By George Ramsay, CNN A local lifeguard in Hawaii was the surprise winner of the prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational — dubbed the “Super Bowl of surfing” — after beating off competition from some of the sport’s biggest names. Luke Shepardson took approved breaks from his lifeguarding duty at Waimea Bay to compete in
Continue Reading By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW (AP) — Fernando Santos is the new coach of Poland’s national team. His appointment has been announced by the head of Poland’s soccer association. Santos is the former coach of his native Portugal. The 68-year-old Santos will be coaching a team captained by Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski. Santos is
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By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka has defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in a decade. Azarenka displayed the same confident brand of hard-hitting baseline tennis that carried her to championships at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013. Azarenka’s semifinal
Continue Reading By Don Riddell and George Ramsay, CNN Uprooted from its home in Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014, soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk is accustomed to the change and upheaval brought about by war having played at stadiums around the country for close to a decade. But even by Shakhtar’s standards, the events that have unfolded since
Continue Reading By Jack Bantock, CNN Just two weeks after retiring from football, Gareth Bale has confirmed he will be back competing with a ball at his feet next month — albeit a much smaller one. A well-known golf enthusiast, the Welsh icon is set to tee off at the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in
Continue Reading By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer Conference races across the country are getting tight as the regular season winds toward the finish. The Big 12 and Southeastern conferences will take a break from league games on Saturday to play each other, gifting college basketball fans with some marquee midseason nonconference games. The 10th SEC/Big 12
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN Victoria Azarenka produced a brilliant display of tennis to dispatch world No. 3 Jessica Pegula and reach the Australian Open semifinals. The two-time Australian Open champion, now ranked 24th in the world, rolled back the years to beat Pegula, one of the most consistent players on the women’s tour over the
Continue Reading By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka has defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in a decade. Azarenka displayed the same confident brand of hard-hitting baseline tennis that carried her to championship at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013. Azarenka’s semifinal
Continue Reading By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka has defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in a decade. Azarenka displayed the same confident brand of hard-hitting baseline tennis that carried her to championship at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013. Azarenka’s semifinal
Continue Reading SAN VIGILIO DI MAREBBE, Italy (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin holds a slim lead after the first run of Tuesday’s giant slalom and is in position for a record-breaking 83rd World Cup victory. Shiffrin currently shares the women’s record of 82 wins with former American teammate Lindsey Vonn. Shiffrin is 0.13 seconds ahead of world champion
Continue Reading By Alasdair Howorth, CNN The Los Angeles Lakers have added Rui Hachimura to their roster after completing a trade for him from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks. The power forward’s move comes off the back of a frustrating year in Washington, which has seen him come off the
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN Rising stars from the United States feature prominently in the men’s side of the draw at the Australian Open, making up three of the eight players ithat reached reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne. According to the ATP, it’s the first time since 2000 — when Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Chris Woodruff
Continue Reading MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — There couldn’t be more contrasting men’s quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic is still on track for his 10th title at Melbourne Park and now faces No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev. The Russian is 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. The other men’s match Wednesday features a pair of unseeded 20-something
Continue Reading CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dillon Dube scored at 2:25 of overtime to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Andrew Mangiapane had a goal and two assists, and Nazem Kadri and Walker Duehr also scored for the Flames. Dan Vladar stopped 22 shots to improve to 10-4-4 this season. Patrik
Continue Reading By CAMERON SALERNO Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Trey Lyles scored a season-high 24 points, Harrison Barnes had 15 of his 20 in Sacramento’s record-tying first quarter and the Kings beat the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 133-100. The Kings tied the NBA record with 12 3-pointers in the first quarter — in just 13 attempts
Continue Reading By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard had 37 points and 12 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 147-127 to stop a three-game losing streak. Jusuf Nurkic added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the struggling Blazers, who had lost eight of their previous
Continue Reading By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Karen Khachanov moved into his first Australian Open semifinal when Sebastian Korda stopped playing in the third set because of an injured right wrist. Khachanov will face either No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or unseeded Jiri Lehecka for a berth in the final at Melbourne
Continue Reading By MATTHEW COLES Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points and the Utah Jazz beat the cold-shooting Charlotte Hornets 120-102. The Hornets made only two 3-pointers, both by Terry Rozier, the fewest by an NBA team this season. Charlotte had 16 attempts beyond the arc, shooting 12.5%, while the Jazz
Continue Reading By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer WACO, Texas (AP) — LJ Cryer had 22 points with five 3-pointers and 17th-ranked Baylor stretched its Big 12-best winning streak to five games with a 75-69 win over No. 9 Kansas. It was a matchup of the last two national champions. The reigning champion Jayhawks lost their third
Continue Reading MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Kehlin Farooq scored 21 points to lead Texas Southern to a 71-65 victory over Alabama State. Farooq added nine rebounds for the Tigers (7-14, 3-5 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Davon Barnes totaled 15 points and Zytarious Mortle scored 13. Antonio Madlock led the Hornets (6-14, 4-3) with 15 points, four assists and three
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