Month: March 2022

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer Motorsport’s governing body FIA has concluded that ex-Formula One race director Michael Masi made a “human error” but acted in good faith at the controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won his first world title after overtaking Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton

MADRID (AP) — Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says that Karim Benzema will miss Real Madrid’s match against fierce rival Barcelona because of a leg injury. Madrid hosts Barcelona on Sunday with an already commanding lead of the Spanish league. Benzema has not yet recovered since hurting his left leg in Monday’s 3-0 win at Mallorca.

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Arsenal has strengthened its hold on the final Champions League spot in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa secured by a first-half strike by Bukayo Saka. The England international latched onto a ball that was weakly cleared by the Villa defense and lashed a low shot past

By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Quarterback Emory Jones is leaving Florida after just two days of spring practice. Jones says he is entering the NCAA transfer portal. It’s an about-face for a fifth-year senior who said earlier this week he wanted to give new coach Billy Napier and his staff

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has stunned Formula One champion Max Verstappen by taking a brilliant pole position for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen was .015 seconds ahead of Leclerc on the last time split but the Red Bull star lost time to finish .123

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer As the driving force behind Formula One’s most successful team Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has reached the summit of success alongside star driver Lewis Hamilton. Embarking on a new season, Wolff also wants to throw his weight behind furthering discussions on mental health to help people suffering

MERIBEL, France (AP) — There was a surprise winner of the final slalom of the World Cup ski season. Andreja Slokar stepped up with a career-best result to win at the World Cup Finals meeting in the sunny French Alps. Olympic champion Petra Vlhová was third and the new World Cup overall champion Mikaela Shiffrin

MERIBEL, France (AP) — Marco Odermatt has finished his standout World Cup ski season on top yet again. The new World Cup overall champion retained his first-run lead in a giant slalom to win at the World Cup Finals meeting at Méribel in France. Odermatt’s near-flawless season in giant slalom now counts five wins and

By JIM LITKE AP Sports Columnist Mike Krzyzewski won his first NCAA Tournament game as Duke’s coach in 1985 and his 98th on Friday night. After announcing this season would be his last, the second-seeded Blue Devils seem determined to make sure Coach K doesn’t exit a moment too soon, comfortably bouncing Cal State-Fullerton in

By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Free-agent slugger Nick Castellanos and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a $100 million, five-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke on condition of anonymity early Saturday because the deal was subject to a successful physical. Castellanos batted .309

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Star shortstop Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a $105.3 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press. The move ends Correa’s seven-season tenure with the Houston Astros. He will earn $35.3 million annually under the deal

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Right-hander Heath Hembree gets $2,125,000 in his one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and first baseman Daniel Vogelbach gets $1 million. Vogelbach has an $800,000 salary, and the Pirates have a $1.5 million option with a $200,000 buyout. If the option is exercised, he can earn $400,000 in performance bonuses for

By JOE STIGLICH Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals and the Colorado Avalanche withstood a late San Jose rally to beat the Sharks 5-3 for their third victory in a row. Cale Makar added a goal and two assists and Nazem Kadri and Darren Helm also scored for Colorado,

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two back-of-the-pack mushers had to be rescued in separate incidents from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Friday after winds from a severe ground storm caused deteriorating conditions. Gerhardt Thiart was rescued by a man from a nearby village while traveling in the area on a

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Francesca Belibi blocked a shot at the 3-point line then drove the length of the floor and slammed the ball home with one hand for her third career dunk in the second quarter of top-seeded Stanford’s 78-37 win against 16th-seeded Montana State in the first

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Johnny Davis offered a simple explanation for how Wisconsin stepped up down the stretch to avoid a first-round upset. “We just stopped being lazy on defense and non-fundamental,” the All-America guard and Big Ten player of the year said. “That’s all it was.” Davis scored Wisconsin’s

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice to pass Olli Jokinen for second place in franchise history, Spencer Knight made 17 saves for his first career shutout, and the Florida Panthers defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-0. Joe Thornton had a goal as Florida bounced back after its seven-game point streak ended against Vegas on

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Houston looked like a team capable of making another deep run in March as it opened the NCAA Tournament with an 82-68 win over UAB. Kyler Edwards scored 25 points and Fabian White Jr. added 14 for the Cougars. Edwards made six 3-pointers, including an exclamation

JACK THOMPSON Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 28 points and the Phoenix Suns moved closer to wrapping up the NBA’s best regular-season record, routing the Chicago Bulls 129-102 on Friday night. At a franchise-best 57-14 through 71 games, the Suns moved nine games ahead of second-place Memphis with 11 games left. Memphis

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Tage Thompson scored 3:07 into overtime and Dustin Tokarski made 24 saves to lead the Buffalo Sabres over the Calgary Flames 1-0. Buffalo has split the first two games of its Western Canada road trip, which wraps up Sunday night in Vancouver. It was a rare lost point on home ice

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Michigan State was tough enough to take back the lead in a critical moment, then fortunate enough to withstand Davidson’s desperation final charge. “I thought it was a little bit of a roller-coaster,” Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo said. The Spartans survived regardless, getting

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Taylor Hall scored a power-play goal with 4:47 left in the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Brad Marchand, Trent Frederic and Charlie McAvoy also scored for Boston, which has won four of its last five. Charlie Coyle picked up three assists and McAvoy had one.

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jayson Tatum made seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown added 30 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Sacramento Kings for the second time this season, 126-97. Payton Pritchard had 14 points and eight assists as the Celtics won for the seventh time in

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves capped a busy week with another stunning move, signing three-time All-Star closer Kenley Jansen to a $16 million, one-year contract. The deal was announced Friday night. The 34-year-old Jansen finished with 38 saves and a 2.22 ERA in 69 appearances for the Los

By ANDREW LOGUE Associated Press AMES, Iowa (AP) — Ashley Joens scored a season-high 36 points and third-seeded Iowa State rallied to beat No. 14 seed UT Arlington 78-71 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Mavericks were bidding to be the first 14-seed to ever win a game in the tournament

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mike Miles Jr. scored 21 points and ninth-seeded TCU got its first NCAA Tournament victory in 35 years, easily dispatching eighth-seeded Seton Hall 69-42 on Friday night. The Horned Frogs’ last tournament victory was in 1987 against Marshall, when coach Jamie Dixon was a senior

By JOHN COON Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 19 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks, and Jared Butler scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 121-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Jordan Clarkson added 20 points, Eric Paschall 17 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with

SEATTLE (AP) — Longtime NFL journalist John Clayton died Friday following a short illness. He was 67.  The Seattle Seahawks announced the death for Clayton’s family in a statement. Clayton worked for the team in recent years as a sideline reporter on radio broadcasts.   Nicknamed “The Professor,” Clayton spent more than two decades covering

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — C.J McCollum had 20 points and the New Orleans Pelicans strengthened their play-in hopes by beating the San Antonio Spurs 124-91. Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Jaxson Hayes added 16 points for New Orleans. The Pelicans won for just the second time

By BOB SUTTON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin tied the game late in the third period and scored the winner in a shootout as the Washington Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson also scored in regulation for Washington, which has an eight-game point streak. Ilya Samsonov made

By BRIAN DULIK Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Lauri Markkanen made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in overtime and scored a season-high 31 points, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-116 victory over Denver that snapped the Nuggets’ franchise-record road winning streak at seven. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic scored in the paint to

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) — Paetyn Levis and Jennifer Gardiner each scored in the second period and Ohio State beat Yale 2-1 to advance to its first NCAA Frozen Four championship game. Ohio State, the No. 1 seed in the tournament for the first time in the 23 years of the program, will face Minnesota

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points and Goga Bitadze added 23, including two key baskets down the stretch, to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets 121-118 on Friday night. Houston had a chance to tie it, but Kevin Porter Jr.’s jump shot in the lane

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro got through an ankle scare and scored 26 points, Duncan Robinson scored 19 points in 19 minutes and the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat topped the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-108 on Friday night. Bam Adebayo had 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting and Kyle Lowry added

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Freshman Tyrese Hunter scored 23 points and Iowa State made itself at home in Milwaukee once again, using its hard-nosed defense to beat No. 6 seed LSU 59-54 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Izaiah Brockington added 19 points as the 11th-seeded Cyclones got

By ADRY TORRES Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, RJ Barrett had 18 points and the New York Knicks outlasted the Washington Wizards 100-97. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Wizards, who have lost their last six games. Mitchell Robinson

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Aaliyah Moore scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Texas overcame a gritty effort from Fairfield to open the NCAA Tournament with a 70-52 win on the Longhorns’ home court. The No. 2 seed Longhorns smothered fifteenth-seeded Fairfield early and held the Stags under

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 38 points, Seth Curry returned to the lineup with seven 3-pointers in his best game as a Net, and Brooklyn rallied to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-123. Curry finished with 27 points, his most since coming from Philadelphia last month in

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Josh Norris broke a tie on a power play midway through the third period, Anton Forsberg made 27 saves and the Ottawa Senators beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Friday night. Norris beat Martin Jones with a slap shot to help Ottawa snap a three-game losing streak. Tim Stutzle opened the

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 30 points, Delon Wright had 18 and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 120-105. Ja Morant scored 29 points for Memphis, which saw its four-game winning streak end. The Grizzlies began the night second in the Western Conference, one game

BY ANDREW LOGUE Associated Press AMES, Iowa (AP) — Jenna Staiti scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds as sixth-seeded Georgia defeated No. 11 seed Dayton 70-54 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Que Morrison added 16 points for the Bulldogs and also collected eight rebounds. Jillian Hollingshead scored 15 points. Makira Cook

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Christian Koloko scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and keyed a second-half surge for top-seeded Arizona, which beat No. 16 Wright State 87-70 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Bennedict Mathurin scored 18 points and Dalen Terry had 16 for the Wildcats as

ATLANTA (AP) — Virginia sophomore Alex Walsh and junior Kate Douglass each won an individual title to help the Cavaliers build on their commanding lead at the NCAA swimming and diving championships. Virginia, going for its second straight national title, has 386.5 points — 110.5 ahead of second-place Stanford. Texas is third with 257. Walsh

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Ioanna Chatzileonti had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Holly Kersgieter scored 19 points and eighth-seeded Kansas beat ninth-seeded Georgia Tech 77-58 t in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks’ 6-foot-6 junior center Taiyanna Jackson finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and two

By KEVIN COONEY Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 32 points, James Harden had 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-101 on Friday night. Embiid was 11 of 20 from the floor. Harden also had seven rebounds. Tobias Harris added 14 points, Georges Niang had 12

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga 54-53 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten co-champion Illini never led until the final minute and survived when Chattanooga star