U.S./World Sports category, Page 12

AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR President Steve Phelps defended the four drivers racing for the Cup Series championship this weekend — even though others had better statistics than the finalists — as well as the playoff system itself in Friday’s annual State of the Sport address. Reigning champion Ryan Blaney, Team...

AVONDALE, Ariz. — A federal judge on Friday denied a motion by two NASCAR teams — one owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan — to be recognized as chartered teams as they proceed in an antitrust lawsuit against the stock car series and chairman Jim France. The motion...

AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR heads into its championship weekend locked in a federal antitrust lawsuit with NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. Its officiating has been under months-long scrutiny, and this week it issued a wave of hefty fines for alleged race manipulation in the final playoff qualifier. And Truck...

SYDNEY — Australian breaker Rachael Gunn has told a Sydney radio station that she plans to retire from competition just three months after her unconventional routine at the Paris Olympics led to her being ridiculed and spawned conspiracy theories about how she qualified for the Games. The now 37-year-old Sydney...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina coach Shane Beamer had a final farewell for Mississippi last month as Rebel after Rebel went down on the ground with injuries, some serious, some minor, and created stoppages that slowed things down. “First of all,” Beamer said after the Gamecocks’ 27-3 loss on Oct....

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Aryna Sabalenka clinched the year-end No. 1 spot in the women’s rankings for the first time when Iga Swiatek lost at the WTA Finals on Tuesday. Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, was assured of finishing 2024 atop the WTA without swinging her racket on Tuesday, thanks...

MADRID — Real Madrid and AC Milan honored the victims of the deadly floods in Valencia before their Champions League match on Tuesday. Players from both teams entered the field wearing shirts with the words “We are all Valencia,” written in Spanish on Madrid’s kits and in Italian on AC...

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid struck and shoved Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes during a profanity-laced altercation in the 76ers’ locker room after a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Embiid, whose open hand made contact with Hayes’ neck and collarbone area, was angry about the columnist’s recent work criticizing...

Ryan Blaney earned a chance to defend his NASCAR championship with a victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway that pushed the Team Penske driver into the winner-take-all season finale. Blaney passed Chase Elliott with 15 laps to go to win at the Virginia track for a second consecutive year and take...

Ryan Blaney had the checkered flag in sight and a spot in NASCAR’s title-deciding race within his grasp last week on the last lap of a contentious battle. Then out of nowhere, Tyler Reddick slid past Blaney in the final turn and snatched the victory away. Reddick now will race...

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Caitlin Clark era at Iowa ended with her as the NCAA Division I overall scoring leader and the Hawkeyes playing in two straight national championship games and being the hottest ticket in women’s basketball. Clark recently finished her first pro season as the WNBA rookie...

The Pac-12 Conference will never be what it once was even after the efforts to rebuild it. “I never thought I’d see the Pac-12 fall apart,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “I mean, what a freakin’ shame that is, but we are where we are.” That could be taken...

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together Tuesday night during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 39-year-old superstar and his 20-year-old son played almost 2½ minutes together late in the first half...

Jayson Tatum was already a proven winner before last season. In Tatum’s first six seasons, no NBA player won more games with one team than he did. Tatum played in 334 wins with the Boston Celtics over that span, including playoffs. He was a perennial All-Star, a legitimate MVP candidate,...

LAS VEGAS — Knocked out of the playoffs this time last week, Joey Logano seized on his reversal of fortune to become the first driver locked into NASCAR’s championship finale. Logano was below the cutline and eliminated from the eight-driver field when he left Charlotte Motor Speedway last Sunday. But...

AUSTIN, Texas — Trevor Etienne ran for three touchdowns, the first two set up by cornerback Daylen Everette’s takeaways, and fifth-ranked Georgia went on to beat Quinn Ewers and No. 1 Texas, 30-15, on Saturday night. Etienne’s last score was a 1-yard plunge on fourth down with 12:04 left. That...

LAS VEGAS — Kyle Larson has been lucky of late in Las Vegas, where he opens the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs on top of the Cup Series standings and the favorite to win Sunday’s race. Larson heads into the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as both the defending...