AP National Sports

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Frank Lampard is returning to Chelsea as interim manager until the end of the season while the club searches for a fulltime replacement for Graham Potter. It is Lampard’s first role since being fired by Everton in January. The 44-year-old Lampard played for Chelsea from 2001-14 and is the

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — LIV golfer Kevin Na and 2003 champion Mike Weir launched drives down the first fairway at Augusta National, signaling the official start of the 87th Masters. Na is one of 18 players from the polarizing Saudi Arabia-backed golf league participating in the event, which is almost certain to make this “a

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The 87th Masters kicks off this morning amid the blooming azaleas and towering pines of Augusta National Golf Club. From the rival LIV tour to Scottie Scheffler’s bid for a second straight green jacket to an elongated 13th hole, golf’s first major of the year provides its usual abundance of compelling

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer An independent tribunal has ruled that the European tour was within its rights to sanction members who competed on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf without permission. An appeal panel at Sport Resolutions found that players including Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood committed “serious breaches” of the European tour code of

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — From the upstart LIV tour to Scottie Scheffler’s bid for a second straight green jacket to a supersized 13th hole, golf’s first major of the year provides an abundance of compelling storylines. Oh, and let’s not forget Tiger Woods. Welcome to the Masters, where the

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters loves its heritage and the tournament is loaded with big moments. This is a capsule look at key anniversaries this year. It was 75 years ago when Claude Harmon won the Masters while working as a club professional. It was 25 years ago

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — After years of negotiations, a land acquisition deal and millions of dollars, the Masters finally made modifications to what historically has been the easiest hole on the golf course. No. 13, the par-5 leaving Amen Corner, has a new look. The tee box has been

ROME (AP) — Roma’s current and former American owners and Lazio president Claudio Lotito are among numerous officials at the two clubs being investigated by Italian authorities for false accounting via alleged abuse of capital gains in the transfer market. The investigations also involve Salernitana and resulted in financial police searches at offices for the

ZURICH (AP) — World Cup winner Argentina tops the FIFA rankings for the first time in six years. Argentina’s two wins in friendlies last month ended Brazil’s one-year run at the top. Brazil lost at Morocco 2-1 two weeks ago and fell to No. 3. France, the World Cup beaten finalist, followed Argentina in rising

By STEPHEN WADE and YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics has been slowed by fallout from the still-developing corruption scandal around the 2020 Tokyo Games. The pursuit could resume if Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto is re-elected, as expected, against two anti-Olympic candidates. The Japanese city suspended actively

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU star forward Angel Reese sat in the back of an orange convertible Corvette, waving to thousands of fans lining the roadside — and also waving her hand in front of her face from time to time, repeating a gesture that caused a stir at the end of the national

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Masters Chairman Fred Ridley sat among 33 champions in green jackets at golf’s most exclusive dinner. It was a time to celebrate Scottie Scheffler as the most recent winner, to share laughs, memories and even a few tears. That’s how it is every year at

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins became the third Edmonton skater to reach 100 points this season, Klim Kostin had a goal and an assist and the surging Oilers extended their points streak to 12 games with a 3-1 victory over the woeful Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. Nick

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Powell scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard added 25 and the Los Angeles Clippers improved their playoff seeding chances with a 125-118 win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Clippers’ 11th straight victory over their Crypto.com Arena hallmates pulled them into a

By MARC BOWMAN Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alek Manoah allowed one hit over seven innings, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first homer of the season and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 3-0. Manoah (1-0) held the Royals hitless until Jackie Bradley Jr. singled with one out in the

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Top-seeded Jessica Pegula and past champion Madison Keys cruised into the third round at the Charleston Open on Wednesday. Both American won in straight sets in the season’s first clay-court tournament. Pegula defeated Russian Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-0 while Keys defeated countrywoman Hailey Baptiste 6-1, 6-2. Keys won this title in

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer The road to the NBA Finals now goes through Milwaukee. The road out of the Western Conference goes through Denver, for the first time ever. And the rest of the top half of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket is now set as well. The Bucks will have the No.

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 25 of his 31 points during a second-half rally, and the Dallas Mavericks stayed in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a 123-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Luka Doncic had 29 points and 10 rebounds

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Herbert Jones scored a career-high 35 points and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 138-131 in overtime on Wednesday night and clinch a play-in spot. Jones’ fast-break dunk capped a decisive 10-0 run to open the extra period.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Andrew Mangiapane and Nikita Zadorov each had a goal and assist and the Calgary Flames beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Wednesday night to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Flames (37-27-15) and Jets (43-32-3) each have 89 points, but Winnipeg maintained its hold on the second Western Conference wild-card spot