Sports Archives - Page 17 of 29

Caleb Williams and DJ Moore lead the way in Bears’ 36-10 rout of Panthers

CHICAGO (AP) — Caleb Williams threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns in his best performance to date, DJ Moore added 105 yards receiving and two scores against his former team and the Chicago Bears beat the Carolina Panthers 36-10. The Bears won their second straight after dropping two in a row, with the two key pieces they acquired as a result of a blockbuster trade with Carolina in 2023 leading the way. Chicago also got a big performance from D’Andre Swift. He had 120 yards from scrimmage and a TD. Williams picked apart a banged-up defense that ranks among the NFL’s worst. The No. 1 overall draft pick completed 20 of 29 passes with no interceptions and a 126.2 rating that was his best.… Continue Reading

Holstein powers Pitt past struggling Tar Heels 34-24 for its first 5-0 start since 1991

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Eli Holstein threw three touchdowns and rushed for another as Pittsburgh beat North Carolina 34-24 Saturday. Holstein completed 25-of-42 passes for a career-best 381 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for a team-high 76 yards and a score to lead the Panthers (5-0, 1-0 ACC). It’s the third consecutive loss for UNC (3-3, 0-2 ACC) Omarion Hampton paced the offense with 106 rushing yards and a score. UNC defensive back Kaleb Cost had an 84-yard pick-six in the first quarter, but the Tar Heels failed to seize momentum as Pitt piled up 520 yards of total offense.… Continue Reading

NASCAR playoffs roll into Talladega with cloud of lawsuit hanging over sport

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — It’s most fitting that NASCAR this weekend races at Talladega Superspeedway, site of one of the first major disputes between drivers and the top stock car series in the United States. It was at the Alabama track’s 1969 debut race when the NASCAR-despised Professional Driver Association led by Richard Petty deemed the track too dangerous and not ready for competition. The PDA wanted to postpone the race, NASCAR founder Bill France said no and held the event anyway after 36 regulars boycotted. Now 55 years later, NASCAR is back at Talladega with the France family again under challenge. This time from only two teams who filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR over its charter system.… Continue Reading

UNC relocates intrasquad scrimmage from Cherokee after Hurricane Helene’s impact to region

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has relocated its planned intrasquad scrimmage in western North Carolina due to damage from Hurricane Helene in that region and will instead hold it at home. The school had scheduled its Blue-White scrimmage for Oct. 13 at the Harrah’s Resort in Cherokee, located in the western-most county in the state. The team was then set to travel to Memphis to play an exhibition game two days later as part of a doubleheader benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The scrimmage will now take place Oct. 12 at the campus Smith Center.… Continue Reading

A deadly hurricane is the latest disruption for young athletes who already have endured a pandemic

The destruction from Hurricane Helene has disrupted the high school landscape throughout southern Appalachia. Floodwaters swallowed entire high school athletic complexes and washed out roads that forced the postponement of football games throughout the region for a second straight week. In western North Carolina, Pisgah High School reopened its football stadium last year after Tropical Storm Fred tore through in 2021. Now it has to be rebuilt again. School athletic director Heidi Morgan says she’s trying to keep things in perspective. The storm is blamed for the loss of more than 200 lives. Morgan says that while material things can be replaced, lives cannot.… Continue Reading

WR Diontae Johnson not worrying about trade rumors, would prefer to stay with the Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — With several NFL teams including the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in need of a top-notch wide receiver, Diontae Johnson’s name has emerged as a possible trade candidate. The Panthers wide receiver said Wednesday that he would prefer to remain in Carolina and sign a long-term contract, but acknowledged his future is largely out of his hands. The Panthers acquired Johnson in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has developed into the team’s No. 1 wide receiver since Andy Dalton took over at quarterback in Week 3. Johnson has been targeted 27 times in the past two games and has 15 receptions for 205 yards and two touchdowns. He is in the final year of his contract.… Continue Reading

Michael Jordan’s 23XI and a 2nd team sue NASCAR over revenue sharing model

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR is facing a federal antitrust lawsuit from two of its teams, including one co-owned by Michael Jordan. The suit seeks unspecified damages and says the charter system limits competition by unfairly binding the teams to the stock car series. NASCAR gave teams a take-it-or-leave-it offer last month and only 13 teams signed. Jordan’s 23XI team and Front Row Motorsports refused and have hired the top antitrust lawyer in the country to fight their battle with NASCAR.… Continue Reading

Pete Rose found home in Las Vegas before nation began to embrace sports betting

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pete Rose found a home in Las Vegas, where acceptance wasn’t a problem. Baseball’s career hits leader died Monday in that city at age 83. The man known as Charlie Hustle for his relentless play on the basepaths picked a place that embraced legalized sports betting long before most of the rest of the nation caught on. Rose was a regular at autograph sessions throughout the Las Vegas area. He engaged with those who approached him to talk about his glory days with the Reds and Phillies and maybe even to commiserate about why he wasn’t eligible for the Hall of Fame.… Continue Reading

Dikembe Mutombo, a Hall of Fame player and tireless advocate, dies at 58 from brain cancer

Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday from brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58. His family revealed two years ago that he was undergoing treatment in Atlanta for a brain tumor. The NBA said he died surrounded by his family. Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon, says “it’s a sad day, especially for us Africans, and really the whole world.”… Continue Reading

Pete Rose, baseball’s banned hits leader, has died at age 83

NEW YORK (AP) — Banished baseball great Pete Rose has died. The longtime Cincinnati Red was the career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied. His 4,256 hits broke his hero Ty Cobb’s 4,191 and signified his excellence no matter the notoriety which followed. Rose was banned in 1989 after a major league baseball investigation determined he had bet on baseball, including on his own team. A spokesperson for Clark County in Nevada confirmed on behalf of the medical examiner that Rose had died.… Continue Reading