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WACO — While competing in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Victory Bowl is an honor, it can also be a challenge.
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WACO — The win did not come easy, and Connor Beeman did not want it to.
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BELTON — It took eight installments of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Super Centex Victory Bowl baseball game. But, now, let t…
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BELTON — The Heart of Texas Fellowship of Christian Athletes Victory Bowl is about much more than playing a few ballgames. It’s abou…
FAIRFIELD – For the second consecutive season, Salado head coach Diane Konarik was able to bid farewell to one of her players with a…
FAIRFIELD – Jeremy Hampton was not on the roster, but he was definitely in the game.
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Danny Servance’s secondary is first priority.
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BELTON — A pair of former Belton standouts received one of the school’s highest honors Saturday morning by being inducted into the B…
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Lake Belton dominated the district, and the Broncos were given proper respect for doing so.
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I have written numerous times in this column and elsewhere that June is my least favorite month in which to fish.
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Fifty two-angler teams set out on Stillhouse Hollow Lake for Tuesday's 3X9 Series bass tournament with the goal of catching the heav…
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Beginning at 7 a.m. on May 20, more than 30 men, women and teens, most from the Centex Bass Hunters Club, the Texas Anglers Bass Clu…
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On Tuesday, 55 two-angler teams competed in the three-hour-long 3X9 Series bass tournament held on Stillhouse Hollow Lake each week …
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There is an age-old saying concerning wind direction and fishing, and it goes like this ...
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There is an old adage which says, “…winds from the north, the fisherman goes not forth,” implying that cold fronts tend to suppress …
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On Wednesday morning, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department personnel from the Waco Region arrived at Dana Peak Park at the midpoint o…
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Rain and the threat of even more rain kept some regular 3X9 Series bass tournament participants at home this week, but the 48 two-an…
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The text I received at 12:27 p.m. on Wednesday morning was short and sweet, and oh so welcome.
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On Tuesday evening, the father-and-son team of Keith and Grayson Honeycutt hit the trifecta. They took first place in this weekly ba…
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On April 22, eight of Texas Boat World’s employees took a break from their normal Saturday work routine of diagnosing mechanical iss…
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The 51 two-angler teams participating in Tuesday’s 3X9 Series bass tournament launched out of the Stillhouse Park boat ramp beginnin…
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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Jared Goff is unbothered. Go ahead, ask him how he feels about heightened expectations, or how he feels about a …
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Not satisfied with what the 49ers got from Deebo Samuel last season?
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New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas is participating in voluntary practices for the first time this offseason. He's been recovering from a foot injury that sidelined him for all but the first three games of last season. That came after an ankle injury kept him out for most of 2020 and 2021. Thomas is not practicing fully but is running some routes and catching passes from Saints quarterbacks. Thomas predicts he will be full speed by training camp. His return marks his first on-field work with Derek Carr after Thomas worked to persuade the former Raiders QB to sign with New Orleans as a free agent.
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Two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard practiced Tuesday and didn’t look as if he missed a beat with the Tennessee Titans despite staying away after being asked to take a pay cut earlier this offseason. What he thinks about that request will wait for another day because the longest-tenured defender with the Titans didn’t speak to reporters on the opening day of their mandatory minicamp. Derrick Henry was drafted 19 picks ahead of Byard and is going into the final year of his contract. He also turned 30 in January. Henry joined the Titans’ offseason program earlier than usual. Henry says he wanted to make sure and learn new offensive coordinator Tim Kelly’s offense.
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Deebo Samuel didn’t mince words when it came to evaluating his 2022 season for the San Francisco 49ers, calling his performance “awful.” Samuel said he came into training camp out of shape following an offseason of distractions because of a contract dispute and trade demand. He never came close to producing at the level that made him one of the league’s most dynamic offensive players in an All-Pro season in 2021. Samuel and coach Kyle Shanahan hashed it out this offseason and Samuel assured that won’t happen again.
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Two Cleveland Browns defensive players were robbed at gunpoint by six masked men outside a downtown nightclub, according to police. Police redacted the names of the players in a field case report. A person familiar with the situation identified the players as cornerback Greg Newsome II and tackle Perrion Winfrey. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. According to police, one of the players was returning to his truck in a parking lot at 3:30 a.m. when the masked suspects jumped out of a car and robbed him of jewelry before fleeing in his vehicle. The player said he was not injured during the theft.
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With a helmet on, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin took part in team drills in a practice open to reporters for the first time in six months since having a near-death experience during a game. Hamlin appeared upbeat by waving to the cameras pointed at him during pre-practice stretching drills. Soon after, he served as a punt protector in several special team periods before taking the field with the defense. General manager Brandon Beane said Hamlin practiced fully for the first time in a session closed to reporters last week. Hamlin was cleared to resume playing in mid-April, and had previously been limited to taking part in individual drills and the stretching portions of practice.
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Aaron Rodgers participated in practice for the first time in front of reporters after a strained calf kept the New York Jets quarterback out of the sessions the past two weeks when reporters were in attendance. The 39-year-old Rodgers was acquired by New York from Green Bay in April. He tweaked his right calf during warmups on May 23 when reporters were first able to watch practice. Rodgers was mostly a spectator last Tuesday when reporters returned but got back on the field last Friday. Rodgers is participating in everything except 11-on-11 team drills and coach Robert Saleh said he has had some “wow” moments.
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I'll admit it: Every time I see the words "Antonio Brown" in a headline, it is must-read, no matter what it is. It is almost always …
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Giants second-year right tackle Evan Neal, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, purposefully spent time this offseason maki…
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The Buffalo Bills have reached an agreement to sign linebacker Leonard Floyd to a one-year contract in reuniting the player with fellow edge rusher, Von Miller, a person with direct knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed. The NFL Network first reported the agreement. The 30-year-old Floyd is entering his eighth NFL season after spending the past three with the Los Angeles Rams, where he won a Super Bowl two years ago while playing on the opposite side of the line as Miller.
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The Indianapolis Colts say they are aware the NFL has opened a gambling investigation into one of the team's players. A team spokesman also says the team will have no additional comment. The player has not been publicly identified. The confirmation comes after reports first leaked Monday and less than two months after the NFL suspended five players — including four from the Detroit Lions — for gambling policy violations. The Colts are holding workouts this week at the team facility.
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A’Ja Wilson scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces remained undefeated, holding off Connecticut 90-84 in a rematch of the teams in last year’s WNBA Finals. Jackie Young added 22 points for Vegas, which led by as many as 19 points before a furious fourth quarter comeback by Connecticut cut that lead to three. Kelsey Plum had 17 points and Chelsea Gray added 14 points. Rebecca Allen scored 22 points for the Sun, hitting five of her six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Thomas had her seventh double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for the Eastern Conference leaders. Brionna Jones added 15 points.
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Now, it’s the Miami Dolphins’ turn.
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The Chicago Sky are adding new investors and a splash of capital as the team seeks to expand its facilities, staff and player resour…
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Adrian Griffin understands the responsibility that comes with taking over a title contender as a first-time head coach. The Bucks went against the grain by selecting Griffin rather than seeking someone with head coaching experience. Griffin has spent 15 seasons as an NBA assistant, including the last five years with Toronto. Griffin replaces Mike Budenholzer, who led the Bucks to the NBA title two years ago. Milwaukee fired Budenholzer after a first-round playoff loss to Miami.
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Miami Heat guard and third-leading scorer Tyler Herro has not yet been cleared to return to play after breaking his hand in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Miami coach Eric Spoelstra said Herro did a full-contact workout Tuesday and will meet again with the team’s training staff, but he still hasn’t been cleared to play. Herro was diving for a loose ball late in the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks when the injury to his right hand occurred. The best-of-seven NBA Finals series against the Denver Nuggets is tied 1-1.
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In the end, it’s coaching that matters most.
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Frank Vogel led the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA title in his first season by finding a way to mesh the skills of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The veteran coach is now in a similar situation in the desert, where he takes over a Phoenix Suns team led by stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. The blueprint is there. Vogel just needs to make the pieces fit. Booker and Durant will be back, giving the Suns one of the best scoring duos in the NBA. Veteran point guard Chris Paul had a productive regular season, but his body gave out in the playoffs for the second straight year.
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Atlanta Dream guard Aari McDonald is expected to miss three to four weeks as she recovers from a torn labrum. McDonald, who has started each of Atlanta’s first five games and leads the team with 3.8 assists per game, suffered the injury in Friday’s 92-87 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. The team announced the injury on Tuesday. McDonald is averaging 6.0 points per game. McDonald, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA draft from Arizona, is in her third season. Rookie Haley Jones could take on a bigger role to help the Dream adjust to losing McDonald.
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Four games, four nights, two titles at stake. South Florida is getting ready for an epic run of finals games. Wednesday’s NBA Finals game in Miami between the Heat and Denver Nuggets starts a stretch of four consecutive days of either NBA or NHL title matchup contests in South Florida. The Florida Panthers are home for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, followed by Game 4 of Heat-Nuggets on Friday and Game 4 of Panthers-Golden Knights on Saturday.
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Erik Spoelstra has preached about the value of adversity for months, not shying away from saying that it helped the Miami Heat get to these NBA Finals. And now Denver is dealing with a little taste of it as well. Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday night in Miami, the series between the eighth-seeded Heat and top-seeded Nuggets knotted at a game apiece. It got that way after Miami rallied to win Game 2 in Denver 111-108 on Sunday night, an outcome that prompted Nuggets coach Michael Malone to openly share frustrations primarily over a lack of discipline on a lot of possessions.
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Ron Sanchez has resigned as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team. Sanchez took over the 49ers on March 19, 2018, inheriting a team coming off a 6-23 campaign. In five years the 49ers went 72-78 under Sanchez, highlighted by 22 wins this past season and a College Basketball Invitational championship. It was the Niners’ first-ever post-season tournament title. The 22 wins are the most for Charlotte since 2001. Charlotte director of athletics Mike Hill said a national search for Sanchez's replacement has begun.
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The Los Angeles Sparks have re-signed guard Karlie Samuelson to a contract for the remainder of the season. She is averaging 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while starting once in five games this season. Her 59% shooting from 3-point range ranks second in the WNBA. Samuelson was signed by the team to a hardship contract on May 18. She played with Phoenix last season on a hardship deal. The 28-year-old guard has also played for Seattle and Dallas during her career.
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Zach Eflin pitched into the seventh inning and earned his eighth win, Luke Raley tripled and homered, and the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins 7-0. Eflin scattered three hits and struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings. Only teammate Shane McClanahan has more wins in the majors with nine. Raley got his first career three-base hit, coming in his 102nd big league game, and scored in a three-run fourth inning. In the fifth inning, he connected on a two-run shot off Louie Varland that made it 5-0. Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, who reaggravated the plantar fasciitis in his left foot on Thursday, returned to the lineup with a double and three strike outs.
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Kevin Gausman matched his career high by striking out 13 over seven innings, George Springer, Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho all homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 5-1. Gausman gave up a leadoff homer to Mauricio Dubón on his second pitch but recovered to hold the Astros in check and win his third straight start. The AL strikeout leader with 113, Gausman has struck out 10 or more a major league-leading six times this season. He also fanned 13 in an April 29 win over Seattle.
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Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff homer, Taijuan Walker threw seven scoreless innings and the Philadelphia Phillies won their fourth straight, 1-0 over the Detroit Tigers. Walker allowed two hits, Seranthony Dominguez worked the eighth and Craig Kimbrel completed the three-hitter, striking out the side in order for his ninth save in as many chances. The defending NL champion Phillies pulled within three games of .500. Miguel Cabrera had the Tigers’ only extra-base hit, a one-out double in the fifth. Detroit has lost all five on a six-game trip that ends Wednesday night at Philadelphia.
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MIAMI — Jesus Luzardo faced one batter over the minimum over seven strong innings to lead the Miami Marlins to a 6-1 series-clinchin…
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Isiah Kiner-Falefa had an RBI double with two outs in the seventh inning off Chicago reliever Joe Kelly, ending a combined no-hit bid by the White Sox against the New York Yankees. Lucas Giolito pitched the first six innings for the White Sox. He struck out seven, walked three and threw 100 pitches before being removed without allowing a hit. Kelly entered to start the seventh and struck out his first two batters before Willie Calhoun walked. Kiner-Falefa sent a drive into deep left-center and it appeared left fielder Andrew Benintendi and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. both had an opportunity to make a difficult running catch. But both outfielders backed off at the last instant, making sure to avoid a collision, and the ball fell between them.
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Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien has extended his major league-leading hitting streak to 25 games. He hit a two-run double in the fourth inning against St. Louis on Tuesday night. The 25-game hitting streak is the longest in the majors this season and the longest in Semien’s career. It matched Ian Kinsler in 2008 and Michael Young in 2005 for the second-longest in Rangers history. The team record is 28 games, set in 2000 by Gabe Kapler, now the manager of the San Francisco Giants. Semien has also reached base in 33 consecutive games.
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Luis Arraez had two hits to raise his major league-leading batting average to .401 and help the Miami Marlins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Tuesday night. Second in the NL East, the Marlins have won five straight to improve to 34-28 — the first time they’ve been six games over .500 since August 2016. After Arraez flew out to left in his first two at-bats, he hit consecutive singles to finish 2 for 4 with an RBI. Jesús Sánchez homered and Bryan De La Cruz drove in three runs. Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo (5-4) threw seven innings of one-run ball. Miami broke open a scoreless game with a five-run outburst against Zack Greinke (1-6) in the fifth.
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Texas ace Jacob deGrom will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, cutting short his first season with the AL West-leading Rangers after the oft-injured pitcher signed a $185 million, five-year contract. General manager Chris Young says the decision came after the latest MRI on deGrom’s ailing right elbow. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner hasn’t pitched since April 28 against the New York Yankees, when he exited early because of injury concerns for the second time in a span of three starts. DeGrom spent his first nine seasons with the Mets. Injuries limited him to 156 1/3 innings over 26 starts during his last two years in New York.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Luke Raley and Jose Siri snapped the Rays’ home-run drought in dramatic fashion Tuesday night, and Zach Eflin…
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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw out the first pitch Tuesday before the Washington Nationals’ annual Night Out game celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. The California Democrat, who said she is a season-ticket holder for the San Francisco Giants, said she had never thrown out a first pitch before a game. Pelosi took pictures with fans on the warning track near the third-base dugout while wearing a No. 52 Nationals jersey with her last name on the back and a rainbow wristband. The 83-year-old then walked in front of the mound and tossed a pitch that Screech, the Nationals’ bald eagle mascot, caught in front of the plate.
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Minnesota Twins star Byron Buxton has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a bruised left rib. To replace him on the roster, outfielder Trevor Larnach was reinstated from the IL after being sidelined by pneumonia. The moves were announced before the start of a three-game series against Tampa Bay. Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, slowed recently by plantar fasciitis, was back in the lineup for the first time since Thursday. Minnesota infielder Royce Lewis, involved in a collision at first base during Sunday’s game with Cleveland, was out of the lineup. Buxton, an All-Star last year, is hitting .220 with 10 homers and 23 RBIs in 50 games this season. He was hurt last Thursday when he was hit by a pitch from Guardians rookie Tanner Bibee.
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Stanley C. Middleman is buying an ownership stake in the Philadelphia Phillies. John Middleton, the Phillies’ managing partner and CEO, announced the addition of Middleman as a limited partner on Tuesday. Middleman is a Philadelphia native and lifetime Phillies fan. He owns a mortgage company based in South Jersey. He describes his addition to the ownership group as “a dream come true.”
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Karim Benzema has officially bid farewell to Real Madrid. He says he wanted to end his career with the club but life gave him another opportunity. Saudi Arabia club Al-Ittihad later announced it had signed the 35-year-old player until 2026. Benzema played the last of his 648 games with Madrid on Sunday. Benzema spoke at a ceremony organized by Madrid at the clubhouse and attended by his teammates, former players and club president Florentino Pérez. Perez handed the French star a gold insignia and said, “Your legacy will last forever as a beautiful love story between Benzema and Real Madrid."
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Juventus says it plans to leave the Super League project still being pursued by Real Madrid and Barcelona. The the also club denied Tuesday it had been threatened with a European ban by UEFA. The three storied clubs await a European Court of Justice ruling in Luxembourg into their legal challenge against UEFA. Juventus now says it is starting talks with the two Spanish clubs about leaving the Super League project. It has been a tough season for Juventus. The team won no trophies and was deducted 10 points in Serie A for false accounting. It faces further UEFA punishment for that as well.
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Karim Benzema has become the latest soccer star to move to Saudi Arabia after signing with the national champion Al-Ittihad. Benzema left Real Madrid after 14 years and 648 games. He is set to play against his former Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi league. Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in January. Benzema bid farewell to the Madrid fans after scoring in his final game on Sunday. Al-Ittihad has no other global stars of Benzema's caliber but won the Saudi title by overhauling Ronaldo's Al-Nassr for its first championship since 2009.
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Manchester City defender Kyle Walker is confident he will be fit for Saturday’s Champions League final despite struggling with a back problem in recent days. The England international did not take part in City's open training session in preparation for the game against Inter Milan in Istanbul. Walker looked in discomfort as he left the field late on in his team’s FA Cup final win against Manchester United. But the 33-year-old full back said he expected to be available to help City in its bid to be crowned champions of Europe for the first time in its history.
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West Ham and Fiorentina play out the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday in Prague. Neither team has won a European trophy for more than 50 years so a drought will end for one of them at Eden Arena. West Ham earned its lone European title in 1965, the old European Cup Winners’ Cup. Fiorentina’s only European trophy was also the Cup Winners’ Cup, the first one back in 1961. By reaching the second finale of the Europa Conference League, Fiorentina has become the first club to contest a final in four major continental competitions. This year's final pits the only undefeated team, West Ham, against the side with the most goals, Fiorentina.
AP
CONCACAF is changing the name of its top club competition back to the Champions Cup, what the tournament was called from 1962 through 2008. The Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Association Football announced the change Tuesday, two days after Mexico’s León won this year’s title. Twenty-two teams will play in the first round and five teams will receive byes, with first-round winners advancing to a round of 16. The first round, round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals will be home-and-home, total-goals series. The final will be one match. CONCACAF had eliminated a format utilizing a first-round group stage after the 2016-17 tournament. It had been called the Champions League since 2008.
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AC Milan has announced with a brief statement that Paolo Maldini’s tenure as the club's technical director is over. The move follows reports of a rupture between Maldini and Milan’s new American owner Gerry Cardinale. The club statement says “AC Milan announces that Paolo Maldini concludes his role at the club, effective as of June 5, 2023." Maldini and Cardinale reportedly diverged over how to handle the club’s approach to the transfer market. The 54-year-old Maldini was a longtime captain of Milan as a player and is a fan favorite so the move immediately drew protests from Rossoneri supporters.
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Former France captain Amandine Henry has been called up by coach Herve Renard to prepare for the upcoming Women’s World Cup. Renard chose 26 players in a squad that will ultimately be trimmed to 23 for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand next month. Henry has played 93 matches for France but her last appearance was in November 2020. Experienced Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Kheira Hamraoui was not selected. Renard was appointed in March after the players rebelled against predecessor Corinne Diacre. The 54-year-old Renard quit as coach of the Saudi Arabia men’s team this week, ending a four-year spell highlighted by a win over eventual champion Argentina in the group stage of last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
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Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco has called up four new players for upcoming European qualifiers. Tedesco included Standard goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart, Burnley defender Ameen Al-Dakhil, Cercle Brugge winger Olivier Deman and Genk midfielder Mike Tresor in his 24-man list. Tedesco replaced Roberto Martinez after the Red Devils failed to progress to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Bodart replaces the injured Koen Casteels while Trésor takes the place of Leandro Trossard, who is also out with a knock. Trésor was voted the best player of the Belgian league this week after helping his team to a second-placed finish behind Royal Antwerp.
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Italy coach Roberto Mancini has included five Inter Milan players in the squad for next week’s Nations League final four. Defenders Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian and midfielder Nicolò Barella will join the Azzurri after Saturday’s Champions League final against Manchester City in Istanbul. Italy has been training in Forte Village in Sardinia with a preliminary 26-man squad but Mancini made the changes for the official 23-man list. Argentina-born forward Mateo Retegui has been included after scoring two goals in his first two Italy appearances in March.
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Borussia Moenchengladbach has appointed Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane in his first new job since a troubled end to his time with fellow Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Seoane joins Gladbach on a three-year contract as the replacement for Daniel Farke. Farke left last week after a 10th-place finish following a season of inconsistent results. Seoane won three Swiss titles with Young Boys before moving to Germany and finishing third in his first season with Leverkusen in 2021-22. He was fired in October after a bad start to the season left Leverkusen in the relegation zone.
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Andres Iniesta has said goodbye to old friends as he played for his Japanese club Vissel Kobe against his former club Barcelona in a friendly at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Barcelona won the match 2-0. Iniesta played 674 games for Barcelona from 2002-18, winning 30 trophies. He also scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final. Last month, he announced he was leaving the Japanese club after his final match on July 1 in the western city of Kobe. Iniesta played five seasons with Vissel Kobe and has not announced his plans. The 39-year-old midfielder says he wants to keep playing, which he has not been doing much of this season.
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Legalized sports gambling in North Carolina has cleared one of its last legislative hurdles. The House voted 67-42 Tuesday for changes made by the Senate that include adding horse racing to the betting mix and raising the state’s cut of wagering revenues. The chamber must agree to the altered measure one more time Wednesday for the Republican-controlled General Assembly to send it to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has expressed support for legalizing sports wagering. The bill would allow up to 12 interactive sports wagering licenses. Adults could then bet on professional, college and Olympic-style sports through online accounts or in person at a handful of sportsbooks.
AP
Of course Indiana State would rather be hosting this weekend's NCAA baseball Super Regionals. They've earned it. But finding workers for an unexpected third consecutive weekend of baseball tourneys and a scheduling conflict with Indiana's annual Special Olympics Summer Games made it impossible. So the surprising Sycamores promise will hit the road, needing two wins at TCU this weekend to make their second College World Series and their first since 1986. And a win at perennial power Vanderbilt earlier this season has made them fearless.
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Georgia has hired LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson as its new coach. Johnson replaces Scott Stricklin, who was fired on May 26 following a 9-0 loss to South Carolina in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Georgia went 29-27 this season, including an 11-19 mark in the SEC. Johnson was the Minnesota Twins’ pitching coach before making the unusual move of leaving the major leagues for the job at LSU on June 22, 2022. At the time, Johnson said the career change was “the toughest thing I’ve ever done.” Johnson will remain with LSU through its postseason.
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The Montreal Canadiens have signed Cole Caufield to an eight-year, $62.8 million contract extension. The deal, which will pay the 22-year-old winger an average annual salary of $7.85 million, runs through the 2030-31 season. Caufield scored 26 goals and added 10 assists in 46 games in 2022-23 before he underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in February.
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Dylan Crews and Hayden Travinski each had three of LSU’s 19 hits and the Tigers beat Oregon State 13-7 for the Baton Rouge Regional championship. LSU (46-15), the No. 5 overall seed, advances to the super-regional round for the 16th time in program history. Travinski and Cade Beloso hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning and Crews added his 17th of the season in the sixth for a 7-2 lead. Crews was 8 of 13 with two home runs, four RBIs and five runs scored in the regional. Tommy White reached 93 RBIs on the season with a two-run single in the seventh for a 10-4 lead. The first hit for Oregon State (41-20) came in the fourth inning on Gavin Turley’s home run.
AP
The second annual NIL Summit has delivered predictions of more dramatic changes to the landscape of college sports. This comes only days before a contingent of Southeastern Conference coaches and administrators will ask for federal help in regulating the expanding ability of college athletes to earn money while still in school. The three-day NIL Summit ended Monday at the College Football Hall of Fame. Athletes’ new-found ability to earn money off their name, image and likeness has the potential to create more dramatic change in all college sports. There were predictions college athletes will be classified as employees and form unions.
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Michael Vick, Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Suggs are among the college football stars who will be considered for induction to the Hall of Fame for the first time this year. The National Football Foundation released Monday a list of 78 players and nine coaches from major college football who are on the Hall of Fame ballot. Vick led Virginia Tech to the BCS championship game against Florida State as a redshirt freshman in 1999. Fitzgerald was the Heisman Trophy runner-up for Pitt in 2003. Suggs had 24 sacks for Arizona State in 2002.
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Oscar Tshiebwe’s announcement Wednesday that he was keeping his name in the 2023 NBA Draft and foregoing the opportunity to play one…
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No. 1 national seed Wake Forest completed one of the most dominant runs through an NCAA Tournament regional and joined eight other teams advancing to super regionals. The Demon Deacons beat George Mason 15-1 in the final in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and outscored their three opponents by a combined 48-7. Oral Roberts became the eighth No. 4 regional seed since 2006 to reach super regionals when it beat Dallas Baptist 6-5. No. 7 Virginia, No. 14 Indiana State, No. 15 South Carolina, No. 16 Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and Oregon also wrapped up regionals.
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Aiden Jimenez and Ryan Brown combined to pitch seven scoreless innings of relief, Brady Kasper’s two-run single gave Oregon State the lead for good and the Beavers beat Sam Houston 3-1 in an elimination game at the Baton Rouge Regional. Oregon State, which lost 6-5 to LSU earlier. advances to face the Tigers. The Beavers need two wins — and LSU just one — to win the regional and advance to the super regionals. Mikey Kane hit and RBI double in the top of the fourth inning and scored on a two-RBI single by Brady Kasper to give Oregon State a 3-1 lead. Starter Marshall Wales gave up three runs on five hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over 5 innings for Sam Houston.
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Malcolm Moore hit a two-run home run and Tommy Troy belted a grand slam, both in the seventh inning, as Stanford beat Texas A&M 13-5 to force a winner-take-all showdown for the Stanford Regional championship and a berth in the super regionals. The Aggies knocked Stanford into Sunday’s elimination rounds with an 8-5 win Saturday. The Cardinal knocked Cal State Fullerton out, 6-5 earlier Sunday, with freshman Nick Dugan working 3 ⅔ innings of relief to earn the win.
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Pierce Bennett drove in five runs, Danny Corona homered twice and five Wake Forest pitchers combined to allow just five base hits as the Demon Deacons rolled over George Mason, 15-1 to win the Winston-Salem Regional championship and claim its berth in the super regionals. George Mason used a Brett Stallings sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to eliminate Maryland, 11-10 in an elimination game earlier Sunday.
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Bob isn’t going anywhere. Despite pulling Sergei Bobrovsky after allowing four goals in his team’s Stanley Cup Final Game 2 loss to Vegas, Florida coach Paul Maurice expressed full confidence in the goaltender who got the Panthers this far. Bobrovsky — and the players in front of him — will need to be much better to climb out of a 2-0 series hole against the Golden Knights. Game 3 is Thursday night in Sunrise, Florida.
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Ice maintenance in the NHL is generally the same across the league. Technicians work to make sure the ice is the right temperature and consistency so that the puck slides smoothly and the players have the right traction. The Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers is taking place in two of the hottest markets in the country. Making sure outside conditions don’t compromise the ice is an all-day process.
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The Philadelphia Flyers have traded Ivan Provorov. The Flyers traded away the defenseman who boycotted the team’s pride night as part of a three-team trade that included the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings. The 27-year-old Provorov is set to enter the fifth season of a $40.5 million, six-year contract. He’s the centerpiece of the first major move under new Flyers’ leadership.
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A thunderous open-ice hit by Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk on Jack Eichel knocked the Vegas center to the ice and sent him to the locker room in the second period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Golden Knights teammates and coaches worried in the moment that one of their best players was injured. Instead Eichel returned for the third period and set up a goal on the way to a blowout win that put his team up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. His bounce back from it exemplified a team mantra that sometimes it hurts to win.
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The Vegas Golden Knights' power play has powered them to a 2-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. The unit cashed in twice in a 7-2 Game 2 rout, with Jonathan Marchessault's goal in the first period and Brett Howden's in the final minutes. Coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged his team's power play has been hit or miss all season. Fittingly for a series opening on the Las Vegas Strip, it's hitting plenty now. Going back to their Western Conference final-clinching victory, the Golden Knights have power-play goals in three consecutive games for the first time since late December.
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Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled midway through Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final after allowing four goals on 13 shots against the Vegas Golden Knights. Coach Paul Maurice gave Bobrovsky the hook in favor of Alex Lyon after Brett Howden made it 4-0 just more than seven minutes into the second period. Bobrovsky has allowed four goals in consecutive games for the first time in these playoffs. He came into the series having won 11 of his past 12 games and stopping 438 of 465 shots during that span.
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Long before Greg Cronin’s coaching stints in the AHL or time on the coaching staffs of the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islander…
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The Anaheim Ducks have hired Greg Cronin to be their head coach. Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek announced the decision to hire the 60-year-old Cronin, who will be a first-time NHL head coach. Cronin has 12 years of experience as an NHL assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs and in two stints with the New York Islanders. He has been the head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles since 2018, and he spent six years as a collegiate head coach at Northeastern.
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Alex Pietrangelo spoke of sacrifice Sunday, and what it takes for an NHL player to continue his journey this far into the season. With the Vegas Golden Knights up 1-0 in the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers, all the players’ personal lives are put on hold for the moment. Summer vacation can wait. For Pietrangelo, sacrifice is nothing new. In November, it was his career that came to a brief halt. During the Thanksgiving holiday, one of his triplets, 5-year-old daughter Evelyn, came down with the flu. It developed into encephalitis, the inflammation of active tissues of the brain, and she lost control of her motor skills.
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PITTSBURGH — After seven weeks of searching, an expansive and exhausting process, Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins on Thursday a…
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LAS VEGAS — How did they take that dismal third period?
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Paul Maurice walked away from coaching in the middle of last season. Bruce Cassidy was fired from his previous job despite making the playoffs six years in a row. Now Maurice’s Florida Panthers and Cassidy’s Vegas Golden Knights are in the final, with one of the veteran coaches set to win the Stanley Cup for the first time. Their presence in the final is more evidence of why NHL teams looking to win cherish coaches who aren’t recycled or retreads but rather have crucial experience navigating situations.
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The heart of golf is having to earn it, and that's never been more true. It was evident at U.S. Open qualifying. And it's particularly true considering the plight of Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler. They were outside the elite group last year that is now competing for $20 million purses. Bradley wasn't part of the private player meeting in Delaware last August that began to reshape the tour. It motivated him to get better, and now he's back among the best. Fowler was in the meeting. He says he had to work for the tour and not his own interests.
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The PGA Tour's leadership just threw its membership — the players who stayed, the players who declared their loyalty over and over, …
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The PGA Tour owes Tiger Woods $1 billion. It owes Rory McIlroy $500 million.
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The news hit like a shock wave, capsizing the core of the golf world, with reverberations felt in all its outposts, including this one.
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Former President Trump predicted this day would come.
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What a landmark day for golf. Everybody is under one big umbrella. The wedge is gone.
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What a landmark day for golf. Everybody is under one big umbrella. The wedge is gone.
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Jack Nicklaus is not done with Muirfield Village. Nicklaus heard enough players complain about the difficulty of the par-3 16th hole at the Memorial that he plans to work on it again. Nicklaus says only 25% of shots stayed on the green during one round. A big part of that was a different wind direction. Nicklaus says the last thing he wants is for players to say Muirfield Village is a great 17-hole course. In other golf news, Alex Noren will be in Los Angeles for the U.S. Open, but not before a detour to play in Sweden. The Swede tied for 52nd at the Memorial and then left Ohio for Stockholm to play in the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed. That's the tournament where European tour and Ladies European Tour members compete from separate tees for one prize and one trophy.
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Rory McIlroy's road to the U.S. Open goes through Canada. McIlroy has won the last two editions of the RBC Canadian Open. It's the fourth-oldest national open in the world. Defending U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick also is in the field in Toronto. The LPGA Tour stays in New Jersey for the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Remarkably, it's the four-year anniversary of Lexi Thompson's last win on the LPGA Tour. She is not in the field. The European tour and Ladies European Tour are in Sweden for a mixed event in which men and women play for the same trophy and prize fund.
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Stewart Cink has earned another trip to the U.S. Open at age 50. Cink first qualified for the U.S. Open in 1996. He turned 50 a month ago and loves playing the majors so much he says he'll trying to qualify as long as he can. He advanced through an Ohio qualifier. It was among 10 sites that had 36-hole qualifying across America. One stop was in Canada. Carlos Ortiz and Sebastian Munoz are among LIV Golf players who earned their way to Los Angeles Country Club. The U.S. Open will be played on June 15-18.
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How to celebrate winning the Memorial? For Viktor Hovland of Norway, that means going to work as a caddie for 36 holes of U.S. Open qualifying. Hovland turned heads at two courses in Columbus, Ohio, when he lugged the bag for Zach Bauchou. They were roommates and teammates at Oklahoma State. Bauchou says they were at dinner Saturday night when he jokingly suggested Hovland caddie for him. The Norwegian star said he would do it. And even after a grueling week at Muirfield Village, Hovland stayed true to his word. Bauchou failed to qualifying for the U.S. Open.
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Rose Zhang needed only one tournament to make good on high expectations. Two weeks after she won another NCAA title, Zhang made her professional debut by winning on the LPGA Tour. No one had done that in 72 years. What's next for the 20-year-old Californian? Zhang heads back to Stanford for finals and to move out of her dorm. Then she goes to the second LPGA major of the year at Baltusrol for the KPMG Women's PGA. Expectations are sure to follow. Zhang isn't bothered. As Michelle Wie West says, Zhang makes the game look easy.
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NASCAR scored a victory at Le Mans on Tuesday when the Hendrick Motorsports crew won its class in the pit crew competition. NASCAR’s “Garage 56” is entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans but not eligible to win the twice-round-the-clock race because the No. 24 Chevrolet is competing in a specialized category. But the five-person Hendrick team was eligible to win the pit crew competition and it topped 16 teams to capture the GTE class. HMS was the only team to compete with a manual jack. The Hendrick crew pulled off a final four-tire change in 10.364 seconds to beat Northwest AMR by 0.12 seconds to win the class. Hendrick finished fifth overall.
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Richard Childress and Kyle Busch were hardly on good terms 12 years ago, when they got into a fight after a Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. Yet both say they have matured, and the fact that they're not only working together but also winning is proof of it. Busch reached victory lane for the third time in his first season driving for Richard Childress Racing on Sunday with a green-white-checkered win at World Wide Technology Raceway. Now, the team that went through a long dry spell a decade ago has its sights set on contending for a championship with Busch in the No. 8 car.
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Mercedes has come out of Formula One’s Spanish Grand Prix with increased confidence after showing significant progress and finishing ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen put on another dominant performance to win Sunday’s race from pole position but Mercedes took a big step forward with Lewis Hamilton finishing second and teammate George Russell third to give the team its first double podium finish of the season. Mercedes acknowledges that the gap to Red Bull remains significant but there was optimism after the team’s much-anticipated upgrade package showed it has the potential to keep the team ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari.
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Kyle Busch held off Denny Hamlin through a series of late restarts to win the chaotic, caution-filled NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis in overtime Sunday. Bubba Wallace brought out the 11th and final yellow when his brake rotor let go with five laps remaining. Busch won a green-white-checkered shootout to the finish. There also were two red flags to go with a two-hour weather delay that caused the mid-afternoon race to finish in the twilight. Hamlin finished second while Joey Logano, the winner a year ago in the Cup Series debut at the track, got around Kyle Larson on the final lap to finish third. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five ahead of Ryan Blaney, last week’s winner at Charlotte.
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The prospect of Fernando Alonso ending a decade-long wait for his 33rd Formula One win in front of thousands of fans at his home race proved too good to be true. Alonso turned in his worst performance of the season on Sunday when the two-time former world champion finished the Spanish Grand Prix in seventh place, one spot behind Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll. Spanish fans had packed the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hoping to witness their idol finally return to the top of the podium. The last time Alonso won was on the same track back in 2013 with Ferrari when he claimed victory No. 32. He also won the Spanish GP in 2006 with Renault.
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Max Verstappen of Red Bull has won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position to strengthen his hold on the Formula One championship. The two-time defending champion was never challenged on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after beating Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari to the first turn. Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line second in his Mercedes to equal his best finish of the season. Fellow Mercedes driver George Russell completed the podium. It was Verstappen's 40th career victory.
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Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has been reprimanded by the FIA for calling the race stewards at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix “laymen” after he disagreed with their decision to penalize one of his drivers. The reprimand will not incur a penalty or fine. Steiner apologized to stewards in a meeting on Saturday. He made that apology public in a statement released by Haas on Sunday before the Spanish GP. Steiner attracted the attention of race officials when he said earlier this week that “we still have laymen deciding on the fate of people who invest millions in their careers.”
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Max Verstappen has steered his Red Bull to pole position at Formula One’s Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Carlos Sainz. The two-time defending champion and points leader has secured pole for four of seven races this season. Sainz got his Ferrari into the front row, with Lando Norris third for McLaren. Home favorite Fernando Alonso could do no better than eighth after his Aston Martin took some damage to the bottom after running through the gravel. Charles Leclerc took pole last year but this time he will start from 19th after his Ferrari was perplexingly slow.
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Ryan Blaney qualified on the front row Saturday alongside pole sitter Kyle Busch for the NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway. The two will lead the field to green on Sunday. Blaney is coming off a victory on Monday night in the rain-rescheduled race at Charlotte. It snapped his 59-race winless streak. Busch was in contention for the win a year ago but finished behind eventual winner Joey Logano. A sellout crowd of about 60,000 is expected Sunday for the second trip by NASCAR’s top series to the St. Louis area. But with temperatures expected to hit the mid-90s by the afternoon start, it could be a grueling day for drivers and fans alike.
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The Spanish Grand Prix has been held near Barcelona for more than three decades. Now city rival Madrid wants to snatch the event from its longstanding rival. That's sparked mixed reactions from F1 drivers. Barcelona’s contract with Formula One runs out after the 2026 race and the possibility that Madrid could host the prestigious race has divided opinion this weekend at Montmelo where the Grand Prix has been run since 1991. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes wants to keep what he calls a “classic” track on the schedule. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc grew up in Monaco with its famous street circuit. He says he would be fine with the swap.
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Fernando Alonso is riding a wave of enthusiasm that this Spanish Grand Prix can finally end his decade-long wait for a Formula One victory. The 41-year-old Spaniard won his 32nd and last race at the track near Barcelona back in 2013. But new team Aston Martin has given him his best car in years. After a second-place finish at Monaco, his fans in Spain are eager for more. Alonso was greeted by several hundred fans chanting “33! 33! 33!” in reference to a long-denied 33rd race victory on arrival to the track. “My fans are pushing this forward on their own and you can only embrace it,” Alonso says. Alonso was right behind points leader Max Verstappen in practice on Friday.
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NASCAR has dealt another huge penalty after the Coca-Cola 600.
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The future of boxing’s long-exiled governing body within Olympic circles could be decided Wednesday at an IOC meeting called at short notice. The International Olympic Committee says its executive board will meet for a special session. That's two weeks before a scheduled three-day meeting was expected to debate issues with the International Boxing Association. The IBA faces being reinstated or banished from IOC recognition it lost in 2019 over financial, sports integrity and governance concerns. Boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics’ qualifying and final tournaments will be overseen by the IOC for the second straight games.
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Claressa Shields successfully defended her undisputed middleweight title with a lopsided unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo on Saturday night in the first boxing card at Little Caesars Arena. Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) with a score of 100-89 on one card and 100-90 on the other two. Shields has won two Olympic gold medals and professional titles at super welterweight (154 pounds), middleweight (160 pounds) and super middleweight (168 pounds). Cornejo (16-6) hasn’t beaten an opponent with a winning record in more than four years.
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Claressa Shields is perhaps in the prime of her career, establishing a big enough name as a two-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion in three weight classes to headline the first boxing card in the six-year history of Little Caesars Arena in the Motor City. She became the first woman to earn a seven-figure payday in her last two fights and is expected to make another $1 million on Saturday night when the undisputed middleweight champion faces top-ranked contender Maricela Cornejo. Still, Shields laments the gender inequities in boxing.
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LAS VEGAS — The chants of “S-O-G” followed Andre Ward from Oakland, Calif., to T-Mobile Arena the night of Nov. 19, 2016, rhythmical…
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Today in Sports, May 30 - Roger Federer breaks Jimmy Connors’ Open era record of 233 Grand Slam match wins
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LAS VEGAS — It’s finally happening.
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Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford will meet in a much anticipated showdown when they fight for the undisputed welterweight championship July 29 in Las Vegas. Both boxers are undefeated. Spence is 28-0 with 22 knockouts and Crawford is 38-0 with 29 KOs. Spence holds the IBF, WBC and WBA belts, and Crawford is the WBO champion. “Finally giving the fans what they want!” Spence posted on Instagram.
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Today in Sports - Week Ahead, May 26 - June 1, Take 2
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Female athletes are on a roll in Ireland. And they have been for a while now. Katie Taylor brought elite boxing back to the country. The women’s national soccer team qualified for its first World Cup. Taylor has been selected as the “most-admired” athlete in Ireland for six straight years and women have been three of the top four in back-to-back years. Trailblazing jockey Rachael Blackmore and Olympic boxing champion Kellie Harrington have followed Taylor on the Teneo Sport and Sponsorship Index and the women’s soccer squad earned “team of the year” honors for 2022 after having qualified for the upcoming Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. No male athlete has topped Taylor since mixed martial artist Conor McGregor edged her in 2016.
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Katie Taylor spent years dreaming of a homecoming bout. Now, she’ll need to figure out how to bounce back from the first loss of her professional career. Chantelle Cameron spoiled Taylor’s homecoming by earning a majority decision at Dublin’s 3Arena to remain the undisputed super-lightweight champion. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist immediately said she’s “looking forward to the rematch” and can trigger it under terms of the contract for Saturday’s fight. Now come the questions of where, when and at which weight? Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn thinks it would be back in Ireland probably in the autumn. Cameron wasn't as sure. She might push for England. She says “now it’s on my terms.”
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Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney retained his titles by winning a controversial unanimous decision over former three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden. Lomachenko dominated the latter rounds and outpunched Haney, 124-110. But much to the dismay of the 14,436 fans in attendance, all three judges had Haney winning. Tim Cheatham and David Sutherland scored the fight 115-113, while Dave Moretti had it 116-112
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Katie Taylor’s long-awaited Irish homecoming has ended in her first professional boxing loss after Chantelle Cameron won the showdown of undisputed and undefeated champions by majority decision in Dublin. Taylor's lightweight belts weren’t on the line. She fell to a 22-1 win-loss record after the judges scored the fight 96-94, 96-94 and 95-95 in front of a stunned capacity crowd at 3Arena. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist had never fought professionally in Ireland. Taylor suffered her first defeat at any level since being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. Cameron was inspired to turn pro. She remains the undisputed super-lightweight champion with an 18-0 record.
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