AP National Sports

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer If you’re like most of the country, you probably didn’t count on a No. 8 seed reaching the national title game last year — or a No. 15 seed making it to the Elite Eight. Thank you North Carolina and Saint Peter’s, who made sure there’s nowhere to go

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Bob Bryan is the new captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team. The U.S. Tennis Association is announcing the appointment on Monday. Bryan was half of a record-breaking men’s doubles duo with his twin brother, Mike. They helped the United States claim the 2007 Davis Cup. That was the

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer Kansas and Alabama are no strangers to playing for national championships. For the Jayhawks, another high-expectations trip to March Madness is a rite of spring. For the Crimson Tide, well, this path to glory travels through some unfamiliar ground — the basketball court. Alabama rolls in as the top

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says the Cleveland Browns have restructured quarterback Deshaun Watson’s $230 million contract to create salary-cap space ahead of NFL free agency. The Browns always have had the ability to convert Watson’s base salary into a signing bonus and create $36

TOKYO (AP) — Kunwoo Park and Ha-Seong Kim hit grand slams in consecutive innings, and South Korea set a World Baseball Classic scoring record with a 22-2 rout over China in a game between already eliminated teams. South Korea broke the runs record that had stood since Japan beat China 18-2 in the first round

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Eintracht Frankfurt is forgoing its allocation of tickets for Wednesday’s Champions League game at Napoli in protest as what it calls an “unlawful” decree from Italian officials limiting ticket sales to visiting supporters. The dispute began last week when Italy’s interior ministry ordered Napoli not to sell tickets to German fans

SALE, Morocco (AP) — Achraf Hakimi has been called into the Morocco squad for games against Brazil and Peru while he is implicated in a rape allegation in France. Morocco coach Walid Regragui says the country supports the Paris Saint-Germain defender. Regragui says Hakimi “has the presumption of innocence until it’s proven to the contrary.”

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top editors at the Dutch national broadcaster’s sports department have stepped down amid reports that there was a culture of inappropriate behavior and bullying among staff spanning more than two decades. The decision Sunday evening followed a report last week compiled by external experts

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer Kansas and Alabama are no strangers to playing for national championships. For the Jayhawks, another high-expectations trip to March Madness is a rite of spring. For the Crimson Tide, well, this path to glory travels through some unfamiliar ground — the basketball court. Alabama rolls in as the top

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The BBC called a truce Monday in its showdown with sports commentator Gary Lineker, reversing its suspension of the former soccer great for a tweet that criticized the U.K. government’s contentious new migration policy. The about-face followed a weekend of chaos and crisis for Britain’s publicly funded

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — There a common thread running through the World Baseball Classic when opponents face Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani and his Japanese teammates. Players become fans, collect souvenirs, chase autographs and cherish memories. Czech player William Escala returned home with a autographed ball from Japan star

SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters has been subjected to racist abuse on his social media account after a Premier League match against Manchester United. His club says the “abhorrent” messages have been reported to police. Racially aggravated language and monkey emojis were posted alongside one of Walker-Peters’ photos on his Instagram account

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — The Spanish government’s top sports authority says it will take action against Barcelona in the legal proceedings the club is facing for its payments of millions of dollars over several years to a company that belonged to the vice president of the country’s refereeing committee. Sports

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Gary Lineker will return to the airwaves after the BBC reversed the former soccer great’s suspension on Monday for a tweet that had criticized the U.K. government’s new migration policy. The about-face followed a weekend of chaos and crisis for Britain’s publicly funded national broadcaster, which faced

LONDON (AP) — Gary Lineker will return to airwaves after the BBC reversed the former soccer great’s suspension on Monday for a post on Twitter that had criticized the British government’s new asylum policy. “Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary, and I look

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — March Madness isn’t just about filling out — and later trashing — brackets. There are more ways to bet the field in the NCAA Tournament, an event that will consume basketball fans over the next three weeks. Top-ranked Alabama is the plus-150 favorite to emerge

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer Alabama rolls in as the top overall seed in an NCAA Tournament that feels both familiar and foreign this season. Yes, there are plenty of heartwarming stories and unbelievable upsets to come when the action begins later this week. But this was also a season clouded with police blotters

By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Northern Kentucky is back in the NCAA Tournament, three years after its trip was called off along with the event because of the pandemic. NKU has won its fourth Horizon League championship since 2016-17 but will make its first NCAA tourney appearance since 2019.

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government has relaxed its mask-wearing guidelines but the vast majority of fans at the Tokyo Dome watching the World Baseball Classic still wore them. Nippon Professional Baseball also issued new guidelines. Spectators will now be allowed to cheer at the Tokyo Dome without wearing masks, which had been prohibited until