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US enters world championship eager to raise the women’s hockey bar further after Olympic gold win

Coach John Wroblewski has set a new objective by seeking to push the envelope further eight months after the United States raised the women's hockey bar with its up-tempo, attacking style to win Olympic gold in Milan. With a newly signed four-year contract running through the 2030 Games in France, Wroblewski eagerly accepted the challenge of demanding even more from a roster brimming with players entering their prime. "There is a lot left to do," Wroblewski told The Associated Press before the U.S. left for Denmark to compete in the 10-nation world championship tournament opening on ...

Rory McIlroy gets 2-shot penalty after first round in Abu Dhabi as Laporta leads with a 62

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy was handed a two-shot penalty after his first round at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Thursday, with officials ruling he improved his lie on a hole where he made double-bogey to spoil his card. McIlroy's score of 6 at the par-4 12th hole turned into an even uglier 8 and left him posting a 2-under 70 to be eight shots off the lead, held by Francesco Laporta after his bogey-free round of 62. In actions that have dented his bid to win a record-tying eighth season-long Race to Dubai title, McIlroy was seen in video footage pressing his ...

Valkyries’ victory celebration includes Oakland where team practices, San Francisco where games are

SAN FRANCISCO — Gabby Williams hopped off a double-decker bus and began dancing through the streets, blowing a whistle to the beat and slapping high-fives with fans all while keeping her WNBA Finals MVP trophy safely tucked in her left arm. Then she called for teammate Kiah Stokes to join her and they popped Champagne and enjoyed it among the first group in the Valkyries' victory parade on a picture-perfect Wednesday afternoon along San Francisco's waterfront. "I love this,!" Stokes said, before joining in with the crowd chanting "MVP!" for Williams. The Valkyries began their day ...

Ice hockey world championship sponsors increase pressure on IIHF over Russia’s return

DUESSELDORF, Germany — The pressure on the International Ice Hockey Federation grew Wednesday as two major sponsors of the men's world championship said they would review their involvement if Russia takes part. The tournament's main sponsor, automaker Skoda, says it will "reassess" its involvement if Russia plays, and another longtime backer, Strauss, says it would refuse to have its logo shown. A Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling last week obliged the IIHF to lift its exclusion of Russian national teams, which had been in place since 2022 over the war in Ukraine. Almost half ...

LIV Golf’s aim was to ‘destroy’ us, says European tour CEO

LIV Golf wanted to "destroy" the European tour, the head of the worldwide circuit has said as he prepares to welcome back many of the players who defected to the Saudi-funded breakaway league over the past four years. The professional golfing landscape was upended by the formation of LIV, which took some of the top stars from the European and PGA Tours after they accepted huge sums by PIF — Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund that bankrolled the project. Now, the breakaway league is battling to simply survive — in the form of a watered-down "LIV 2.0" version and without Saudi ...