TOP 10 NATIONAL STORIES
- NFL player protests during the “Star-Spangled Banner” enrages President Donald Trump, teams, fans, advertisers and military veterans.
- Corruption scandal in college basketball brings down Louisville Cardinals Coach Rick Pitino.
- Houston Astros and AP Male Athlete of the Year Jose Altuve win their first World Series and lift the spirits of a city devastated by Hurricane Harvey.
- New England Patriots and QB Tom Brady overcome a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime in Super Bowl LI, in Houston.
- Clemson Tigers mount a comeback to defeat Alabama Crimson Tide for the national college football championship, 35-31, in Tampa.
- Kevin Durant joins the Golden State Warriors and leads them to their second NBA World Championship in three seasons, winning the series 4-1 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- North Carolina Tar Heels win sixth men’s college basketball national title, 71-65 over Gonzaga, in Glendale, Arizona.
- Undefeated boxing champion Floyd Mayweather defeats MMA star Conor McGregor in a boxing match drawing millions of viewers and bettors.
- Pittsburgh Penguins win the NHL Stanley Cup in a 4-2 series win over the Nashville Predators.
- Sloane Stephens shocks the tennis world by winning her first Grand Slam event, the women’s singles, at the U.S. Open in New York.
OTHER TOP STORYLINES: Serena Williams wins her 23rd Grand Slam title at Australian Open, Sergio Garcia captures his first golf Grand Slam event in winning The Masters, American Kurt Busch wins the NASCAR Daytona 500, Japan’s Takuma Sato captures the Indianapolis 500 race, Martin Truex Jr. wins NASCAR series crown, Always Dreaming takes the Kentucky Derby, unknown Brooks Koepka wins the U.S. Open men’s golf title while the PGA Championship is won by Justin Thomas and The Open Championship (British Open) by Jordan Spieth.
NATIONAL SPORTS DEATHS: John Andariase, Don Baylor, Chuck Blazer, Johnny Bower, Pete Brown, Frank Broyles, Jim Bunnin g, Penny Chenery, Gene Conley, Darren Daulton, Frank Deford, Bobby Doerr, Wayne Duke, Lou Duva, Dick Enberg, Katy Feeney, Ed Garvey, Terry Glenn, Russ Goetz, Dallas Green, Tim Hague, Ray Halladay, James Hardy, Connie Hawkins, Nicky Hayden, Judd Heathcote, Aaron Hernandez, Steven Holcomb, Mike Ilitch, Darell Imhoff, Hootie Johnson, Steve “Snapper” Jones, Ken Kaiser, Cortez Kennedy, Jess Kersey, Jerry Kindall, Jerry Krause, John Kundla, Frank Kush, Margaret Lambert, Jake LaMotta, Frank Lary, Yale Lary, Dick MacPherson, Andy Marte, Lee May, Rollie Massimino, Jack McCloskey, Gene Michael, Red Miller, Bryan Murray, Tommy Nobbis, Jana Novotna, Don Ohlmeyer, Steve Palermo, Babe Parilli, Ara Parseghian, Ferdie Pacheco, Jimmy Piersall, Pierre Pilot, John Reaves, Dan Rooney, Milt Schmidt, Dave Semenko, Ron Smith, Dave Stallworth, George “The Animal” Steele, Dave Strader, Joe Tiller, Y.A. Tittle, Yordano Ventura, Nick Vista, Wayne Walker, Bill White and Bob Wolff.
