AP National Sports

By The Associated Press First lady Jill Biden’s walk-back of her suggestion that runner-up Iowa should join NCAA women’s basketball champion LSU for a visit to the White House didn’t sit well with Tigers star Angel Reese. Prompted by a discussion of Biden’s comments during her Wednesday appearance on “The Paper Route Podcast,” Reese said

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports from kindergarten through college, the first of several possible new laws restricting the rights of transgender people pushed through by Republican legislators over the wishes of the Democratic governor. The Legislature on Wednesday overrode Gov.

By HARVEY VALENTINE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Wander Franco and Harold Ramirez each had home runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Washington Nationals 7-2. The Rays improved to 6-0 and extended the best start in franchise history. They are off to the best start of any team since Baltimore opened 7-0

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) — Bryan De La Cruz hit a go-ahead single in the eighth, Jorge Soler homered twice and Jesús Luzardo fanned 10 to lift the Miami Marlins over the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Wednesday. Jean Segura and Jon Berti hit back-to-back one-out singles against reliever Griffin Jax in

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea could turn to club great Frank Lampard to lead the team until the end of the season amid the search for a full-time replacement for Graham Potter. Lampard is reportedly in talks with Chelsea about taking over as interim coach. He has been without a job since being fired by Everton

NEW YORK (AP) — Connecticut’s victory over San Diego State in the men’s national championship game is the lowest-viewed final on record. The Huskies’ 76-59 win averaged 14.69 million viewers on CBS. The previous low was 15.99 in 2018, when Villanova beat Michigan on TBS. It was still the most-watched program on television Monday night.

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta says Lamar Jackson’s situation isn’t causing the Ravens to look at quarterbacks differently in the upcoming draft. However he did say the team could conceivably take a QB in the first round. DeCosta, coach John Harbaugh and director of

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago White Sox star Tim Anderson has been ejected from Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. Anderson was trying to call timeout batting against Logan Webb with a 1-2 count in the third inning. He stepped out of the box. The pitch came, and plate umpire D.J. Reyburn called him out

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — The defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche are on track after a season filled with injuries and mini-slumps. They clinched a playoff spot in San Jose on Tuesday and moved into a tie atop the Central Division. Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche are soaring into the

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) — Miami star center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. left Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the first inning with a stinger in his right shoulder after a steal attempt. Chisholm was batting in the leadoff spot and singled to right field. He got caught stealing

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson left Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia after appearing to hurt a leg. The 2015 AL MVP was running at half-speed to first base on a flyout leading off the second inning and pulled up between home and first. The game began with a 48-degree temperature with a

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles’ home opener against the New York Yankees on Thursday has been postponed because of severe weather in the forecast. The Orioles announced the game would be pushed back to 3:05 p.m. Friday, which had been scheduled as an off day before the teams meet again Saturday and Sunday. Dean

NEW YORK (AP) — Bryce Harper has taken on-field batting practice for the first time since Tommy John surgery last fall. The Philadelphia Phillies said Harper hit on the field before Tuesday night’s game at Yankee Stadium. Harper, a two-time National League MVP, was operated on last Nov. 23 and was projected to return as

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks says he has completed his final round of chemotherapy. He has non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He has posted an Instagram video of him ringing the “victory bell” along with a lengthy note thanking his medical team, wife, family, friends and fans. He says the past five months “have

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox say slugger Eloy Jiménez will miss two to three weeks because of a strained left hamstring. The team placed Jiménez on the 10-day injured list Wednesday and recalled infielder Jake Burger from Triple-A Charlotte. Jiménez sustained a low-grade strain running from first to third Monday on Andrew Vaughn’s

KENT, Ohio (AP) — Kent State has extended coach Rob Senderoff’s contract by three years. His new deal runs through the 2028-29 season. Kent State went went 28-7 this season, was unbeaten at home and won the Mid-American Conference championship before losing to Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The 49-year-old Senderoff

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are poised to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports from kindergarten through college. The state House voted 84-40 on Wednesday to override Kelly’s third veto of a measure on

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR teams have boycotted a meeting with series leadership as a show of frustration over the slow pace of negotiations on a new business model. Three team representatives told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity that the owners collectively decided to skip

By JOE HARRIS Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill is not in the starting lineup a day after his baserunning effort was questioned by manager Oliver Marmol. O’Neill was thrown out by Ronald Acuña Jr. at the plate with two outs and the Cardinals trailing 4-1 in the seventh

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was once an opponent of bidding for the 2030 World Cup with another continent. Ceferin gave his clearest public support yet Wednesday to Morocco joining the European candidacy led by Spain and Portugal. Ceferin says after the UEFA Congress in Lisbon “I