Month: March 2022

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer Cristiano Ronaldo will get another shot at lifting the World Cup. Portugal beat North Macedonia 2-0 in a European playoff on Tuesday, securing a fifth World Cup appearance for the leading men’s international scorer. It was one of seven spots in soccer’s premier tournament decided on the day.

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers has led the Connecticut Huskies to their 14th straight Final Four. They’ll play in the national semifinals in Minneapolis. The games at Target Center will be about 10 miles away from where Bueckers had a standout career at Hopkins High School. The talent

By JOHN RABY AP Sports Writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Conference USA has agreed to allow Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss to expedite their move to the Sun Belt. The resolution announced Tuesday allows the three schools to withdraw from Conference USA by the end of the current academic year. Joining them in their

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Billy Turner’s one-year deal with the Denver Broncos represents not only a homecoming but a reunion. Turner, who played in Denver from 2016-18, and Broncos new head coach Nathaniel Hackett developed a close friendship during their time together in Green Bay, where Turner blossomed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Pac-12 Conference will not renew the lease at its downtown San Francisco headquarters and will have its employees work remotely instead of maintaining a permanent league office. The conference’s lease expires in June 2023. The conference was based in the San Francisco suburb of Walnut Creek until 2014, when it

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz will start the season in the minors. The team has optioned the towering 6-foot-7 shortstop to Triple-A Indianapolis in hopes of getting him more experience. The 23-year-old Cruz had put together a solid spring training, going 5 for 15 with two home runs in Grapefruit League

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers pitcher José Ureña has signed a $1.25 million, one-year league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. The 30-year-old Ureña went 4-8 with a 5.81 ERA for the Tigers last season in 26 appearances, including 18 starts. The right-hander had 67 strikeouts and 42 walks in 100 2/3

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Lorena Ochoa already is in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Now she’s going into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The Mexican star met all the requirements except for a 10-year career, but the LPGA has now lifted that requirement. Ochoa retired after seven years to start a family. The

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers rookie forward Evan Mobley will miss Wednesday night’s game against Dallas with a sprained right ankle. It’s not clear when Mobley will be back. The Cavs are seventh in the Eastern Conference with seven games left. The top six teams go directly to the

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are waiting on the return of LeBron James and Anthony Davis as they flirt with missing the play-in tournament for the Western Conference playoffs. Both were on the bench for a 128-110 loss at Dallas. James has an ankle injury. Davis hasn’t

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. The move gives New Orleans a second experienced signal-caller behind returning starter Jameis Winston. The 34-year-old Dalton is a former starter in Cincinnati who is now with his fourth team in four years after spending his first

By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — There was a time, not that many years ago, when predicting who would win the women’s NCAA Tournament was not that difficult. UConn or Tennessee, or Baylor or maybe Stanford, depending on the year, dominated the season and the tournament. But this year is not

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer Stanford is back in the women’s Final Four thanks in part to the offensive performances by Haley Jones and Lexie Hull. But the Cardinal have also been exceptional at the defensive end during the NCAAs. Stanford is allowing just 54.5 points per game in the tournament and held Texas

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa All-American Keegan Murray has announced he will declare for the NBA draft. Murray tweeted he would leave the Hawkeyes after a sophomore season in which he was a consensus the Big Ten scoring leader, consensus All-American and unanimous pick to The Associated Press All-Big Ten team. Murray helped lead

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A resolution to the NFL’s investigation into Deshaun Watson’s conduct could take some time, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday. The quarterback, now with Cleveland after a trade from Houston, will not be indicted on criminal sexual misconduct charges brought by 22 women. He