U.S./World Sports category, Page 19
Donovan Mitchell uses Jazz’s playoff disappointment from 2021 to fuel Cavaliers’ runVideo
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Donovan Mitchell hasn’t allowed himself to enjoy leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the top seed in the Eastern Conference. As the Cavaliers continued to surpass expectations and wrapped up the regular season with the NBA’s second-best record, the painful memories of what happened the last time he...
The 151st Kentucky Derby could be a mudder’s delight with rain in the forecastVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Derby is tough to win, with a huge field of stampeding horses and 150,000 screaming fans in the stands. Toss in a rainy forecast that could turn the Churchill Downs dirt strip into something resembling peanut butter, and it gets trickier. A field of 19...
Gregg Popovich, the NBA’s all-time wins leader, retires after 29 seasons as coach in San Antonio
Gregg Popovich stepped down as coach of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, ending a three-decade run that saw him lead the team to five NBA championships, become the league’s all-time wins leader and earn induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. “While my love and passion for the game...
Brunson scores 40, Knicks top Pistons 116-113 in Game 6, advance to 2nd-round series with CelticsVideo
DETROIT — Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, Mikal Bridges had 25 points and OG Anunoby added 22 to lead the New York Knicks to a 116-113 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night and into the second round of the NBA playoffs. The third-seeded Knicks will face second-seeded Boston,...
LeBron: ‘I don’t have the answer’ to questions about his future after Lakers’ exit from NBA playoffsVideo
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James wasn’t ready to make any decisions about his future in the painful moments immediately after his 22nd NBA season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round playoff exit. “I don’t have the answer to that,” James said Wednesday night when asked how long he will...
Ian Wilkes has helped train 2 Kentucky Derby winners, seeks first on his own with Burnham SquareVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ian Wilkes viewed the reporters outside his barn as a sign he must be doing something right. The veteran trainer is thoroughly embracing the attention that Burnham Square has brought him as a Kentucky Derby starter. Even better, he is the points leader heading into Saturday’s 151st...
‘Happy to be back’: Bob Baffert’s Kentucky Derby return includes 2 horses in the race
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The backstretch at Churchill Downs is a magical place during Kentucky Derby week. Big-name trainers talking to well-heeled owners, media haplessly standing around hoping to grab a quote or a quick stand-up interview. Yet the most important part of this annual carnival of horsedom is that one...
Once a teen phenom, NASCAR champ Kyle Busch turns 40
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyle Busch was hyped for NASCAR greatness long before he was a teenager by his Hall of Fame nominee brother, who vowed “if you think I’m good, wait until you see my little brother.” Busch’s debut in a NASCAR national series race was delayed, though, when he...
Giannis Antetokounmpo faced with big question: Stay or go?
Giannis Antetokounmpo had to have known the question was coming. “Do you think that you can still win that second championship here in Milwaukee after a third straight first-round exit?” The question came after the Bucks’ season ended Tuesday night in Indianapolis. Antetokounmpo is surely asking himself the same question...
WNBA’s 2026 free agency bonanza: ‘Everything can change’
NEW YORK — WNBA training camps just opened, and there already are so many eyes on the 2026 season when more than 100 players will be free agents. Nearly all of the league’s top players could be on the move, including 20 of last season’s All-Stars. “It’s a fact that...
What makes a Kentucky Derby champ? Big hearts, immense lungs and powerful legs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On a crisp, clear morning, a chestnut thoroughbred thundered down the dirt strip at Churchill Downs, his exercise rider leaning forward above the saddle. Other horse-and-rider pairs followed. Dr. Will Farmer looked down from a viewing point, admiring the speed and agility of the 1,000-pound animals. The...
Stephon Castle gives Spurs back-to-back rookies of the yearVideo
Stephon Castle made no secret about it: He wanted to be rookie of the year. And he got it done — by a wide margin. The San Antonio Spurs now have back-to-back winners of the award, with Victor Wembanyama last year and Castle this season. Castle was the fifth rookie...
Stronger Caitlin Clark gears up for 2nd WNBA season with IndianaVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark slapped the court with both hands and started gesturing in her side’s direction after forcing a 5-second call near the end of Tuesday’s practice. It was only Day 2 of training camp, yet this is what Clark has yearned for these past seven...
Team Penske turmoil at Talladega brings out defense of Cindric from ex Braves slugger Chipper JonesVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — If there’s beef between teammates Austin Cindric and Joey Logano — and none other than Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Chipper Jones is convinced there is — then Team Penske has some work to do to smooth things over. At the end of the second stage...
Austin Cindric gives Team Penske 1st win of NASCAR season
Austin Cindric gave Team Penske its first NASCAR victory of the season by holding off a huge pack of challengers over the closing lap in a rare drama-free day at Talladega Superspeedway. Well, there was a tiny bit of drama: Penske teammate Joey Logano was livid following the end of...
Party time at Anfield as Liverpool wins Premier League for record-equaling 20th top-flight titleVideo
LIVERPOOL, England — A selfie with Mohamed Salah. An impromptu sing-along with Arne Slot. And fireworks and flares. It was party time at Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool sealed the Premier League title in style. The 5-1 rout of Tottenham was almost a side issue as a record-equaling 20th English...
Streaking Journalism is 3-1 morning line favorite for 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill DownsVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Red-hot Journalism is the 3-1 morning line favorite for the 151st Kentucky Derby with a favorable No. 8 post position that has tied for the second-most victories in the horse racing’s marquee event. Sovereignty is the 5-1 second choice of 20 horses and will start from the...
Full-strength Wolves take series lead into Game 4 vs. Lakers, as health looms large in NBA playoffsVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have the assets to repeat or even surpass their run last year to the Western Conference finals, with a go-to player who is one of the biggest stars, a couple of shutdown defenders and a productive and versatile bench, to name a few. They are...
NASCAR returns from only break of season with drivers hoping to stop Bell, Hamlin and LarsonVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — NASCAR is back in action after its only weekend off of the 38-race schedule with a Sunday showdown at Talladega Superspeedway, where the drivers will try to halt the early domination shown by Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. The trio arrived at the Alabama track...
WNBA training camps set to open this weekend with Caitlin Clark preparing for Year 2Video
A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier will be back on the court Sunday to renew their chase of a coveted WNBA championship when training camps open and last year’s rookie sensation Caitlin Clark begins Year 2 in the league. Stewart and the New York Liberty will be chasing a...
Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby with 2 contenders after serving a 3-year suspensionVideo
Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby for the first time in four years, having served his punishment for Medina Spirit’s failed drug test and coming to the place where he has won a record-tying six times. He has settled in at his old Barn 33, the signs boasting...
Warriors’ Draymond Green wins NBA Hustle Award for 2024-25 season
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors is this season’s winner of the NBA Hustle Award, the league announced Friday. The award has been presented since 2017. Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace was second, Philadelphia’s Guerschon Yabusele was third, Oklahoma City’s Lugentz Dort was fourth and Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels was fifth....
Kyle Larson’s 2nd try at racing’s ‘double’ starts tough at Indy 500 testing
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson survived his first Indianapolis 500 unscathed. His luck ran out Thursday. The 2021 NASCAR champion and defending Brickyard 400 winner spun coming out of the first turn on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, hit the wall, bounced down the track to the warmup lane, then went...
Chippiness heating up in the NBA playoffs. Familiarity breeds contempt in Bucks-Pacers seriesVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The usually good-natured Indiana Pacers star, Tyrese Haliburton, has shown he refuses to back down from his Milwaukee Bucks rival and fellow All-Star, Damian Lillard. It’s been part of the chippiness and chirping that is beginning to heat up as it usually does during the NBA playoffs. Haliburton...
Celtics’ Payton Pritchard wins the NBA sixth man of the year awardVideo
Payton Pritchard came off the bench and changed games for the Boston Celtics this season. He was the only player in the NBA with more than 1,000 points in games that he didn’t start. He set the league record for 3-pointers made by a backup. And the voters took notice...
