Sports

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer No. 24 Illinois has earned its first ranking in 23 years coming inThe Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll. The Illini are off to one of the best starts in school history and have had a remarkable turnaround after going 7-20 last season. South Carolina remained the No.

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — TCU’s unlikely run to the College Football Playoff championship came at a most fortuitous time for the Big 12. “If you think about where this conference was 18 months ago, and the uncertainty and the lack of stability and you fast forward to

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have fired coach Kliff Kingsbury and parted ways with general manager Steve Keim after a dreadful season that saw constant unwanted headlines, a serious knee injury to star quarterback Kyler Murray and lots of losing. The team confirmed the moves on Monday.

By STEVE DOUGLAS and RON BLUM AP Sports Writers Gareth Bale is retiring from soccer at age 33 after setting a Wales record with 41 international goals. Bale’s last match was a 3-0 loss to England at the World Cup on Nov. 29, his 111th international appearance. Bale also says he is retiring from club

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Houston is back at No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the second time this season. The Cougars claimed 34 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s latest poll to return to the top after a two-week stay there earlier this season. They led No. 2

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant has a sprained right knee and the Brooklyn Nets say he will miss at least two weeks. Durant was hurt Sunday in the Nets’ 102-101 victory in Miami and had an MRI on Monday that revealed an isolated sprain in his medial collateral

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella has been reinstated by Major League Baseball after serving more than five years of a suspension originally announced as permanent. Coppolella became general manager after the 2015 season and was suspended in November 2017 after MLB concluded that the team circumvented international signing rules

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gareth Bale is retiring from soccer at age 33 after setting a Wales record with 41 international goals. Bale’s last match was a 3-0 loss to England at the World Cup on Nov. 29, his 111th international appearance. Bale also said he is retiring from club football. He scored 53 Premier

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian soccer federation has hired Sylvinho as coach of the national team with the goal of qualifying for the 2024 European Championship. The 48-year-old Brazilian signed a contract that will take him through the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany. Sylvinho replaces Italian Edoardo Reja who

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer Rob Gronkowski will be back on a football field for the Super Bowl. The four-time All-Pro tight end will attempt to make a field goal in Arizona on Feb. 12 during a live Super Bowl television commercial for FanDuel. It will be a high-stakes kick for Gronkowski, a

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Cleveland Browns fired defensive coordinator Joe Woods after his third season ended way short of expectations or the playoffs. Cleveland’s defense had issues from the opener, leading to a 7-10 record. Woods was heavily criticized all season and he sensed his dismissal last week.

By DENNIS PASSA AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ash Barty finished 2022 the way she started it. She was in the spotlight even if it was nine months after she retired at age 25 while the No. 1-ranked woman in tennis. Barty won’t be defending the title she won a year ago when

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press LE PECQ, France (AP) — The president of France’s football federation has apologized after Kylian Mbappé, the French sports minister and Real Madrid all took him to task for brusque comments that he “couldn’t care less” about Zinédine Zidane’s future as a coach. Noël Le Graët says his comments in

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Staying awake might be Mikaela Shiffrin’s biggest challenge as she prepares to try to set a record for women’s World Cup skiing victories. Having poured out her emotions after matching Lindsey Vonn with career win No. 82 in an early morning giant slalom in

ZURICH (AP) — The six female match officials who worked at the men’s World Cup in Qatar have also been selected by FIFA for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The tournament will have 13 men in the team of video review match officials. French referee Stéphanie Frappart made World Cup history in December handling Germany’s

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal has hired former Belgium coach Roberto Martínez to lead its national team. The Spaniard replaces Fernando Santos. Santos quit in December after Portugal’s elimination against Morocco in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Santos left amid the controversy of benching Cristiano Ronaldo in the knockout stage of the tournament in