Sports

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Folks across the country watching the first-round of the NCAA Tournament last week thought it rightfully funny when they saw a couple of stadium workers scurry up a ladder and place a construction level across the rim. Turns out Iowa State players, puzzled by

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have signed linebacker and special teams contributor Dylan Cole to a one-year contract. Cole has 104 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions in 61 games over six seasons with the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans. He played in 15 games and made eight starts last season —

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer Adam Wainwright was in line for his seventh opening day start. The veteran St. Louis Cardinals right-hander instead will begin what’s slated to be his final season on the injured list with a groin injury. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol says the 41-year-old Wainwright could miss several weeks. The pitcher

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer At least one National Hockey League team with a Russian player on its roster has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride Night because of a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQ rights. The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys

WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has come out of retirement to sign for Wrexham. The Welsh soccer team is owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The 39-year-old Foster last played for Watford before stepping away from the game last year. He signed a deal until the end

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — As spring sports get underway at East Palestine High School in Ohio, organizers are trying to create normalcy for student-athletes while cleanup from the February train derailment and toxic chemical burn continues just over a mile away. Environmental officials say testing shows the air

By The Associated Press Sports on TV for Friday, March 24

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer Ali Krieger has decided to retire at the end of this season after a professional soccer career that has stretched some 16 years. She’s known as a savvy and strong player who won two World Cups with the United States in 2015 and 2019. First, though, she’s going

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Anthony Joshua has been facing a new reality in recent months. He has been the poster boy of boxing’s heavyweight division for so long but suddenly the British fighter is on the outside looking in. His star has fallen in the wake of back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk that

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Barcelona is facing a new legal threat from UEFA because of its payments of millions of dollars to a company linked to a Spanish refereeing official. It could include a Champions League ban. The European soccer body has asked for an investigation into the matter. The

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Defending titleholder Shoma Uno of Japan has edged American teen Ilia Malinin to lead the men’s short program at the world figure skating championships in Saitama. Uno opened with a triple flip followed with a quadruple toeloop, double toeloop combination. He finished with a triple axel for a season-best 104.63 points.

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation was created in 2019 to help protect athletes after the American sexual abuse scandal and it has now published its strategy to set new safeguarding standards with a view to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The “Gymnasts 2028” plan sets goals to

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Spanish league has filed another complaint to judicial authorities for racist insults against Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior by spectators during the game at Barcelona last weekend. This is the eighth such complaint the league has filed regarding racist slurs directed at Vinícius just this