Sports

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer DETROIT (AP) — Jonas Valanciunas scored 13 of his 33 points in the first quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans went on to beat the Detroit Pistons 116-110 Friday night. New Orleans’ CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III each had 19 points and Naji Marshall scored 17 points. The

By The Associated Press EMMITSBURG, Md. — Led by Anthony Nelson’s 20 points, the Manhattan Jaspers defeated the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers 62-57 on Friday night. The Jaspers are now 6-10 on the season, while the Mountaineers fell to 6-11.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are hosting the largest crowd ever for an NBA regular-season game in their return to the Alamodome. The Spurs, celebrating their 50th anniversary season, have returned to their former home to face the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Official attendance will be announced in the third

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Ajla Tomljanovic and Paula Badosa have withdrawn from the Australian Open because of injuries. Tomljanovic is dealing with a bad knee. Badosa has a hurt thigh. Their exits will allow Leolia Jeanjean and Laura Pigossi — two players who lost in qualifying — to move into the main draw at the

By The Associated Press NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Led by Nelly Junior Joseph’s 17 points, the Iona Gaels defeated the Fairfield Stags 75-69 on Friday night. The Gaels are now 12-5 on the season, while the Stags dropped to 6-10.

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer HONOLULU (AP) — Adam Scott has been part of the PGA Tour for 20 years and has no shortage of opinions. He wants to be sure those are heard. Scott has accepted a position on the 16-member Player Advisory Council for the first time in his career. The PAC

ATHENS, Ohio — Led by Miryne Thomas’ 17 points, the Kent State Golden Flashes defeated the Ohio Bobcats 70-65 on Friday night. The Golden Flashes improved to 14-3 with the win and the Bobcats fell to 9-8.

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer NFL regular-season ratings saw a 3% decrease from last season, which was not unexpected with “Thursday Night Football” moving from Fox and NFL Network to exclusively airing on Amazon Prime Video. The 272 regular-season games averaged 16.7 million viewers across television and digital platforms, The league also said that

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and pitchers Taylor Hearn, Jonathan Hernández and Brett Martin have agreed to one-year contracts, avoiding salary arbitration. The only other Rangers player eligible for arbitration was catcher Mitch Garver. He missed the final three months last season after undergoing surgery on the flexor tendon in

ITHACA, N.Y. — Led by Nazir Williams’ 27 points, the Cornell Big Red defeated the Yale Bulldogs 94-82 on Friday night. The Big Red improved to 13-4 with the win and the Bulldogs fell to 11-6.

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The bond Matt Daniels has developed with his players in his first season as special teams coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings stretches out of the practice facility and into the parking lot. That’s where Daniels turns over his designated space each week to a

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche are currently on the outside of the playoff picture at the halfway point of the season. Maybe it’s the long list of injuries finally catching up with the Avalanche. Or perhaps it’s the toll from last season when

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Pro Football Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans interviewed their first two candidates for general manager from outside their own organization Friday. They interviewed San Francisco director of player personnel Ran Carthon and Glenn Cook, Cleveland s assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel. The Titans

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is telling fans his franchise fell short of expectations in 2022 — and that he’s responsible for finding solutions. The comments came in an open letter to the fans just three days after general manager Chris Ballard told reporters he failed. Indy went 4-12-1 in 2022 after

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott says he isn’t thinking about his recent rash of interceptions as he prepares for a wild-card playoff at Tampa Bay on Monday night. Prescott tied for the NFL lead with 15 interceptions while finishing the regular season on a

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Fred Gaudelli has been in the producer’s chair for an NFL prime-time package for 33 seasons. That ends Saturday night when Gaudelli produces his last NFL game. He’ll produce NBC’s coverage of the AFC wild-card round game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars. The league’s 11-year deals

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa has rebounded from an embarrassing FA Cup exit by prevailing against Leeds 2-1 in the English Premier League. Villa scored from its only shot on goal in the first half. But it was better in the second half and doubled its lead thanks to VAR. Jamaican wing Leon Bailey

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer Two-time defending champion Tom Slingsby and Team Australia will be missing a key crewman and facing their least-favorite conditions when SailGP resumes Season 3 this weekend in Singapore. In other words, no one should count out the unshakeable Aussies, who are looking to start firming up their shot at

By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State football coach Ryan Day has promoted receivers coach Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator. Hartline replaces Kevin Wilson, who left to coach Tulsa. Hartline has been at OSU for six years and was promoted to passing game coordinator a year ago. Day also says

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — After mixing and matching his players all season because of injuries on and off the field, New York Giants secondary coach Jerome Henderson will have everyone back for the playoffs. The Giants (9-7-1) had a rare blank injury list Friday for the wild-card game