Sports

By GEORGE RICHARDS Associated Press SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brothers Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers declined to wear special Pride-themed warmup jerseys ahead of the team’s 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The jerseys were part of Florida’s Pride night game in support of the area’s LGBTQ community, and the brothers

By DICK SCANLON Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero’s 21 points included a 3 with 1:26 remaining and two free throws in the final seconds to help the Orlando Magic turn back the New York Knicks 111-106. Cole Anthony added 18 points for Orlando and Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points and eight

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Markquis Nowell walked the ball up the floor with the score tied in the final minute of overtime and exchanged animated hand signals with his coach, Jerome Tang. Standing on the March Madness logo at Madison Square Garden, the 5-foot-8 Kansas State point guard who

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Rory McIlroy is really digging the long ball at the Dell Match Play. He capped off his victory against Denny McCarthy by driving the 375-yard closing hole to just inside 4 feet for an eagle that was conceded. It was a brilliant display of power

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — No. 6 seed Coco Gauff opened her 2023 Miami Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Rebecca Marino and advanced to the third round. She will face 27th-seeded Anastasia Potapova on Saturday. World No. 3 Jessica Pegula beat Katherine Sebov 6-3, 6-1 and advanced

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers have re-signed outside linebacker Justin Hollins. Hollins recorded 2½ sacks in six games for the Packers last season after they claimed him off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 24. The 27-year-old Hollins played 34 games for the Rams from 2020-22 and was part

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers re-signed free agent Eddy Pineiro and released Zane Gonzalez after two injury-plagued seasons. Pineiro took over as the team’s kicker last season after Gonzalez was injured during a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. He went on convert a 94.3% of his

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer A trio of NL pennant hopefuls are suddenly dealing with injuries to some pretty important players. The Philadelphia Phillies lost slugging first baseman Rhys Hoskins on Thursday when he damaged his left knee fielding a grounder in a spring training game. He needs surgery for a torn ACL and

By The Associated Press Folarin Balogun traveled from Europe and met with U.S. interim coach Anthony Hudson as the Americans try to persuade the 21-year-old midfielder to commit to their national team over England and Nigeria. The U.S. trained in Orlando, Florida, this week ahead of Friday night’s CONCACAF Nations League match at Grenada. Hudson

By DÉBORA REY and DANIEL POLITI Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Messi mania gripped Buenos Aires as the Argentina national team led by Lionel Messi beat Panama 2-0 on Thursday in a friendly match that was essentially a celebration of their World Cup victory last December. Although the world champions dominated the game,

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Souley Boum is savoring every moment of his one and only season at Xavier. He chose the school because he believed it would give him his best chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. The All-Big East first-team pick leads the Musketeers into a

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins needs surgery for a torn ACL after injuring his left knee while fielding a grounder in a spring training game and is expected to miss a significant amount of time. The Phillies did not say when Hoskins would have the surgery or exactly how long

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer It was a record-breaking night for Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane as qualifying for the European Championship in 2024 got underway. The 38-year-old Ronaldo now has more international appearances than any other male player after racking up No. 197 in Portugal’s 4-0 win over Liechtenstein. The former Real Madrid

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders re-signed wide receiver Keelan Cole and signed free-agent cornerback Duke Shelley on Thursday. Cole caught 10 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown last season. He previously played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017-20 and the New York Jets in 2021

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Aces announced Thursday that seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady has acquired an ownership stake in the WNBA champions. He attended an Aces game on May 31 and later sent Las Vegas star Kelsey Plum a jersey and other gifts. Brady

By JAY COHEN and STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writers A National Hockey League team with a Russian player has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride Night, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russian athletes when they return home. The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s game

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo has become the most-capped player in men’s international soccer. Ronaldo scored twice in Portugal’s European Championship qualifier against Liechtenstein while making his 197th appearance with the national team. Portugal won 4-0. Ronaldo had tied Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa with 196 caps after coming off the bench in Portugal’s loss to

By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Alabama was expected to be in the Sweet 16 as the overall top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Few thought the teams standing between the Crimson Tide and a trip to the Final Four would be No. 5 seed San Diego State, sixth-seeded Creighton

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Harry Kane broke Wayne Rooney’s national team scoring record and England held on for a 2-1 win at Italy on the opening night of European Championship qualifying. It was a small measure of revenge for England against the team it lost to in the European Championship final two years ago. Kane