U.S./World Sports category, Page 13

Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett never chased the spotlight. That included with his stunning and abrupt decision to retire effective immediately, announced on the eve of the start of the season. The program said Thursday the 55-year-old Bennett will announce his retirement at a news conference on Friday at...

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s been 25 years since the New York Liberty had a chance to close out a WNBA championship. Just like in 1999, a last-second shot gave them the opportunity to play for a title. This time around, the Liberty are hoping for a different outcome. Twenty-five years after...

Former IBF lightweight world champion Paul Spadafora is hospitalized in Las Vegas after being attacked by his dog, his wife confirmed to TribLive. Nadine (Russo) Spadafora said the McKees Rocks-based boxer severed an artery in his left arm when his pit bull bit him Sunday night, which required a two-hour...

South Carolina is starting the season where it finished last year — ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 women’s college basketball poll. The Gamecocks received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in the preseason rankings from a national media panel Tuesday. South Carolina returns four starters from the...

Baron “B.B.” Flenory’s namesake is following his father’s legacy. But in a different sort of way. B.B. Flenory, the former Duquesne University basketball star whose life experiences continue to amaze, is himself amazed at the path his son, Baron “B.J.” Flenory, a former University of New Hampshire football star, has...

Oregon and Penn State each moved up a spot in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday following thrilling wins in high-profile games, and Top 25 newcomers Navy and Army are in the rankings together for the first time since 1960. Texas strengthened its hold on No. 1 with...

CONCORD, N.C. — It’s elimination time in NASCAR’s playoffs at the reconfigured Charlotte Motor Speedway, where changes to the hybrid road course/oval called The Roval have created an uneasiness for the drivers racing for a championship. The field of 12 will be cut by four drivers after Sunday’s race, and...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two teams suing NASCAR asked a judge for a preliminary injunction Wednesday so they can compete next season under the charter system they are challenging as their antitrust case moves through federal court. 23XI Racing, which is owned by Michael Jordan, veteran driver Denny Hamlin and...

The Tampa Bay Rays said it may take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, which saw its roof ripped to shreds by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm barreled across much of Florida. The team said no one was injured when...

MADRID — Rafael Nadal announced Thursday he will retire from tennis at age 38 following next month’s Davis Cup finals. Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles during an unprecedented era he shared with his rivals in the so-called Big Three, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. “Really, everything I have...

The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have left Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton to practice the rest of the week in the Raleigh area for their season opener at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. Milton, currently a Category 4 hurricane, is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area...

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. snapped a 65-race losing streak by winning in overtime at Talladega Superspeedway after a late crash collected more than half the field, including eight of the 12 championship contenders. Stenhouse is not in the playoffs, and his victory Sunday marked the second consecutive week...

TALLADEGA, Ala. — It’s most fitting that NASCAR this weekend races at Talladega Superspeedway, sight of one of the first major disputes between drivers and the top stock car series in the United States. It was at the Alabama track’s 1969 debut race when the NASCAR-despised Professional Driver Association led...

INDIANAPOLIS — Hollywood star Keanu Reeves made his professional auto racing debut on Saturday in an event in which “The Matrix” star spun out at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reeves spun into the grass without a collision on the exit of Turn 9 a little more than halfway through the...

Former Jeannette standout Terrelle Pryor is suing the NCAA, Big Ten, Ohio State and Learfield Communications seeking restitution for the use of his name, image and likeness, according to multiple media reports citing a legal filing. Pryor, who also is suing on behalf of others similarly affected, asserts that the...

NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark has been named WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, the league announced Thursday. A national panel of sportswriters and sportscasters gave the Indiana Fever guard 66 of 67 votes. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese received the other. Clark, the No. 1 overall...

Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday from brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58. His family revealed two years ago that he was undergoing treatment in Atlanta...