U.S./World Sports category, Page 24
NASCAR draws stars to Daytona 500 with Trump, Captain America expected at ‘Great American Race’Video
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It’s NASCAR’s turn to throw its version of the Super Bowl, and the Daytona 500 is trying hard to match the hype. “The Great American Race” has Captain America coming, maybe even President Donald Trump. “I think having a sitting president come and be a part...
Helio Castroneves to use ‘world-class driver’ provisional to race in Daytona 500 after qualifying crash
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will race in the Daytona 500 as a special 41st driver under a new rule that allows for a “world-class driver” to receive a provisional to make the field. The Brazilian did not want to use the provisional and hoped...
New top-tier men’s soccer league coming to the United StatesVideo
The United Soccer League intends to launch a new men’s professional league in 2027-28 that will play at the top level of soccer in the U.S., the same as Major League Soccer. The USL already has a pair of leagues, the second-tier USL Championship and the third-tier USL League One....
Jimmie Johnson seeks to make Legacy a winner after 2 lackluster years as ownerVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The vision of his true NASCAR future crystallized for Jimmie Johnson at last year’s season finale. He climbed into his Toyota at Phoenix for his ninth, nondescript race of the season when he spotted them on pit road, the corporate bigwigs on their way to a...
Another year, another All-Star for LeBron: How he ranks in All-Star history
SAN FRANCISCO — There was a conversation Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic during last year’s All-Star Game that went viral after microphones picked up the exchange. The question was about who James played with in his first All-Star appearance. “It was me,...
Chase Briscoe gives Toyota its 1st Daytona 500 pole
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chase Briscoe led a banner night for Toyota in qualifying for the Daytona 500 by winning the pole for NASCAR’s “Great American Race.” It is the first Daytona 500 pole for Briscoe, who moved to Joe Gibbs Racing this season when Stewart-Haas Racing closed at the...
Monty the giant schnauzer wins Westminster dog showVideo
NEW YORK — This time, the giant schnauzer went the full Monty. After coming close in the last two years, Monty the giant schnauzer won the top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday night, leaving handler and co-owner Katie Bernardin almost too emotional to speak. “He always...
NASCAR’s lone Black Cup driver, Bubba Wallace, ‘couldn’t care less’ if Trump attends Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla — Bubba Wallace said he “couldn’t care less” if Donald Trump attends the Daytona 500 on Sunday, nearly five years after the president accused the NASCAR Cup Series’ only Black full-time driver of perpetrating “a hoax ” when a crew member found a noose in the team...
NASCAR drivers divided on new rule that could guarantee Helio Castroneves spot in Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A controversial new NASCAR rule designed for “world-class drivers” could give Helio Castroneves an automatic berth into the Daytona 500, and, should the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner use the provisional, it would make for the largest field in a decade. It’s a complicated rule written into...
Hubie Brown broadcasts final NBA game at age 91
Hubie Brown received tributes from across the NBA community as the former coach and longtime broadcaster headed into retirement after spending more than half a century in pro basketball. The 91-year-old called his final game Sunday as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 135-127. He was awarded the game...
Arrests in luxury home burglaries targeting NFL, NBA players are the ‘tip of the iceberg’
For months, daring bands of thieves linked to South American gangs have been making off with piles of jewelry and cash from the homes of the biggest superstars in sports, targeting the likes of the NFL’s Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Sophisticated pillagers have deployed drones and signal jamming devices,...
NCAA changes transgender policy to limit women’s competition to athletes assigned female at birthVideo
The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes Thursday, limiting competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth only. The move came one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports. The order gives...
Jimmy Butler headed to the Golden State WarriorsVideo
Jimmy Butler has gotten his wish. He’s being traded out of Miami. The Heat and the Golden State Warriors have agreed on a deal that sends Butler to the Bay Area, a person with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. The trade ends a Miami era for Butler that will...
NASCAR’s preseason Clash was once a Daytona 500 preview. Chase Elliott hopes that’s still the caseVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One win — particularly in an exhibition race — does not guarantee anything. But if this was NASCAR of only five years ago, then Chase Elliott’s dominating victory in the preseason Clash would make him the favorite to win the Daytona 500. That’s what the Clash was...
Chase Elliott wins Clash at Bowman Gray and sets sights on following it with Daytona 500 victory
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — NASCAR returned to its roots with a fight-free preseason exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium and a popular victory with Chase Elliott winning The Clash on Sunday night. Elliott won his heat Saturday night to start from the pole and essentially dominate on the quarter-mile track where NASCAR’s...
De’Aaron Fox to join Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio as part of 3-team trade, AP sources sayVideo
Victor Wembanyama has a new point guard: De’Aaron Fox is on his way out of Sacramento and headed to San Antonio. Fox is one of the centerpieces of a trade agreed to by three teams, one that sends Zach LaVine from Chicago to Sacramento, Zach Collins from San Antonio to...
Welcome to the Madhouse: NASCAR hits tiny Bowman Gray Stadium for rough-and-tumble racingVideo
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Ryan Blaney was a little kid the first time he raced at Bowman Gray Stadium — he figures he couldn’t have been older than 10 — and remembers it being the coolest thing he’d ever done in motorsports. He was in a Bandolero, an entry-level car designed...
Luka Doncic heads to the Lakers and Anthony Davis goes to the Mavs in blockbuster trade
Luka Doncic led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season. Anthony Davis won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. They now have switched teams in an absolute blockbuster. Doncic was traded by the reigning Western Conference champion Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis as part of a...
Think you can bellow like a stag? German hunters compete in national deer calling championship
DORTMUND, Germany — German hunters tried to convince the jury at a national stag calling championship that they can imitate a bellowing red deer most realistically. The unique tradition goes back hundreds of years and initially was aimed at feigning a stag’s rival during the rutting season so the deer...
Bowman Gray to host 1st NASCAR Cup Series race since 1971 with preseason ClashVideo
NASCAR is back, old-school style, as 2025 opens with a return to the “Mecca of Madhouse” for Sunday night’s preseason Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The Winston-Salem quarter-mile notorious for its rough-and-tumble racing style and numerous fights will host its first Cup Series event since 1971 with the non-points exhibition...
Owners of NBA’s Pistons and NFL’s Lions part of bid to bring WNBA team back to Detroit
DETROIT — Detroit wants to bring the WNBA back to the Motor City, backed by an investor group led by the owner of the NBA’s Pistons and NFL’s Lions. Pistons owner Tom Gores submitted the bid Thursday, and it was announced Friday. The group includes Sheila Ford Hamp and her...
Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry come up aces, Scheffler back with a 67 and Henley takes Pebble Beach lead
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry decorated stunning views Thursday with a hole-in-one for each on different courses. Russell Henley birdied his last two holes for an 8-under 64 and the lead. And there was Scottie Scheffler, looking very much like he was never away. Scheffler, out...
Dick Button, Olympic great and voice of skating, dies at 95
NEW YORK — Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history. He was one of his sport’s great innovators and promoters, the man responsible not only for inventing the flying camel spin but describing it to generations of fans. He was an athlete and actor,...
Victor Wembanyama is an All-Star, 1 of 6 1st-time selectionsVideo
NBA coaches are, obviously, convinced: Victor Wembanyama is one of the league’s best players. The San Antonio star and 2023-24 rookie of the year is an All-Star for the first time, one of the 14 players announced Thursday night as members of the reserve pool for the Feb. 16 event...
NASCAR champ Joey Logano tunes out critics, insists playoff format is ‘very entertaining’
Joey Logano has found a way to tune out months of negativity. Critics? Naysayers? Anyone who thinks his third Cup Series championship was a fluke? “I can’t hear it because my trophies, they kind of, like, echo around me,” Logano quipped during a Zoom call with media Wednesday. Logano won...
