AP National Sports

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

By VIN A. CHERWOO AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Kreider and Tyler Motte each scored twice and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3. Kaapo Kakko and Artemi Panarin also scored, Mika Zibanejad had three assists and Barclay Goodrow and Adam Fox each had two to help the Rangers

By CHARLES GARDNER Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bobby Portis had 27 points and 13 rebounds, starting in place of the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks wrapped up the top seed in the NBA playoffs, beating the Chicago Bulls 105-92 on Wednesday night. Antetokounmpo was ruled out before the game because of right

By BILL TROCCHI Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young returned after missing one game with the flu and scored 25 points and 16 assists and the Atlanta Hawks buried shorthanded Washington 134-116. With the win, the Hawks achieved a modest milestone as they prepare for the postseason. The Hawks (41-39) ended a streak of

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Malcolm Brogdon scored 29 points and hit two late free throws to help the Boston Celtics hold on for a 97-93 win over the Toronto Raptors. With Milwaukee’s win over Chicago, Boston (55-25) secures the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  Jaylen Brown added

By MARK AMBROGI Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Immanuel Quickley scored 39 points, one shy of his career high, and Quintin Grimes had a career-high 36 in the New York Knicks’ 138-129 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Obi Toppin added 32 points and the Knicks shot 52%. Mitchell Robinson finished with 14

BRAMPTON, Ontario (AP) — Alex Carpenter scored twice and the United States beat Japan 7-1 on Wednesday to open group play in the women’s world hockey championship. Also in Group A, Ann-Renee Desbiens made 11 saves and two-time defending champion Canada beat Switzerland 4-0 in the night game. Earlier in Group B, Jenniina Nylund had

By DAVE HOGG Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Mikal Bridges scored 26 points and the Brooklyn Nets moved to the verge of a playoff spot by beating the Detroit Pistons 123-108. Former Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie shot 1 for 10 from the floor but matched his career high with 16 assists for the Nets (44-36),

SEATTLE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was called for pitch clock violations on the mound and at the plate Wednesday, as the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star made more major league history. Starting against the Seattle Mariners, Ohtani was hit with a violation in the top of the first inning while working against Cal Raleigh. Angels