Sports

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer Seven of the 14 teams in this year’s playoffs didn’t make the field last season, giving the NFL’s upcoming wild-card weekend a mix of traditional powerhouses and underdogs. Tom Brady begins his quest for an unprecedented eighth Super Bowl title when his Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys

PARIS (AP) — World Cup winner Hugo Lloris has retired from playing for France after a record 145 appearances. Lloris won the 2018 World Cup and was captain of the squad that lost to Argentina in the final in Qatar last month. The 36-year-old goalkeeper tells L’Equipe newspaper he will focus on his Tottenham club

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah quarterback Cameron Rising is returning after considering a jump to the NFL. The school announced Rising will be back as a sixth-year senior in 2023 after leading the Utes to consecutive Pac-12 titles. Rising was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien and Maxwell awards after throwing for 3,034 yards

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Former mixed martial arts fighter Phil Baroni has been arrested in Mexico for allegedly killing his girlfriend. The prosecutors’ office in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit said Wednesday that a woman was found dead on Jan. 1 in the beach town of San Francisco, just north of the resort of

By DANIELLA MATAR AP Sports Writer MILAN (AP) — Darko Lazović has scored twice to help Hellas Verona to a valuable 2-0 win over Cremonese in a Serie A relegation fight. Both goals came in the first half and saw the hosts move off the bottom of the table. Verona remained in the relegation zone

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan All-America running back Blake Corum is staying in school for his senior season and putting his NFL dreams on hold. Corum announced his decision onsocial media hours before the national championship game, writing he had “unfinished business.” He had a season-ending left knee injury on Nov. 19 after running

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Second-year coach Arthur Smith believes this season’s 7-10 finish shows much more reason for hope than last year’s identical record. Three rookie playmakers on offense, quarterback Desmond Ridder, running back Tyler Allgeier and wide receiver Drake London, enjoyed strong finishes to the season and could be

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees has announced his retirement, one day after completing his second season with the team. The 73-year-old Pees is ending a 50-year career in football. He previously coached 16 years in the NFL, including a combined 12 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee, Baltimore and New

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have agreed to terms on an $11.5 million, two-year contract with right-hander Luke Jackson. The 31-year-old Jackson missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 13. Jackson had a strong season in 2021 when he helped Atlanta win the World Series. He went

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer No. 24 Illinois has earned its first ranking in 23 years coming inThe Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll. The Illini are off to one of the best starts in school history and have had a remarkable turnaround after going 7-20 last season. South Carolina remained the No.

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — TCU’s unlikely run to the College Football Playoff championship came at a most fortuitous time for the Big 12. “If you think about where this conference was 18 months ago, and the uncertainty and the lack of stability and you fast forward to

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have fired coach Kliff Kingsbury and parted ways with general manager Steve Keim after a dreadful season that saw constant unwanted headlines, a serious knee injury to star quarterback Kyler Murray and lots of losing. The team confirmed the moves on Monday.

By STEVE DOUGLAS and RON BLUM AP Sports Writers Gareth Bale is retiring from soccer at age 33 after setting a Wales record with 41 international goals. Bale’s last match was a 3-0 loss to England at the World Cup on Nov. 29, his 111th international appearance. Bale also says he is retiring from club

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Houston is back at No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the second time this season. The Cougars claimed 34 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s latest poll to return to the top after a two-week stay there earlier this season. They led No. 2

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant has a sprained right knee and the Brooklyn Nets say he will miss at least two weeks. Durant was hurt Sunday in the Nets’ 102-101 victory in Miami and had an MRI on Monday that revealed an isolated sprain in his medial collateral

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella has been reinstated by Major League Baseball after serving more than five years of a suspension originally announced as permanent. Coppolella became general manager after the 2015 season and was suspended in November 2017 after MLB concluded that the team circumvented international signing rules

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gareth Bale is retiring from soccer at age 33 after setting a Wales record with 41 international goals. Bale’s last match was a 3-0 loss to England at the World Cup on Nov. 29, his 111th international appearance. Bale also said he is retiring from club football. He scored 53 Premier

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian soccer federation has hired Sylvinho as coach of the national team with the goal of qualifying for the 2024 European Championship. The 48-year-old Brazilian signed a contract that will take him through the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany. Sylvinho replaces Italian Edoardo Reja who