Sports

By SONJA CHEN Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Rising star Ilia Malinin scored a personal-best 110.36 in the men’s short program to kick off the second day of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, leading second-place veteran Jason Brown by more than 10 points. Malinin entered as the favorite to win his first U.S.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have hired their new defensive coordinator from an NFC South rival’s coaching staff. The Falcons hired Ryan Nielsen, the former New Orleans Saints co-defensive coordinator. Nielsen replaces the 73-year-old Dean Pees, who retired on Jan. 9 following two seasons in charge of the defense on coach Arthur

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will miss a game at Utah after spraining his left ankle against Phoenix in the opener of the two-game trip. Doncic’s absence on Saturday night will leave the Mavericks without their top two scorers. Christian Wood is recovering from a broken left thumb. Dallas went

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Anthony Hudson plans to keep coaching his heart out for the U.S. men’s national team until somebody tells him to stop. The interim coach has absolutely no idea when that will happen. He also has no idea who that somebody would be, since the U.S.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics and slugger Jesús Aguilar have agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract. The 32-year-old Aguilar batted .235 with 16 homers, 51 RBIs and a .661 OPS in 129 games for the Marlins and Orioles last season. He was leading the Marlins with 15 homers and 49 RBIs but

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt told reporters Friday that he is baffled over how $12.7 million of his money has gone missing from a local private investment firm that authorities are investigating as part of a massive fraud that began more than a decade ago.

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer PARIS (AP) — Motorsport’s governing body the FIA has responded to reported sexist comments made by its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on his personal website in 2001 by saying they “do not reflect his beliefs.” Ben Sulayem was quoted in British newspaper The Times as writing in 2001

MONTREAL (AP) — Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield says he wouldn’t be having season-ending surgery on his right shoulder if the team were in playoff contention. But with the Canadiens near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the 22-year-old Caufield says he decided to have the surgery to protect his long-term health. The procedure

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Reliever Pete Fairbanks and the Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a $12 million, three-year contract that could be worth up to $24.6 million over four seasons. The deal announced Friday includes a club option for 2026 which, along with performance escalators and potential bonuses, could significantly increase the amount

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Almeria has eased to a 3-1 win over Espanyol at home and remains unbeaten since the Spanish league restarted following the World Cup. Colombian striker Luis Súarez scored in the first half for his first goal since recently joining Almeria on loan from Marseille. Leo Baptistao and Francisco Portillo added on

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Nathan Ake has scored the winner as Manchester City beat Arsenal 1-0 to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup. In a meeting between the English Premier League’s top teams, City came out on top against leader Arsenal. Defender Ake was the unlikely

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers got a jolt offensively when they made the bold decision in October to trade four draft picks to add Christian McCaffrey to an already deep group of playmakers. The Philadelphia Eagles made an aggressive trade of their own to

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic will carry a 27-match winning streak at the Australian Open into the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas. That unbeaten run was put on pause a year ago when Djokovic could not participate in the tournament because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. That is

PARIS (AP) — Lorient shows it can cope without top scorer Terem Moffi by beating Rennes 2-1 in the French league. Moffi’s 12 goals put him second in the scoring chart and one behind Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé. Nigeria striker Moffi has been left out of the squad in the past two games after

MILAN (AP) — Salernitana has won at Lecce 2-1 to leapfrog its opponent and gain ground in the battle to avoid being dragged into a relegation fight in Serie A. Victory lifted Salernitana up to 19th. It is nine points above the relegation zone and a point above Lecce. Spezia is three points below Salernitana

LEIPZIG, Germany (AP) — Two sweetly hits shots from Dominik Szoboszlai have lifted Leipzig to a 2-1 win over Stuttgart to close within a point of Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich. Szoboszlai had not scored in the league since September before the Hungarian midfielder gave his team the lead with a swerving, dipping free kick in

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson is expected to be back on the sideline for Saturday night’s game against Ohio State. Woodson missed Wednesday’s game at Minnesota while recovering from COVID-19. The athletic department says in a news release that Woodson was “doing well” and the medical team expects the second-year coach

By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Paul Henderson has become a fixture at Canisius College hockey games in Buffalo, New York, where the former NHL player roots on his grandson from the stands in relative anonymity. In Canada, Henderson is best known for scoring what might be the nation’s most iconic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have signed veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman to a $3.75 million, one-year contract a week after agreeing to terms with the seven-time All-Star, who is coming off a lackluster season with the New York Yankees. Chapman was once known for consistently throwing 100 mph fastballs past woebegone