16+ min ago (417+ words) COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. -- American standout Mikaela Shiffrin dominated a World Cup slalom on home Colorado snow Sunday to remain perfect in the discipline during the Olympic season. Shiffrin extended her winning streak in slalom to four races after also claiming the opening two races this season and the final event of last season. It was Shiffrin's record-extending 104th World Cup victory and her 67th in slalom -- extending the discipline record, too. Skiing through moderate snowfall, Shiffrin added to her first-run advantage and won by a whopping 1.57 seconds ahead of Lena Duerr of Germany, who moved up from ninth after the opening leg. "Go Mikaela we love you," said one sign held up by fans in the finish area at Copper Mountain - which is a half-hour drive from Shiffrin's hometown of Edwards, Colo. "I could hear you guys from the start. Thank you,…...

19+ min ago (557+ words) Max Verstappen overtakes Lando Norris to take second place on the opening lap of the Qatar Grand Prix. (1:17) McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has explained the reasons behind his team's strategy blunder at the Qatar Grand Prix and promised to learn lessons from the mistake. A decision not to pit Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris under a safety car period in Qatar ultimately left the door open for Max Verstappen to win Sunday's race while depriving Piastri of a crucial victory in the championship fight. The strategy error could have much wider implications for McLaren as Verstappen's victory saw him move ahead of Piastri in the drivers' standings and just 12 points behind championship leader Norris with one race left to run. Stella said McLaren passed up the opportunity to pit its cars on Lap 7 as it was worried Piastri, who…...

34+ min ago (495+ words) INGLEWOOD, Calif -- Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert on Sunday suffered a break in his left hand that will require surgery during his team's 31-14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The procedure is scheduled to occur on Monday, and Herbert expects to play in the Chargers' next game, against the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 8 on Monday Night Football. "I'm treating it as if I'm playing on Monday," Herbert said. And the quarterback added that "it's one of those things where you just stabilized it, and I'm not the doctor, unfortunately, but they were hopeful. So, I think that's a good thing." Herbert sustained the injury in the first quarter when Raiders safety Jeremy Chinn hit him on a scramble, Chinn's helmet appearing to connect directly with Herbert's left hand. Herbert stayed in the game, clearly favoring the hand, and threw…...

42+ min ago (362+ words) Furious Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has lashed out at Red Bull's "brainless" claim that Kimi Antonelli deliberately moved over for Lando Norris to aid the British driver's championship challenge. Norris, whose bid to win his maiden world crown at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday was derailed through a McLaren strategy fumble, finished fourth after Antonelli ran off the road on the last but one lap. Norris gained two points from the late mistake which means he now can finish third, rather than runner-up at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, to be assured of beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen to the title. Verstappen won in Qatar but his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase hinted at foul play when he told his driver over the radio: "I am not sure what happened to Antonelli there. It looked like he just pulled…...

1+ hour, 17+ min ago (684+ words) NEW ORLEANS -- Tulane Athletic Director David Harris said he always appreciated coach Jon Sumrall's "transparency" about the Green Wave's football program and the coach's own career goals during their regular meetings. "It's been great for me because you don't have to wonder and worry what's going on," Harris said on Sunday as he addressed Sumrall's decision to fill Florida's coaching vacancy. Harris cited his relationship with Sumrall as a reason why he was eager to grant Sumrall's request to keep coaching the No. 21 Green Wave (10-2) into college football's postseason. "I believe and trust him to be a man of his word," Harris said. The Green Wave hosts No. 20 North Texas in the American Conference title game on Friday night. The winner could potentially receive a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Should that happen for Tulane, Sumrall would remain…...

1+ hour, 29+ min ago (804+ words) Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris react to a Qatar Grand Prix result that sends the championship race down to Abu Dhabi. (1:16) DOHA, Qatar -- "Speechless. I don't have any words," said Oscar Piastri after crossing the line at the Lusail International Circuit. He wasn't the only one in the paddock who felt that way on Sunday evening. "Obviously not our greatest day," Norris said later, before remarking that he just wanted to go to bed. Even more remarkable was that it was the team's second mistake on both cars in a week, following its double disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix for a minuscule-but-avoidable technical infraction related to plank wear. McLaren CEO Zak Brown said earlier this year that he would rather see Verstappen beat his drivers to the title than deviate from the policy of letting Norris…...

1+ hour, 31+ min ago (967+ words) Paul Finebaum reacts to reports that Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is expected to sign a seven-year deal with LSU. (1:14) LSU's courtship of Lane Kiffin has come to an end, as he's leaving Ole Miss to take the job in Baton Rouge and will not coach the Rebels in the College Football Playoff. He announced both things Sunday afternoon, the culmination of a weeks-long saga that hung over the sport, prompted viscous debate and puts Kiffin in the unprecedented position of a head coach leaving his team and not coaching them in the College Football Playoff. "After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU," Kiffin said in a statement Sunday. His deal with LSU is for seven years and is worth approximately $12 million annually, with…...

1+ hour, 31+ min ago (443+ words) The LSU Tigers got what they wanted, hiring Lane Kiffin as their new coach on Sunday. Kiffin did not get everything he wanted, however, and he will not be coaching Ole Miss for the remainder of the season as the Rebels eye a spot in the College Football Playoff. "After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU," Kiffin said in a statement Sunday. His deal with LSU is for seven years and is worth approximately $12 million annually, with the potential for bonuses, a source told ESPN's Pete Thamel. That would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport. Kiffin, 50, and the Rebels just wrapped up an 11-1 regular season with a 38-19 win over rival Mississippi State Bulldogs, all but assuring them a berth in…...

1+ hour, 40+ min ago (193+ words) New Mexico football coach Jason Eck has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep him with the Lobos until 2030, the school announced on Sunday. In his first regular season as head coach, Eck took the Lobos to a 9-3 record -- the program's best mark since 1982 and only the fourth time they have won nine games since 1997. Sources told ESPN that Eck's new deal includes an increase in average salary to $1.75 million from $1.25 million. A former Wisconsin offensive lineman, Eck spent three seasons at Idaho as head coach where he went 26-13 before being hired by the Lobos last December. New Mexico's 9-win season and 6-2 record in the Mountain West earned them a tie for first place in the conference. But the conference's tiebreaker (based on a composite average of nationally recognized metrics: Connelly SP+, ESPN SOR, KPI and SportSource rankings)…...

2+ hour ago (375+ words) Undefeated Nebraska earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women's volleyball tournament bracket released Sunday. The five-time national champion Huskers (30-0) have dominated this season, dropping just seven sets. They lead Division I in hitting percentage at .352. Dani Busboom Kelly, who won NCAA titles as both a Nebraska player and assistant, took over at her alma mater this season after longtime Huskers coach John Cook retired. Busboom Kelly led Louisville to the NCAA final in 2024, where the Cardinals lost to Penn State. The other No. 1 seeds are Kentucky, Texas and Pitt. The Wildcats have won one NCAA title and the Longhorns have four. The Panthers reached the final four the past four seasons but lost in the semifinals each time. Pitt and Stanford finished tied atop the ACC at 18-2, and the Cardinal won their head-to-head matchup 3-2 at Stanford on Nov....