AP National Sports

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

By The Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Joey Meneses hit two homers, including a crucial three-run shot in the fourth inning, to lead Mexico in a lopsided win over the United States 11-5 in the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Chase Field. Meneses got the sellout crowd of 47,534 on its feet in the

By The Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Joey Meneses hit two homers, including a crucial three-run shot in the fourth inning, to lead Mexico in a lopsided win over the United States 11-5 in the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Chase Field. Meneses got the sellout crowd of 47,534 on its feet in the

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dénis Bouanga scored two goals to extend his outstanding start to the season, and Los Angeles FC remained unbeaten with a 4-0 victory over the New England Revolution. Timothy Tillman and Stipe Biuk added their first goals for the defending MLS Cup champions, who are perfect this month in two league

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Qualifier Cristian Garin of Chile shocked third-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 7-6 (2) at the BNP Paribas Open for his first win over a top-five player in nearly two years. Garin, ranked No. 97, had 39 winners while Ruud, ranked No. 4, managed just 15 winners against 29 unforced

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Clayton Keller’s second goal of the game at 4:09 of overtime lifted the Arizona Coyotes to a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Barrett Hayton had two goals and an assist for Arizona. Keller’s pair gave him 29 for the season and Brett Ritchie scored his

By The Associated Press The NCAA Tournament has arrived. The First Four games will kick things off and set the final bracket with 68 teams battling it out for the national championship in women’s basketball. The top seeds are South Carolina, Indiana, Stanford and Virginia Tech. Sweet 16 weekend brings a twist this year for

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Julius Randle scored 33 points in a bounce-back performance, RJ Barrett got 20 of his 30 in the second half, and the New York Knicks snapped their three-game losing streak with a 112-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Immanuel Quickley had 15 points as

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Tommy Novak had two goals, including the game-winner with 3:48 remaining in overtime, and the Nashville Predators completed a six-game road trip with a 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks Sunday night. Novak, who also had an assist, beat John Gibson on an odd-man rush

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Elias Lindholm, Jonathan Huberdeau and Rasmus Andersson each had a goal and an assist, and the Calgary Flames beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1. Trevor Lewis and Noah Hanafin also scored, and Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund each had two assists as the Flames won for the third time in four games.

By DAVID SOLOMON Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pavel Dorofeyev scored his first NHL goal and Jiri Patera made 30 saves in his debut to help the Vegas Golden Knights beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3. Michael Amadio, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo also scored to help Vegas win for the sixth

By The Associated Press Columbia, Kansas, UMass and Oregon just missed playing in the women’s NCAA Tournament as the first four teams out of the field. All four will be part of the 64-team WNIT field that was announced Sunday night. Thirty-five of the teams in the bracket won at least 20 games and 17

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 for our

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. will return for a second season with the San Francisco 49ers after agreeing to a one-year contract before hitting free agency. Gipson announced on Instagram on Sunday night that he will return to San Francisco for 2023 after a

By JOHN KREISER Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nino Niederreiter and Morgan Barron scored second-period goals, Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves and the Winnipeg Jets held off the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. Nate Schmidt scored in the first period and Hellebuyck stopped all 14 shots he faced in the third for the Jets, who

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and headlining the South Region bracket. The Crimson Tide earned the program’s first-ever top regional seed with Sunday’s reveal of the field of 68 teams. That came hours after they closed out a second Southeastern Conference Tournament title