Month: March 2022

By ERIK GARCÍA GUNDERSEN Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — CJ McCollum received a 90-second standing ovation in his first visit to Portland since a February trade to New Orleans, then scored 25 points to lead the Pelicans over the Trail Blazers 117-107. The Pelicans lead the Los Angeles Lakers by 1 1/2 games for

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both scored in regulation and then again in the shootout, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The victory was Edmonton’s second in a row and moved the Oilers within a point of Los Angeles for second place in the

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona Coyotes leading scorer Clayton Keller has been taken off the ice on a stretcher with an apparent leg injury. Keller was hurt with 5:15 remaining in Arizona’s game against San Jose. He was skating toward the Sharks’ net when he got knocked off stride and crashed into the boards behind

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer Mexico had all but booked its spot in the World Cup heading into its final qualifying match against El Salvador on Wednesday night. A 2-0 victory made it official. Uriel Antuna scored in the 16th minute for the early lead and Raúl Jimenez converted on a penalty kick

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tyus Jones scored 25 points and the Memphis Grizzlies edged the San Antonio Spurs 112-111 to capture the Southwest Division title and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Memphis never trailed, even as Ja Morant missed his sixth straight game with a knee

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The United States men are returning to the World Cup after the anguish of missing the 2018 tournament, clinching a berth for this year’s championship in Qatar despite a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica on the final night of qualifying. Juan Pablo Vargas

LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA’s Jake Kyman is entering the transfer portal after playing in 80 games over three seasons for the Bruins. The 6-foot-7 guard-forward from Aliso Viejo, California, averaged 3.6 points and 1.1 rebounds during his career. This season, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in 23 games. Kyman says he fulfilled

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Davion Mitchell, Damian Jones and Trey Lyles scored 24 points each, and the Sacramento Kings outlasted the Houston Rockets for a 121-118 win. It was a wild back-and-forth game where both teams had double-digit leads before staying close in the fourth quarter. The Kings got the

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Trae Young had 41 points and eight assists, and the Atlanta Hawks rolled past the Oklahoma City Thunder 136-118. Young, who grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, and played at the University of Oklahoma for one season, put on a show for a crowd that cheered

By DANA GAURUDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Andrew Copp scored 1:34 into overtime and the New York Rangers extended their winning streak to four games by beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-4. Artemi Panarin had a goal and assisted on two others, including Copp’s winner, as New York swept back-to-back road games beginning with

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 24 points, Kyle Lowry added 23 and the Miami Heat rallied in the fourth quarter to hold off the Boston Celtics 106-98 to stay atop a tight race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed. Bam Adebayo finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — Formula One will race on the Las Vegas Strip next year as the globe-trotting series will make three stops in the United States in 2023. The Las Vegas Grand Prix will be promoted by F1 and its ownership group, Liberty Media. It will be

NEW YORK (AP) — Miles Bridges scored 31 points and LaMelo Ball had 20 points and 15 rebounds to help lead the Charlotte Hornets past the New York Knicks 125-114. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers, and Terry Rozier added 15 points for the Hornets, who have won eight

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms on a new contract with cornerback Patrick Peterson. This is another step toward stabilizing a problematic position. The 31-year-old Peterson had a solid first season with the Vikings in 2021. He was by far their most reliable cornerback in pass coverage. He missed three

By JONAH BRONSTEIN Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Blake Wheeler had a goal in regulation and scored the shootout winner, Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 for their third consecutive victory. Mason Appleton had the tying goal in regulation and the Jets got shootout goals from

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 13 assists for his second career triple-double, Gary Trent Jr. scored 29 points and the Toronto Raptors strengthened their hold on sixth place in the Eastern Conference by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-102. Toronto moved two games

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ochai Agbaji of Kansas, Johnny Davis of Wisconsin, Iowa’s Keegan Murray, Drew Timme of Gonzaga and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky are the five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball’s player of the year. The winner will be announced April 5 on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” The finalists have been

By MARK AMBROGI Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nikola Jokic flirted with another triple-double with 37 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, helping the Denver Nuggets hold off the Indiana Pacers 125-118. Jokic fell one assist shy of his 20th triple-double of the season after getting one Monday night at Charlotte. The Nuggets led by

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 35 points, and Tomas Satoransky had an unusual double-double — no points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds — as the Washington Wizards beat the Orlando Magic 127-110. Satoransky became the third player to finish a game with no points and at least 10

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 35 points, added 13 assists and just missed another triple-double, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 120-112 win over Cleveland. The Cavaliers were without star forward Evan Mobley, who will miss at least two more games with a sprained ankle. Dorian Finney-Smith made

By NORM FRAUENHEIM Associated Press GLEDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Mookie Betts doesn’t have much left on his career checklist. Two World Series rings, an AL MVP, five Gold Gloves and a batting title. He’s even bowled several perfect games. Indeed, Betts hasn’t left many pins standing. But there is one. The Los Angeles Dodgers are

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bruce Arians has decided to retire as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and move into a front-office role with the team, a stunning move announced Wednesday night. Arians, who will turn 70 this coming season, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl title in

BALTIMORE (AP) — Lamar Jackson says on Twitter that he loves the Baltimore Ravens amid uncertainty about his contract status beyond this year. Jackson said Wednesday he didn’t know who was putting out a “false narrative” that he was having thoughts about leaving. Jackson’s contract is an issue in Baltimore for a second straight offseason.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Spirit announced that the sale of the National Women’s Soccer League team to Michele Kang has closed and she is officially the controlling owner. The completion of the sale, which was announced in February, formally closes a lengthy battle over the team. Kang acquired the interests of co-owners Bill Lynch

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Ricardo Pepi, Kellyn Acosta, Tim Weah and DeAndre Yedlin returned to the starting lineup as U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter made four changes for the Americans’ final World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica. With the U.S. in position to clinch a World Cup return as long as the Americans did

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two of Brittney Griner’s USA Basketball teammates have broken their silence on the star player’s imprisonment in Russia. Most WNBA players have been hesitant to talk about Griner’s detention on apparent drug charges in Russia, hoping to avoid potentially hurting her case. Players have been keeping

By CHUCK KING Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Washington Nationals fans have reasons to doubt 2022 will be their year, and they got 29 more Wednesday. Pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Cade Cavalli allowed 10 runs each while the Nationals were shellacked 29-8 by the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring training game

By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer Hailey Van Lith’s energy level is always evident. The Louisville guard seems to do everything at full speed and never appears to take a play off. Van Lith has split defenders with a quick burst to the basket, and faked others by stopping on a dime to spot

WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor standout freshman Kendall Brown and point guard James Akinjo are entering their names into the NBA draft. The players revealed their decisions on their social media accounts Wednesday. Akinjo still had another season of eligibility at Baylor, where he transferred last year after leading Arizona in scoring in his only

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Albert Pujols got a good hit and then some good news about his wife’s health. The 42-year-old smacked the first single of his second act with the St. Louis Cardinals, then received a text message minutes later saying Deidre Pujols’ brain surgery was a success. Deidre

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer Shaheen Holloway is leaving Saint Peter’s for Seton Hall just days after helping the little Jesuit school make history by becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. Seton Hall announced the hiring of the 45-year-old early Wednesday evening. It was hardly a surprise.

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A year ago, glaring inequities were revealed at the women’s NCAA Tournament. NCAA President Mark Emmert says he is happy with progress made since then, but there is work to be done. He says there have only been “preliminary discussions” about distributing tournament revenues to women’s

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Three days after Saint Peter’s magical NCAA Tournament ride ended, the mayhem still has not stopped for university president Eugene Cornacchia. The campus bookstores and suppliers can’t keep up with the demand for Peacocks’ merchandise. Plans for a parade Friday in Jersey City, New

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Sixteen-year-old Anna Davis and Alabama sophomore Benedetta Moresco share the lead after the opening round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. It was a tough day for scoring in windy conditions at Champions Retreat. Davis birdied her final hole to match the Italian at 70. They have a one-shot lead over

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three Georgetown men’s basketball players have entered the NCAA transfer portal. They are the latest in a series of members of coach Patrick Ewing’s team to leave the Hoyas. The school announced the departures of Timothy Ighoefe, Tyler Beard and Jalin Billingsley. Ighoefe is a 7-foot junior center who averaged 2.6 points

By GARY SCHATZ Associated Press GOODYEAR, Arizona (AP) — Hunter Greene has cracked the Cincinnati Reds’ season-opening rotation. The second overall pick from the 2017 draft reached 104 mph with his fastball in Triple-A last season and could be one of the most exciting rookies in baseball this year. The right-hander will pitch behind opening-day