Sports

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Zlatan Ibrahimovic was missing for Sweden in its match against Azerbaijan in European Championship qualifying because of injury. Sweden coach Janne Andersson didn’t disclose the precise nature of Ibrahimovic’s problem when confirming the AC Milan striker’s absence ahead of the game. Ibrahimovic made his first national team appearance in a year

LUQUE, Paraguay (AP) — The tributes have continued to pour in for Lionel Messi after Argentina’s World Cup win. The governing body for soccer in South America presented the 35-year-old Argentina star with a statue at its headquarters. It will be placed in its museum next to those of Pelé and Diego Maradona. Messi also

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The U.S. gambling industry is adopting a new responsible marketing code that will ban sports books from partnering with colleges to promote sports wagering. It also will prohibit payments to college and amateur athletes for the use of their name and image, and will end

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer They’re refining skills of young prospects at the NBA Academy in Africa. The vocabulary, too. “There is a word that really we don’t like, which is ‘raw,’” said Franck Traore, head of basketball operations for NBA Africa. “When you have an African player going to the U.S., they say

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Peru’s foreign ministry says goalkeeper Pedro Gallese has been released without charges after an altercation with Spanish police officers in front of the hotel in Madrid where the national team is staying. The Orlando City player was taken to a police station for interrogation after a

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Miller entered the transfer portal two years ago and wasn’t immediately on Miami’s radar. That is, until a guy who the Hurricanes know as “Clutch” called. Clutch’s real name is Gary Collins and he coached Miller during his AAU years. He called Miami

BERLIN (AP) — More than 300 fencers including nine medalists from the last Olympics in Tokyo have signed an open letter urging the sport’s governing body and the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russian fencers to compete while the war in Ukraine continues. The International Fencing Federation voted this month to allow fencers from

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani watch is on. Not Ohtani’s home runs or strikeouts or any of his magnificent numbers from the field. Nothing like that. It’s all about how much his next contract will be worth. Ohtani is among a group of players going into their final season

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A proposed French law for the 2024 Paris Olympics that critics contend will open the door for privacy-busting video surveillance technology in France and elsewhere in Europe faces an important hurdle on Tuesday with lawmakers set to vote on it. The bill would legalize the temporary use

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia could lose its chance to host a global youth soccer tournament, and its chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, after refusing to welcome a team from Israel. The tournament, planned for May 20-June 11, could be delayed or moved after the official draw

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic posted his 29th triple-double of the season Monday night and the Denver Nuggets beat the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers 116-111 in a game Joel Embiid sat out with a sore right calf. That scuttled the highly anticipated showdown between MVP frontrunners that many felt could

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 remaining and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-4. Zack Hyman, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who extended their points streak to seven (6-0-1). Jack Campbell stopped 29 shots. Connor

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks stood at the stop of the ladder about to trim the final strands from the net when the familiar thumping beat started blaring through the speakers of the arena. The Hokies’ first Final Four berth deserved a little Metallica and a

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nicolas Batum got all of his season-high 24 points on eight 3-pointers, and Eric Gordon added 22 points in the Los Angeles Clippers’ comfortable 124-112 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Kawhi Leonard scored 22 as the Clippers rebounded from an embarrassing loss to New Orleans

By MATTHEW COLES Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devin Booker scored 24 points and Phoenix reserves sparked the decisive run for the Suns in a 117-103 win over the fading Utah Jazz. Deandre Ayton had 14 points after missing four games with a bruised hip. But a trio off the bench was pivotal

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sergio Romo retired as a San Francisco Giant just as he wanted to do. The entertaining reliever and three-time World Series champion called it a career Monday night when he pitched against another of his former clubs — the Oakland A’s — in the seventh inning of the exhibition finale for