U.S./World Sports category
Roger Penske sells a 3rd of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar to Fox
Penske Entertainment, the Roger Penske-owned entity that holds Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar among its assets, said Thursday it has sold one-third interest in the company to FOX. The sale was described as a strategic investment and partnership designed to launch new growth for IndyCar and it includes a multi-year...
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, 5 others charged with running illegal poker games at his LA mansion
LOS ANGELES — Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday along with five other people, including a suspected member of an Israeli organized crime group, on suspicion of hosting illegal high-stakes poker games at a Los Angeles mansion owned by Arenas, federal prosecutors said. All six defendants are charged...
ESPN cuts ties Shannon Sharpe after settlement of sexual assault lawsuit, AP source says
Hall of Fame tight end-turned-broadcaster Shannon Sharpe will not return to ESPN, a person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press on Wednesday. The decision comes less than two weeks after Sharpe resolved a lawsuit that accused him of sexually assaulting a woman during their relationship. The person...
Former WWE boss Vince McMahon is cited for reckless driving in Connecticut crash
WESTPORT, Conn. — Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon is accused of causing a crash on a Connecticut highway that wrecked his Bentley and damaged two other cars, a few hours before Hulk Hogan’s death hit the news and he was quoted praising the wrestling icon. McMahon was cited for reckless...
Bubba Wallace overcame questions and doubts to end 3-year drought with 1st Brickyard 400 win
INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace spent three long years questioning everything about his racing world. During a 100-race winless streak, he saw teammate Tyler Reddick win five times and post three top 10 finishes in NASCAR’s final standings. Wallace also watched team co-owner Denny Hamlin make regular trips to victory lane...
Tadej Pogačar shows unrivaled audacity to win his fourth Tour de France title in style
PARIS — The roads were dangerously slippery after heavy rain. A fourth Tour de France title was all but won anyway, so finishing safely in the pack would do fine for Tadej Pogačar. Especially considering Sunday’s final stage already had been neutralized for safety reasons and he just had to...
Bubba Wallace becomes first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis’ oval
INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace became the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, surviving a late rain delay, two overtimes, concerns over running out of fuel and a hard-charging Kyle Larson on Sunday in the Brickyard 400. The third NASCAR Cup victory of...
$1 million In-Season Challenge prize sets up the Brickyard 400 for split-screen racing
INDIANAPOLIS — Brickyard 400 viewers will be tuning into pure split-screen racing Sunday. On one side, they will monitor whether Kyle Larson can defend his Brickyard 400 title, or if Denny Hamlin can charge from the back of the field to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep...
Pogačar closes in on 4th Tour de France title, Groves wins penultimate stage
PONTARLIER, France — Tadej Pogačar closed in on a fourth Tour de France title after safely finishing Saturday’s penultimate stage and maintaining his big lead over arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard. Australian rider Kaden Groves won Stage 20 with a late solo breakaway, while Pogačar rolled over the line about 7 minutes...
Hulk Hogan descended upon American culture at exactly the time it was ready for him
The opening chords of Rick Derringer’s hard-rock guitar would play over the arena sound system. Instantly, 20,000 Hulkamaniacs — and many more as wrestling’s popularity and stadium size exploded — rose to their feet in a frenzy to catch a glimpse of Hulk Hogan storming toward the ring. His T-shirt...
Defending champ Kyle Larson returns to Brickyard seeking turnaround
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson raced to his third NASCAR Cup victory of the season at Kansas in mid-May then turned his attention to his second and perhaps final attempt at racing’s double — completing all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Instead, he...
Denny Hamlin adds contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing to celebratory week after win at Dover
INDIANAPOLIS — NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin signed a multiyear contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team said Friday. Details of the contract were not announced, though Hamlin noted he didn’t want anything longer than two years.. The deal comes during the same week in which the driver of the...
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie card fetches $660,000 at auction in record-breaking sale
Caitlin Clark has set yet another record, this time with her 2024 WNBA rookie card selling for the most money yet for a female athlete at a public auction. Clark’s Rookie Royalty WNBA Flawless Logowoman 1/1 card sold Thursday night for $660,000. That sale price tops the previous mark of...
Little Leaguer plays after judge lifts suspension for bat flip
WOODBURY, N.J. — Marco Rocco fidgeted with his helmet and dug in at the plate to chants of “Marco! Marco!” from his Little League teammates as he settled in for a night of baseball, after his family got mixed up in a court case where a judge — not an...
Caitlin Clark still has no timetable for return following further medical evaluation this week
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark still has no time table to return, the team said Thursday after further medical tests this week. No further injuries were discovered during this week’s evaluations. Clark has missed three games — including last weekend’s WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis — since injuring...
Judge acquits former junior hockey players in sexual assault case that rattled nation
LONDON, Ontario — An Ontario judge acquitted five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team Thursday in their sexual assault case, saying the complainant’s allegations lacked the credibility needed to justify the charges. Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia said prosecutors could not meet the onus of proof for the...
Mark Madden: Hulk Hogan always stole the show, made wrestling a true phenomenon
Hulk Hogan was the biggest star in wrestling history. His match vs. Andre the Giant in 1987 at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome remains the genre’s biggest moment. It made wrestling a true phenomenon. His heel turn to ignite the nWo invasion of World Championship Wrestling in 1996 was...
Mark Madden: Caitlin Clark is WNBA’s catalyst, only player to impact new media rights contract
Caitlin Clark is the only reason for the WNBA’s increase in popularity. Clark gets fouled, injured, disrespected and excluded despite being the rising tide that lifts all boats. (Clark’s eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike makes the hurt easier to live with. Clark works for Nike, not the WNBA. The...
A look at which sports groups have enacted transgender bans
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has become the latest governing body in the sports world to enact a policy change around transgender athlete competition. Here’s a glance at the most prolific of those that have clarified or altered such rules this year: U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Effectively barring...
Venus Williams, 45, gets wild-card entry for Cincinnati Open after win in Washington
MASON, Ohio — Venus Williams’ return to professional tennis will not just be a one-tournament visit: She was awarded a wild-card entry Wednesday for next month’s Cincinnati Open. The 45-year-old Williams is participating in her first event in more than a year this week at the DC Open and won...
NASCAR will hold 1st street race on active military base at Naval Base Coronado in 2026
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR will hold a street race on Naval Base Coronado in Southern California next June as a replacement for its downtown Chicago event that ran the last three years. The move to the San Diego area does not eliminate a return to Chicago, where NASCAR will still...
U.S. Olympic, Paralympic officials bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an “obligation to comply” with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The change, announced Monday with a...
Chris Paul returns to Clippers for what’s expected to be his 21st and final NBA season
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul is rejoining the Los Angeles Clippers for what’s expected to be the point guard’s 21st and final NBA season. The team confirmed Monday afternoon that Paul had signed. He led the Clippers to the playoffs in each of his six seasons in Los Angeles. “Chris...
Denny Hamlin continues to climb NASCAR’s career wins list, approaching 60
DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin has stood his ground that wins — enough of them to soon earn his place inside NASCAR’s career top-10 list — matter more to his legacy than a championship. Easy to say, of course, with 58 race victories to zero titles. The 44-year-old Hamlin, still...
Denny Hamlin survives rain delay, overtime finish to win at Dover
DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin went back-to-back at Dover Motor Speedway, holding a late lead through a rain delay and an overtime finish Sunday for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s series-best fourth victory of the season. Hamlin won in the No. 11 Toyota for the second straight time at Dover...
