Month: March 2022

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer Cristiano Ronaldo needs to avoid an upset like the one that ended Italy’s hopes of making it to the World Cup. Portugal faces a winner-take-all game on Tuesday against North Macedonia. That was the team that shocked Italy last week to keep the four-time champions out of the World

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh and football coach Pat Narduzzi have agreed on a new contract that will keep Narduzzi with the Panthers through at least 2030. The deal comes three months after Narduzzi led Pitt to its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship on its way to an 11-3 record and a No. 13 ranking in

By MARK LONG AP Pro Football Writer Longtime Jacksonville Jaguars center Brandon Linder has announced his retirement after eight injury-filled seasons. Linder spent more than a week contemplating his decision before announcing on Instagram he’s hanging up his cleats. He says “it is at this time I have decided to close this chapter of my

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer A group of Canadian gymnasts is asking Sport Canada to launch an independent investigation into what they describe as a “toxic culture” within the sport’s national governing body. The group of 71 current and former Canadian gymnastics national team members sent an open letter to the director-general of Sport

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Austria coach Franco Foda says he will leave his position after the friendly match against Scotland on Tuesday after failing to lead his team to the World Cup. Foda used a news conference to suddenly announce his imminent departure. He said the time was right to leave because “we couldn’t fulfill

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A group of committed enthusiasts in Miami is doing all it can to save jai alai, the world’s fastest ball sport. What could be jai alai’s curtain call is playing out at Magic City Casino, the last place the game is played as a professional sport. Live

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jermaine Samuels and Collin Gillespie have gone full circle with Villanova into another NCAA Final Four. They are now the fifth-year seniors leading the Wildcats. Four years ago, they were true freshmen on the floor for the final seconds of the championship game victory with

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving is not about to look back now. Not at a loss in his first home game. Nor at how many more losses in home games could have been avoided if he were playing previously. His refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus left

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ross Chastain was testing in Delaware when he received an ominous text from a friend indicating Justin Marks had bought Chip Ganassi Racing and his job was in danger. Marks never thought so and retained both Chastain and crew chief Phil Surgen in a

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final chapter will have a distinctly blue tint. Two weeks of upsets and underdogs in the books, the Final Four is down to four blue blood programs: Kansas, the Blue Devils, North Carolina and Villanova. Kansas faces Villanova, then it’s Duke-Carolina for the first time

By CHUCK KING Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Albert Pujols has returned to the St. Louis Cardinals, finding a home in the place where he became one of baseball’s most powerful sluggers. The 42-year-old Pujols says this is his final season. Pujols emerged from beyond the right field wall at the Cardinals’ spring training

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Discussions among Formula One teams and drivers switched from human rights to personal safety after a missile flew into an oil depot close to the track hosting the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the weekend. Drivers asked whether it was safe to remain

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Lexie Hull scored 20 points in front of her hometown crowd, Haley Jones added 18 points and defending national champion Stanford is headed back to the women’s Final Four after toppling No. 2 seed Texas 59-50. The Cardinal will be in their 15th Final Four

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Aliyah Boston and South Carolina are headed back to the Final Four. The Associated Press first-team All-American helped the Gamecocks beat Creighton 80-50 to win the NCAA Tournament’s Greensboro Region title. Boston was named the region’s most outstanding player. She had 19 points in this

TORONTO (AP) — John Tavares scored two power-play goals in the second period, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers. Mitch Marner set up three goals, including both of Tavares’ scores, and Morgan Rielly, Ilya Mikheyev and Auston Matthews — into an empty net with less than a second

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored his second goal of the game with 9.7 seconds left in overtime, giving the Winnipeg Jets a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Scheifele went in alone and beat Arizona goalie Karel Vejmelka to send the Coyotes to their fifth straight loss. Scheifele also scored in the first

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets spoiled Kyrie Irving’s first home game of the season by beating the Brooklyn Nets 119-110. Irving misfired for 3 1/2 quarters, finally warmed up to give the Nets the lead, and

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes scored two goals and was one of four Devils to score in a seven-round shootout as New Jersey blew a two-goal lead and came back to beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2. Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton and Yegor Sharangovich also tallied in the shootout,

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 32 points,and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 114-100 on Sunday night for the inside track to home-court advantage in what could be a first-round playoff matchup. The Mavericks moved a game ahead of the Jazz for the fourth seed in the

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 26 in his return from a 10-game absence, and the New Orleans Pelicans came back from 23 points down to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-108. New Orleans rookie Trey Murphy III scored all of his 21 points in the second half.

By BRIAN HALL Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kevin Fiala scored 15 seconds into overtime to send the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche for their sixth straight victory. Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman also scored for Minnesota, which is the only NHL team this season with at least

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Atthaya Thitikul won the JTBC Classic for her first LPGA Tour title, three-putting for bogey on the second hole of a playoff to outlast Nanna Koerstz Madsen. After Koerstz Madsen’s 15-foot bogey putt hit the edge of the cup and stayed out away, the 19-year-old Thai player rolled her 10-foot par