Sports

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges’ consecutive games played streak lives on, even after he was forced to miss a game last week for the first time in his NBA career. Bridges was acquired by the Brooklyn Nets from Phoenix last Thursday in the blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant.

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer Just hours after confetti fell on the NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in Glendale, Arizona, the sports spotlight shifted to baseball as pitchers and catchers who will play in the World Baseball Classic began reporting to spring training complexes throughout the Phoenix area and in Florida. A few miles

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Sunday’s Super Bowl was the third most-watched television show in history, with an estimated 113 million people watching the Kansas City Chiefs rally to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. Fox said Monday that the preliminary numbers include the broadcasts on Fox and Fox Deportes as well as streaming on Fox

JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Cody Gakpo finally got off the mark as Liverpool beat Everton 2-0 in the 242nd Merseyside derby. The Holland forward tapped in from close range in the 49th minute after Mo Salah had opened the scoring in the first half to set up Liverpool’s first win

By ED WHITE Associated Press Michigan fired football co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss in January after he failed to attend a meeting to discuss whether he had gained access to computer accounts that belonged to other people. That’s according to documents released to The Associated Press. An athletic department official told Weiss that the university had

MADRID (AP) — Japan forward Takefusa Kubo’s first-half goal led third-place Real Sociedad to a 3-2 win at relegation-threatened Espanyol in the Spanish league. The result ended a three-game winless streak for Sociedad. The Basque Country club also scored in the second half through Alexander Sorloth and an own-goal by Espanyol defender Leandro Cabrera. Sociedad

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama coach Nick Saban has hired Kevin Steele as defensive coordinator and Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator. Alabama announced the already widely reported moves on Monday, along with the addition of inside linebackers coach Austin Armstrong. “We are excited to bring in such a gifted group of coaches to develop our

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — New Milwaukee Bucks forward Jae Crowder got so frustrated during his layoff that he sometimes yelled or cursed while watching multiple games simultaneously on the four televisions he’d set up at his home. He’ll have to wait a little longer. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer says Crowder

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Yu Darvish will receive $30 million this year in salary and signing bonus as part of a new $108 million, six-year contract with the San Diego Padres. The agreement replaced the final season of a $126 million, six-year contract that was due to pay the 36-year-old right-hander $18 million this season.

GENOA, Italy (AP) — Inter Milan has been surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened Sampdoria but consolidated second spot in Serie A. The Nerazzurri moved three points above Atalanta, Roma and AC Milan in a tight battle for the Champions League spots but saw its faint title hopes diminish further. The result left

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — England has made it two from two at the Women’s T20 World Cup with a four-wicket win over Ireland in Paarl, South Africa. England bowled the Irish out for just 105 after three wickets each from spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn. But

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Starting extra innings with a runner on second base during the regular season was made a permanent rules change by Major League Baseball after three seasons of use during the coronavirus pandemic. Use of position players as pitchers also was tightened by the joint competition

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press TAMPA, Fla, (AP) — New York Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes will miss next month’s World Baseball Classic due to a strained right hamstring but hasn’t ruled out being ready for the start of the regular season. Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland replaced Cortes on the United States roster. Cortes said the

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — UEFA-appointed investigators have held European soccer’s ruling body mostly responsible for chaotic security failures at the Champions League final in Paris last May. The failed security operation put the lives of Liverpool and Real Madrid fans at risk. The investigation panel writes in a 220-page document,

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Newly acquired Golden State guard Gary Payton II will be out for at least a month as he fully recovers from offseason surgery for a core muscle injury, and Warriors general manager Bob Myers is awaiting a decision from the NBA on whether the Trail

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso says his new team Aston Martin would “not be happy with second” as it tries to build toward a title challenge in future years. Alonso joins as a replacement for fellow former champion Sebastian Vettel after the German retired at the end of last season.

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer Few expected Linus Ullmark to be the top goaltender in the NHL and backstop the Boston Bruins to the best record in the league. The same goes with Stuart Skinner in Edmonton and Logan Thompson in Vegas. All three were All-Stars and are among the biggest goalie surprises this