National Sports - The Morning Sun

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone holds the conference championship trophy after Game 4 of the NBA basketball Western Conference Final series against the Los Angeles Lakers Monday, May 22, 2023, in Los Angeles. Denver won 113-111 to win the series. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

With matchup finally set, Nuggets' Malone says beating Heat will be 'biggest challenge of our lives'

The Denver Nuggets are glad they get to stay in Denver for the start of their first NBA Finals appearance but that doesn't mean they're taking the Miami Heat lightly. The Nuggets haven't had a game … more

By ARNIE STAPLETON | 5/30/23

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Anthony Bass speaks to gives a statement to media ahead baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Toronto on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass apologized Tuesday for sharing a homophobic social media post on his Instagram account. (John Chidley-Hill/The Canadian Press via AP)

Blue Jays' Bass apologizes for sharing anti-LGBTQ+ social media post

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass apologized for expressing support on social media for anti-LGBTQ+ boycotts of Target and Bud Light. Bass shared a post on his Instagram stories Monday urging … more

5/30/23

Captain Brooks Koepka, of Smash GC, hits from the third tee during the final round of LIV Golf Tulsa at Cedar Ridge Country Club, Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Broken Arrow, Okla. (Amy Kontras/LIV Golf via AP)

Column: A year later, LIV Golf is fitting into golf landscape as an island

LIV Golf executives are fond of saying that “We're not going anywhere.” That much is true. The Saudi-funded league is not about to disappear. But is it going anywhere? The rival league in just … more

By DOUG FERGUSON | 5/30/23

FILE - Alabama head coach Nick Saban paces as his team warms up before Alabama's A-Day NCAA college football scrimmage, Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Saban says college football is not a business that operates like the NFL and warned that without more uniform rules on player compensation only the biggest spenders will compete for championships. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)

Saban says current track in college football will lead to less competitive balance

Alabama coach Nick Saban says college football is not a business that operates like the NFL and warned that without more uniform rules on player compensation only the biggest spenders will compete … more

By RALPH D. RUSSO | 5/30/23

Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin stand on the court after the Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals Monday, May 29, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Caleb Martin's rise to NBA Finals becomes latest Heat undrafted success story

Caleb Martin was undrafted coming out of college. He entered the NBA with almost no guarantees. He had to play in the G League. Charlotte let him go after two seasons. Desperate for a second chance, … more

By TIM REYNOLDS | 5/30/23

Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates winning her first round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Spain's Rebeka Masarova in three sets, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Jimmy Butler told tennis star Coco Gauff his Miami Heat would reach NBA Finals

Tennis star Coco Gauff says basketball star Jimmy Butler assured her that his Miami Heat would make it to the NBA Finals before they were guaranteed of so much as participating in the playoffs. Gauff … more

By HOWARD FENDRICH | 5/30/23

Denny Hamlin (11) crashes on the front stretch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Monday, May 29, 2023, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Feud between Hamlin and Elliott gives NASCAR tough choice over suspension

Chase Elliott is NASCAR’s meal ticket. Denny Hamlin wants NASCAR to suspended Elliott for intentionally wrecking him during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The call to suspend … more

By STEVE REED | 5/30/23

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and guard Jaylen Brown (7) congratulate each other during the second half of Game 4 during the NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat, Tuesday, May 23, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Future of Brown-Tatum tandem in spotlight as Celtics enter offseason

The Celtics' rollercoaster season ended a round short of a return to the NBA Finals. Now they enter an offseason of uncertainty as the front office decides whether to keep together their two best … more

By KYLE HIGHTOWER | 5/30/23

Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) reacts after making a basket against the Seattle Storm during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Seattle. The Aces won 105-64. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Las Vegas Aces celebrate title and are dominating WNBA once again

The Las Vegas Aces celebrated last season’s championship over the weekend and are looking once again like the dominant team in the league. The Aces unveiled the championship banner on Saturday … more

By DOUG FEINBERG | 5/30/23

FILE - Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers poses for a photograph during an NBA basketball media day in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. Myers is departing as president and general manager of the Warriors after building a championship team that captured four titles in an eight-year span and reached five straight NBA Finals from 2015-19. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)

Bob Myers departing as Warriors president, GM after 4 NBA titles, 11 seasons

Bob Myers is departing as president and general manager of the Golden State Warriors after building a championship team that captured four titles in an eight-year span. One of the most successful GMs … more

By JANIE McCAULEY | 5/30/23

FILE - Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. left, talks with quarterback Deshaun Watson before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Carson, Calif. Watson , now with the Cleveland Browns, said Tuesday, May 30, 2023, that he has spoken to Hopkins, his close friend and former Houston teammate, and encouraged the five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver to consider a reunion. Hopkins is a free agent after the Arizona Cardinals released him last week. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Browns' Watson makes pitch for Hopkins to reunite with him in Cleveland

Standing a few feet from a golf green, Deshaun Watson made a pitch for DeAndre Hopkins to join him in Cleveland. The Browns quarterback said that he has spoken to Hopkins, his close friend and former … more

By TOM WITHERS | 5/30/23

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, left and left wing Matthew Tkachuk, right, hold up the Prince of Wales trophy after the Panthers won Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Stanley Cup Final between Vegas and Florida will end with a first-time NHL champion

Stanley isn’t just getting a tan. He’s getting a new home. The Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers pits teams against each other who have never won the NHL … more

By STEPHEN WHYNO | 5/30/23

FILE - Spencer Carbery assistant for the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on from the bench during third period of the NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Toronto, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The Washington Capitals have hired Carbery as their next coach, the team announced Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Spencer Carbery hired as Capitals coach after 2 seasons as Maple Leafs assistant

The Washington Capitals have hired Spencer Carbery as their next coach. The team announced the move Tuesday. Carbery once was considered the heir apparent to veteran Capitals coach Peter Laviolette … more

By STEPHEN WHYNO | 5/30/23

The UEFA Europa League Trophy is displayed in the Fan Zone at Heroes Square in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, May 30, 2023 one day before of UEFA Europa League final soccer match between Spanish club FC Sevilla and Italian club AS Roma in Budapest on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Marton Monus/MTI via AP)

Sevilla, Roma's Mourinho put perfect European records on line in Europa League final

A remarkable perfect record in European soccer must fall Wednesday when Sevilla faces José Mourinho's Roma in the Europa League final. Sevilla has played six and won six finals of the Europa League … more

5/30/23

FILE - Denver Nuggets' Bobby Jones, second left, Nets' Julius Erving, fourth left, and New York Nets' Jim Eakins, right, battle for a rebound during the ABA championship playoff game at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on May 14, 1976. The Denver Nuggets are the last of the four ABA teams that merged with the NBA to reach the Finals and is stirring up fond memories of the defunct league. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Nuggets run to the NBA Finals stirs up memories of wonderful wackiness in the ABA

The Denver Nuggets are the last of the four ABA teams that merged with the NBA to reach the Finals. It's stirring up fond memories of the defunct league. Dan Issel, David Thompson and Bobby Jones … more

By PAT GRAHAM | 5/30/23

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur plays a shot against Italy's Lucia Bronzetti during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Russian teenager advance

Ons Jabeur got a do-over on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open and won this time. A year after her first-round exit, the No. 7 seed Jabeur beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1 to help erase some bad … more

5/30/23

In this photo provided by Josef Lejzerowicz, trainer Joe Lejzerowicz rubs noses with colt Freezing Point, aka “Snowball,” at their barn at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., March 19, 2023. Freezing Point was euthanized after sustaining a leg injury during a race on the undercard of the Kentucky Derby, May 6, 2023. He was one of two horses to die from injury that day and among 12 over the past month at the home of the Derby. (Laura Lejzerowicz via AP)

Stables, trainers try to move through grief over euthanized horses as racing thunders on

The numbers suggest that horse racing is the safest it has been for the animals since at least 2009. Yet every death draws fresh criticism that the sport is far too cruel to continue. It also sends … more

By GARY B. GRAVES | 5/30/23

Vegas Golden Knights players Reilly Smith, left, Mark Stone, back center, and Alex Pietrangelo pose with deputy commissioner of the NHL Bill Daly, front, after winning Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals against the Dallas Stars, Monday, May 29, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Vegas, year removed from missing playoffs, gets to 2nd Stanley Cup Final

The Vegas Golden Knights are in their second Stanley Cup Final in the franchise's six seasons a year after the only time they missed the playoffs. Captain Mark Stone credits the front office for … more

By SCHUYLER DIXON | 5/30/23

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gestures during the second half in Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics Monday, May 29, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa )

The NBA Finals are set: It's the Heat and the Nuggets for the Larry O'Brien Trophy

Cancel that flight plan, Denver. Turns out, the NBA Finals are starting in the Mile High City after all. And Jimmy Butler was proven right. Finally, we have a title-series matchup: The Miami Heat, … more

By TIM REYNOLDS | 5/29/23

Ryan Blaney smiles in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Monday, May 29, 2023, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Blaney wins Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte to end winless drought

Ryan Blaney pulled away late to win the rescheduled Coca-Cola 600 on Monday at Charlotte Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the Memorial Day weekend’s top races in the United … more

By STEVE REED | 5/29/23