AP National Sports

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Karim Benzema has scored a hat trick in a seven-minute span as second-place Real Madrid crushed Valladolid 6-0 in the Spanish league. Rodrygo, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vázquez also scored for second-place Madrid which trails leader Barcelona by 12 points after the Catalan club won at

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer HOUSTON (AP) — The once semipredictable ground that underpinned college basketball has been changing at lightning speed over the past 24 months. It’s leaving coaches and their bosses scrambling to adjust to whatever comes next. The NCAA Tournament closes out Monday when UConn plays San Diego State, and will

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Cologne has held local rival Borussia Mönchengladbach to a 0-0 draw in the Bundesliga in the first game for Cologne since it emerged the club was facing a transfer ban. Dropping points further dents 10th-place Gladbach’s already-slim hopes of qualifying for European competition. A point helps 13th-place Cologne edge away from

By ERIC TUCKER and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone call between the diplomats since the Ukraine war, to immediately release a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the State

AUDENARDE, Belgium (AP) — Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar has joked that he can now retire happy from cycling after winning the Tour of Flanders classic for the first time. Pogacar became only the third cyclist to win both races after Frenchman Louison Bobet and Belgian great Eddy Merckx. The 24-year-old Slovenian clinched

LONDON (AP) — West Ham has climbed out of the Premier League’s relegation zone and left Southampton in last place with a tense 1-0 win. Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd’s 25th-minute header settled a tight, nervy match at the London Stadium between teams who started the day as the bottom two in one of the tightest

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The president of the International Gymnastics Federation has paid a visit to Ukraine for talks with senior political figures amid a standoff over Russian athletes’ eligibility for Olympic qualifying events. A statement on the Ukrainian presidential website says FIG president Morinari Watanabe met with the Ukraine’s presidential office head Andriy Yermak

By ERIC TUCKER and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone since the Ukraine war, to immediately release a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the State Department said Sunday. In

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Rajasthan Royals showed plenty of batting muscle at the top of the order while Yuzvendra Chahal grabbed 4-17 in a resounding 72-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening Indian Premier game on Sunday. Jos Buttler plundered 54 off 22 balls inside the batting powerplay while his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal

By The Associated Press One of the craziest March Madness tournaments will conclude with the women’s final between Iowa and LSU on Sunday. WHO’S FAVORED TO WIN THE TITLE? Iowa is a minus-160 favorite against LSU, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Someone would need to bet $160 to win $100. WHAT’S THE SPREAD DIFFERENCE? Iowa is

LEICESTER, England (AP) — Relegation-threatened Leicester has fired manager Brendan Rodgers in a late-season move to preserve its Premier League status. Rodgers has been in charge for four years. He leaves with the team having dropped to third-to-last place with 10 league matches remaining. Leicester secured back-to-back Europa League qualifications under Rodgers and won its

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Anthony Joshua’s rebuild plan was to have three or four fights to gain momentum for another crack at a world heavyweight title. He’s now happy to take a short cut. An all-British fight with WBC champion Tyson Fury could be back on the cards after Joshua beat Jermaine Franklin

By COURTNEY WALSH Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Beaten by a rival other than Red Bull for the first time this season at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso believes Formula One is about to become far more competitive. The veteran finished on the podium for the third time in

By The Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Led by Caitlin Clark, The Associated Press women’s basketball Player of the Year, Iowa will play in its first national championship game Sunday against LSU. That will be the Clark’s 100th game with the Hawkeyes. A look at her Iowa career so far for the 6-foot guard who

By COURTNEY WALSH Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has claimed his first Australian Grand Prix in remarkable circumstances in a chaotic Formula 1 race filled with drama from the green light to the checkered flag. Although Red Bull’s first triumph in Melbourne since 2011 was expected, the carnage that unfolded

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored three goals to reach 50 for the season, Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-0 to clinch their fourth straight playoff berth. Zach Hyman also had a goal and an assist, and Darnell Nurse also scored, and Mattias

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 36 points, bringing fans to their feet with an array of clutch, mid-range jump shots, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers 122-114. Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which won for the seventh

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Cristian Espinoza scored twice on penalty kicks to lead the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Espinoza’s first PK goal came in the seventh minute and the San Jose (3-2-1) lead stood until Amine Bassi scored on a penalty kick in the 42nd minute for