sports

Harvey Almorn Updyke Jr., 62, of Dadeville, Ala., was arrested on a charge of criminal mischief in connection with the poisoning of the Toomer’s Corner oak trees at Auburn. On Jan. 27, a man saying he was “Al from Dadeville” phoned a radio show, claiming he poured herbicide around the 130-year-old oaks that are a scene of
Mike Repole has had a pretty good winter. St. John’s, his alma mater, is inching closer to a berth in the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament for the first time since 2002. His racehorse Uncle Mo is the early favorite to win the Kentucky Derby . His beloved Mets have started spring training. Repole, after all, is the latest in what has
Derrick Rose scored a career-high 42 points and the host Chicago Bulls headed into the All-Star break with a 109-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs . The Spurs have the N.B.A. ’s best record, 46-10; the Bulls, who won 41 games last season, are 38-16. Sports Briefing | Basketball
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The 10th anniversary of the fatal crash of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona International Speedway will pass Friday without an official tribute as a lower-level Camping World Series truck race is held at the track. But Earnhardt, a seven-time Nascar Cup champion, will be honored Sunday during the season-opening Daytona 500. On
Joel Northrup refused to compete against a girl at the Iowa state tournament in Des Moines, relinquishing a chance to become a champion because he said wrestling a girl would conflict with his religious beliefs. Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore who was 35-4 wrestling for Linn-Mar High School, defaulted his first-round match in the 112-pound
Tina Maze became the first Slovenian to win an Alpine skiing world championship, riding her advantage from the first run to the gold medal in the women’s giant slalom in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. She used a controlled second run to finish in 2 minutes 20.54 seconds and defeat Federica Brignone of Italy by 0.09. Sports Briefing | Skiing
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Danica Patrick Nascar experiment enters its second season on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, with expectations tempered but hopes raised. Patrick, 28, the only woman to win a race in the IndyCar Series, will compete in Nascar’s Drive4copd 300, a lower-level Nationwide Series race that runs the day
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kurt Busch declared himself the favorite for Sunday’s Daytona 500, and it was hard to argue after he won the first of two 150-mile qualifying races Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. Busch is 2 for 2 at Daytona this month, having captured the exhibition Budweiser Shootout last Saturday. So far, no one has
In an attempt to jump-start negotiations that stalled a week ago, representatives for N.F.L. owners and the league’s players planned to engage in seven consecutive days of talks with a federal mediator beginning Friday. The collective bargaining agreement expires in less than two weeks, and the decision to attempt to intensify negotiations
Dustin Johnson wound up with another bizarre penalty Thursday when his caddie thought his tee time was 40 minutes later than it was, and he raced to the first tee at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles to avoid disqualification. Johnson was given a two-shot penalty for not being on the tee box at his starting time. Players then have five minutes
The remaining games are starting to dwindle, and teams on the playoff bubble, like the Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings , are playing increasingly desperate hockey. That is what happened at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, in a breathless cliffhanger not decided until Erik Christensen and Mats Zuccarello scored in the shootout and Henrik
For some American hockey players at the highest level, memories of childhood are filled with idyllic days on frozen ponds and outdoor rinks. But for a growing number, childhood memories are framed by palm trees, warm weather and rooting for N.H.L. teams that many Northerners disdain as a failed Sun Belt experiment. Those memories reflect the
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Every Sunday after church, on the Hansbroughs’ backyard basketball court in Poplar Bluff, Mo., three brothers would play the age-old game of 21. The scene conjures up both Rockwell and Darwin — little Ben Hansbrough, the youngest, learned to survive despite a weekly diet of blocked shots and sharp elbows. Many
Lynetta Kizer scored 17 points, and No. 16 Maryland beat No. 7 Duke , 69-47, Thursday night to drop the visiting Blue Devils into a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Terrapins (21-5, 7-4) let a 12-point lead dwindle to 39-38 before pulling away to a victory that enabled them to avoid their first three-game losing
Peter Roby grew up playing ball with Tom Thibodeau in New Britain, Conn., and later coached with him at Harvard . His friend’s success at basketball’s highest level is no surprise — Thibodeau, Roby recalled, was always passionate about learning the game and intrigued by the challenge of teaching it. The “defensive
When the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announces its finalists for the class of 2011 on Friday, one name will be conspicuous in its absence: that of Reggie Miller , the former Indiana Pacers sharpshooter, who is in his first year of eligibility. Miller, 45, who retired in 2005 and will be in Los Angeles this weekend as an analyst for
Before they can celebrate Derrick Rose’s ascendance, Kevin Durant’s dominance or Blake Griffin’s hang time , the N.B.A. ’s brightest minds and brightest players will gather in a hotel conference room and beg one another not to ruin it all. For the next three days in downtown Los Angeles, the N.B.A. will do what it does best
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — While their players stretched and exercised in advance of their first official workout of the 2011 season, the owners of the Mets stood nearby on an artificial turf field and discussed the troubling issues that could jeopardize their ownership of the team. Fred Wilpon , the principal owner of the team, said Thursday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Johan Santana has been throwing a baseball for almost two weeks, but the next time he throws a pitch in a major league game could be more than four months from now, perhaps sometime close to the All-Star break. That has been the time frame the Mets expected all along for Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner. But in
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. Half a dozen times during a spirited news conference that lasted about 20 minutes, Fred Wilpon took to the offense with his new favorite V word, now that his role as a victim in Bernard L. Madoff case is under grave legal challenge. In what will most likely be a costly struggle for the survival of his ownership of the Mets , he
TAMPA, Fla. — Freddy Garcia dipped into his memory bank the other morning, his mind drifting to a Seattle special of an afternoon, cool and overcast, during the 2001 playoffs, when he was the 25-year-old ace of the Mariners . Garcia recalled how Bartolo Colon pumped fastball after fastball past his Seattle teammates to secure the division
The Detroit Tigers ’ Miguel Cabrera was arrested on charges of drunken driving and resisting an officer in Fort Pierce, Fla. He has had drinking-related problems, including a 2009 incident in which he fought with his wife after drinking heavily the night before his team lost the A.L. Central title to Minnesota. ¶Catcher Yorvit Torrealba
Joe Frazier, the manager of the Mets in the turbulent period between the tenures of Yogi Berra and Joe Torre , died Tuesday in Broken Arrow, Okla. He was 88 and a longtime Broken Arrow resident. His death was confirmed by the Christian-Gavlik Funeral Home in Broken Arrow. Frazier, who spent almost a half-century in organized baseball, primarily as
PHOENIX — It was Don Mattingly ’s opening news conference at his first spring training as the Dodgers ’ manager, and a seat at the head of a picnic table was reserved for him. Mattingly demurred and folded his 6-foot frame into another chair on an outdoor patio after casually brushing off a dried bird dropping stuck to it. If only
Auburn said that someone poisoned oak trees at Toomer’s Corner, where fans celebrate big wins, and that the trees, which are estimated to be more than 130 years old, could not be saved. Auburn said a herbicide commonly used to kill trees was applied “in lethal amounts” to the soil. A caller to a radio show claimed he had applied
It’s not every day that Max Klimavicius, the owner of Sardi’s, personally cuts a customer’s filet mignon into bite-size pieces. Then again, not every customer has just won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show . The chef had cooked the steak until it was medium rare, lightly seasoned it with salt and pepper, then
Camille Richardson has heard all the arguments, read all the comments, and sees the logic. But as a freshman midfielder for the Columbia women’s lacrosse team who is fully aware of the dangers of head trauma, Richardson makes one thing clear: She has no interest in wearing a helmet, as the men must. “Wearing a helmet,” Richardson
The Boston Athletic Association announced new registration procedures for the Boston Marathon in response to the growing demand that will leave some of the fastest runners on the sideline. The field of nearly 27,000 for this year filled up in eight hours. Organizers said the top qualifiers would be allowed to enter first under a two-week, online,
The DVD was sitting in Michael Waltrip ’s house for nine and a half years while the accident churned inside him. His big sister Connie had recorded every race of his. As soon as the Daytona 500 went off the air that fatal day , she decorated the case with stars and happy faces to commemorate his first Daytona — his first Nascar Cup
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed during practice at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday, costing him the pole position for the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Earnhardt captured the pole last Sunday, but he will now have to switch to a backup car. Under Nascar rules, that means he will have to start from the back of the field.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A year after potholes led to embarrassing delays in the Daytona 500, a $20 million repaving job at Daytona International Speedway is helping to create another set of concerns for Nascar ’s season-opening showcase event. Nascar officials mandated a series of adjustments to the racecars this week, the latest coming
Lance Armstrong , the seven-time Tour de France winner who is the target of a federal investigation into doping in cycling, announced Wednesday that he had retired from his sport — this time for good. Armstrong, who is 39 and a cancer survivor, said he was leaving to spend more time with his family — he has five children — and to
Arsenal stunned Barcelona with a second-half comeback in the European Champions League at Emirate Stadium on Wednesday in London, with the substitute Andrey Arshavin scoring the winner in the 83rd minute in a 2-1 victory. The Gunners were outplayed for most of the first leg of the Round of 16 meeting. The second leg is scheduled to be played on
The Turkish Basketball Federation lifted the provisional suspension of Diana Taurasi on Wednesday after the lab that conducted Taurasi’s positive test retracted its report. The lab issued the change after it evaluated Taurasi’s statements in her defense. The federation did not say whether the lab made a mistake. Taurasi, 28, who had her
Anna Chakvetadze collapsed on the court as she was serving for the second set against top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki at the Dubai Championships in the United Arab Emirates and had to withdraw. After losing the first set, 6-1, Chakvetadze was ahead, 5-3, when she lost a long rally to Wozniacki, wobbled and fainted. After treatment, Chakvetadze
LOS ANGELES — So what if the weather on the horizon is as forbidding as the maître d’ at Koi glaring at the common people? The specter of three days of rain in Southern California has not deterred the field at Riviera Country Club for the Northern Trust Open. At least, not yet. With 11 of the top 20 players in the World Golf
The Devils rookie Nick Palmieri gave the puck to Ilya Kovalchuk along the Carolina goal line early in the second period of a scoreless game, then got a chance to watch Kovalchuk, a $100 million Russian superstar, put on a show. Kovalchuk skated to the point, reversed direction, went back down to the left circle, hit the brakes to lose defenseman
Kemba Walker had the ball at about the free-throw line and he was being covered by a player 9 inches taller than him. He had quite a list of possible plays in front of him. The one he chose is not on the list of options for almost every other player. Walker faked to his left, then threw the ball hard off the backboard and — since he was the
Looking nothing like the two-time defending N.B.A. champions, the Los Angeles Lakers dropped their third straight game, a 104-99 loss Wednesday night on the road to the Cleveland Cavaliers — the league’s worst team, which avenged a 55-point embarrassment against Los Angeles last month. Ramon Sessions came off the bench and scored a
The Knicks settled into the All-Star break on Wednesday at nearly the same point where they started the season. Only now they have two more wins than losses. For the Knicks, any progress is significant toward ending a six-year playoff absence. After a 102-90 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks (28-26) squeezed into
TAMPA, Fla. — Joba Chamberlain arrived at the most important spring training of his young career listed at 230 pounds , just as he was all last season. This would not be a problem except that Chamberlain weighs more than 230 pounds, and the Yankees are hardly pleased that he does. Asked Wednesday morning for his impression of Chamberlain,
In late 1999, three friends created a Web site to solicit fans to acquire the Jets . The quixotic effort at one point claimed commitments worth $20 million from 11,000 people. But the N.F.L. rejected the plan, and Woody Johnson paid $635 million for the team in early 2000. On Wednesday, three friends started an Internet bid to acquire the Mets and
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Jeff Wilpon, the Mets ’ chief operating officer, spoke to reporters Wednesday for the first time since a lawsuit seeking as much as $1 billion from the team’s owners was unsealed on Feb. 4. Wilpon, the son of the longtime principal owner of the Mets, Fred Wilpon , said his family had received many offers to
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A contrite Francisco Rodriguez arrived in Mets camp Wednesday and promised that he had learned from his mistakes and had become a better person. At the same time, Rodriguez vowed that in some respects he would not change. “On the mound, it’s going to be the same,” he said. “It’s going to be
CLEARWATER, Fla. He stood beneath a palm tree on a clear Florida morning, commanding attention as he always has across a lifetime in baseball. Yet the routines of spring training were gone for Dallas Green. There is nothing routine about coping with horror. Christina-Taylor Green was the youngest victim of the shooting in Tucson last month that
JUPITER, Fla. — In explaining how the St. Louis Cardinals have reached the end of negotiations to extend the contract of Albert Pujols, the team’s owner, Bill DeWitt Jr., really did not have to utter much more than one short declarative sentence. “We’re not the Yankees ,” he said after Pujols’s self-imposed noon
A day before a scheduled arbitration hearing, the Brewers and second baseman Rickie Weeks agreed to a four-year, $38.5 million deal. A 2015 option could increase the total value to $50 million. Weeks, 28, hit .269 with 29 homers, 83 runs batted in and 112 runs last year. Sports Briefing | Baseball
The day in sports, including cricket, skiing, and pitchers and catchers.
The day in sports, including cricket, skiing, and pitchers and catchers.
The day in sports, including cricket, skiing, and pitchers and catchers.