Sports

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Colton Herta was thought to be headed to Formula One until he couldn’t receive the license needed to compete. So he instead signed a four-year contract extension to remain with Andretti Autosport that has Herta one of the highest paid drivers on the

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C (AP) — Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFL’s most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, has died. He was 86. Richardson died peacefully at his home Wednesday night in Charlotte, according to the team. Richardson

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-5 and will now face former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals at the Dubai Championships. The five-time Dubai champion’s 20th straight victory set the stage for a last-four match against Medvedev who defeated Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in the nightcap

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Led by Isaiah Moore’s 20 points, the South Alabama Jaguars defeated the Appalachian State Mountaineers 68-61 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Chrissy Carr set career-highs with six 3-pointers and 34 points and No. 8 seed Arkansas rallied to beat ninth-seeded Missouri 85-74 to advance to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Arkansas (21-11) will take on the No. 1 team in the country South Carolina on Friday. The Gamecocks set a NCAA record in

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa State basketball player Caleb Grill said he has been battling mental illness and regrets what led to his dismissal. Coach T.J. Otzelberger announced Wednesday that Grill had failed to meet program expectations and was no longer on the team. Grill was the Cyclones’ third-leading scorer and started 22 of

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Rasir Bolton came to Gonzaga to further his basketball career. But he also found a calling away from the basketball court. Bolton has embedded himself in the community of Spokane, Washington, by helping with several charitable endeavors. Bolton has done a little bit of everything

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic stayed unbeaten this season by defeating Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals at the Dubai Championships. The five-time Dubai champion’s 20th straight victory sets up a possible last-four match against former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev who was playing Borna Coric later at the

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Baseball came early to Tropicana Field and the Tampa Bay Rays will look to use it as an advantage. Four weeks before the regular season opener against Detroit, Tampa Bay and Minnesota took batting practice as rock music played in preparation for a spring training

By JOHN WAWROW and STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writers The NHL’s Eastern Conference keeps getting better ahead of the trade deadline. The league-leading Boston Bruins acquired winger Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit for draft picks. He’s their third significant addition after already trading for defenseman Dmitry Orlov and gritty forward Garnet Hathaway. Boston’s trade comes on

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg have joined the ownership group of Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC. Nashville SC principal owner John Ingram announced their additions Thursday. Antetokounmpo is joined in ownership by his brothers Thanasis, Kostas and Alex. Antetokounmpo and Forsberg join an ownership group

By DANIEL POLITI and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Gunmen threatened Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi in a written message left Thursday when they opened fire at a supermarket owned by his in-laws in Argentina, police said. Nobody was injured in the early morning attack, and it was unclear why assailants

The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder expect Kenrich Williams to miss the rest of the season after he injured his left wrist Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings. The team says the injury will require surgery. Williams signed a multi-year extension last summer. The fifth-year player averaged 8.0 points and 4.9

By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer Three-time Olympian Brianna Decker announced her retirement from the United States national hockey team, ending a career in which she ranks third among American women players in world championship tournament points. The forward from Wisconsin was a core member of USA Hockey’s next generation of female players, who built

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat were the NBA’s best 3-point shooting team last season at 38%. They have fallen all the way to 28th this season from deep at 33%. And no team in the NBA is scoring fewer points per game than the Heat. These are all

By JOHN WAWROW and STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writers The NHL’s Eastern Conference keeps getting better ahead of the trade deadline. The league-leading Boston Bruins acquired winger Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit for future draft picks. He’s their third significant addition after already trading for defenseman Dmitry Orlov and gritty forward Garnet Hathaway. Boston’s trade comes

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s referees have gathered in Madrid to defend their profession in the wake of a scandal involving Barcelona’s payment of millions of dollars over several years to a former referee then acting as their vice president. Hundreds of current and former referees and assistants tried to

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer American ski racer Travis Ganong announced he will retire at the end of the season. The 34-year-old from Alpine Meadows, California, has won two World Cup races over his career and a downhill silver medal at the 2015 world championships in Colorado. His retirement plans include more time skiing