AP National Sports

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Brooks Koepka was among the early starters for the second round of the Masters on Friday, and a birdie at the par-5 second and a couple of nice par saves moved him ahead of first-round co-leaders Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm. Koepka is leading a contingent of LIV Golf players on

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Hugh Freeze’s to-do list at Auburn includes picking or bringing in a quarterback who can revive one of the nation’s worst passing offenses and closing the talent gap its Southeastern Conference rivals. Tempering expectations for the near future is also on there somewhere. Freeze is

MONACO (AP) — The Athletics Integrity Unit says steeplechase runner Norah Jeruto has been provisionally suspended on suspicion of breaking anti-doping rules. Jeruto was born in Kenya and switched allegiance to Kazakhstan before she won world championship gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last year. A notice on the AIU website indicates Jeruto is suspected of

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Prolific striker Erling Haaland is available to play Saturday when Manchester City visits last-place Southampton. The Norway international returned to training this week after a groin injury forced him to miss City’s 4-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend. City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed Haaland will be in the squad for the

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer Climate change is making major league sluggers into even hotter hitters, sending an extra 50 or so home runs a year over the fences, a new study found. Hotter, thinner air that allows balls to fly farther contributed a tiny bit to a surge in home runs since 2010,

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The second round of the Masters is underway, with tee times shifted up a half-hour because of an approaching storm front. The potential for heavy rainfall and much colder temperatures is a big topic of discussion at Augusta National. The opening round was played on a balmy spring day with temperatures

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer In a season of so many coaching changes in the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp says Arsenal is a good example of what can happen when a club practices patience. Mikel Arteta takes his first-place team to Liverpool on Sunday as the Gunners try to move a step closer to

MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel says forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting will miss Saturday’s game against Freiburg with a knee problem and is a doubt for the Champions League quarterfinal against Manchester City next week. Tuchel says the 34-year-old Cameroon striker will not travel to Freiburg and will undergo treatment. He adds that

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer Smashing Pumpkins singer and guitarist Billy Corgan is back this weekend trying to raise funds for victims of last year’s Highland Park shooting. Corgan has lived in the suburban Chicago suburb for 20 years. He held a livestreamed benefit show last year that raised $250,00. Corgan also owns the

By MAX MILLER Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored a hat-trick to lead the Colorado Avalanche past the San Jose Sharks 6-2. Rantanen reached 52 goals on the season and finished with four points. Nathan MacKinnon also scored a goal and had four points. Ben Meyers scored the other two goals

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Dustin May threw six dominant innings, Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers won 5-2 in the home opener for the Arizona Diamondbacks. May gave up one run on just two hits, striking out five and walking two. The 25-year-old May also

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights scored four goals on their first six shots and took a major step toward clinching the Pacific Division and the top seed in the Western Conference with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. The third line shined for the

By MATTHEW COLES Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder strengthened their hopes of reaching the play-in tournament with a 114-98 victory over the short-handed Utah Jazz. Josh Giddey had 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, while Aaron Wiggins scored 15 for the Thunder,

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Thatcher Demko stopped 33 shots for his first shutout of the season and third overall in the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. Andrei Kuzmenko, Vitali Kravtsov and J.T. Miller — into the empty net — scored and defenseman Akito Hirose had two assists to

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Paul made a career-high seven 3-pointers and the Phoenix Suns won their season-best seventh game in a row, holding off the short-handed Denver Nuggets 119-115. Kevin Durant added six 3s and led the Suns with 29 points, while Paul scored 25. Durant also had seven rebounds.

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson beat the first-period buzzer while scoring twice, and the Dallas Stars kept pace in the tight Central Division playoff race with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists to get to 999 career points. The Stars

MONTREAL (AP) — Joel Armia had his second career hat trick and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 6-2 on Thursday night to snap a four-game skid. Nick Suzuki, Brendan Gallagher and Mike Hoffman also scored for Montreal, Mike Matheson had two assists and Sam Montembeault made 24 saves. Dylan Strome and Nicklas Backstom

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jacob Quillan had a two-goal game for the second time during the NCAA Tournament, Yaniv Perets posted 29 saves and Quinnipiac beat Michigan 5-2 in the Frozen Four. Quinnipiac, which set a program record for wins, advances to its third national title game in program history against Minnesota on Saturday. The