U.S./World Sports category, Page 280

The U.S. Open lost a big part of its identity. And it has nothing to do with par. For years, the USGA has boasted — and rightly so — it was the most democratic of all majors. Half of the 156-man field had to go through some form of qualifying...

The Belmont Stakes will be run June 20 in New York without fans and serve as the opening leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown for the first time in the sport’s history. The New York Racing Association on Tuesday unveiled the rescheduled date for the Belmont, which also will be...

DARLINGTON, S.C. — The odds were against NASCAR flawlessly executing its reopening plan, which was a potential standard-setting moment for other professional leagues to follow in this new normal of sports. No plan is ever perfect and all the assistance from outside health officials couldn’t protect NASCAR from the obvious...

LeBron James reiterated Monday he is hopeful the NBA season can resume, with the caveat that the health and well-being of players won’t be jeopardized by a return to play. The Los Angeles Lakers star, speaking on the Uninterrupted platform’s “WRTS: After Party” show that was released Monday, said it...

DARLINGTON, S.C. — This was a 400-mile drive unlike any other in modern-day NASCAR. The grandstands were empty. There wasn’t a tailgate inside the track. Everyone wore face coverings — some with the team logos, others opting for plain disposable medical masks. It was nothing close to the corporate sponsorship,...

SAN DIEGO — The California State University system’s plan for a mostly virtual fall semester because of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t necessarily close the door on football at its three schools that play in the far-flung Mountain West Conference. San Diego State is looking at having football players return to...

BERLIN — A strong police and media presence outside the stadium provided the only clues Union Berlin was about to play Bayern Munich in its biggest — and quietest — Bundesliga game of the season Sunday. Only a few diehard soccer fans showed up outside Union’s stadium and quickly were...

Randy Galloway figures suggesting the Dallas Mavericks should not draft Michael Jordan was not his biggest screw-up. “Out of many, but it’s one of the two of my bigger screw-ups,” Galloway said. “The first is when I wrote (Dallas Cowboys coach) Jimmy Johnson didn’t get enough in the Herschel Walker...

In 2018, with his school facing the possibility of cutting staff to make up a huge shortfall in state funding, Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier added a football game at Florida State to the Huskies’ schedule. The road trip came with a $1.6 million payout to NIU. “Florida State,...

The 145th Preakness Stakes was rescheduled for Oct. 3, an announcement delivered Saturday less than hour before the original post time for the Triple Crown race. Traditionally held at Pimlico Race Course on the third Saturday in May, the Preakness was postponed April 3 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The...

NEW YORK — WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is focusing on about a half dozen scenarios for the league to begin play this summer Engelbert did not go into detail about each scenario but told the Associated Press on Friday the league is looking at playing at one site — and...

Instead of the Preakness running Saturday in Baltimore with perhaps another heralded Kentucky Derby winner looking to capture the second jewel of the Triple Crown, horse racing is in the midst of transition. And lower and middle class owners are in the cross hairs. Owner Maggi Moss was concerned about...

Basketball and hockey arenas shuttered along with ballparks. Tennis and golf tournaments wiped out or postponed. Motor sport circuits silenced. The spread of the coronavirus paused every major sport and left a hole in the lives of billions during two months of weekends without any live elite competition to watch...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Crew chief Chad Knaus won’t get a look at the car Hendrick Motorsports built for Darlington Raceway until he gets to the track Sunday morning, a few hours before the race. Kurt Busch? He already sat in his Chip Ganassi Racing car and met with his crew...

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Harold Brasington III recalls riding around the infield at Darlington Raceway as a youngster with his late grandfather, track builder Harold Brasington, watching as his granddad said hello to the likes of Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt. The younger Brasington, 52, will see...

Bowling Green dropped baseball as part of a move to ease financial stress because of the covid-19 pandemic. The school said it’s reducing its athletic budget by $2 million. “This is a very difficult but necessary, decision,” athletic director Bob Moosbrugger said. “As a baseball alumnus, my heart breaks for...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ryan Newman says he has no memories of his harrowing accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500. He doesn’t remember being in the hospital, who came to visit or anything else about his two-night stay for treatment of a head injury. The first thing Newman...

The PGA Tour Champions, which already has canceled eight tournaments because of the covid-19 pandemic, decided to combine 2020 and 2021 into one season. Tour president Miller Brady says combining two seasons into one is the best solution. The 50-and-older circuit, on which Greensburg’s Rocco Mediate plays, is scheduled to...

DETROIT — A judge dismissed criminal charges Wednesday against former Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon, who was accused of lying to investigators in 2018 as they tried to learn what she knew years earlier about sexual assault complaints involving Larry Nassar. Simon last year was ordered to trial in...

STAMFORD, Conn. — Lawyers for XFL owner Vince McMahon argued in court filings Wednesday that the wrestling magnet was justified in firing league CEO Oliver Luck last month just before the football operation shut down. Luck filed a federal lawsuit last month over his April 9 termination, alleging McMahon breached...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is willing to be a restart site for professional sports leagues, just like Arizona, when play resumes after shutdowns caused by the new coronavirus. “One thing I am going to do, probably this week, is all professional sports are welcome here for practicing and for playing,”...

Not to be outdone by the fighter he bested twice during the duo’s heyday, Evander Holyfield responded to Mike Tyson’s training video by posting one of his own. Holyfield, 57, a former undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, announced last week that he’d make a comeback to the ring with a...