Sports

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer Zach Eflin made a good first impression with the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander struck out three of the four Minnesota batters he faced in his first spring training start. Eflin signed a $40 million, three-year contract during the offseason. That is the most money the Rays have ever

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby scored 15 points with six rebounds, four assists and two steals and 18th-ranked North Carolina, the seventh-seed, pulled away from Clemson for a 68-58 win the second round of the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels face 13th-ranked and second-seeded Duke on Friday in the quarterfinals. Deja Kelly scored 14

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Diamond Battles scored 14 of her 18 points in the second quarter, Alisha Lewis had a career-high 12 assists with eight points and five steals and No. 7 seed Georgia eased past 10th-seeded Auburn 63-47 in the SEC Tournament. Georgia (21-10) moves to the quarterfinals on Friday to face fourth-ranked LSU,

By W.G. RAMIREZ Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Cameron Brink had 22 points and 11 rebounds as No. 6 Stanford overcame a lot of early misses and beat Oregon 76-65 in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals. Stanford made just three of 20 shots in the first quarter. Brink and the Cardinal found their rhythm after

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Second-seeded Francisco Cerundolo has been eliminated from the Chile Open. Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Cerundolo 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the clay court tournament. His next opponent will be Dusan Lajovic, who beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (2). Laslo Djere topped Riccardo Bonadio 7-5, 7-5.

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer Canada Soccer and the women’s national team have agreed on an interim funding agreement that is retroactive to 2022 after players threatened to boycott team activities at last month’s SheBelieves Cup tournament. The two sides issued a joint statement which said the terms of the agreement include “per-game

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Cade McNamara saw an opportunity in Iowa’s offense. After starting all 14 games for Michigan in 2021 and injuring his knee three games into last season, McNamara looks at his move as a fresh start and one that gives him a chance to revive one

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Linebacker Ochaun Mathis went all-in by betting an extra year of college football could help him make an NFL roster. He knew entering the league at age 24 was a risky proposition, given most players’ careers end at about age 25. He knew scouts and team

By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer The head of the Professional Women’s Hockey Player’s Association tells The Associated Press that her group is finalizing plans with its new corporate sponsors to launch what would become North America’s second women’s pro league by the end of this year. Jayna Hefford declined to put a firm date

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jon Jones is largely considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time. He has a record 14 title victories at light heavyweight. Jones has ended a three-year break from competition and moved up to heavyweight. His next opponent is France’s Ciryl Gane. Gane is the

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Eighth-seeded Marta Kostyuk has eliminated Madison Brengle 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 at the ATX Open to reach her third quarterfinal of 2023. Kostyuk only made it as far as the quarterfinals once all of last season. She will meet Anna-Lena Friedsam for a spot in the semifinals at the inaugural edition of

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Barcelona has won the first battle against Real Madrid this month defeating its rival 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. It was the first of three matches between the Spanish powerhouses in the next few weeks.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) — Carson Young is atop the leaderboard for the second straight week on the PGA Tour. This one was special. The 28-year-old rookie had three eagles at Grand Reserve for a 63 and a three-shot lead in the Puerto Rico Open. Young was tied after 18 holes at the Honda

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Laila Phelia and Emily Kiser scored 13 points each and Michigan and survived a Penn State comeback for a 63-61 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The 17th-ranked and fifth-seeded Wolverines will play fourth-seeded Ohio State in Friday quarterfinals. The Buckeyes swept Michigan in two regular-season meetings. Leigha Brown

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Led by Zay Williams’ 15 points, the Troy Trojans defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves 63-59 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament’s second round.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Bowen Born had 23 points in Northern Iowa’s 75-62 victory over Illinois State on Thursday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournamentfalse Championship Born also had five assists for the Panthers (14-17). Michael Duax scored 19 points while shooting 8 of 10 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line,

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Tennis Association says a rise in tennis participation around the United States over the past three years has been boosted by increases among Hispanic, Black and Asian players. The USTA pointed Thursday to participation jumps since 2020 of 90% among Hispanic players, 46% among Black players and 37% among