Sports

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rafael Nadal has started the defense of his Australian Open title with a bit of a struggle along the way to a four-set victory over a cramping Jack Draper. Nadal was not in peak form but did manage to beat Draper 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic is set to make his return to action at the Australian Open after being banned a year ago because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. He has won 30 of his past 31 tournament matches dating to the end of last season. He is after his 22nd Grand Slam

By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer CINCINNATI (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens’ season ended with Lamar Jackson not in uniform, not on the bench — not even in Cincinnati with the team. An argument could be made their season ended on Dec. 4, when the star quarterback suffered a knee injury that ultimately sidelined him

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Bianca Andreescu has defeated the 25th-seeded Marie Bouzkova at the Australian Open. Andreescu traces the path that brought her back to the tennis tour after a mental health break to what she calls “an ‘Aha’ moment” on a beach in Costa Rica during a spiritual

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James became the second player in NBA history to score 38,000 career points, but Joel Embiid had 35 points and 11 rebounds while the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Los Angeles Lakers 113-112. Russell Westbrook failed to get off a clean shot or a

By DENNIS GEORGATOS Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining, capping his 12th triple-double of the season, and the Denver Nuggets won their 13th in a row at home by beating the Orlando Magic 119-116. Jokic connected from the top of the key, stepping back to get

By TRISNADI and NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian court began trial Monday against five men on charges of negligence leading to the deaths of 135 people after police fired tear gas inside a soccer stadium, setting off a panicked run for the exits in which many were crushed. The deadly

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the Australian Open a day before he was scheduled to play his first-round match. He has a knee injury. Kyrgios was the runner-up at Wimbledon last year in singles and the men’s doubles champion at the Australian Open and considered the host country’s strongest chance

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer The Buffalo Bills blew a 17-point advantage before recovering to win Sunday. That narrow escape came less than 24 hours after the Jacksonville Jaguars overcame a 27-point deficit and pulled off one of the most stunning comeback victories in playoff history. No lead is safe and the drama abounds

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer CINCINNATI (AP) — Sam Hubbard returned Tyler Huntley’s fumble 98 yards for a tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 in an AFC wild-card game. Facing third-and-goal at the 1 with about 12 minutes left, Huntley tried to

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Harrison Barnes scored 29 points, Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 18 rebounds and the Sacramento Kings extended their winning streak to four games with a 132-119 win over the San Antonio Spurs. De’Aaron Fox added 23 points and Davion Mitchell had 19 points for Sacramento.

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings faced plenty of questions about their legitimacy as a contender in the NFC. They were the rare 13-win team with a negative point differential during the regular season. The source of the doubt could be clearly traced back to a defense that

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Blake Wheeler’s goal in the second period proved to be the winner as the Winnipeg Jets beat Arizona 2-1 and dealt the Coyotes their ninth straight loss. Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for the Jets, who have won three straight and improved to 8-1-0 in their last nine. Connor Hellebuyck made 20

By DENIS P. GORMAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Simmons missed the Brooklyn Nets’ 112-102 loss the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night due to back soreness. The Nets announced on Twitter shortly before tipoff that Simmons was out. About 50 minutes before the start of the game, the team initially said Simmons