Sports

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Forward Christian Ramirez is returning to Major League Soccer with the Columbus Crew. He is transferring from Scotland’s Aberdeen. Ramirez agreed to a two-year deal with the Crew that includes a team option for 2025. The 31-year-old Californian joined Aberdeen ahead of the 2021-22 season from the Houston Dynamo and scored

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will miss at least three weeks after having surgery to repair a fractured right thumb. The Knicks said Robinson had the procedure Thursday at the Hospital for Special Surgery, a day after he was injured in a 116-105 loss to Washington. Robinson played just nine

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta says the team will start negotiating again with star quarterback Lamar Jackson. The GM expressed optimism in reaching a deal. Jackson’s rookie contract expires now. DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh met with reporters for a news conference to

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid rallied to overcome a two-goal deficit in the first half and defeat Villarreal 3-2 to advance to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals for the second straight season. Dani Ceballos, Vinícius Júnior and Éder Militão scored for Madrid. Barcelona earlier kept momentum from its Spanish

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer Notre Dame coach Mike Brey will be stepping down at the end of this season. The school made the announcement Thursday. The 63-year-old Brey has won 481 games since taking the Fighting Irish job in July 2000. Both his victory total and 23-year tenure are school records. Notre Dame

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require schools that play major college sports to pay some athletes as much as $25,000 annually. The bill also calls for schools to pay some post-college medical expenses for athletes and to guarantee athletic scholarships for six years.

By JEFF BABINEAU Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Brooke Henderson feels a lot better at the start of this new season than the end of last season. Her back is not hurting and she’s swinging freely and attacking pins. Henderson has shot a 67 in the opening round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer TUKWILA, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Sounders have signed forward Jordan Morris and midfielder Cristian Roldan to five-year contracts that will likely keep the pair with the club for the remainder of their MLS careers. The deals run through 2027. Morris has spent nearly his entire club career with

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City has cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League to five points with a come-from-behind 4-2 win against Tottenham. Just when the reigning champion’s title defense looked in danger of suffering a latest blow second-half goals from Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland

ROME (AP) — Federico Chiesa scored his first goal for Juventus in more than a year and the Bianconeri beat Silvio Berlusconi’s Monza 2-1 to reach the Italian Cup quarterfinals. Moise Kean had put Juventus ahead early on following an assist from Weston McKennie before Mattia Valoti equalized for Monza before the break. Juventus will

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks forward Christian Wood will miss multiple games with a broken left thumb. The team says the injury to Wood’s non-shooting hand occurred during the Mavericks’ 130-122 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday night. He will be re-evaluated next week. Wood winced in pain while holding the thumb at one point during

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — The German soccer federation has appointed former Germany coach Rudi Völler as the men’s national team’s new sporting director. The federation says Völler will be presented as Oliver Bierhoff’s replacement on Friday and that he will officially take over on Feb. 1. Bierhoff was the only

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer PARIS (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and French President Emmanuel Macron met this week in Paris to talk about ways they can help one another grow the game in France and beyond. The meeting comes with good timing given that French star Victor Wembanyama is about to enter

PACIFIC, Calif. (AP) — Yvonne Ejim had 22 points and 12 rebounds, McKayla Williams added 19 points and seven boards and No. 16 Gonzaga held off Pacific 81-78. Gonzaga led for 39 minutes, 18 seconds, with an advantage as high as 16 points. But Pacific scored 30 points in the fourth quarter to make it

By The Associated Press The NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles host the New York Giants in a divisional playoff game on Saturday night. The top-seeded Eagles will be looking to defeat the upset-minded Giants for the third time this season. Sixth-seeded New York beat No. 3 Minnesota on Sunday for its first playoff victory in

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Barcelona kept momentum from its Spanish Super Cup triumph by routing third-division club Ceuta 5-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. Robert Lewandowski scored twice for Barcelona. The Catalan club beat rival Real Madrid in the Super Cup final on Sunday in

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Saquon Barkley recently studied the NFL record book as if he were preparing for a game. The New York Giants running back hopes to run his way to the top of those lists someday as one of the all-time best but knows

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) — Before his Miami Marlins introductory news conference, Miami’s newest starting pitcher Johnny Cueto trotted to the mound at his new home ballpark, wrapped in a Dominican flag and dancing as music blasted throughout. Cueto signed a one-year deal with the Marlins after spending the 2022 season