U.S./World Sports category, Page 296
Riverhounds look to reach next level against New York Red Bulls II
Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley is looking for his team to reach its highest level. So far through the 2020 season, the Hounds haven’t been able to reach that point, but they’ve been close. Their 3-1 victory against Louisville City FC in their season opener was a good example. They...
Jason Day leads PGA as Brooks Koepka continues to be a major forceVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Jason Day took his first step toward a return to the spotlight in the majors Thursday at the PGA Championship. Brooks Koepka never seems to leave. Day took advantage of a TPC Harding Park that never felt this accommodating during the practice rounds. With only a mild...
Column: Big and booming, Bryson DeChambeau is PGA Tour must-see TVVideo
It’s hard to find a reason to like Bryson DeChambeau. It’s even harder to take your eyes off him. He smashes jaw-dropping drives that seem to defy the physics on which he bases his game. Bulked up on protein shakes and M&M’s, DeChambeau has so far this year been making...
Riverhounds notebook: Passing prowess has Pittsburgh piling up assists
With five games under their belt, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds are slowly approaching the midway point of their shortened 2020 season. Through the first part of the season, the Hounds have already suffered a two-game losing streak, they’ve seen players step into big roles, they’ve seen players break records, and they...
NCAA board hands call on fall championships to each division; Division III cancels
The NCAA Board of Governors on Wednesday directed each division of the association to decide independently by Aug. 21 whether it will be able to conduct championship events safely in fall sports such as soccer, volleyball and lower levels of football during the coronavirus pandemic. The association’s highest governing body...
UConn becomes 1st FBS program to cancel football over virus
STORRS, Conn. — UConn canceled its 2020-21 football season Wednesday, becoming the first FBS program to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic, as other schools had taken the Huskies off their schedules and the governor was reluctant to allow UConn to travel to states with high infection rates. “After...
Tiger Woods in better place heading into PGA Championship
SAN FRANCISCO — The course is one Tiger Woods knows well and where he has winning memories. The PGA Championship is a major he has won four times, more than anyone except Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen. Woods learned last year that brings no guarantee of playing well. Coming off...
Adam Scott back in PGA chase after long break Down Under
Adam Scott took his own sweet time returning to competitive golf. When he finally showed up at the PGA Championship this week, everyone else ranked inside the top 50 had already revved up for the season’s first major by playing at least one tournament somewhere. But Scott, who checked in...
Jordan Spieth chasing Grand Slam and hardly anyone notices
SAN FRANCISCO — The spotlight on Jordan Spieth should be bright enough to cut through the marine layer blanketing Harding Park this week at the PGA Championship. Win this major and he joins the most exclusive club in golf with the final leg of the career Grand Slam. Only five...
Defending champ Rafael Nadal to miss U.S. Open amid pandemicVideo
Defending champion Rafael Nadal will skip the U.S. Open because of the coronavirus pandemic, putting on hold his bid to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record for Grand Slam titles. Nadal explained his decision in a series of tweets sent in Spanish and English on Tuesday. “The situation is very complicated...
TCU football coach Gary Patterson apologizes for repeating racial slurVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU football coach Gary Patterson apologized Tuesday for repeating a racial slur when telling a player to stop using the slur in team meetings. Patterson’s tweet came a day after school Chancellor Victor Boschini said the nearly 20-year leader of TCU’s program, who is white, had...
Minnesota star WR Rashod Bateman to skip season, turn proVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota star wide receiver Rashod Bateman will pass on a 2020 college football season that has been complicated — and threatened — by the pandemic. Bateman announced Tuesday he has opted out amid concerns about the coronavirus and will forgo his remaining two years of eligibility to enter...
Penske reverses course, closes Indianapolis 500 to fans
Roger Penske has reversed course and decided not to allow fans at the Indianapolis 500 later this month. The 104th running of “The Great American Race” will be the first without spectators, who showed up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway every year, even during the Great Depression. It was a flip...
Madrid Open tennis canceled because of virus spike in Spain
MADRID — The Madrid Open in September was canceled on Tuesday because of a new spike in coronavirus cases in Spain. The joint men’s and women’s tournament was originally scheduled in May, but moved when Spain became a hotbed for the virus. Its new slot in September allowed it again...
Big 12 football teams can play 1 nonconference gameVideo
Big 12 schools agreed Monday night to play one nonconference football game this season to go along with their nine league contests as plans for the pandemic-altered season continued to fall into place. The Big 12’s university presidents signed off on a 10-game schedule, adjusted to deal with potential disruptions...
Public schools in Maryland to cancel all sports for fall and winter
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association announced Monday the cancellation of fall and winter high school sports for 2020 because of coronavirus concerns. The covid crisis forced the cancellation of all spring sports last school year. The MPSSAA said high school athletic competitions will be postponed until the start...
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, investor group to buy XFL
Former WWE star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and an investor group have agreed to buy the XFL for approximately $15 million, according to a Monday news release. The second iteration of the XFL lasted five weeks before the coronavirus pandemic shut down operations in March. The next month, the league...
Brooks Koepka’s biggest challenge is history in bid for 3 in a row
Peter Thomson might have been up to his old tricks. He once described the Americans as the “greatest collection of golfers in the world” right before he captained an International team that annihilated the U.S. in the 1998 Presidents Cup. So what to make of his prediction at Carnoustie nine...
Justin Thomas holds on to win in Memphis, Peters native Todd fades down stretchVideo
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Justin Thomas wants to make his second stint as No. 1 in the world last longer than the first time around. “I hope so,” Thomas said Sunday after winning the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take the No. 1 spot for the first time since June 2018....
Brad Keselowski wins in New Hampshire for 3rd win since shutdownVideo
LOUDON, N.H. — Brad Keselowski won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday for his third victory of the NASCAR season and 33rd of his career. Keselowski and Denny Hamlin swapped stage wins and had the lead a combined 18 times before Keselowski, who is in a contract year for...
Phil Kessel helps Coyotes hold off Predators in series openerVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the first of Arizona’s three first-period goals, former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel had two assists and the Coyotes held on to beat the Nashville Predators, 4-3, on Sunday to open their Stanley Cup qualifier series. The Coyotes made the most of their first...
Jimmy Butler misses Heat practice, teammate hints he’s isolatingVideo
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jimmy Butler was not with the Miami Heat for practice Sunday, and one of his teammates suggested he was quarantining away from the team. The Heat said only that Butler, who scored 22 points in Miami’s restart-opening win over Denver on Saturday, had “an excused...
Pac-12 football players urge opt-out amid covid-19 concernsVideo
A group of Pac-12 football players on Sunday threatened to opt out of the coming season unless their concerns about competing during the covid-19 pandemic and other racial and economic issues in college sports are addressed. The players posted a statement on The Players’ Tribune website and social media with...
Riverhounds top Philadelphia to get back in win column
Saturday night was the perfect opportunity for the Riverhounds to break their two-game skid, and although it wasn’t their best performance they took full advantage. Behind two first-half goals from Steevan Dos Santos, in his first start of the season, the Riverhounds stomped Philadelphia Union II, 4-0, for their third...
Denny Hamlin-Kevin Harvick duel resumes as Cup Series hits New HampshireVideo
Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick spent the final lap at New Hampshire a year ago jockeying for the lead, the two clearly the class of the field as the NASCAR Cup Series race approached the checkered flag. It turned out to be a harbinger of the wacky 2020 season. Hamlin...
