Sports

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An appeals panel has upheld NASCAR’s penalties on Denny Hamlin for wrecking Ross Chastain at the end of the Phoenix race last month. Hamlin was fined $50,000 and docked 25 points a few days later after acknowledging he purposely hit Chastain while trying to gain

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts gambling regulators have denied a request to allow legal betting on this year’s Boston Marathon, citing concerns by the race’s organizers. All four members of the Massachusetts Gambling Commission who participated in Thursday’s online meeting voted against the request by DraftKings. Commission chair Cathy Judd-Stein shared an email she received Wednesday

MONTREAL (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens’ Denis Gurianov has decided not to wear his team’s themed warmup jersey for Pride night on Thursday, citing family reasons. The Russian forward is the seventh NHL player to recently opt out of wearing rainbow-colored jerseys on their teams’ Pride nights. Gurianov will not take part in the pregame

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer Sergio Garcia is tired of talking about the LIV-PGA Tour feud. After opening the Masters with a 2-over 74, Garcia shot back at reporters who asked if this felt like a normal event with all that’s going on away from the course. Garcia called it “totally normal” and claimed

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods struggled in the first round of the Masters, but his playing partners Thursday didn’t. Viktor Hovland is the early leader in the clubhouse after shooting a 7-under 65, finishing just two shots off the tournament record shared by Nick Price and Greg Norman. The Norwegian shot 35 on the

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says re-signing Kyrie Irving is the team’s top offseason priority. But he doesn’t view it as a “Kyrie or bust” scenario. The billionaire business also is showing support for coach Jason Kidd with the team in danger of missing even the

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Sergio Garcia is tired of hearing about the tension between LIV and PGA Tour players. The former Masters champion and a now a current LIV tour member says things have been “totally normal” between the players this week at Augusta National before adding that the storyline is media driven. Garcia says

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues. The justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has denied a protest by the Dallas Mavericks over a confusing sequence that led to an uncontested basket for Golden State in a two-point win by the Warriors. The league says the Mavericks weren’t deprived of an opportunity to win because the sequence happened with almost 14 minutes remaining

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers had confidence in their rookie class well before the start of the season. Those newcomers wasted no time rewarding that faith. The Brewers have won five straight games while fielding a lineup that often features three rookies in outfielders Garrett Mitchell and Joey

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler has teed off at Augusta National, while Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from the tournament. Zalatoris is the No. 8 player in the world and has struggled in the past with back issues. He was the runner-up at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open last year went

By The Associated Press Runaway Serie A leader Napoli visits Lecce looking to bounce back from its heaviest defeat of the season but won’t want to spend too much energy with the Champions League quarterfinals coming up. Sevilla hosts Celta Vigo in the Spanish league seeking a second straight victory under new coach José Luis

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Former NBA guard Ben Gordon was arrested on weapons and threatening charges after he began behaving erratically in a Connecticut juice shop, police said. The episode started just before 10 a.m. Tuesday when several 911 callers reported “a male acting aggressively and in a bizarre manner” inside a juice shop in

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees games being shown on Amazon Prime Video this season will be available to restaurants, bars, hotels and other commercial establishments that have DirecTV for Business. The 19 remaining games are only available in the Yankees’ home-team footprint of New York state, Connecticut, north and central New Jersey, and

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Norway’s Viktor Hovland has raced to the early first round lead at the Masters. He is 5-under par through nine holes on an 81-degree, partly cloudy day at Augusta National. Hovland is one of 16 golfers under par with the afternoon groups set to tee off. He has seven career wins

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemed like a nice pickup for Oklahoma City Thunder, a secondary piece in the trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers four years ago. Gilgeous-Alexander has turned out to be more than an afterthought — much more. He has blossomed

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Killorn of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Adam Fox of the New York Rangers were fined $5,000 apiece for separate slashing incidents in the teams’ game at Madison Square Garden. Killorn was fined for spearing Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin midway through the second period. Fox was fined for slashing Lightning

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods is off to a rough start at the Masters. The five-time champion is 2 over after five holes following bogeys at the par 4 third and fifth holes. Woods has fallen five shots behind leader Cameron Young, who leads the field at 3 under.