Sports

Carolina coach Matt Rhule knows if the Panthers are to win their first game Sunday, they will have pressure “iconic quarterback” Tom Brady and not allow him to sit in the pocket and pick their defense apart.

The Panthers didn’t register a sack in their season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders and barely got any pressure on Derek Carr.

North Carolina coach Mack Brown hasn’t tried to dismiss the high expectations that are following his 18th-ranked Tar Heels entering Saturday’s season-opening visit from Syracuse.

The United States Golf Association announced Wednesday it will move its equipment testing center and other offices to North Carolina as part of a $36 million investment within the iconic golfing village of Pinehurst.

NASCAR has decided it will not grant COVID-19 relief during the playoffs, meaning a positive coronavirus test will end a driver's championship bid.

East Carolina University’s football team will not open up its season against Marshall.

ECU Athletic Director Jon Gilbert announced Thursday afternoon that the game had been postponed “due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

North Carolina State’s season-opening football game at Virginia Tech was postponed Wednesday from Sept. 12 to Sept. 26 because of a cluster of COVID-19 cases among Wolfpack athletes in Raleigh.

Duke University will play sports this fall, but there won’t be any fans in the stands when balls are kicked and tackles are made.

The school announced Monday that, due to the impact of COVID-19, it will begin its fall sports seasons without spectators at home games. Parking lots will also be closed to fans on game days.

Jake DeBrusk scored twice in Boston’s dominating third period to help the Bruins rally and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Monday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

This is what Dougie Hamilton was hoping for while he waited out the pandemic shutdown that put the NHL season on hold, and then waited some more after injuring himself in practice when the Hurricanes returned to the ice.

The Carolina defenseman scored the game-winner with 11:30 left in the third period on Thursday night to lead the Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins — the team that drafted him, and then gave up on him — and tie their playoff series at one game apiece.

Samantha Mewis and Crystal Dunn each scored and the North Carolina Courage won their fourth straight game, beating Sky Blue 2-0 on Monday night in the National Women's Soccer League's Challenge Cup in Herriman, Utah.

The New England Patriots have reached an agreement with former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The Pats are bringing the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player aboard to help the team move on from three-time MVP Tom Brady, who joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this off-season.

The owner of a North Carolina racetrack advertised “Bubba Rope” for sale in a social media marketplace just days after a noose had been found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in NASCAR’s top division, at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Thursday that Commissioner John Swofford — who oversaw the expansion of the conference and the launch of its own television network — will retire after the 2020-21 academic year, ending his tenure after 24 years.

Ally Watt is a newcomer to the North Carolina Courage, having been selected sixth overall in the National Women’s Soccer League’s college draft back in January. Her new teammates have years of experience flourishing at the professional level, as many have played in — and won — Olympics, World Cups and NWSL titles. 

But Watt has played on one rare stage that most other Courage players haven’t.

Big changes hit the Triangle’s soccer world Tuesday as the owner of the local professional team proposed plans to push for a Major League Soccer bid, form a women’s professional team and seek a new stadium with a capacity of more than 20,000 seats.

Major League Baseball broke ground Wednesday on a ballpark at Fort Bragg. The ballpark will host a televised, official game between the Atlanta Braves and the Florida Marlins on July 3.

Eric Hill heads the Community Recreation Division on Fort Bragg. He says the MLB suggested the game as a way to thank military service members, and says the game is stirring up excitement on base.

A new Duke University study reveals that most die-hard fans did not attend the universities they support. 

Charles Clotfelter researched which college sports teams were mentioned in obituaries. He is a professor of public policy at Duke University. 

Clotfelter says only about a third of what he calls "true believers" were alumni of their teams' universities.