Sports

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says Romelu Lukaku will be reintegrated to the squad after being dropped for an English Premier League game for expressing his unhappiness at the club in a TV interview. Tuchel says Lukaku has apologized. The Belgium striker could return to the team for Wednesday’s first-leg

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer Washington’s NFL team says it will unveil its new name on Feb. 2. Team president Jason Wright confirmed that the name won’t be Wolves or RedWolves. He cited trademark challenges for not going down that path that was popular among fans. The remaining finalists were Commanders, Defenders, Red Hogs,

By The Associated Press A new year on the PGA Tour begins with a big-time field. The Sentry Tournament of Champions features a 39-man field restricted to winners from 2021. It also includes Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele. The only eligible player who chose not to be in Maui is Rory McIlroy. The field surprisingly

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says Romelu Lukaku will be reintegrated to the squad after being dropped for an English Premier League game for expressing his unhappiness at the club in a TV interview. Tuchel says Lukaku has apologized. The Belgium striker could return to the team for Wednesday’s first-leg game against Tottenham

SYDNEY (AP) — Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin won their singles matches before combining to win the doubles to give defending champion Russia a sweep of Australia and first place in Group B at the ATP Cup. Russia is 2-0 in the tournament but still has to beat Italy on Thursday in a rematch between

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova took a big lead in the opening run of women’s World Cup slalom in tough race conditions. Mikaela Shiffrin trailed by more than six-tenths of a second in second place upon her return to competition following a positive COVID-19 test and missing two races last week. Vlhova

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — One out of every 10 players in Serie A is positive with the coronavirus as the Italian league prepares to resume after a two-week break for the holidays. Full slates of 10 matches involving all 20 clubs are scheduled to be played both Thursday and Sunday.

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic will get a chance to defend his Australian Open title after receiving a medical exemption to travel to Melbourne. The top-ranked Djokovic wrote on Instagram he has “an exemption permission” to compete at the tournament. Australian Open organizers have issued a statement to

By The Associated Press Novak Djokovic looks to be heading to the Australian Open. The top-ranked Djokovic said in a post on Instagram on Tuesday he has got “an exemption permission” to travel to Australia. Djokovic has continually refused to reveal if he is vaccinated against the coronavirus, a requirement to play in Melbourne. If

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer No. 25 Texas Tech is diving into a challenging stretch of games to open its Big 12 schedule. The Red Raiders first visit No. 11 Iowa State on Wednesday before returning home to host sixth-ranked Kansas on Saturday. There’s also a looming matchup with top-ranked and reigning national champion

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer Cade Cunningham and Franz Wagner are giving the Eastern Conference’s bottom two teams reasons for optimism. The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic have seven victories apiece this season, but they also have two of the NBA’s top rookies. Detroit took Cunningham No. 1 overall in last year’s draft, and

SYDNEY (AP) — Alexander Zverev beat Taylor Fritz in straight sets to clinch a victory over the U.S. team and get Germany’s ATP Cup campaign back on track. Jan-Lennard Struff opened with a three-set win over John Isner to give Germany the lead and Zverev sealed it with his win in the second of the

By DAN SCIFO Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Cleveland Browns knew they had been eliminated from playoff contention entering a Monday night showdown against their AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers.But a battered Baker Mayfield wanted to lead his team to a winning record.Now, that it’s not possible, following a 26-14 defeat against the Pittsburgh

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Anfernee Simons had a career-high 43 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame an NBA season-best 56 points by Atlanta’s Trae Young, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 136-131 win over the Hawks. Young shot 17 for 26 from the field, 7 for

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka opened her 2022 season with a win over Alize Cornet in one of the Summer Set tournaments in Melbourne. Osaka beat Cornet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in her first match since a third-round loss to Leylah Fernandez at the U.S. Open in September. Osaka is ranked 13th

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Anfernee Simons had a career-high 43 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame an NBA season-best 56 points by Atlanta’s Trae Young, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 136-131 win over the Hawks. Young shot 17 for 26 from the field, 7 for

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed the Los Angeles Clippers 122-104 to end a three-game skid. The Wolves gained a split in LA after losing by five to the Lakers a night earlier. The Clippers struggled mightily in their first home

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jordan Poole scored 32 points, Andrew Wiggins added 22 points, six rebounds and a key driving dunk with 4:34 remaining on a quiet night for Stephen Curry, and the Golden State Warriors held off the undermanned Miami Heat 115-108.Heat star Jimmy Butler was helped off

BATON ROUGE, La. — Jayden Saddler had 16 points as Southern defeated Texas Southern 63-50. Joirdon Karl Nicholas led the Tigers with 16 points and 12 rebounds.