Month: March 2022

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Saint Peter’s University wasn’t just little-known nationally before this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Jesuit-run school doesn’t even have a high profile locally. One could drive right past it on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City, New Jersey, without even noticing. But that’s the

By CHUCK KING Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Eager to get back to where he was, Justin Verlander says he still needs to get sharper. The Houston ace was pulled after another scoreless outing, taken out after 2 2-3 innings Wednesday when he reached a team-imposed pitch limit. Verlander missed all of

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer The South Dakota women’s basketball team’s run to the NCAA Sweet 16 has elicited pride border to border in the sparsely populated state. Many fans are expected in Wichita, Kansas, for the game between the 10th-seeded Coyotes and No. 3 seed Michigan on Saturday. South Dakota has an enrollment

FOXBOROUGH, Mass (AP) — Cornerback Malcolm Butler is returning to the New England Patriots, where he went from Super Bowl star to the bench. Butler’s agent said the hero of the Patriots’ 2014 championship agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $9 million. Butler sat out the 2021 season for personal reasons and was

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Villanova is back in San Antonio for the first time since winning the national title there four years ago. Even the opponent is the same, though the Sweet 16 game against Michigan is at a different arena. The Wildcats and Wolverines meet Thursday night at

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Twins Lacie and Lexie Hull always wanted to play college basketball together and Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer offered that opportunity at Stanford. Now the sisters will be playing back home in Spokane, Washington, when they lead the top-seeded Cardinal in the Sweet 16

By ROB MAADDI AP Sports Writer CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Shortly after his introductory news conference with the Philadelphia Phillies, Nick Castellanos went to a back field at the team’s spring training complex and fielded grounders at third base. The All-Star slugger hasn’t played the position since 2017 but he’s ready just in case. Alec

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Citadel is bringing Ed Conroy back for a second stint as men’s basketball coach. Conroy is a former Bulldogs player who coached the program for four seasons from 2006-2010. He led the team to a 20-13 mark in 2008-09, one of only two 20-win seasons in school history. Conroy left

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have agreed to a multiyear contract extension with coach Michael Malone. Terms of the extension were not released by the team. Malone was under contract through the 2022-23 season. Malone has won 309 games in the regular season over seven years in Denver. That total ranks third in franchise

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — William Byron began his fifth season at NASCAR’s top level in a contract year with the best team in the sport. Rick Hendrick likes to extend his drivers as early as possible, so it can’t be any fun for Byron to be in limbo.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego police say a man has died while trying to parachute from the top of a high-rise apartment as his 16-year-old daughter watched. Police say the 48-year-old jumped Tuesday night from the 23-story Palisade UTC luxury complex. Capt. Scott Wahl says it’s unclear whether the man’s parachute malfunctioned or there

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin says he has attempted to apologize to a TCU dance team member after a video that showed the Pac-12 player of the year possibly making contact with her after the Wildcats’ second-round victory. Mathurin didn’t say what response, if any, he

BOSTON (AP) — The trial of a former water polo coach at the University of Southern California has been delayed after the presiding judge tested positive for COVID-19. Boston federal court spokesperson Carolyn Meckbach said Wednesday that Judge Indira Talwani received a positive COVID-19 test and that the trial of Jovan Vavic will resume Monday.

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is disappointed that a deal to avoid a potential arbitration hearing wasn’t reached before contract figures were exchanged. But Judge says he hopes that fluid conversions on a one-year deal or long-term contract can be completed before opening day on

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Africa’s World Cup playoffs will serve up a Mohamed Salah vs. Sadio Mané sequel as the Liverpool teammates face off on opposite sides again with their countries. Salah’s Egypt will face Mané’s Senegal in one of the continent’s five decisive World Cup playoffs,

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Caleb Williams and head coach Lincoln Riley are back at work together as spring football begins at Southern California. The quarterback who seized the starting job at Oklahoma midway through his freshman season is starting over on the West Coast. But it isn’t a completely

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer A total of 156 players agreed to contracts in the hours before the delayed deadline to exchange proposed salaries with teams in arbitration and just three reached multiyear deals, all for two years: third baseman Matt Chapman and Toronto at $25 million, outfielder Darin Ruf and San Francisco at

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — After seven seasons with the Colorado Rockies, Jon Gray moved on to the Texas Rangers in the offseason with a four-year, $56 million contract. The 30-year-old right-hander figures to be the anchor of the rotation in the wake of a 102-loss season that resulted in Texas

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys have re-signed defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and punter Bryan Anger. That brings to 12 the number of free agents they have retained. Watkins started 14 games for the Cowboys last season, but his re-signing is more likely about depth with Dallas expecting Neville Gallimore

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer VENICE, Fla. (AP) — The additions of former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and another established veteran, Collin McHugh, give the World Series champion Atlanta Braves one of baseball’s deepest bullpens. The 34-year-old Jansen, who had 34 saves for the Dodgers last season, becomes Atlanta’s new closer. The deep bullpen

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will be the announcing team when Prime Video takes over “Thursday Night Football” in September. Michaels moves to Prime from NBC. His contract with NBC ended last month after he was in the booth for his 11th Super Bowl. Herbstreit will remain ESPN’s lead

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — The British government will allow Chelsea to sell some tickets again under the terms of its sanctioning license, meaning Real Madrid supporters can attend the Champions League quarterfinal at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea had been banned from selling tickets after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned last

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Michigan and Kentucky stood out in a study examining the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament brackets based on graduation rates, academic success and diversity in the head coaching ranks. The Wolverines were the overall No. 1 seed as the national champion for a third straight year in the men’s

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s soccer confederation CBF has elected a new president as it tries to move on from a sexual harassment scandal involving its previous leader. The 68-year-old Ednaldo Rodrigues was appointed for a four-year term after receiving 137 of 141 possible votes as the only candidate

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Mistakenly taking less than $100 worth of bets on college basketball games that are not allowed to be wagered on in New Jersey has cost BetMGM $25,000. The same law that’s preventing fans of Jersey City-based Saint Peter’s University in Friday’s Sweet 16 game also

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Chris Jans vowed that Mississippi will play with confidence and swagger during his introduction as the Bulldogs’ basketball coach. While that objective obviously depends on which players stay and who arrives via recruiting and the transfer portal, Jans said Wednesday he is intent on transforming MSU from its current state of

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have re-signed free agent defensive lineman Jordan Willis to a one-year contract. Willis had 5 1/2 sacks with 28 tackles and one forced fumble in 17 games for San Francisco over the past two seasons. Willis was suspended for the first six games last season for

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Naomi Osaka was greeted by some cheers when she walked onto the court. She got significantly louder ones when her work for the day was done. Maybe the comforts of home helped. Osaka had little trouble in defeating Astra Sharma of Australia 6-3, 6-4

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo says the absence of Brook Lopez for much of the season has caused the Milwaukee Bucks to appreciate the 7-foot veteran on a whole new level. Lopez is back with the Bucks after missing 67 games due to a back injury that required surgery.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have addressed pressing needs, signing cornerback Mike Hughes and linebacker Chris Board. Detroit announced the moves Wednesday, adding depth where it is needed on defense. Hughes started in five of 17 games last season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He had 45 tackles, one interception, forced four

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Bryan Shaw is on his way back to Cleveland’s bullpen. The rubber-armed reliever, who led the majors with 81 appearances last season, agreed Wednesday to terms on a one-year contract with the Guardians. The deal is pending a physical, but the 34-year-old Shaw is already in camp. Shaw went 6-7 with