Leah Pruett is stepping away from NHRA to focus on having a second child with Tony Stewart

September 19, 2026

Leah Pruett, in contention for her first NHRA Top Fuel championship, will step away from the drag-racing series at the end of this season to focus on having a second child with husband Tony Stewart. Pruett was a spectator in 2024 and 2025 while they started a family. She gave birth to their son, Dominic James Stewart, in November 2024. Tony Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion and one-time IndyCar champion, filled in for her both seasons. Pruett returned this year, and Stewart moved to Elite Motorsports. They currently rank third and fourth, respectively, as the series begins its ...

WNBA returns after a 3-week World Cup break, with 4 games left and seeding at stake

September 18, 2026

NEW YORK — The WNBA is set to resume it season Thursday after a nearly three-week break for the women's FIBA World Cup. It will be a sprint to the finish with each team having four games left. While the playoffs teams are set, their positioning is still up from grabs. With over 50 ...

Billie Jean King to present Lisa Bluder with the Joe Lapchick Character Award

September 18, 2026

NEW YORK — When Lisa Bluder first met Billie Jean King, the tennis icon signed a piece of paper saying: "pressure is a privilege, go Iowa basketball." Bluder put that up in the Hawkeyes' locker room as a constant reminder to her teams. "I've always admired Billie Jean," Bluder said in a phone interview. "Watching Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King play in the Battle of the Sexes, she's always been a hero to me." The two reconnected years later when King started following the Hawkeyes run with Caitlin Clark and became friends. When she retired, Bluder joined King's management ...

With 2 more homers, the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong makes his MVP case

September 18, 2026

CHICAGO — As Pete Crow-Armstrong came up with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, the Wrigley Field crowd chanted "M-V-Pete! M-V-Pete!" — and not for the first time Wednesday night. The fans serenaded the Chicago star after his first home run, his 43rd to break Billy Williams' Cubs record for left-handed hitters. They made their feelings known after his RBI triple and after his 44th home run. Even when Crow-Armstrong struck out on five pitches in the eighth, he still received a standing ovation on his way back to the dugout at the end of a 3 for 4 night with three RBIs and ...

NHL teams rush to sign players to eight-year contracts before the new CBA deadline

September 17, 2026

The clock is ticking toward an unusual deadline in the NHL, and teams with players relevant to it are rushing to beat the final horn. The new collective bargaining agreement goes into effect at midnight, at which time a seven-year contract will be the longest a player can re-sign with his ...

Misiorowski tosses 5 shutout innings, Brewers top Pirates 5-1 to win 4th straight NL Central title

September 17, 2026

PITTSBURGH — Jacob Misiorowski struck out seven in five shutout innings and the Milwaukee Brewers won their their fourth straight National League Central title with a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. About 50 minutes after the final out, the Brewers clinched the division when the second-place Chicago Cubs lost to Atlanta. Milwaukee players watched the end of that game on television, raising hands and cheering at the final out. The flamethrowing Misiorowski (15-5) dropped his ERA to major league-best 1.89 and boosted his season strikeout total to 243. Nine of ...