AP National Sports

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are surging at the season’s halfway point, but head coach Mike Sullivan says there is more work to be done. The Penguins have won 16 of their last 18 to vault themselves into the thick of the Metropolitan Division race. Sullivan is pleased

By ANGELA CHARLTON and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked player Novak Djokovic could be allowed to defend his French Open title under the latest COVID-19 rules adopted Monday by the French government, even if he is still not vaccinated when the clay-court Grand Slam starts in May. Djokovic was barred from playing

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Former Tour de France champion Egan Bernal has undergone surgery on his right leg after breaking his femur and kneecap in a training accident. In a statement, the University of La Sabana Hospital near Colombia’s capital says Bernal received reconstructive surgery after the mishap Monday. It says he also sustained injuries

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Locked-out Major League Baseball players have withdrawn their proposal for more liberalized free agency and lowered their proposed decrease in revenue sharing. Players had previously asked that players be allowed to become free agents after five years of service with some age provisions rather than

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is getting a second interview for the vacant New York Giants’ coaching job even before some candidates have gotten a chance for a first meeting. The Giants confirmed Monday that Daboll will meet with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch and new general

WATFORD, England (AP) — Claudio Ranieri has been fired by Watford after 3 1/2 months in charge of the Premier League team that has just slipped into the relegation zone. Watford won two of its 13 league matches under the 70-year-old Ranieri. A 3-0 home loss to Norwich dropped Watford into the bottom three for

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer Mississippi is in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time in 15 years, coming in at No. 24. The Rebels are 17-2 and 7-0 on the road. They get a huge test Thursday with a trip to No. 1 South Carolina. The Gamecocks received 29 of

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Golden State Warriors’ new-look coaching staff has helped Steve Kerr tweak his practice structure this season in a way that makes the sessions more efficient and productive for young players and veterans alike. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green even had a say in the

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Spanish Vuelta will return to Barcelona in 2023 after an 11-year absence. The city will host the official start of the race with a time trial. The second stage will also finish in Barcelona. The last time La Vuelta stopped in Barcelona was in 2012, when the ninth stage went

By JAKE SEINER AP Baseball Writer Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and David Ortiz appear to be the only players with a chance at Hall of Fame enshrinement when results are unveiled Tuesday, with Ortiz most likely to get in on his first try. Bonds and Clemens are each in their 10th and final turns under

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Heavyweight boxing’s landscape should become a lot clearer this week when the promoters of Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte conclude drawn-out negotiations over a world title fight that could bring Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk into the conversation. The Fury and Whyte camps have been unable to come to

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer War Eagle is flying high over men’s college basketball for the first time in history. A barely ranked afterthought to begin the season, Auburn climbed past Gonzaga to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday. The Tigers beat Kentucky over the weekend for their 15th consecutive

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Negotiators for locked-out baseball players and management were to meet in person for the first time since Dec. 1, the day before the start of the sport’s first work stoppage since 1995. The players’ association planned to make a counteroffer to management, 11 days after

By MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press MIDWAY, Utah (AP) — The U.S. biathlon team has a full-time embedded sports psychologist who travels with the team. Every member of the U.S. cross country ski team also works with a sports psychologist. Recent revelations about the stresses athletes face have helped the public see athletes as human beings

BY JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The difference for Taylor Fritz between reaching the Grand Slam quarterfinals for the first time and missing out again came down to three points in an 3 1/2-hour, five-set loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open. The 24-year-old Fritz was aiming to put an

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund’s top-scorer Erling Haaland has been forced to take another break due to what the club says are “muscular problems.” Haaland had to go off in the 63rd minute of Dortmund’s 3-2 win at Hoffenheim on Saturday with what appeared to be a groin injury. The 21-year-old Norwegian forward underwent

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — It’s been a tough weekend for Karim Benzema as he endured a missed penalty kick, an injury and then a burglary at his house. Police told Spanish media they were investigating the burglary that took place at Benzema’s house while he was playing a Spanish league

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — The Bundesliga’s international break has come at just the right time for beleaguered Borussia Mönchengladbach coach Adi Hütter. Hütter’s team is going through a crisis of form when it should be pushing for European qualification. Gladbach’s 2-1 loss at home to Union Berlin on Saturday was

People who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer allowed in France’s restaurants, bars, tourist sites and sports venues unless they recently recovered from the virus. A new law came into effect Monday requiring a “vaccine pass” that is central to the government’s anti-virus strategy. France is registering Europe’s highest-ever daily coronavirus infection numbers and

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch speedskater Jorien ter Mors has retired from the sport. Ter Mors was the first female athlete to win Olympic medals in two disciplines at the same Winter Games. The 32-year-old speedskater won three long track gold medals and one short track bronze medal while competing at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics.