Sports

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer After fortifying their offensive and defensive lines with splashy moves earlier this week, the Denver Broncos turned their attention to upgrading their special teams Wednesday when they agreed to a two-year deal with cornerback Tremon Smith worth up to $5.5 million. Smith, 26, who has played for the

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Pato O’Ward isn’t dwelling on the temporary loss of engine power that almost certainly cost him a victory in the season-opening IndyCar race on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg. He is instead focused on the second-place finish that he did have. O’Ward says that’s still a fantastic start to

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms on a contract with former Arizona cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. The deal was announced on the first day of NFL free agency along with agreements with former New Orleans outside linebacker Marcus Davenport and former Miami tight end Josh Oliver. The

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — The 15-year-old son of three-time major champion Lindsay Davenport has lost at the FILA International Junior Championships in Southern California. Jagger Leach was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 by Stiles Brockett in the second round at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. That’s where Davenport reached the finals of the pro tournament six

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer The Dallas Cowboys are releasing two-time rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott. The move ends a seven-season run for a running back whose dominance faded later in his Dallas career. The move will save Dallas about $11 million under the salary cap this season. Elliott had 12 rushing touchdowns in

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A season removed from reaching the Final Four for a 13th time under Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, Duke not only is in the NCAA Tournament again, but appears to be peaking at the right time with first-year coach Jon Scheyer at the helm. The

By The Associated Press The NCAA Tournament has arrived. The First Four games in Dayton, Ohio, kicked things off and set the final bracket with 68 teams battling it out for the national championship in men’s basketball. Sweet 16 weekend will see games in New York City, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky.

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — There was no historic comeback for Liverpool. Real Madrid’s title defense in the Champions League rolls into the quarterfinals. Liverpool never really came close to overcoming its three-goal deficit from the first leg against the titleholders at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Wednesday and lost 1-0

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press the Washington Commanders have agreed to terms with quarterback Jacoby Brissett on a one-year contract worth $10 million with $8 million guaranteed. Brissett becomes the experienced veteran the team wanted to bring in to push and compete with

By The Associated Press The NCAA Tournament has arrived. The First Four games set the final bracket with 68 teams battling it out for the national championship in women’s basketball. The top seeds are South Carolina, Indiana, Stanford and Virginia Tech. Sweet 16 weekend brings a twist this year for the women’s teams: There will

BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Solly March’s timely goal boosted Brighton’s bid for European qualification as the south-coast team beat big rival Crystal Palace 1-0 in the Premier League. March scored the winner in the 15th minute on March 15 to move Brighton level on points with sixth-place Liverpool with a game in hand. It also

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU forward Chuck O’Bannon says the team has been motivated all season after coming so close to upsetting a No. 1 seed and getting to the Sweet 16 in last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs are now making consecutive March Madness appearances for

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli has beaten Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history and making it three Italian teams in the final eight. Victor Osimhen continued his fine scoring record with a goal in each half and Piotr Zieliński converted a penalty in the second

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala, (AP) — Alabama has the No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed, one of the best players in college basketball and likely a couple of games in its own backyard. For a Crimson Tide team that’s been an easy target for opposing fans over the past two months,

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer A person with knowledge of the decision says the Dallas Cowboys plan to release running back Ezekiel Elliott. The move ends a seven-season run for a two-time rushing champion whose dominance faded later in his Dallas career. The move will save Dallas about $11 million under the salary

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Gio Reyna has been elected by interim coach Anthony Hudson for the United States’ CONCACAF Nations League matches against Grenada and El Salvador. Reyna’s parents tried to oust U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter after the 20-year-old midfielder was sparingly used at the World Cup, They notified

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama star Brandon Miller is being accompanied at the NCAA Tournament by an armed security guard. Coach Nate Oats says the school lined up extra protection for Miller because of threats. Police have said Miller brought a gun to a former teammate before 23-year-old Jamea

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Injured star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to return to action “in the coming weeks” with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team made the announcement before hosting Boston in what marks the 49th consecutive missed game for Towns. The three-time All-Star suffered a severely strained calf on Nov. 28 at Washington. He recently began

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer JIm Nantz and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus agreed two years ago that this would be Nantz’s final tournament as the top announcer. Nantz started calling early-round games for CBS in 1986 and was the Final Four studio host for five years before taking over play-by-play duties from Brett

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Ja Morant will be back with the Memphis Grizzlies next week, after the NBA handed the All-Star guard an eight-game suspension without pay Wednesday and saying his displaying a firearm at a club in suburban Denver earlier this month was “conduct detrimental to the league.” Morant