AP National Sports

By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Ilya Lyubushkin cited an anti-gay Kremlin law and fears of retribution at home in Russia for electing not to participate in the Buffalo Sabres’ pregame warmup on the team’s Pride night, when players wore jerseys with the team’s rainbow-colored logo on the front in support

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dave Scott will retire as chairman of the Philadelphia Flyers’ parent company Comcast Spectacor and be replaced by Dan Hilferty. Hilferty was recently named CEO of Comcast Spectacor. He will succeed Scott as chairman of the company on April 17 and as the team’s governor on July 1. Scott joined Comcast Spectacor

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer The number of college athletes who are monetizing their social media followings has grown over the past 18 months. The NCAA cleared the way for athletes to cash in on their celebrity in July 2021. Many of those influencers are female athletes. Some say they are aware their growing

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — European soccer clubs have sealed a new working agreement with FIFA after securing a 70% increase in their shares of World Cup revenues for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments. The European Club Association says it renewed its working accord with FIFA through 2030. It also could

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer The St. Louis Blues added three players before the trade deadline who could be a big part of getting back into contention next season. The early returns are promising. Jakub Vrana scored six goals in his first 11 games with the Blues, Kasperi Kapanen has 10 points in 14

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Marathon has agreed to a 10-year sponsorship deal with Bank of America that organizers hope will allow the world’s oldest 26.2-mile road race to grow over the next decade while maintaining its historic character. Financial terms of the deal announced Monday weren’t disclosed. But

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Harry Kane likely knew what was awaiting him after he celebrated becoming England’s all-time leading scorer. Confirmation of Antonio Conte’s departure from Tottenham by “mutual agreement” came within hours of his 55th goal for his national team on Sunday. Conte leaves after failing to end

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-0, 7-6 (5) and will face American Tommy Paul at the Miami Open on Tuesday. World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus cruised past Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday. Bianca Andreescu of Canada — the

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea has reported losses of 121 million pounds ($148 million) in 2021-22. The club cites the sanctions imposed on former owner Roman Abramovich as a major factor. Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government last March as it sought to freeze the assets of individuals it believed had connections to Vladimir Putin

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Tottenham is searching for a fourth permanent manager since 2019 following the departure of Antonio Conte. His successor for the moment is assistant Cristian Stellini. He will be in charge until the end of the season at least and is going it alone after being the No. 2 for

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus’ lawyers have appeared before a judge to face the first in a series of court dates following accusations of false accounting by the 36-time Italian champions. The judge for a preliminary hearing in a Turin court postponed the procedure until May 10 for administrative reasons. Juventus, former club president Andrea

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghans have celebrated their national cricket team’s landmark victory over Pakistan, although fan festivities were more muted back home because of the ruling Taliban restrictions on music. On Sunday, Afghanistan won its first series against neighboring Pakistan, a top-six ranked International Cricket Council team, for the first

By DANIELLA MATAR AP Sports Writer MILAN (AP) — Mateo Retegui’s impressive debut for Italy added some gloss to what was essentially a mediocre performance from the defending champion at the start of European Championship qualifying. Italy kicked off its campaign to reach Euro 2024 with a 2-1 loss at home to England on Thursday.

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — A United Nations rights expert advising the International Olympic Committee says Russian athletes who actively served in the war in Ukraine should be let back into international sport if they didn’t take part in war crimes. The U.N. special rapporteur for cultural rights explained her views

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The race to buy Manchester United is taking shape. The frontrunners appear to be Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and local boy-turned-billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. There is also the possibility that the Glazer family could yet retain control of the iconic soccer team.

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling at home again. It took only two games for him to make his peace with Portugal’s national team and show he is not done impressing at the international level just yet. The 38-year-old Ronaldo scored four goals in Portugal’s first two games in 2024 European

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer World Wrestling Entertainment’s prodigal son could become its undisputed champion on April 2. Cody Rhodes will face Roman Reigns in the main event of this year’s WrestleMania looking to write the final chapter of a story that began seven years ago when he left the company. When Rhodes departed

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer CHICAGO (AP) — José Abreu and Trea Turner are among a group of key players who could have a big impact on new teams this season. Abreu has been one of baseball’s most consistent performers since his big league debut in 2014. He had at least 25 homers and

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer Anthony Volpe is getting an opportunity to live a lifelong dream. The 21-year-old who grew up idolizing Hall of Famer Derek Jeter will be the New York Yankees’ opening day shortstop after winning the job in spring training. Manager Aaron Boone, general manager Brian Cashman, hitting coach Dillon Lawson