Sports

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Ash Barty has started her 2022 season with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 comeback win over 17-year-old American Coco Gauff in the second round of the Adelaide International. Barty dropped serve twice in the first set and was a break down in the second before recovering to win. Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka

By BABACAR DIONE and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s national soccer team has been forced to delay its flight to the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon after three more players and six members of the backroom staff tested positive for the coronavirus. The Senegalese soccer federation named the players as

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool has closed its training center in the wake of the latest coronavirus outbreak to rip through a Premier League squad. Liverpool says assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders is one of “multiple players and staff” who tested positive in the latest round of checks. Ljinders has been filling in for Jurgen Klopp

SYDNEY (AP) — Spain has topped 2020 champion Serbia to set up an ATP Cup semifinal against Poland. Spain only needed to win one of the three matches against Serbia to secure first place in Group A. Pablo Carreno Busta got that job done in 80 minutes with a straight-set win over Filip Krajinovic and

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Japan midfielder Hayao Kawabe joined Wolverhampton from Swiss team Grasshoppers. Wolves could send the 26-year-old Kawabe back on loan to Grasshoppers for the rest of the season but he will train with the Premier League team in January. Both clubs are owned by Chinese investment firm Fosun. Kawabe made his senior

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — The coach filling in for Jurgen Klopp while the Liverpool manager is in isolation with the coronavirus has also returned a suspected positive test for COVID-19. Liverpool says Pepijn Lijnders also is now self-isolating. It places into further doubt the likelihood of Liverpool’s first-leg match against Arsenal in the English League

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has received the medical exemption he needs but the 20-time major champion may still have some explaining to do. The exemption allows the top-ranked Djokovic entry to the tournament regardless of his vaccination status for COVID-19. It’s a subject he has declined to

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving might be just the jolt the Brooklyn Nets need to escape a midseason slump. After refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Irving has been unable to play at home, and for much of the season unwelcome on the road. The Nets didn’t

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer In a record-setting season for last-play wins, no team has sweated it out more than the Las Vegas Raiders. After game-winning field goals on the final play this week by Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson and Las Vegas’ Daniel Carlson, there have been 32 games decided by a winning score

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer DETROIT (AP) — More than half of the NFL’s 32 teams have female fan clubs. The Detroit Lions’ Women of the Pride group is one of them. Verdell Blackmon showed up for a recent game and left no doubt who she was cheering for that afternoon. Blackmon’s hair and

By W.G. RAMIREZ Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored twice, Juuse Saros made 41 saves and the Nashville Predators beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2. Yakov Trenin also scored for Nashville, which extended its current run to 9-1-1. The Predators moved past St. Louis into first place in the Central Division with

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Troy Terry scored his first NHL hat trick and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1. The right wing is third in the league with 21 goals, including 11 that have either tied the game or given the Ducks a lead. He had a

SYDNEY (AP) — Hubert Hurkacz has had a 6-1, 6-4 win over Diego Schwartzman to secure Poland’s victory over Argentina and a spot in the ATP Cup semifinals. Poland finished the round-robin stage 3-0 in Group D with wins over Georgia, Greece and Argentina.  Poland will next meet either Spain or 2020 champion Serbia for

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers held off the Sacramento Kings 122-114 for their fourth win in five games. LeBron James scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and Malik Monk added 11 of his 24 in the final seven minutes. Talen Horton-Tucker scored

HOUSTON (AP) — Deuce Vaughn and the Kansas State Wildcats finished a streaky season on a positive note night with a dominant 42-20 win over short-handed LSU in the Texas Bowl. Vaughn, a sophomore running back and first-team All-American as an all-purpose player, rushed for 146 yards on 21 carries. He scored four touchdowns —

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer Norway is expected to top the medal table with 22 gold medals and 45 overall when the Beijing Winter Olympics open in 30 days. Norway also topped the standings four years ago in South Korea. This is the forecast from US-based Gracenote Sports, which analyzes recent results to predict

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 shots and the Winnipeg Jets won their third straight game, beating the Arizona Coyotes 3-1 Tuesday night. Evgeny Svechnikov, Pierre Luc-Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Jets. Ehlers scored into an empty net with 45 seconds remaining. Shayne Gostisbehere stole the

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Jayden Gardner scored 23 points and Virginia pulled away in the final seven minutes to beat Clemson 75-65.  Virginia, which has won three of its last four, avenged a 67-50 loss to the Tigers on Dec. 22 that ended an 11-game win streak in the series. The Cavaliers have won six