Month: March 2022

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Peru has beaten Paraguay 2-0 in the last round of South American World Cup qualifiers to secure fifth place in the standings and entry to an intercontinental playoff for a spot in Qatar. Gianluca Lapadula opened the scoring in Lima in the 5th minute and

By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Brock Nelson scored his career-high 32nd goal, Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves and the New York Islanders held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. Josh Bailey, Anthony Beauvillier and Zach Parise also scored as the Islanders snapped a two-game skid. Vladimir Gavrikov scored twice for

By AARON BRACY Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 points and had a game-deciding block of Joel Embiid in the final seconds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 118-116 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams. Khris Middleton scored 22 points and

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away for a 107-94 victory over the Washington Wizards. Nikola Vucevic scored 27 points for Chicago, which is trying to stay in the top six in the Eastern Conference

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George is back in the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Clippers after missing three months with an elbow injury. Coach Tyronn Lue says George’s minutes will be restricted against the Utah Jazz. The All-Star guard hasn’t played since Dec. 22. George had been rehabbing a torn ulnar collateral ligament

By JOHN RABY AP Sports Writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Conference USA has agreed to allow Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss to expedite their move to the Sun Belt. The resolution announced Tuesday allows the three schools to withdraw from Conference USA by the end of the current academic year. Joining them in their

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer Cristiano Ronaldo will get another shot at lifting the World Cup. Portugal beat North Macedonia 2-0 in a European playoff on Tuesday, securing a fifth World Cup appearance for the leading men’s international scorer. It was one of seven spots in soccer’s premier tournament decided on the day.

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers has led the Connecticut Huskies to their 14th straight Final Four. They’ll play in the national semifinals in Minneapolis. The games at Target Center will be about 10 miles away from where Bueckers had a standout career at Hopkins High School. The talent

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Billy Turner’s one-year deal with the Denver Broncos represents not only a homecoming but a reunion. Turner, who played in Denver from 2016-18, and Broncos new head coach Nathaniel Hackett developed a close friendship during their time together in Green Bay, where Turner blossomed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Pac-12 Conference will not renew the lease at its downtown San Francisco headquarters and will have its employees work remotely instead of maintaining a permanent league office. The conference’s lease expires in June 2023. The conference was based in the San Francisco suburb of Walnut Creek until 2014, when it

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz will start the season in the minors. The team has optioned the towering 6-foot-7 shortstop to Triple-A Indianapolis in hopes of getting him more experience. The 23-year-old Cruz had put together a solid spring training, going 5 for 15 with two home runs in Grapefruit League

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers pitcher José Ureña has signed a $1.25 million, one-year league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. The 30-year-old Ureña went 4-8 with a 5.81 ERA for the Tigers last season in 26 appearances, including 18 starts. The right-hander had 67 strikeouts and 42 walks in 100 2/3

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — American soccer’s harrowing memory of the loss in Trinidad 4 1/2 years ago remains omnipresent, if no longer raw. Denied a berth in the 2018 World Cup by a 2-1 defeat to an already-eliminated opponent, the Americans try not to think they will

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Lorena Ochoa already is in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Now she’s going into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The Mexican star met all the requirements except for a 10-year career, but the LPGA has now lifted that requirement. Ochoa retired after seven years to start a family. The

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers rookie forward Evan Mobley will miss Wednesday night’s game against Dallas with a sprained right ankle. It’s not clear when Mobley will be back. The Cavs are seventh in the Eastern Conference with seven games left. The top six teams go directly to the

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are waiting on the return of LeBron James and Anthony Davis as they flirt with missing the play-in tournament for the Western Conference playoffs. Both were on the bench for a 128-110 loss at Dallas. James has an ankle injury. Davis hasn’t

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. The move gives New Orleans a second experienced signal-caller behind returning starter Jameis Winston. The 34-year-old Dalton is a former starter in Cincinnati who is now with his fourth team in four years after spending his first

By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — There was a time, not that many years ago, when predicting who would win the women’s NCAA Tournament was not that difficult. UConn or Tennessee, or Baylor or maybe Stanford, depending on the year, dominated the season and the tournament. But this year is not

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer Stanford is back in the women’s Final Four thanks in part to the offensive performances by Haley Jones and Lexie Hull. But the Cardinal have also been exceptional at the defensive end during the NCAAs. Stanford is allowing just 54.5 points per game in the tournament and held Texas

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa All-American Keegan Murray has announced he will declare for the NBA draft. Murray tweeted he would leave the Hawkeyes after a sophomore season in which he was a consensus the Big Ten scoring leader, consensus All-American and unanimous pick to The Associated Press All-Big Ten team. Murray helped lead

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A resolution to the NFL’s investigation into Deshaun Watson’s conduct could take some time, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday. The quarterback, now with Cleveland after a trade from Houston, will not be indicted on criminal sexual misconduct charges brought by 22 women. He

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer MESA, Ariz. (AP) — David Robertson is back in camp with the Chicago Cubs after going home to be with his wife, Erin, for the birth of their third child. The veteran reliever says he thinks he has enough time to be ready for opening day next week against

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer The arrival of Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, new, relaxed rules on athlete compensation and better exposure on TV are fueling interest in NCAA women’s gymnastics. Attendance figures have spiked at several schools this season, including Auburn, where Lee is a freshman. Women’s gymnastics as a whole is thriving, with

LONDON (AP) — England coach Gareth Southgate has criticized the fans who jeered Harry Maguire before and during the team’s 3-0 win over the Ivory Coast. Southgate says “I thought the reception was a joke, an absolute joke” when asked about the boos of some England fans when Maguire’s name was read out at Wembley

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — A tennis player alleges in a lawsuit that the U.S. Tennis Association failed to protect her from a coach who she says sexually abused her when she was 19. Kylie McKenzie alleges coach Anibal Aranda touched her vagina after a 2018 practice at the USTA’s training center in Orlando, Florida. The

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil coach Tite complained about playing a World Cup qualifier in the altitude of Bolivian capital La Paz and is now under fire from the host country. Brazil was taking on Bolivia in a match that wouldn’t change their World Cup destinies — the visitors

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees right-hander Luis Severino is having his spring training start scheduled for Wednesday night pushed back to Saturday because of general body soreness. Severino was limited to four late-season relief appearances in 2021 after having Tommy John surgery in February 2020. Severino is slated to follow opening-day starter Gerrit

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Carlos Correa hit his first spring homer with the Twins, providing a preview of what he could provide Minnesota’s lineup this season. The 27-year-old launched a solo drive that landed well beyond the left field wall against Tampa Bay. Correa was among the biggest names

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — First-year University at Albany men’s basketball coach Dwayne Killings is away from the program while the school investigates a report of a physical confrontation with a player early in the season. A release from the university said its Office of Employee Relations was made aware of the allegation in February. School

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer An independent investigation into the Portland Timbers’ handling of domestic abuse accusations leveled at midfielder Andy Polo concluded that the team’s offers to help his estranged wife were not meant to persuade her to drop charges. The investigation by the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP concluded the Timbers

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank says the team had only preliminary interest in dealing for Deshaun Watson before the quarterback accepted a trade to Cleveland. Blank says more investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations made by nearly two dozen women against Watson while he was with

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledges all is “not paradise” in Qatar ahead of the World Cup but he is touting changes to labor laws in the tiny Persian Gulf nation ahead of the tournament draw. The commitment by Qatar to spend on stadiums, hotels

CHORZOW, Poland (AP) — Poland is heading to the World Cup and of course Robert Lewandowski helped send his team there. The prolific Bayern Munich striker converted a penalty in the 50th minute to set Poland on its way to a 2-0 win over Sweden in one of the European playoff finals for a place

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Republican proposal to prevent transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports is advancing in the Pennsylvania Legislature. The measure was passed on party lines Tuesday by the Pennsylvania House Education Committee. The “Save Women’s Sports Act” bill would restrict players to male or female

PORTO, Portugal (AP) — There will be at least one more World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo. The all-time top scorer in men’s international soccer will get to play in his fifth World Cup in Qatar after Portugal defeated North Macedonia 2-0 in the European qualifying playoffs. This time there was no stunning late winner for

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Daniil Medvedev is one win away from returning to No. 1. The top-seeded Medvedev shook off a slow start and reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Open by defeating Jenson Brooksby of the U.S. 7-5, 6-1. Medvedev has yet to drop a set in