AP National Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight is out indefinitely while he receives care from the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. The league and Players’ Association announced Knight’s absence Friday. Knight will continue to be paid while receiving treatment. He can return to the team once he’s cleared for on-ice competition by program administrators.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Olympic ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean Luc Baker withdrew Friday from figure skating’s world championships as they continue to prioritize their physical and mental health. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko will take their place next month in Saitama, Japan. Hawayak and Baker were 11th at last year’s Beijing Games

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall says isn’t bothered by fans clamoring for him to be fired. Chants of “Fire Hextall” erupted several times during a dismal 7-2 loss to Edmonton that dropped the Penguins to 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Hextall says he understands the team has not met expectations

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Backup quarterback C.J. Beathard signed a two-year contract extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The move keeps him from hitting free agency next month. Beathard spent the last two seasons as Trevor Lawrence’s backup. He played in six games, with most of the work coming in mop-up duty. He’s 2-10 as an

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says forward Ansu Fati is sidelined by a bruised left knee. This means Ansu will likely be unavailable for Sunday’s Spanish league game at Almeria. Barcelona then visits Real Madrid on Thursday for the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal. Barcelona says 20-year-old Ansu was injured in training.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell has promoted Nate Letton from quality control coach to tight ends coach. The move enables Letton to have the same role he filled on Fickell’s Cincinnati staff last season. Fickell originally selected former Cincinnati offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli as his tight ends coach. Guidugli has since left

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Saturday night’s Major League Soccer season opener between the LA Galaxy and defending champion Los Angeles Football Club at the Rose Bowl has been postponed due to severe weather. The match has been rescheduled for July 4. Southern California has been pounded by heavy rain and wind. It could also be

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — The union for Major League Soccer players criticized FIFA, its rules-making body and the league for failing to allow trials of temporary substitutes to replace players suspected of sustaining concussions. The International Football Association Board said Jan. 18 that no consensus was reached on the proposal for trials by MLS and

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska will attempt to set the NCAA volleyball attendance record next season. Memorial Stadium will host a doubleheader on Aug. 30. The Cornhuskers will play Omaha in a regular-season match. It will be preceded by a Division II exhibition between Wayne State and Nebraska-Kearney. The stadium holds 85,000-plus. The volleyball attendance

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern coach Chris Collins is once again on solid footing. And so are the Wildcats. Northwestern is second in the Big Ten and on course for its second NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years. The Wildcats knocked off a team ranked No. 1 in the

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Andy Murray has saved five match points to beat Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (6) and advance to the final of the Qatar Open. The 35-year-old Murray reached his first ATP Tour final since June and will face second-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime or former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. Murray is the three-time

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami has been placed on probation for one year. The school and the NCAA say women’s basketball coaches inadvertently helped arrange impermissible contact between a booster and two players before they signed with the Hurricanes. Coach Katie Meier will not miss any more time.

PARIS (AP) — France captain Wendie Renard has announced she will skip the Women’s World Cup this year. Renard says she’s unhappy with the team’s set up and needs to protect her mental health. Renard is arguably France’s greatest women’s footballer. She has played 142 times for France and added 34 goals. She stopped short of

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami’s women’s basketball program has been placed on probation for one year. The school and the NCAA say coaches inadvertently helped arrange impermissible contact between a booster and two players before they signed with the Hurricanes. Coach Katie Meier will not miss any more

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young says he has “nothing but love and respect” for former Atlanta Hawks coach Nate McMillan and expects to have no input in the hiring of McMillan’s replacement. Young spoke with reporters for the first time since McMillan was fired on Tuesday with the Hawks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek has stayed undefeated against Coco Gauff after beating the American teenager 6-4, 6-2 to reach the final at the Dubai Championships. The three-time Grand Slam champion improved to 6-0 against the 18-year-old Gauff and each victory has been in straight sets. The Pole beat Gauff in

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer USA Basketball put together different rosters for all six World Cup qualifying windows, and coach Jim Boylen noticed the same two things with each of those groups. One, every player beamed when putting on the “USA” jersey for picture day. Two, by the third or fourth day of practice,

NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Newcastle forward Miguel Almiron has signed a 3 1/2-year contact extension with the Premier League club. The Paraguay international is Newcastle’s top scorer this season with 10 goals — the first time he’s hit double digits since joining from MLS club Atlanta United in January 2019. The 29-year-old Almiron recently made