Month: February 2022

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Locked out players rejected Major League Baseball’s request for a federal mediator to enter stalled labor negotiations. There appears little chance of an on-time start to spring training and opening day is increasingly threatened. Owners locked out players on Dec. 2, immediately following the expiration

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer The famed rivalry between No. 9 Duke and North Carolina is changing. The Tar Heels have a new coach in former UNC player and assistant Hubert Davis after the retirement of Roy Williams. Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski is retiring after the season. Saturday’s matchup marks Krzyzewski’s last trip

By The Associated Press Auburn coach Bryan Harsin tells ESPN he is “not planning on going anywhere” as he tries to navigate a tumultuous offseason. Auburn went 6-7 in its first season under Harsin, who was hired away from Boise State. The Tigers have had 18 players enter the transfer portal and five assistant coaches

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The Senior Bowl quarterbacks are vying to be No. 1. In an NFL draft where it seems unlikely for a passer to be the top overall NFL draft pick, that means a competition among players like Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Liberty’s

NEW YORK (AP) — Joe West has made it official, retiring from Major League Baseball after umpiring a record 5,460 regular-season games. Roberto Ortiz became the first Puerto Rican-born umpire to join the big league staff in a series of retirements and promotions announced Friday by MLB. Longtime umpires Gerry Davis, Kerwin Danley, Brian Gorman

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Mercury have signed WNBA leading scorer Tina Charles, their second big addition in as many days. Phoenix announced Charles’ signing a day after adding Diamond DeShields in a three-team trade with Chicago and New York. Charles joins a roster that includes Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith, who led

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The dissident Chinese architect behind the Beijing stadium hosting Friday’s opening ceremony of the Winter Games has scoffed at the head of the U.N. health agency. He said China should award him “a gold medal” for not asking hard questions about its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer Across both Super Bowl rosters, there is a great divide. The Rams are the team loaded with veterans and the Bengals are the new kids on the block. Los Angeles has the star power, which figures with Hollywood next door. Cincinnati has a bunch of relative no names

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer Joe Burrow knew Evan McPherson must be a special kicker if the Cincinnati Bengals were willing to spend a fifth-round pick on a position usually filled by undrafted players and journeyman. But the Bengals targeted McPherson and made him the only kicker taken in the 2021 draft, a

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — It’s official: New York is now the largest sports betting market in America after just four weeks of taking mobile bets. The Empire State blew past New Jersey in January to seize the market lead, taking over $1.6 billion worth of sports bets. That’s $300

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — USA Swimming has canceled a meet in Iowa, and it is reviewing its calendar for the rest of 2022 after the world championships were pushed back another year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The TYR Pro Swim Series Des Moines was set for March 2-5 at the MidAmerican Energy Aquatic

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer BEIJING (AP) — The first day of medals at the Beijing Olympics could be the start of another Norwegian gold rush. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is among the favorites in the men’s downhill, which is one of the marquee events of NBC’s prime-time coverage Saturday. Fellow Norwegian Terese Johaug looks

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Hawkeyes’ home game against Minnesota on Sunday. Assistant Billy Taylor will be serve as the acting head coach in McCaffery’s absence. Iowa has lost three of its last four games. The Hawkeyes’ game at Ohio

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane won’t have much time to celebrate, lament or rest after the African Cup of Nations final. The Liverpool teammates are due back in time for the team’s next English Premier League game on Thursday when the squad renews its pursuit of league-leading Manchester City. Liverpool manager

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer A handful of states and schools with powerhouse football programs are already considering changing the rules around college athlete endorsements to make sure they don’t lose out on elite talent. They aren’t trying to tighten the rules. They’re instead starting to strip them away in the sprint to keep

By HAL BOCK AP Sports Writer PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Hail to the “Hogs,” Washington’s fun-loving offensive line, and their partner, running back John Riggins, who set a Super Bowl rushing record and led the Redskins to the National Football League championship. Riggins kept following the Hog-made holes for a record 166 yards on 38

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer It figured that after a strike-disrupted season that saw the schedule reduced to nine games, two coaches headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame would guide their teams into the Super Bowl. Joe Gibbs, who would go on to win three NFL championships, brought Washington to the

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities say a suspect was arrested in an altercation that badly injured a San Francisco 49ers fan in a parking lot outside SoFi Stadium during last weekend’s NFC championship game between the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. says 33-year-old

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks has rejoined the organization to take a role as an assistant in player development. The Brewers also have hired former Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Pedro Álvarez as an assistant in baseball operations and player development. Weeks played for the Brewers in 2003

By HUIZHONG WU and SAM McNEIL Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Many Chinese are filled with pride as the Beijing Olympics begin. It doesn’t matter that the city just held the Summer Games 14 years ago, or that the country had to artificially construct snow, or that the U.S. and several other Western countries were

KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Defending champion Dustin Johnson has shot a 1-over 71 to fall six strokes behind co-leaders Harold Varner III and Adri Arnaus at the Saudi International after a windy second round. Varner and Arnaus carded 66s to reach 10 under overall while Johnson finished his front nine with

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — University of Arizona police say UCLA men’s basketball player Mac Etienne has been arrested and cited on suspicion of misdemeanor assault after he appeared to spit toward a fan after the Bruins lost to Pac-12 rival Arizona. Local media outlets reported that fans jeered UCLA players Thursday night as they left