Sports

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer Shaka Smart was voted the AP men’s basketball coach of the year after leading Marquette to regular-season and Big East Tournament titles. He received 24 of 58 votes from a national panel to beat out Kansas State coach Jerome Tang, who had 13 votes, and Kelvin Sampson of Houston,

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — A good relegation fight can keep things interesting at the bottom of the Premier League. Usually it doesn’t involve nine teams though. Just four points separate last-place Southampton from 12th-place Crystal Palace heading into the final stretch of the season as the threatened clubs and a

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman committed Major League Baseball’s first pitch-clock violation in the third inning of an opening day game against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the first of 14 violations in 15 games on a day the average game time was 2 hours, 45

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — LSU coach Kim Mulkey has not spoken to Brittney Griner since the former Baylor star was freed from a Russian prison and returned to the U.S., but Mulkey did have a message for her ex-player. “I’m glad she’s back,” Mulkey said at her Final Four news

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — Here’s one baseball fans might not have bet on: At least one prominent oddsmaker thinks starting pitchers will go deeper into games this season. Eric Biggio, baseball lead trader for Caesars Sportsbook, thinks Major League Baseball’s new rules could hedge the trend of managers going

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Nobody will ever mistake Tobacco Road for 777 Glades Road, which is the address of one of history’s most unexpected Final Four party crashers. But there, across the street from a strip mall anchored by a Whole Foods in the upscale retirement town of Boca Raton,

LONDON (AP) — Anthony Joshua will come in at the heaviest fighting weight of his career when he takes on Jermaine Franklin in London on Saturday. Joshua has weighed in at 255.4 pounds (115.8 kilograms) for the heavyweight fight at the O2 Arena. It is nearly 11 pounds (5kg) heavier than his last fight. That

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was denied parole Friday and will have to stay in prison at least another year and four months after it was decided that he had not served the “minimum detention period” required to be released following his

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer Zach Edey spent the days following Purdue’s historic NCAA Tournament loss lying low, his phone turned off, along with the rest of the outside world. The disappointing finish did little to diminish the season the Boilermakers big man had. Dominating at both ends of the floor during the regular

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Erling Haaland is a doubt for Manchester City’s match against Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday as the striker recovers from a groin injury. The 22-year-old Haaland withdrew from the Norway squad for its European Championship qualifiers against Spain and Georgia during the international break. His father was quoted by

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Serie A scoring leader Victor Osimhen has an injured abductor muscle in his left leg and will miss Napoli’s game against AC Milan on Sunday. Napoli says his condition will be evaluated next week. The injury raises questions over whether Osimhen will recover in time for the Champions League quarterfinals against

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian government is looking to block its athletes from competing in sports events which readmit Russian athletes. That could include qualifying competitions for next year’s Paris Olympics. The International Olympic Committee recommended Tuesday that sports federations allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes without national symbols. Ukraine wanted

PARIS (AP) — Newly-appointed France coach Hervé Renard wants to turn the page and focus on the upcoming Women’s World Cup after a group of players facilitated the dismissal of his predecessor. Renard was hired this week to replace Corinne Diacre and lead the team at this year’s Women’s World Cup and then at next

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — Russian and Belarusian players will be able to compete at Wimbledon as neutral athletes after the All England Club on Friday reversed its ban from last year. The players must sign declarations of neutrality and comply with “appropriate conditions,” including not expressing support for Russia’s invasion

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Marcus Stroman is getting used to Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock. And it’s no small deal for the Chicago Cubs right-hander. “It’s tough,” he said. “It’s a big adjustment.” Stroman committed baseball’s first regular-season pitch-clock violation Thursday in the third inning of the Cubs’ 4-0

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters starts April 6 and the course at Augusta National is among the most famous in the world because it’s the only major held in the same place. Most memorable is the back nine because of the two par-5 holes that can be reached

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The parents of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman Oscar Pistorius shot dead 10 years ago, still believe he is lying about their daughter’s killing and opposed the former Olympic runner’s application for parole, their lawyer said Friday. “Unless he comes clean, they don’t