AP National Sports

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer The Basketball World Cup field is filled. Serbia has grabbed the last spot for this summer’s 32-team tournament. Serbia clinched the berth with a 101-83 win over Great Britain on Monday. The win means that two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets will have the chance

PARIS (AP) — A judicial official says French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into a rape accusation against Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi. The official would not provide details about the accusation or comment on media reports about what allegedly happened, citing the ongoing investigation. PSG officials did not respond to requests for comment

ROME (AP) — Fiorentina full back Cristiano Biraghi scored from a quick free kick in his own half that caught Hellas Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo off guard during the final minutes of a 3-0 Serie A win. Teammate Rolando Mandragora was still down on the grass after being fouled when Biraghi stepped up and unleashed

PARIS (AP) — Spain’s Alexia Putellas won FIFA’s Best Women’s Player award for the second straight time. Putellas won the voting over Alex Morgan of the United States and England’s Beth Mead. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has been voted FIFA men’s coach of the year after leading his team to the World Cup title in

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer The Washington Commanders have released quarterback Carson Wentz. The expected move comes after their one-season experiment with Wentz did not work out. Washington was able to get out of the final two years of Wentz’s contract without any salary cap penalty. Wentz threw for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer The Los Angeles Chargers have promoted Derrick Ansley to defensive coordinator. Ansley was the secondary coach on Brandon Staley’s staff the past two seasons. He takes over for Renaldo Hill, who left to join Miami’s staff as pass-game coordinator. Staley is expected to remain the defensive play-caller though. Ansley

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — World Cup winner Lionel Scaloni will remain as coach of Argentina to the end of the 2026 World Cup. The Argentine Football Association and Scaloni confirmed the deal on Monday. They didn’t elaborate any further. Scaloni’s contract expired after Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar on Dec. 18. Long

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer Jurrangelo Cijntje is one of the most fascinating novelties in college baseball so far this season. The Mississippi State freshman is a rare ambidextrous pitcher, the most notable since Pat Venditte appeared in 61 major league games from 2015-20. Cijntje already throws harder than Venditte did. His fastball was

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball’s average salary rose 14.8% to a record $4.22 million last year after the end of the lockout, boosted by big deals for Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. The rate of increase was the highest since a 17.7% increase

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer A person with knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press the Washington Commanders are releasing safety Bobby McCain. The transaction saves them more than $2 million in salary cap space. The emergence of young safety Darrick Forrest alongside Kam Curl made it easier for Washington to cut ties

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired forward Sam Lafferty and defenseman Jake McCabe from the Chicago Blackhawks. Their latest big trade comes the day after division-rival Tampa Bay paid a hefty price to acquire forward Tanner Jeannot from Nashville. Talent continues to flow to Eastern Conference contenders ahead of

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays have hired former Astros general manager James Click to be their new vice president of baseball strategy. Click helped build the Houston teams that went to three straight AL Championship Series and back-to-back World Series, winning it all last year. But he clashed with owner Jim Crane, and

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have announced a plethora of changes to head coach Arthur Smith’s staff in a further restructuring of his assistants after a fifth straight losing season. Most notably, Steve Jackson will take over as secondary coach, while David Huxtable has been hired as a senior defensive assistant after

NEW YORK (AP) — K’Andre Miller of the New York Rangers will have a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety for spitting at L.A. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. It was not immediately clear which day the hearing would take place. The Rangers do not play again until Wednesday at Philadelphia. Miller posted a

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Freshman standout Keyonte George is out for seventh-ranked Baylor’s game at Oklahoma State because of a right ankle sprain. The school says George will be revaluated after Monday night’s game. The Bears finish the regular season at home Saturday against Iowa State. George rolled his ankle about midway through the first

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Novak Djokovic broke the record for the most time spent at No. 1 in the professional tennis rankings by a man or woman, beginning his 378th week in the ATP’s top spot on Monday to surpass Steffi Graf’s 377 leading the WTA. He already held the men’s mark, eclipsing

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. women’s coach Vlatko Andonovski earned 27% as much as American men’s coach Gregg Berhalter in the year ending last March 31, down slightly from 28% in the previous year. Andonovski earned $446,495, according to the U.S. Soccer Federation’s tax filing, including $50,000 in bonus

NEW YORK (AP) — K’Andre Miller of the New York Rangers says spitting at L.A. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was completely accidental. Miller in a message posted on social media said he would never intend to spit at an opponent on purpose and that it goes against everything he is as a person. The 23-year-old

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer Longtime American downhiller Steven Nyman will wrap up his career this weekend in Aspen, Colorado. He won’t be racing to win, either, but merely to say goodbye. He plans on wearing jeans and taking his sweet time in his last World Cup downhill race. It’s been quite a career