U.S./World Sports category, Page 56
Purdue’s Zach Edey joins Ralph Sampson as 2-time winners of John R. Wooden AwardVideo
LOS ANGELES — Zach Edey of Purdue became the second two-time John R. Wooden Award winner as the nation’s top men’s college basketball player Wednesday. The 7-foot-4 center joins Virginia’s Ralph Sampson, who won in 1982 and ‘83. Edey led the nation in scoring and set school records for career...
Masters a reunion of world’s best players, but numbers are shrinking
AUGUSTA, Ga. — More than golf’s first major championship of the year, the Masters represents unification. This is the first time since July at the British Open the best players regardless of their tours compete against each other — same course, same tournament, same television network. “I believe everyone agrees...
Neither injury nor illness keep golf’s greats from playing in Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Min Woo Lee stared at the 20-pound dumbbell sitting in the corner of the gym with unbridled contempt. Just days earlier, while performing the last rep in a series of side glute bridges, the Australian had thrown it down and somehow clipped his finger. Bad luck made...
Tara VanDerveer retires as Stanford women’s hoops coach after setting NCAA wins record this year
STANFORD, Calif. — Tara VanDerveer lent her time and energy to a young Dawn Staley behind the scenes years before the South Carolina coach started winning championships or delivering an improbable undefeated season. The Hall of Fame Stanford coach did the same for her Pac-12 rivals. For Cori Close. For...
Arkansas hires John Calipari to coach the Razorbacks, a day after he stepped down from Kentucky
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas hired John Calipari as men’s basketball coach on Wednesday, a day after the Hall of Fame coach stepped down from the Kentucky program he led to the 2012 NCAA championship. The 65-year-old Calipari signed a five-year contract with an annual base salary of $7 million through...
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, takes aim at a 2nd Masters championship
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler is not, by nature, a selfish person. It’s not how he was raised, nor how he chooses to live his life, and if that ever were to change, he knows he can rely on his wife, Meredith, to bring him back to center. The problem...
Denver’s McKade Webster chases another hockey title after sister Makenna helped Ohio State to crown
DENVER — In the Webster family, hockey runs deep. So does winning on the ice. Current NCAA national titles score: Makenna 2, McKade 1. McKade Webster can tie the score with his younger sister this weekend at the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn. McKade, a senior captain for Denver,...
Caitlin Clark’s arrival could result in ratings, attendance boost for WNBA
NEW YORK — The basketball world can’t get enough of Caitlin Clark, and now that the college season is over, next up is the WNBA Draft. While there is no drama about whether the Iowa guard will be the top pick, there is excitement about her arrival. With record ratings...
Rory McIlroy is brimming with confidence as he sets out to complete career Grand Slam at MastersVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy made that familiar turn off Washington Road and onto Magnolia Lane a year ago, the one that seems to suck in those fortunate enough to make it back in time, and felt as certain as ever that it was his time to win the Masters....
Tiger Woods has not given up hope of adding another Masters green jacketVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods still thinks he can win another Masters. Recent evidence would suggest that might be a steeper climb than walking up to the 18th green at Augusta National. Never mind he is 48 and has had more surgeries than his 15 major titles. Or that in...
Analysis: Does golf need a dominant player? That depends on who it isVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Golf after the peak years of Tiger Woods is just like it was before that “Hello, world” moment when he arrived. There was no shortage of talent or even rivalries. No dominant figure, either. Nick Faldo and Greg Norman brought a global focus to golf for about...
As golf’s civil war rages, all the top PGA Tour and LIV players are at the Masters this weekVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — In some ways, golf is at a point in time not unlike pro football in the 1960s, when two rival leagues duked it out but found a path to reconciliation that produced a game far bigger than anyone could have envisioned. Bryson DeChambeau, for one, is hopeful...
‘Aching’ Tiger Woods thinks he can get one more green jacketVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods isn’t an old man in the traditional sense. Outside the ropes of professional golf, the 48-year Californian looks like a healthy, vibrant middle-aged man, especially with a hat on. Inside the yellow ropes of Augusta National Golf Club, where he will compete against 88 other...
John Calipari on leaving Kentucky: Program ‘needs to hear another voice’Video
LEXINGTON, Ky. — There were too many people for Moon native John Calipari to thank by name and too many moments to single out from one of the most fulfilling chapters of his career. He used this moment to say goodbye. Calipari stepped down as Kentucky’s men’s basketball coach after...
European power Liverpool to face Spanish club Betis at Acrisure Stadium
One of the world’s biggest brands for the beautiful game is coming to Pittsburgh. Perennial English soccer power Liverpool FC will face Spanish club Real Betis in an exhibition July 26 at Acrisure Stadium. The game — billed “The Iron City Showdown” — melds two of Pittsburgh’s pro sports teams...
UConn, coach Dan Hurley provide blueprint on how to succeed in the age of NIL, player transfers
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies proved that even in the age of NIL and rampant player transfers, it’s possible to build a program capable of winning back-to-back national titles. A few minutes after cutting down the nets on Monday night, the coach already was thinking about...
Olympic rings for Paris Games will be displayed on Eiffel Tower
PARIS — The Olympic rings will be displayed on the Eiffel Tower, organizers said in a statement on Tuesday, as the French capital prepares to mark 100 days until the start of the Paris Games. A 95-foot-long and 49-foot-high structure of five Olympic rings, made entirely of recycled French steel,...
UConn concludes a dominant run to its 2nd straight NCAA title, beating Zach Edey and PurdueVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — UConn delivered the latest of its suffocating basketball beatdowns Monday night, smothering Purdue for a 75-60 victory to become the first team since 2007 to capture back-to-back national championships. Tristen Newton scored 20 points for the Huskies, who won their 12th straight March Madness game — not...
Simms scores in OT to lift U.S. to win over Canada in preliminary round of women’s hockey worldsVideo
UTICA, N.Y. — Kirsten Simms scored 3:38 into overtime to lift the United States to a 1-0 preliminary round win over rival Canada on Monday, and clinch the Americans the Group A title heading into the women’s world hockey championship playoffs. Aerin Frankel stopped 26 shots for her second shutout...
Reports: John Calipari finalizing deal to leave Kentucky for Arkansas
In what’s shaping up to be a significant SEC shift, John Calipari is reportedly finalizing a deal to become Arkansas’ basketball coach after 15 seasons at Kentucky. The contract is for five years and would pay the Moon product just under the $8.5 million he made annually at Kentucky, with...
Will Zalatoris leans on advice from Tiger Woods in return from back surgery to play Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — One year to the day after he was lying on an operating table, a surgeon hovering over his ailing back offering at least some hope of relief, Will Zalatoris walked onto the practice range at Augusta National just as the sun was just beginning to rise. There...
Analysis: Hendrick celebration, milestone came at complicated track
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — No detail had been overlooked as Hendrick Motorsports spent more than a year planning its 40th anniversary celebration. The first employees hired by Rick Hendrick were invited, special throwback paint schemes designed and Hendrick was to drive the pace car. The extravaganza was to be held at...
South Carolina-Iowa women’s national championship game breaks viewership records
The Gamecocks’ third NCAA women’s basketball championship under coach Dawn Staley was won as part of the most-watched sporting event since 2019, apart from football or the Olympics. South Carolina’s national championship game on ABC Sunday against Iowa was the most watched women’s basketball game in history, ESPN announced on...
NAIA all but bans transgender athletes from women’s sports; NCAA vows to ensure ‘fair competition’
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced a policy Monday that all but bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at its 241 mostly small colleges across the country. The NAIA Council of Presidents approved the policy in a 20-0 vote at its annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri....
NBA Playoffs 2024: Playoff positioning battles continue, and see what games matter most
The last week of the NBA season has arrived. With no games Monday — the league typically tries to not play on the night of the NCAA men’s championship game — the schedule resumes Tuesday with 14 games, 13 of which have at least some form of playoff implications. The...
