Month: May 2022

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer College basketball coaches around the country are plugging holes and adding veterans to their rosters through the transfer portal. It’s the new, popular offseason ritual for teams looking to plug some immediate holes to supplement the traditional high school signees and replace NBA draft departures, who often don’t announce

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer PARIS (AP) — Elina Svitolina is calling for better mental health protection for juniors starting out in their tennis careers. The former No.3-ranked Svitolina remembers how tough the weight of expectation was, the loneliness, the anxiety and long travel when she was starting out. Not to mention replaying crushing

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Mikael Backlund, Andrew Mangiapane and Trevor Lewis all scored in the third period, leading the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series. Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves for the Flames, who can win the series Friday in Dallas.

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Sports Writer MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Golden State Warriors 134-95 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a sixth game in the Western Conference semifinal. Dillon Brooks added 12 points for

PHOENIX (AP) — Tina Charles had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Skylar Diggins-Smith added 19 points and six assists, and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Seattle Storm 97-77 in the first of a home-and-home set this week. Seattle was without star Breanna Stewart due to health and safety protocols, and Phoenix was missing center Brittney

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian has signed on as the foundation coach of Bay Area Dragons in the new East Asia Super League. Goorjian is the most successful coach in Australia’s National Basketball League with six championship titles and guided the national men’s team

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Arcia lined his first homer of the season over the left-field wall off Ryan Brasier with one out in the

By VIN A. CHERWOO AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins were leading 2-0 in Game 5 of their first-round series against the New York Rangers when star center Sidney Crosby headed to the dressing room with about seven minutes left in the second period. He was knocked to the ice minutes

BOSTON (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks are still alive in the NBA playoffs, but star Giannis Antetokounmpo is already joking about his plans for next year.  After scoring 40 points to help the Bucks take a 3-2 lead over Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the two-time MVP asked reporters out of the blue: “If

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Local high school hero Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run double and had his first major-league three-RBI game and Whit Merrifield homered for the first time since last August as the Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers 8-2 to snap a three-game losing streak. Joel Payamps was the second of

By STEVE OVERBEY Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Juan Yepez homered and Miles Mikolas pitched seven strong innings, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Yepez has reached base in all seven games since being recalled from the minors on May 3. His second-inning homer kickstarted a three-run

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears added depth at wide receiver, agreeing to a deal with free agent Dante Pettis. The 26-year-old Pettis announced the move on Twitter, posting a photo of himself signing a contract. Drafted by San Francisco in the second round in 2018, he has 52 receptions for 739 yards

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins had their game suspended when a severe thunderstorm rolled through and halted play in the top of the fourth inning with the Astros leading the Twins 5-1. José Urquidy won’t get to keep working on what he started. He gave

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer The Atlantic Coast Conference is mulling a change to its football scheduling model that could include the elimination of divisions by 2023. Discussions are taking place during the league’s annual spring meetings. The focus is a 3-5-5 model that would have teams playing three opponents as permanent scheduling partners

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres say manager Bob Melvin had prostate surgery. The team had no further details and likely won’t have any updates until next week. Melvin said Tuesday he didn’t think he had cancer, but the doctors wouldn’t know until the surgery. He said he hoped to miss only the

By DANA GAURUDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Zach Logue pitched seven scoreless innings in his second major league start and the Oakland Athletics spoiled the debut of Joey Wentz by thumping the floundering Detroit Tigers 9-0. Sean Murphy and Kevin Smith each drove in two runs and Christian Bethancourt supplied three hits, two runs

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe set a Florida postseason record with a five-point night and the Florida Panthers escaped a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 and take a 3-2 lead in an Eastern Conference first-round series. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for Florida, which trailed

By BEN NUCKOLS AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz homered as the Nationals sent Mets right-hander Tylor Megill to the earliest exit of his career, and Washington beat New York 8-3. Soto hit a two-run homer in the Nationals’ five-run first inning. Cruz hit his 453rd career longball, a three-run

CHICAGO (AP) — Dana Evans scored 15 points, Rebekah Gardner added 14 and the Chicago Sky cruised past the New York Liberty 83-50. Chicago led 36-17 at halftime after holding New York to 20% shooting, including 1 of 12 from 3-point range. It was the lowest point total in a half since Connecticut had 15

By VIN A. CHERWOO AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Filip Chytil scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the New York Rangers staved off elimination with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. Jacob Trouba and Alexis Lafrenière each had a goal

By The Associated Press The Cleveland Guardians are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak that has sidelined manager Terry Francona and several of the team’s coaches, prompting the first coronavirus-related postponement in Major League Baseball this season. Cleveland’s game Wednesday in Chicago against the White Sox was scrapped to allow for more testing and contact tracing.

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Wake Forest has fired women’s basketball coach Jen Hoover, parting ways with the former Demon Deacons player after 10 seasons. The school announced the move Wednesday evening. Athletics director John Currie pointed to the program’s overall trajectory for the decision as well as turnover on the coaching staff. Wake

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Alfonso Rivas hit a tiebreaking two-run single against his hometown team in the eighth inning, and the banged-up Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 7-5. Rivas came up with the bases loaded and singled to center off Luis García. The Padres announced during the

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer The biggest day on the NFL calendar for social media departments at the 32 teams isn’t a game, the draft or the start of free agency. It is schedule release day. Much like coaches spend hours on game planning and players hone their craft on the practice field, digital

By BEN ROSS Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brandon Crawford homered, leading Alex Cobb and the San Francisco Giants past Colorado 7-1 for their 10th straight win over the Rockies. Crawford drove in three runs and scored twice as San Francisco extended its overall winning streak to five. Joey Bart, Brandon Belt, LaMonte Wade

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic has earned a second straight NBA Most Valuable Player trophy to become the second consecutive international player to win two in a row. The 27-year-old from Serbia averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists to take home MVP honors.

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Jacob Stallings hit a key single, and the Miami Marlins used an eight-run ninth inning to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-3. The Marlins controlled most of the game until the eighth, when D-backs pinch-hitter Jordan Luplow hit a tying two-run homer off Steven Okert. Miami responded

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee Board of Parole member says Lorenzen Wright’s ex-wife should not be granted early release from a 30-year prison sentence she received after pleading guilty to plotting the retired NBA player’s 2010 slaying. Barrett Rich recommended that the board deny parole to Sherra Wright during a hearing at the Nashville

ROME (AP) — Inter Milan remains on course for a league and cup double as it beat Juventus 4-2 in the Italian Cup final. Ivan Perišić scored twice after Hakan Çalhanoğlu had converted a controversial penalty to take the match to extra time. Juventus had turned the match around early in the second half with

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer CHICAGO (AP) — A former athletic trainer for the Chicago White Sox is alleging in a lawsuit that he was fired by the team because of his sexual orientation, age and disability. According to the lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County, the actions of White Sox general manager Rick

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) — After the Denver Broncos were rendered spectators on the first night of the NFL draft last month, John Elway said he turned to his successor George Paton and told him, “great first-round pick!” As in 10-year veteran QB Russell Wilson, whom Paton acquired