Sports

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman defended the way the league and two teams handled controversial developments involving Pride night celebrations. Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov did not take part in warmups citing religion for his refusal to wear a Pride-themed jersey. The New York Rangers opted

TANGIER, Morocco (AP) — Mohamed Afsha has scored on a deflected shot in the 88th minute and sent Al Ahly into the Club World Cup semifinals after beating the Seattle Sounders 1-0. Afsha scored after coming on as a substitute in the 63rd. He sent Al Ahly into the semifinals for the third straight year

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — It is like Sean Dyche never went away. Everton’s new manager earned a winning debut and blew the English Premier League title race wide open when table-topping Arsenal was beaten 1-0 at Goodison Park. Dyche immediately made his presence felt and defender James Tarkowski score

By BOBBY BANCROFT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton each scored 15 and Alex Karaban knocked down two late 3-pointers as No. 24 UConn held on for a 68-62 win at last-place Georgetown on Saturday. Despite leading for most of the game, the heavily favored Huskies (18-4, 7-6 Big East) needed

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers are offering Canadian forward Sarah Nurse a job to run their new program designed to get more girls playing hockey. Nurse scored a highlight-reel goal against New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin during the NHL’s All-Star Skills Competition on Friday night.

JIMMY ROBERTSON Associated Press BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Sean Pedulla scored 22 points to lead Virginia Tech to a 74-68 victory over No. 6 Virginia on Saturday. Pedulla hit 6 of 13 shots from the floor and made 8 of 9 from the free-throw line for the Hokies (14-10, 4-8 Atlantic Coast Conference). Virginia Tech

INDIANAPOLIS — DJ Jackson and Vincent Brady II scored 16 points each and IUPUI beat Green Bay 68-53 to snap an 11-game losing streak. Jackson added six rebounds and Brady five boards for the Jaguars. Cade Meyer finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Phoenix, who have lost 14 in a row.

HAMMOND, La. — Terrion Murdix’s 23 points helped Texas A&M-CC defeat SE Louisiana 83-72. Murdix was 9 of 18 shooting, including 2 for 4 from distance, and went 3 for 3 from the line for the Islanders. Trey Tennyson added 16 points and he also had seven rebounds. Jalen Jackson finished with 11 points. Roger

LONDON (AP) — Duhan van der Merwe has scored an early contender for try of the tournament and went over for the match-clincher as Scotland beat England 29-23 in the Six Nations to continue its recent dominance of the Calcutta Cup. The winger’s 75th-minute try in the left corner sealed a fourth victory in Scotland’s

By ANDREW LOGUE Associated Press AMES, Iowa (AP) — Jaren Holmes led No. 13 Iowa State with 15 points in the Cyclones’ 68-53 win over No. 8 Kansas on Saturday. Osun Osunniyi added 13 for the Cyclones (16-6, 7-3 Big 12), who stayed within at least a game of front-running Texas in the conference standings.

BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Fresh from a dramatic late winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup, Kaoru Mitoma struck in the 87th minute for Brighton to beat Bournemouth 1-0 in the English Premier League. The Japan international’s headed goal was his third in as many games and sent his side up to sixth place. It

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says Karim Benzema and Éder Militão will miss Sunday’s Spanish league match at Mallorca due to minor injuries. Ancelotti says both players will travel with the team to the Club World Cup in Morocco next week, even though their availability is still doubtful. Benzema and Militão had

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sport Writer PARIS (AP) — Lionel Messi’s second-half goal has helped a lackluster Paris Saint-Germain beat Toulouse 2-1 to move eight points clear at the top of the French league. The superstar struck with a typical curling strike in the 57th minute following a move with Morocco right back Achraf Hakimi.

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Liverpool’s troubles have continued after losing to Wolverhampton 3-0 in the English Premier League. Just last season Liverpool was in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies. This season it looks in danger of finishing mid-table in the league or perhaps worse. Liverpool has lost seven times in the league

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Elche has ended its long wait for a win in the Spanish league after Pere Milla scored a hat trick before he was injured to beat Villarreal 3-1. Last-placed Elche had gone the entire first half of the league without a single win. The victory finally

LONDON (AP) — Brentford has moved into the English Premier League top six after dispatching Southampton 3-0. Goals by Ben Mee, Bryan Mbeumo and Mathias Jensen extended Brentford’s unbeaten run to nine in the league stretching back to October. Their fluid front four of Josh Dasilva, Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa and Mbeumo simply tormented the

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pitcher Max Fried has lost to the Atlanta Braves in salary arbitration. He’ll make $13.5 million in the upcoming season instead of his $15 million request. Mark Burstein, Fredric Horowitz and Jeanne Vonhof issued their decision a day after hearing arguments. Fried won a $6.85 million salary last year in

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Kelechi Iheanacho has scored a goal and set up two others to help Leicester beat Aston Villa 4-2 in the English Premier League. The Nigeria forward’s first-half pluck allowed Leicester to snap a five-game winless run in league play. It was Villa’s first loss in its past five league matches. Iheanacho

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — After reigniting hope of an English Premier League title challenge, Manchester United has been left counting the cost of Casemiro’s red card after beating Crystal Palace 2-1. The Brazil international was sent off in the second half for grabbing Palace midfielder Will Hughes by the

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — American forward Jordan Pefok has scored late to shoot Union Berlin back to the top of the Bundesliga after beating Mainz 2-1. Pefok came on as a substitute for opening goal-scorer Kevin Behrens in the 79th minute. Five minutes later he scored the winner to lift