season and a spot in the playoffs. Blaney led four times for a career-high 201 laps, finishing 0.716 seconds ahead of William Byron for his 11th...

Dereck Lively II drained the first 3-pointer of his career, forced a missed layup at the other end and ping-ponged back down the court to slam home an alley-oop pass. The Dallas Mavericks didn’t trail again in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against Boston after that first-quarter sequence from...

Mt. Lebanon native Neal Shipley’s last day as an amateur golfer was one he’ll never forget. Shipley beat Florida State junior Luke Clanton in dramatic fashion in the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2 to claim low amateur honors. Shipley shot a 2-over-par 72...

There is one thing that has never changed about Spencer Lee since he began wrestling when he was 8. Lee strived to be the best. And during the past 17 years, it’s hard to argue he hasn’t been one of the best. Now the 25-year-old Franklin Regional and Iowa graduate,...

BOSTON — The Celtics picked the most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season. Boston’s 122-84 Game 4 loss to Dallas had all kinds of superlatives, and none of them were good. It ended the Celtics’ 10-game playoff win streak. It was the Celtics’ lowest-scoring output of...

NEWTON, Iowa — Christopher Bell likes that the NASCAR Cup Series will be at Iowa Speedway for the first time. Heading into Sunday’s race, the .875-mile track isn’t quite the one he remembers. Bell has seven top-five finishes in nine starts at the track in NASCAR’s other series, including two...

Mt. Lebanon’s Neal Shipley is 4-over par after three rounds of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. If his ball hadn’t moved a matter of millimeters at an inopportune time Saturday, he’d be 3-over par. Shipley was assessed a one-stroke penalty on the 13th hole when his ball, sitting on an...

The world of competitive eating was split asunder this past week when the annual July 4 Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest at Coney Island banned 16-time winner Joey Chestnut because he’s endorsing a vegan frankfurter. Only in America. But Chestnut rebounded quickly: He will go one-on-one with six-time winner Takeru...

Mt. Lebanon native Neal Shipley went viral in the online golf community this week with his choice of head cover for his driver. It’s a replica of an order of curly fries from Arby’s. He’s also making some headlines for more substantive reasons. Shipley made the cut in a major...

DALLAS — It’s over. That’s what the numbers say. There will be a record-setting 18th championship for the Boston Celtics to celebrate soon, maybe very soon. They have a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals, a lead that has never been wasted in any NBA series, ever. The stats are...

PINEHURST, N.C. — Mt. Lebanon native Neal Shipley finished his college career at Ohio State and is ready to take the next step. Just not right now. He was exempt to the U.S. Open as the runner-up in the U.S. Amateur last summer. But unlike the winner, Nick Dunlap, Shipley...

Fox Sports said Thursday it has acquired the rights to broadcast IndyCar starting in 2025, a move that gives the network two of the biggest races in the world: the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Fox Sports already broadcasts the first half of the NASCAR schedule. NASCAR in November...

WIMBLEDON, England — Wimbledon’s total prize money fund will rise to a record of nearly $64 million, with the singles champions earning $3.45 million each, All England Club officials announced Thursday at the annual spring briefing. The total amount is $6.8 million more than last year, an increase of 11.9%...

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas failed in her challenge against rules that stop her from competing in elite women’s races because judges ruled she did not have standing to bring the case. The Court of Arbitration for Sport panel of three judges dismissed Thomas’ request for arbitration with the World Aquatics...

The costs keep adding up — league fees, gear, travel — when it comes to youth sports in North America. It’s a longtime issue exacerbated by inflation and hardly confined to the United States. The expense of playing youth hockey is one of the primary reasons cited by parents and...

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Hockey remains a beloved pastime, a source of pride and joy and something that has knitted Canada together for more than 150 years. Youth hockey participation, however, has decreased by nearly a third in Canada over the past decade and a half, a decline that began well...