U.S./World Sports category
WNBA players union authorizes negotiators to call a strike if needed during CBA talks
NEW YORK — WNBA players have authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary, the union announced Thursday as it continues to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the league. The WNBPA and league have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the...
Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash
STATESVILLE, N.C. — A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said. The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It...
Threat of equine virus looms over major rodeo event in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Declaring Las Vegas a “cowboy town,” dozens of riders on horseback have traditionally kicked off the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by galloping into the arena and then lining up their horses side by side as the riders tip their hats to cheers. But an equine virus outbreak...
NASCAR settles federal antitrust case, gives all teams the permanent charters they wanted
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan and NASCAR chairman Jim France stood side-by-side on the steps of a federal courthouse as if they were old friends following a stunning settlement Thursday of a bruising antitrust case in which the Basketball Hall of Famer was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit accusing...
A’ja Wilson wins AP Female Athlete of the Year following historic 4th WNBA MVP
A’ja Wilson stood atop the WNBA again in 2025, winning an unprecedented fourth MVP as her Las Vegas Aces earned a third championship in four seasons. For that, she earned The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday for the first time in her career. It’s the second...
NASCAR chairman refuses to budge on team charters in testimony during Michael Jordan’s lawsuit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR chairman Jim France testified Tuesday in Michael Jordan’s federal antitrust lawsuit against his family that he still has not changed his mind on granting teams permanent charters, and evidence showed he entered negotiations on a new revenue-sharing agreement determined to thwart teams’ efforts for a better...
Longshot Duke beats Virginia in OT to claim 1st outright ACC championship since ’62
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke won its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1962 and threw the College Football Playoff into chaos Saturday night when Darian Mensah connected with Pine-Richland graduate Jeremiah Hasley for a 1-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play in overtime, and the unranked Blue Devils held on...
Indiana stuns Ohio State to end Big Ten title drought, stake claim to top playoff seed
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza made all the big plays Saturday night. Then his Hoosiers teammates and their fans celebrated like it was 1967. Mendoza’s neatly tucked 17-yard pass to Elijah Sarratt gave the No. 2 Hoosiers the lead they needed and the defense shut down No. 1 Ohio...
Messi and Inter Miami win MLS Cup, topping Vancouver, 3-1
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi ‘s legacy was long secured when he came to Inter Miami and joined Major League Soccer. He’d won a World Cup, won dozens of trophies, was generally considered the greatest player in the sport’s history. He didn’t need an MLS Cup. But he wanted...
Michael Annett, who made 436 combined starts in NASCAR’s 3 national touring series, dies at 39
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Michael Annett, a former racecar driver who made 436 combined starts in NASCAR’s three national touring series, has died. He was 39. JR Motorsports, one of Annett’s former teams, posted the news on social media on Friday. No cause of death was announced. “Our thoughts and prayers...
Michael Jordan testifies in NASCAR antitrust trial, says he had no choice but to sue ‘the entity’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Retired NBA great Michael Jordan took the stand at the landmark NASCAR antitrust case Friday and testified that he has been a fan of the stock car series since he was a child but felt he had little choice but to sue to force changes in a...
Argentina and Messi to open World Cup against Algeria, US starts against Paraguay
WASHINGTON — With eyes across the globe focused on 48 balls being plucked from four bowls, next year’s World Cup came into focus Friday when a draw determined Argentina and Lionel Messi will start their title defense against Algeria, and the U.S. will open against Paraguay. Teams from five-time champion...
Supersized World Cup field begins taking shape at Friday’s draw
WASHINGTON — FIFA has invited more teams than ever for a World Cup priced largely for fans in the 1%. The process of figuring out which teams in the expanded 48-nation field will play where begins with Friday’s draw at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Cape Verde, Curaçao,...
Ralph Lauren unveils Team USA’s Olympic uniformsVideo
NEW YORK — Ralph Lauren revealed Team USA’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics looks Thursday, complete with Americana knit sweaters and plenty of vintage call-backs. The formal opening ceremony look pairs a patterned red, white and blue knit sweater with tailored cream trousers and a matching wool coat. Moving sportier, the...
Serena Williams has taken the 1st step toward a comeback to tennis by registering for drug tests
Serena Williams has taken the first step that would be required ahead of a comeback to tennis, registering with the sport’s drug-testing body, a spokesman for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said Tuesday. The 23-time Grand Slam champion, one of the greats of the game, has not competed since...
Denny Hamlin breaks down in tears as the first witness testifying at NASCAR antitrust trial
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The landmark federal antitrust trial against NASCAR opened Monday with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin breaking down in tears minutes into his testimony as the first witness in a case that could upend the venerable stock car series. Hamlin’s 23XI Racing, which he co-owns with Michael...
Kentucky fires SEC’s longest-tenured coach in Mark Stoops in his 13th season
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky has fired the Southeastern Conference’s longest-tenured coach, ending Mark Stoops’ tenure in his 13th season with the Wildcats after back-to-back losing records. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart said in a statement Monday morning that he informed Stoops they decided to go in a new direction and started...
Michael Jordan’s fight against NASCAR heads to court, could shake up motorsports
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan’s bitter fight against NASCAR heads to federal court Monday in a jury trial that could rip apart the top motorsports series in the United States. The antitrust allegations leveled by Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports has exposed salacious personal communications, NASCAR’s finances and...
Shiffrin wins slalom on home Colorado snow to remain perfect in the Olympic seasonVideo
COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. — American standout Mikaela Shiffrin dominated a World Cup slalom Sunday on home Colorado snow to remain perfect in the discipline during the Olympic season. Shiffrin extended her winning streak in slalom to four races after also claiming the opening two races this season and the final...
Fuzzy Zoeller, 2-time major champion haunted by racist joke about Tiger Woods, dies at 74
Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major champion and one of golf’s most gregarious characters whose career was tainted by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, has died, according to a longtime colleague. He was 74. A cause of death was not immediately available. Brian Naugle, the tournament director of the...
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty in rigged poker games case
NEW YORK — Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he profited from rigged poker games involving several Mafia figures and at least one other ex-NBA player. Billups, a five-time All Star who won a championship with...
U.S. ski star Shiffrin wins 2nd straight World Cup slalom of Olympic season
GURGL, Austria — American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin is heading into her home races in Colorado next weekend as the overall World Cup leader on a two-event winning streak. Shiffrin dominated another slalom Sunday as she made it two convincing wins from two races in the discipline to start the...
UAB football player accused of stabbing 2 teammates before game
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A University of Alabama at Birmingham football player stabbed two teammates Saturday morning hours before the team’s game against the University of South Florida, the university said in a statement. The two wounded players were in stable condition, interim head coach Alex Mortensen said at the postgame...
Two more 40-and-over U.S. women are aiming for Olympic medals in Cortina
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn won’t be the only 40-and-over American woman aiming for a medal in Cortina during the upcoming Olympics. The U.S. bobsled team boasts 40-year-old Kaillie Humphries Armbruster, who has won three Olympic golds, and Elana Meyers Taylor, a 41-year-old who has collected five Olympic medals....
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami to play 1st MLS regular-season match in new stadium April 4
MIAMI — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play a Major League Soccer match in their new stadium for the first time on April 4, one of the highlights of the league’s schedule that was revealed Thursday. The 2026 MLS regular season starts Feb. 21 and runs through Nov. 7....
