[ad_1]
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) scrambles out of the reach of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
SEATTLE (AP) — Having spent the past two seasons as his teammate, Seattle center Connor Williams struggled to watch what happened to Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa.
He’d much rather see Tagovailoa on the field Sunday when the Seahawks host the Dolphins than watch his former teammate deal with yet another concussion.
“It was awful. I mean, you never wish for something like that, and definitely with his history,” Williams said. “Just prayers out to him and his family.”
The latest concussion suffered by the Miami quarterback and his uncertain future has centered the storylines around the Week 3 matchup.
Tagovailoa was injured last Thursday night in a loss to Buffalo, his third diagnosed concussion in the past two years. The Dolphins have spent the week trying to get Skylar Thompson ready to make his first start since the 2022 season while also answering unknowns about when Tagovailoa — who has been placed on injured reserve — will return.
For now, Miami is placing its faith in Thompson.
“When I tell you that the confidence that the team has for Skylar is real and it’s earned, and it’s based upon thousands of hours that as a backup quarterback most people don’t see,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said.
The last time Thompson started was the 2022 playoffs against Buffalo. He never saw the field last season and his limited career opportunities thus far make it difficult to get a read on what exactly may be different with Thompson under center.
“It’s tough because it’s not a huge sample size to see, and it’s been a long time, and you’re talking about a couple of years of growth from when he started last in a playoff game, being in the system,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said. “So that’s where we’re at right now.”
While it’s a bit of an unknown how Thompson will step in, the Dolphins still have a dangerous set of skill talent like Tyreek Hill and De’Von Achane.
“One of my favorite parts about this game is going to play with the guys next to me. It’s been that way since I was a little kid, and I just find joy in going to battle with guys that I know have put so much into it to do their job,” Thompson said.
Seattle played last week without top running back Kenneth Walker III and his status against the Dolphins is uncertain due to an oblique injury. Whether it’s Walker or backup Zach Charbonnet carrying the load, Seattle’s offensive line must do better blocking up front.
“We’ve got to move people. Right now we’re not moving them,” Macdonald said.
The Seahawks had only 46 yards rushing and averaged 2.4 yards per rush against New England, which made the 103 yards Walker had in Week 1 against Denver that much more impressive.
The guard spot has been the problem thus far and Seattle could continue to rotate at right guard where Anthony Bradford and Christian Haynes split time against the Patriots.
Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks knows how loud it can get inside Seattle’s home stadium after spending the first four years of his career as a Seahawk.
Brooks said the best way for the Dolphins to quiet the noise from Seattle’s passionate fans is to stymie the Seahawks’ offense and for Thompson and the Dolphins’ offense to make big plays of their own.
“It gets as loud as the team can make it,” Brooks said. “So if we’re stopping them, it won’t be that loud. If we don’t, it will be pretty loud.”
Thompson also has experience playing in hostile environments. He started a road playoff game against the Buffalo Bills during the 2022 season.
“For me, that’s what you want,” Thompson said. “That’s why football is such a great game, and being able to go on the road, having a road opportunity with the guys and get to go in there and go to battle with them in that environment is fun. We’re really excited for that opportunity.”
Geno Smith is coming off one of the best games of his career, completing 75% of his passes and throwing for 327 yards in the win over the Patriots. Smith was 17 of 25 passing in the second half and overtime, and carried Seattle’s offense on a day there was no run game.
“Y’all been calling this man underrated for three years, and when is it going to stop?” Seattle wide receiver DK Metcalf questioned. “But he’s not underrated by any means.”
There was a huge smile on Tyler Huntley’s face Wednesday when he described the feeling of playing football in Miami.
Huntley, signed this week by Miami off the Ravens’ practice squad, was born in Dania Beach, Florida, about 20 miles north of Miami and attended high school in South Florida. He went to college in Utah before signing with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
“Man, it’s just like a dream come true,” Huntley said. “As a little kid, you’re looking up seeing the NFL and your home team being right there, you just want to be a part of it. I get the chance to be a part of it.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Tom Wilson looked around on the bench during an informal pre-training camp skate this week and saw a lot of unfamiliar faces.
“I felt like the new guy,” Wilson said.
More than a decade into his NHL career with the Washington Capitals, he’s actually one of the longest-tenured members of the organization and along with Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson the only players remaining from 2018 when they won the Stanley Cup.
With T.J. Oshie now out with the same sort of chronic injury that sidelined Nicklas Backstrom nearly a year ago and after an offseason of roster turnover, the Capitals opened camp Thursday looking like a much different team than the one that squeaked into the playoffs and got swept in the first round.
“You want to have a solid team to be able to make the playoffs and try to win the Stanley Cup,” Ovechkin said two days after turning 39 and three weeks away from his 20th season in North America. “The last few years we improve ourselves, but it was not enough, and I think everybody understand we need experienced guys who want to be part of it and I think they did a pretty good job.”
Ovechkin goes into the season 42 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career record. The goal is to win while also helping the longtime captain and face of the franchise make hockey history.
Enter center Pierre-Luc Dubois, winger Andrew Mangiapane, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goaltender Logan Thompson acquired by trade and forwards Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh and defenseman Matt Roy signed in free agency.
“It’s something I haven’t done in my career,” Carlson said. “There hasn’t been this much turnover, I don’t think — not even close — so, from that standpoint it’s great. It’s great to take on new challenges. I think we’re a lot better team after the changes.”
And they may not be done. Back with Washington is Jakub Vrana, who was part of the Cup run six years ago and has since been traded, waived, gone through the player assistance program and sent to the minors and is in camp on a professional tryout agreement.
“Washington is always going to be in my heart, and I always wanted to play here,” Vrana said. “This chance means a lot to me, things happen over the past few years, but that’s already put that behind me and I’m ready to see this as an opportunity to bounce back.”
If Vrana makes the team, he could help fill the void left by Oshie’s absence, which has been expected since the spring when the 37-year-old winger said he’d only continue playing if he and doctors could find a permanent solution to back problems that kept knocking him out of the lineup. Oshie is expected to start the season on long-term injured reserve, and it would take a drastic turn of events for him to play another NHL game.
“He has to look in the mirror and do what’s right for his health and his family,” Wilson said. “It’s been a battle for him the last couple years. … He’s been grinding. He’s been putting in a ton of work, flying all over the place, rehabbing a ton. His day to day has been a lot harder than the rest of the guys. He’s a true warrior.”
Fourth-line center Nic Dowd noticed it’s quieter around the rink without Oshie, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t good energy around the Capitals, especially given all the additions.
“Mentally, I’m really excited about what we’ve done with our team,” Dowd said. “It’s something to say like, OK good, we’re moving forward with trying to get better and we’re not just staying stagnant expecting different results with the same thing.”
Still yet to get to camp is Swedish defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who new general manager Chris Patrick said was having visa issues.
“It’s just trying to figure out what’s going on and getting this approved,” second-year coach Spencer Carbery said. “If you know someone in the U.S. government, please share because we don’t have any type of update.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
DETROIT (AP) — Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua had a knee injury in the first half against the Detroit Lions and was ruled out.
Nacua had four catches for 35 yards on Sunday night before he was hurt. He was a record-setting rookie last season, earning Pro Bowl recognition.
The Rams were banged up on the offensive line entering the game and the position group took more hits in the Motor City.
Left tackle Joe Noteboom was taken from the sideline to the locker room in a cart in the second quarter with an ankle injury. He was starting the game in place of Alaric Jackson, who is serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Left guard Steve Avila later departed with a knee injury, forcing the Rams to shuffle their line even more and put A.J. Arcuri at left tackle after elevating him from the practice squad.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
NEW YORK — Karolina Muchova is back in the U.S. Open semifinals for the second straight year, punctuating her return from wrist surgery by beating No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday.
Muchova lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the 2023 semis in Flushing Meadows, then missed nearly 10 months because of a wrist injury she suffered during the tournament.
The Czech returned to action in June just before Wimbledon, and a little more than two months later she is into her fourth career Grand Slam semifinal.
“Game-wise, I think every match here I feel better on court and that for sure helps,” Muchova said. “More matches and getting through that experience on the court again, that helps a lot as well to be more confident and feel my shots.”
Muchova will face top-seeded Iga Swiatek or No. 6 Jessica Pegula on Thursday in the semifinals. Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, faces first-time Grand Slam semifinalist Emma Navarro in the other semi.
Muchova dominated the first set, racing to a 5-0 lead and finishing it off in 35 minutes. Then it became a test in the second, with both players struggling physically on a sunny afternoon.
Muchova left the court at one point for what she said was a needed trip to the bathroom, while Haddad Maia appeared to be pointing to her chest and trying to breathe deeply midway through the set before burying her head in a towel as trainers attended to her.
Muchova has had to get used to dealing with pain.
She had just made her second major semifinal of 2023, having lost to Swiatek in the French Open final, when she had to stop playing following the U.S. Open. When she finally got back to the tour this year, it left time for only 11 matches before returning to Flushing Meadows.
That was enough time for Muchova to rediscover her game. She hasn’t dropped a set in her five matches and finished off this one with an ace down the middle.
Muchova, who missed most of the first half of the 2022 season because of back, abdominal and ankle problems, said she didn’t like to talk about her injuries.
“I’ve been through a lot of them,” the 28-year-old said. “Yeah, this last one, the wrist surgery, was one of the worst ones that I had. Now looking back, I’m, like, ‘Oh, it actually flew by, the time, and I feel strong again.’”
Many fans hadn’t even taken their seats at Arthur Ashe Stadium when Muchova broke Haddad Maia in a 14-point game to take a 2-0 lead. The Brazilian faced that same deficit in her third-round match against Anna Kalinskaya but won the next game to start a turnaround, helped in part by a video review that gave her a point.
The U.S. Tennis Association acknowledged the next day that Haddad Maia’s shot was illegal, but the chair umpire wasn’t given the relevant replay that would have shown that.
Muchova wouldn’t allow a turnaround this time, denying Haddad Maia what would have been the second major semifinal of her career. She got to that stage in the French Open last year, but said she had trouble concentrating Wednesday.
“I didn’t put pressure on me because of her. It was me and myself, it was my ghosts inside my mind and I know all the tennis players have that,” Haddad Maia said. “Today was like an inner fight. I couldn’t manage that.”
The men’s quarterfinal matchups later Wednesday included No. 1 Jannik Sinner against No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, and No. 10 Alex de Minaur facing No. 25 Jack Draper.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
PARIS — PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles didn’t let some leg discomfort slow her down.
The American gymnastics superstar posted an all-around total of 59.566 during Olympic qualifying on Sunday inside a packed and star-studded Bercy Arena despite complaining of a left calf injury that had her limping.
U.S. gymnastics coach Cecile Landi said the issue popped up a couple of weeks ago and described it as minor. Landi said there was no discussion of pulling Biles’ from the event.
“I can’t express it,” she said. “I’m really proud of her and what she’s been through and what she’s showing the world what she’s capable of doing.”
After dazzling on the balance beam, Biles appeared to tweak the leg while warming up on floor exercise during the second rotation. She exited the floor with Team USA doctor Marcia Faustin — a scene that played out three years ago in Tokyo when Biles removed herself from the team final to protect her safety.
This wasn’t deja vu, however.
The 27-year-old returned to the floor a few minutes later with her left leg taped and was heard on camera saying she felt something in her calf.
She put on a show-stopping performance anyway.
Biles posted the highest score on floor and vault through two subdivisions, a position she’ll likely find herself in at the end of the day as she tries to add to her career total of seven Olympic medals.
The only adjustment she made was deciding to skip attempting a unique skill on uneven bars she submitted to the International Gymnastics Federation on Friday. Instead, she did her usual set to score a 14.333. She tried to keep from putting too much weight on her leg following her dismount.
Her day’s work done, Biles celebrated by waving to the crowd and dancing with friend and longtime teammate Jordan Chiles as the five-woman U.S. team zoomed to the top of the leaderboard as expected.
The Americans scored a 172.296, well clear of the field after two subdivisions as they search for what they’re calling “redemption” after finishing runner-up to Russia three years ago.
The question now: Will Biles’ leg be an ongoing issue? The team final is Tuesday, and the women’s all-around final is Thursday.
The stands were buzzing and filled with celebrities. Tom Cruise posed for selfies while waiting for Biles to emerge. Snoop Dogg had front-row seats, and Ariana Grande, Jessica Chastain, John Legend and Anna Wintour were also on hand.
Biles arrived in Paris as the face of the U.S. Olympic movement and maybe the Olympics themselves. The buzz around her return to the Games has been palpable, with NBC leaning heavily into her star power by splashing Biles’ face on countless promotions in the lead-up to Paris.
Her gravitational pull is real. Athletes across the Olympic spectrum have said they want to make it a point to catch the most decorated gymnast of all time in what could be the final competition of her unparalleled career. Among them: LeBron James and the U.S. men’s basketball team, which was busy Sunday with Olympic qualifying.
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Lionel Messi’s night ended early during the Copa America final when he emotionally exited the field in the 64th minute with an apparent leg injury on Sunday night, and cameras showed him later on the bench with a badly swollen right ankle.
The 37-year-old appeared to suffer a noncontact injury while running on the pitch as Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 for its record 16th Copa America title.
Messi immediately looked toward the Argentina bench as he went to the ground. He remained down for several minutes as trainers came out. He was helped to his feet and immediately took his shoe off his right foot.
As he walked off the field, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took off his captains armband and threw his shoe to the ground in frustration. An emotional Messi was then shown covering his face, sobbing in his seat.
Messi appeared to be limping after the game but was apparently in good spirits. He clapped and laughed and lifted the trophy with teammates Nicolás Ottamendi and Ángel Di María.
“We were able to win for him,” Di María said, “give him the joy.”
Making his 39th and possibly last Copa America appearance, Messi had one goal in the tournament. He went down in the 36th minute after his left ankle was caught by Santiago Arias but walked back onto the field three minutes later.
Messi had been dealing with a leg injury and discomfort through much of the tournament and missed Argentina’s group stage finale. He had one shot attempt in the first half Sunday.
___
AP Copa America coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/copa-america
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Argentina won its second straight Copa America championship, overcoming Lionel Messi’s second-half leg injury to beat Colombia 1-0 Sunday night on Lautaro Martínez’s 112th-minute goal.
Messi appeared to sustain a non-contact injury while running and falling in the 64th minute and covered his face with his hands as he sat on the bench and sobbed.
Martínez later ran to that bench to hug his captain after the goal that propelled Argentina to its record 16th Copa title.
In a match that started 1 hour, 22 minutes late because of crowd trouble at Hard Rock Stadium, Argentina won its third straight major title following the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup and matched Spain, which won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships around the 2010 World Cup.
Argentina also stopped Colombia’s 28-game unbeaten streak dating to a February 2022 loss to the Albiceleste.
Martínez entered in the 97th minute and scored from Giovani Lo Celso’s perfect through pass. Just inside the penalty area, Martínez sent a right-foot shot through the upraised arms of sliding goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for his 29th international goal, his tournament-high fifth.
Making his 39th and possibly last Copa America appearance at age 37, Messi had one goal in the tournament. He went down after an ankle was stepped on in the first half but remained in the game.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner looked to the bench as soon as he fell to the field in the second half, appearing to know his tournament was over. He took off his right boot as he walked off and slammed it frustration, and his ankle appeared to swell.
The start was delayed from 8 p.m. EDT to 9:22 p.m. because of crowd control issues outside the stadium, including troves of fans breaching security gates at a venue to be used for the 2026 World Cup.
Days after Uruguay players were involved in a brawl with Colombia fans following their semifinal match in Charlotte, North Carolina, video showed fans climbing fences and railings to get inside the championship match, with officials unable to keep track of who had purchased tickets and who didn’t.
Colombia was more aggressive and forced goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to make four saves in the first half, but Argentina began to threaten more in the second.
Nicolás Tagliafico thought he scored in the 75th minute but was ruled offside. Nicolás González, who replaced Messi. was stopped by Vargas in the 95th minute.
Numerous players lost their footing during the second half of Sunday’s match. The grass was heavily watered with sprinklers following the halftime performance by Colombian pop star Shakira, which caused an extended halftime break.
___
AP Copa America coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/copa-america
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
FORT WORTH, Texas — Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles won her ninth U.S. Championship on Sunday, leaving little doubt that at 27 and a decade-plus into her run atop the sport, she is as good as ever.
Biles posted a two-day all-around total of 119.750, nearly six points clear of runner-up Skye Blakely and leaving little doubt that she appears ready to add a second all-around Olympic gold to go with the one she captured in 2016.
In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles put on a four-rotation clinic that featured all the trademarks of a typical Biles performance. There was jaw-dropping athleticism mixed with precision and more than a splash of swagger.
Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events — something she’d done only once before at nationals (2018) — to build plenty of momentum ahead of the Olympic trials later this month in Minneapolis.
Her only misstep on Sunday came on vault. She came up short on her Yurchenko double pike — two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees — during warmups and overcompensated when it counted, generating so much force she wound up on her back. She still received a 15.000 for her effort, a testament to a vault that’s never been completed in competition by another woman and only attempted by a select group of men.
Not that it bothered her. Biles collected herself, took a couple of deep breaths then followed it up a Cheng vault that was rewarded with a 15.1 and put a ninth national title within reach, heady territory considering no other gymnast in the history of the sport in the U.S. has more than seven.
While Biles remains above the fray as usual, there is plenty of competition for the other four spots on the five-woman U.S. team that will head to Paris as heavy favorites to return to the top of the podium after finishing second to Russia in Tokyo three years ago.
Blakely, 19, put together another impressive performance and will head to Minneapolis with plenty of momentum. Three years after her bid to make the 2020 Olympic team ended with an injury, Blakely is peaking at the right time.
Suni Lee, the 2020 Olympic champion who has spent the last year-plus battling kidney issues that have limited her training, shook off an early mistake on vault to put together elegant routines on uneven bars and balance beam that few in the world — even Biles — can match.
Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are in the mix, though both endured falls on beam on Sunday. Third-place finisher Kayla DiCello slipped off the uneven bars. Leanne Wong, perhaps looking fatigued after a long season competing at Florida, also endured uncharacteristic miscues.
Shilese Jones, considered the best all-around gymnast in the U.S. without the last name Biles, pulled out of the championships on Friday, citing a shoulder injury though she said Sunday she was feeling better and plans to be available for trials. So will 18-year-old Kaliya Lincoln, who opted not to compete on Sunday after tweaking something during Friday night’s opening session.
Both — if healthy — figure to be serious contenders to earn an invitation to Paris (Jones in particular). If they’re not, the door could swing wide open for others and test the depth the senior elite program has been touting for years.
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
PARIS — The noise was loud and relentless, a chorus of thousands of belting out “ Ra-fa! Ra-fa! ” whenever their guy found the occasional moment of brilliance of the sort he has conjured up so often at the French Open and elsewhere through the years.
The 15,000 or so on hand roared their support when Rafael Nadal stepped out into Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday, voices echoing under the closed roof of a place he called “magical for me.” When the 14-time champion at Roland Garros approached the net for the prematch coin toss. When he took his swings during the warmup. And, especially, when he whipped his trademark topspin lefty forehand or chopped his two-fisted cross-court backhand or placed a volley perfectly to claim a point.
The problem for Nadal, and for his fans, is that there were not nearly enough such points for him against Alexander Zverev. Not enough vintage play to allow his nearly 38-year-old, oft-injured body to claim one more victory, no matter how much the folks in the stands tried to will that to happen. And so he lost 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the first round of the French Open to Zverev in what might turn out to be Nadal’s last match at the clay-court tournament he dominated for so long.
“If it’s the last time that I played here,” Nadal said, “I am at peace with myself.”
It is the first time in his long and illustrious career that Nadal has been beaten in two consecutive matches on clay courts — he lost to Hubert Hurkacz at the Italian Open on May 11 — and the first time he has dropped a match earlier than the fourth round at the French Open.
“The last two years, I have been working and going through probably the toughest process in my tennis career with the dream to come back here. At least I did,” Nadal said. “I mean, I lost, but that’s part of the business.”
He had indicated 2024 likely would be his last season, but he said Saturday he is not absolutely certain he be at the French Open again. He reiterated that after only his fourth defeat in 116 career matches at the place.
“I am not saying I am retiring today,” said the Spaniard, whose 1 1/2-year-old son, Rafael Jr., sat on his mother’s lap in the stands.
While Nadal said it’s doubtful he’ll enter Wimbledon, which he won twice and starts on July 1, he did note he hopes to return to Roland Garros later that month, when the Olympics‘ tennis competition will be at the French Open site.
Monday’s match ended in anticlimactic fashion, with the 22-time Grand Slam champion unable to play his customary way after 1 1/2 years of hip and abdominal injuries. He had hip surgery during the 2023 French Open, the first time he missed it since winning his debut there as a teenager.
“My body has been a jungle for two years. You don’t know what to expect,” Nadal said. “I wake up one day and I (felt like I had) a snake biting me. Another day, a tiger.”
Nadal, who turns 38 on June 3, has been limited to 16 matches and an 8-8 record since the start of last year. His infrequent play dropped his ranking to No. 275, and he was unseeded for the French Open for the first time; he’d never been anything worse than the No. 6 seed in 18 previous appearances.
That is why Nadal ended up facing the No. 4-seeded Zverev, the runner-up at the 2020 U.S. Open, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and the only man to reach the semifinals in Paris each of the past three years.
Nadal’s other losses at Roland Garros came against Robin Soderling in 2009, and against Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021.
Djokovic, owner of 24 major championships and the man Nadal played against more than any other, sat in the stands Monday, as did younger stars Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz. Also there: Nadal’s uncle, Toni, who used to be his coach. Not surprisingly, it was difficult to spot so much as a single empty chair anywhere in the arena on what many realized could be a historic occasion.
Here and there, when Nadal was able to come up with the goods and get the better of his opponent, he would yell “Vamos!” and throw that celebratory uppercut that became so familiar, from the days of muscle shirts and Capri pants to Monday’s look of sky-blue sleeves and standard-length white shorts. His numerous and vocal supporters would respond in kind, thrusting their fists in the air right along with him or shaking their red-and-yellow Spanish flags or clapping to the beat of a drum.
If Nadal put a ball into the net, or sailed one wide or long, the groans of disappointment filled the chilly air. Between points, especially when he was trying to navigate a difficult spot, it was so quiet that a pigeon’s coos were audible from a corner of the stadium.
Nadal began shakily, with a misplayed drop shot and a double-fault contributing to getting broken at love. He got broken again to end the first set.
The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev is a talented player coming off a title on clay at the Italian Open. The 27-year-old German leverages every bit of his long legs and considerable wingspan to cover the court well and unleash tough-to-corral groundstrokes.
As he plays in Paris, he is awaiting Friday’s start of a trial in a Berlin court related to accusations of domestic abuse made by an ex-girlfriend. Zverev does not need to be present at the court and has said he won’t be there.
On Monday, there were two stretches, albeit brief, where Nadal looked as though he might be able to find enough muscle memory to make this a close contest.
In the second set, right after he flubbed a backhand and hung his head, Nadal faced a pair of break points that would have put Zverev up 3-1. Nadal escaped, using a 116 mph (187 kph) ace and a 117 mph (188 kph) service winner to hold, before breaking for a 3-2 lead.
Roars.
Not so fast. Nadal served for that set at 5-4, but Zverev broke at love, then was superior in the ensuing tiebreaker.
At the start of the third set, Nadal again erased a pair of break points, then broke for a 2-0 lead with an on-the-run forehand. He pumped his fists, gritted his teeth and screamed, “Vamos!”
More roars.
Once more, though, Nadal failed to sustain it and soon was back at 2-all. Zverev broke to lead 5-3, and that essentially was that. Nadal said his body felt as well as it has in a while during practice, and he finally could move without limitations, but he hasn’t been competing enough lately.
“To hold your level (with) this amount of energy, this amount of concentration,” he explained, “you need to be playing often.”
Addressing the fans directly, Nadal said: “The feelings that you made me feel here are unbelievable. I really hope to see you again, but I don’t know. Merci beaucoup.”
And with that, he gathered his bags and headed to the locker room, but not before stopping to look around. He applauded right back at those applauding him and saluting him with one final chant.
“Ra-fa! Ra-fa!”
___
This story has been corrected to fix the year of Nadal’s loss to Soderling. It was 2009, not 2010.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson left the locker room on an injured leg, walked onto the court and sent the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy, just as Willis Reed had exactly 54 years earlier.
As the roars turned into “MVP! MVP!” chants, Brunson tried to block out the pain in his body and the noise all around him as he warmed up at halftime.
“It was really cool to hear, but I just knew that I had to get my mind in the right place to figure out how I was going to attack the second half,” Brunson said.
He shook off his right foot injury to score 24 of his 29 points in the final two quarters, leading the New York Knicks to a 130-121 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On the anniversary of Reed’s dramatic emergence from the locker room before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to lead the Knicks to their first title, Brunson had missed the entire second quarter while the Pacers surged ahead to a double-figure lead.
Reed’s teammates have said they didn’t know if he would play that night. Brunson’s had no doubt.
“I mean, he’s a warrior. That’s all I got,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “There was no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back. All season long, no matter what is thrown at him, injury bug or whatever, he always bounces back. And we knew the severity of the game and everything, so we knew, everybody had confidence he was coming back.”
Brunson fell short of becoming the second player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in five straight playoff games, but he gave the Knicks everything they needed to move halfway to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000.
“He’s a great leader, so I think the players all have respect for that, when a guy goes out and is willing to give whatever he has, and so that says a lot about him,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
OG Anunoby added a career playoff-high 28 points before leaving with a left hamstring injury in the third quarter for the injury-riddled Knicks, who have already lost three key players to season-ending injuries.
But they got Brunson back and received huge efforts again from his two Villanova teammates. DiVincenzo scored 28 points and Josh Hart had 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for the No. 2-seeded Knicks.
Tyrese Haliburton rebounded from a poor Game 1 with 34 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Pacers, who finished the game without coach Rick Carlisle after he got two technical fouls and was ejected.
“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said during a postgame complaint about the officiating. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they are playing.”
The series moves to Indiana for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.
Former Knicks forward Obi Toppin added 20 points in another strong effort by Indiana’s reserves, but the Pacers hurt themselves by shooting just 10 for 17 (59%) from the free throw line.
Knicks fans profanely jeered Pacers Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, an enemy from the heated 1990s era of this playoff rivalry who was calling the game as part of TNT’s crew, during a delirious finish to what had been a nervous first half, when Brunson was missing for the entire second quarter.
He had made a 3-pointer for a 24-13 lead in the first quarter, giving the Knicks 10 baskets in their first 14 shots in a blistering start. But after Toppin made one for the Pacers on the other end, Brunson began waving to the bench for a substitution as he ran down the court on offense. That was early in an 11-0 run by Indiana to tie it, and it was tied again at 36 after Toppin made three free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining.
The Pacers then made 15 of 22 shots in the second quarter in Brunson’s absence, outscoring the Knicks 37-27 to take a 73-63 lead.
Brunson would only say he felt some discomfort and that once he warmed up, he knew he was going back into the game.
“I had a decision to make and I made a decision,” Brunson said.
Indiana’s lead was 79-70 before the Knicks stormed ahead with a 14-0 run, with Brunson contributing a three-point play during it as New York went ahead 84-79.
Anunoby was hurt soon after, appearing to injure his hamstring while trying to finish a fast-break layup, but Brunson guided the Knicks through the finish with 14 points in the fourth quarter.
With All-Star Julius Randle gone to shoulder surgery and key reserves Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic lost in the playoffs, the Knicks have been relying on their starters to play major minutes — all 48 of them for Hart in both games of the series.
So they can’t afford to play without Brunson, who finished fifth in the voting for MVP that Nikola Jokic won Wednesday.
He had joined Jerry West, Michael Jordan and Bernard King as the only players with at least four straight 40-point games in the playoffs, and came in as the leading scorer in the postseason with 36.6 points per game.
Brunson ended up getting fairly close to that despite playing only 32 minutes, saying afterward that teammates were teasing him with Reed jokes.
Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Knicks, forced to play 39 minutes after the Knicks announced Tuesday that Robinson would miss at least six weeks with a stress injury to his left ankle.
The Knicks paid tribute to Reed’s return, one of the most memorable moments in NBA and Madison Square Garden history, during the first quarter. His No. 19 jersey, hanging in the rafters, was spotlighted, and Hall of Fame teammate Walt Frazier came onto the court for an ovation.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
CANBERRA, Australia — A legendary rugby player has cited the fear and anxiety that has come into his life among the reasons for urging the Australian government to fund support services and education about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Wally Lewis, dubbed “The King” when he played rugby league for Queensland state and Australia in the 1980s, made an appeal on behalf of the Concussion and CTE Coalition for millions of dollars in funding during a National Press Club address Tuesday.
The 64-year-old Lewis said he’s living with probable CTE, which he described as a type of dementia associated with repeated concussive and sub-concussive blows to the head.
Lewis, who worked for decades as a television sports anchor after retiring as a player in the early 1990s, relayed his own experience to get his message across.
“The fear is real. I don’t want anyone to have to live with the fear and anxiety that I live with every day, worried about what I’ve forgotten … the fear of what my future will look like,” Lewis said. “And living with the constant fear and anxiety that I’ll let people down – the people who all my life have been able to rely on me and looked to me for my strength and leadership.”
Lewis led Australia’s Kangaroos in 24 international matches, was among the original players to popularize the annual State-of-Origin series, and was included in Australia’s Rugby League Team of the Century in 2008.
The National Rugby League has honored him as a so-called “Immortal” of the game.
Yet his memories of it aren’t clear. He started playing rugby league as a young boy and also played rugby union at an elite level before embarking on a professional career in rugby league.
“It’s a journey marked by the twin shadows of fear and embarrassment, a journey through the fog of dementia and the erosion of my memory,” he said. “I once had the confidence in myself to succeed, lead a team to victory, captain my country, remember the strengths and weaknesses of opposition teams, organize myself each and every day and feel well and truly in control of my life.
“Now, much of that confidence has been taken away from me by the effects of probable CTE dementia.”
Lewis said better community awareness on concussion was needed and prevention programs, including a sharper focus on tackling techniques from young players through to professionals.
Awareness of CTE and concussion has grown since players in contact sports, including the in the United States and rugby union in Britain, launched concussion lawsuits.
The Rugby World Cup took place last year against the backdrop of a concussion lawsuit in Britain that had similarities to one settled by the NFL in 2013 at a likely cost of more than $1 billion.
CTE, a degenerative brain disease known to cause violent moods, depression, dementia and other cognitive difficulties, can only be diagnosed posthumously. It has been linked to repeated hits to the head endured by , rugby and hockey players, boxers and members of the military.
“As Wally Lewis I have influence – I have a platform – and I intend to use it at every opportunity to bring about change for all Australians like me who are impacted by CTE,” Lewis said, “and to do whatever I can to protect the brains of Australian children from CTE.”
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
NEW YORK — The head of the baseball players’ association thinks a shorter pitch clock has contributed to a series of pitcher injuries.
“Despite unanimous player opposition and significant concerns regarding health and safety, the commissioner’s office reduced the length of the pitch clock last December, just one season removed from imposing the most significant rule change in decades,” union executive director Tony Clark said Saturday night in a statement.
“Since then, our concerns about the health impacts of reduced recovery time have only intensified,” Clark said. “The league’s unwillingness thus far to acknowledge or study the effects of these profound changes is an unprecedented threat to our game and its most valuable asset — the players.”
Cleveland’s Shane Bieber, Atlanta’s Spencer Strider, the New York Yankees’ Jonathan Loáisiga, Miami’s Eury Pérez and Oakland’s Trevor Gott are among the pitchers diagnosed with elbow injuries.
“This statement ignores the empirical evidence and much more significant long-term trend, over multiple decades, of velocity and spin increases that are highly correlated with arm injuries,” Major League Baseball said in a responding statement.
MLB said it is undergoing a research study into causes of increased injuries. It cited an analysis by Johns Hopkins that “found no evidence to support that the introduction of the pitch clock has increased injuries” and “no evidence that pitchers who worked quickly … or sped up their pace were more likely to sustain an injury than those who did not.”
Cleveland said Saturday that Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner, will have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery to repair an injured right ulnar collateral ligament.
A few hours later, Atlanta said Strider had a damaged UCL and will be examined further by Texas Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister.
Loáisiga said Saturday he needs season-ending elbow surgery and will be sidelined for 10 to 12 months. A 29-year-old right-hander, Loáisiga said he felt a pop in his elbow while throwing a changeup to Jorge Barrosa, his final batter in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 6-5, 11-inning win at Arizona. A scan revealed a torn UCL.
Miami said Thursday that Pérez will have Tommy John surgery and miss the season. A day earlier, Gott had TJ surgery.
MLB instituted a pitch clock for the 2023 season set at 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 seconds when there was a baserunner. The average time of a nine-inning game dropped to 2 hours, 40 minutes, a 24-minute decrease to its shortest since 1985. The 11-man competition committee decided in December to cut the clock to 18 seconds with baserunners, a change that was opposed by the four players on the body.
__
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) — The steep bowl at Tuckerman Ravine on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington has long made it a favorite spot for expert skiers and snowboarders who are seeking adventure beyond the comparative safety of the state’s ski areas.
But hard and icy conditions on Saturday turned the bowl deadly.
Madison Saltsburg, 20, died after falling about 600 vertical feet down the ravine in the afternoon, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Two other skiers suffered serious injuries after falling and hitting rocks and ice. And there were a number of other falls witnessed throughout the day that didn’t result in serious injuries, the service said.
A telephone message to a forest service spokesperson seeking information about Saltsburg wasn’t immediately returned Sunday.
The day of accidents prompted search efforts that continued for hours in the dark as teams worked to rescue the injured skiers and remove Saltsburg’s body from the mountain. Heavy, wet snow started to fall Saturday night and winds began to pick up, forcing the rescuers to battle on through the worsening conditions.
“The snow rangers and emergency personnel were up there late last night. They’re exhausted,” said Colleen Mainville, a spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service.
Tuckerman Ravine is particularly popular in the spring, when the sun begins to soften the snow. On some days, hundreds of skiers and snowboarders make the 3-mile hike to the ravine, resulting in a festive atmosphere. From there, it can take another hour to kick boot steps in the wall to get to the top.
But risks — including open crevasses, avalanches and rocks — have resulted in several deaths over the years.
The Forest Service said Saltsburg and her skiing companion encountered hard and icy snow surfaces due to cold temperatures and a lack of recent snowfall. There were also open crevasse holes on the mountain, the service said, and conditions were unforgiving.
Forest Service rangers and a team from the Mount Washington Avalanche Center also responded to two other skiers who suffered severe injuries that weren’t life threatening, Mainville said.
At 6,288 feet, Mount Washington is the tallest peak in the Northeast and is notorious for its fickle weather. It is the sight of frequent rescues.
Just the previous night, on Friday, a 23-year-old hiker from Kentucky was rescued from the mountain after going off trail and into the Ammonoosuc Ravine, New Hampshire Fish and Game reported.
The hiker “fell and hit his head and face, lost one of his sneakers, and eventually became hypothermic,” the agency said in a statement.
“He was given boots, food, warm drink, proper winter gear, and a headlamp. He was then escorted back to the trail and then to the Cog Railway parking lot,” the agency said.
Another hiker who was rescued from the Ammonoosuc Ravine in February described his 11-hour ordeal to The Associated Press, acknowledging he had made some poor decisions and was underprepared for his hike, and crediting rescuers with saving his life.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
PORTLAND, Ore. — Jimmy Butler had 22 points and nine assists, Terry Rozier scored 19 points and the Miami Heat beat the Portland Trail Blazers 106-96 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight win.
Rozier was one of three players returning to the Miami lineup, playing in his first game since sustaining a knee injury on Feb. 11 against Boston.
“He has an ability to break the defense down, or at least get a defense to overreact,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “When you have multiple guys who are weapons like that, it’s good for your offense. I also really respect how much time he put into this to be able to get back and fast-track this.”
Added Rozier: “Just really no vacation for the (All-Star) break, trying to get back, putting in 2- or 3-a-days at a time. But I feel good. Credit to the medical staff, they did a great job of making sure I’m back and making sure I’m really fully healthy, making sure we didn’t rush nothing. I’m happy to be back.”
Butler and Nikola Jovic both made their returns after serving a one-game suspension for their roles in an on-court altercation in New Orleans on Feb. 23.
The Heat also used their 31st different starting lineup of the season, tying a franchise record. The Heat also had 31 combinations in the 2014-15 season; they needed only 58 games to match that mark this season.
Anfernee Simons scored 26 points for the Blazers, who led by 15 points. Jerami Grant had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Portland’s Deandre Ayton did not play in the second half, being ruled out with a right hand sprain. Ayton took a hard fall after a collision with Kevin Love in the first quarter and continued playing before being pulled at half, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“X-rays were negative. I think there will be some further testing because he was in quite a bit of pain,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “I thought (Ayton) dominated that first half. Offensively, defensively, he dominated the game.”
The Heat quickly cut into the Blazers’ 10-point halftime lead, going on an 8-0 run to cut it to 56-54.
The Heat took their first lead at 73-71 with 4:07 left in the third quarter and led 80-76 entering the final period.
Portland tied the game twice early in the fourth quarter before the Heat pushed their lead to double digits.
Butler slowly brought the Heat back in the second quarter. Butler scored five quick points to cut the Blazers’ lead to eight and then assisted on a basket to make it 33-27.
Tyler Herro missed his second straight game with a knee injury while Thomas Bryant continues to serve his three-game suspension for his role in the New Orleans incident.
UP NEXT
Heat: At Denver on Thursday night.
Trail Blazers: At Memphis on Friday night.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
CHICAGO — Jason Dickinson scored the tiebreaking goal off a rebound of his own shot with 1:52 remaining and the Chicago Blackhawks snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Dickinson drove to the net and fired his team-leading 17th goal past Joonas Korpisalo as the NHL-worst Blackhawks ran their winning streak against Ottawa to 11 games.
“Simple as that, just keeping going to the net,” Dickinson said. “Our line was kind of just a work-hard group tonight. It wasn’t always pretty for us, but just keep going to the net and good things are going to happen.”
Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist in his second game back from a broken jaw. Nick Foligno, one of Bedard’s linemates, also scored. The rookie center’s other winger, Philipp Kurashev, had two assists.
Bedard, who has 16 goals and 36 points to lead NHL rookies, scored for the first time since connecting twice in a 2-1 overtime win against Winnipeg on Dec. 27. The 18-year-old Bedard had an assist on Thursday in a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh, his first game after being injured on an open-ice hit in New Jersey on Jan. 5. The NHL’s top draft pick of 2023 missed 14 games and nearly six weeks.
Bedard’s return has given Chicago, with just 15 wins and 33 points, an immediate boost, on and off the ice.
“I think our guys feel confident that we have another weapon,” coach Luke Richardson said. “It just seems like when he comes downhill, it’s like I think it’s gonna go in every time.”
Petr Mrazek stopped 40 shots, including 21 of 22 in the second period.
“He’s unreal,” Bedard said. “I mean some of the saves he makes are absurd. Just getting across (the crease), he’s so quick and agile there.”
Tim Stützle had a goal and an assist and Jakob Chychrun, Richardson’s nephew, added a power-play goal for Ottawa. Korpisalo made 19 saves as the Senators lost their second straight following a four-game win streak.
“Forty-four shots, whatever. It’s frustrating,” Stützle said. “Doubled their shots and still got a loss. We deserved better tonight.
“We had a lot of guys playing good hockey tonight. We got a lot of shots through from the D. We’ve got to get some net-front presence maybe.”
The injury-depleted Blackhawks should get forward Anthony Beauvillier (broken left wrist) back in the next few days. The former New York Islanders first-round draft pick returned to full contact practice on Friday.
Chicago played without defenseman Connor Murphy (groin). Struggling 2020 first-round draft pick Lukas Reichel was a healthy scratch for the second straight game.
Ottawa defensemen Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub returned from lower-body injuries.
Referee Furman South was struck in the head with the puck with 5:13 left in the first period and left the ice bleeding. Play continued with one ref, Michael Markovic, before South returned to start the second.
Foligno opened the scoring with 6:31 left in the first, tapping in a feed across the crease by Kurashev. The play was keyed by a give-and-go between Kurashev and Bedard as they entered the Ottawa zone.
Stützle tied it at 1 just 2:28 later, completing a 2-on-1 and give-and-go with Claude Giroux with a tap-in of his own.
Chychrun scored a power-play goal from the right edge of the crease at 8:13 of the second to put the Senators ahead 2-1. Stützle dashed up the ice from behind the Ottawa net to draw the attention of Chicago’s defenders and create the backdoor chance.
Bedard tied it at 2 just under three minutes later, flipping off a shot from the left circle that slipped between Korpisalo’s pads. He was set up by Kurashev.
It appeared Bedard scored off Zub’s turnover with 7:36 left in the third to put Chicago ahead. But, the goal was disallowed after a video review showed Bedard entered the Ottawa zone offside.
UP NEXT:
Senators: At Tampa Bay on Monday.
Blackhawks: At Carolina on Monday.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
HONG KONG — The organizer of a soccer match featuring Inter Miami in Hong Kong was dealing with backlash from both angry fans and the government after widespread disappointment that Lionel Messi didn’t play in the game.
The much-hyped exhibition match on Sunday ended with fans booing Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham and demanding refunds as Messi stayed on the bench for the full 90 minutes in the game against a local team due to a hamstring strain.
Organizers said Monday they had only been informed during halftime that Lionel Messi would not be playing and that they would withdraw an application for funding from the city government for staging the match.
The fans’ reaction was a setback for Hong Kong officials who sought to boost the city’s image as a hub for mega events amid a slow economic recovery and Beijing’s crackdown on dissidents.
Michel Lamunière, chairman of organizer Tatler Asia, said in a news conference on Monday evening that its contract with Inter Miami required Messi and some other stars in the team to play unless they were injured.
Lamunière said Messi was named as a substitute in the list of ers available to come off the bench, but the club’s management later told the organizer that Messi was not fit to play due to an injury. Former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez also did not play in the game.
Lamunière said his team had spent the second half of the match urging the club’s leadership to ask Messi to address the fans but “to no avail.”
“Tatler Asia deeply regrets the disappointing ending to what was an exciting occasion,” he said.
Lamunière did not apologize for the debacle or mention any refund arrangements in the brief news conference, which had no question-and-answer session for reporters.
Tickets for the game cost up to 4,880 Hong Kong dollars ($624) each, and the government had previously approved an application from the organizers for 16 million Hong Kong dollars ($2 million) in funding. That money had yet to be paid out and the request will now be withdrawn.
In a press briefing earlier Monday, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said the government’s funding agreement with Tatler Asia required Messi to play for at least 45 minutes, unless there were safety or health concerns.
When the government noticed the second half did not feature Messi, it tried to follow up with the organizer but was told Messi could not play due to an injury, Yeung said.
“We therefore immediately request them to explore other remedies such as Messi appearing in the field to interact with his fans and receiving the trophy. Unfortunately, as you all see, these did not work out,” he said.
Inter Miami will conclude its Asian tour in Japan on Wednesday when it plays Vissel Kobe.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
[ad_2]
Source link
[ad_1]
BOSTON — LeBron James has been pleading for weeks for the Lakers’ supporting cast to provide him and fellow All-Star Anthony Davis some help as they fight to keep pace in a tight Western Conference playoff race.
With the two franchise cornerstones watching from the bench, they finally got their wish.
Austin Reaves scored a season-high 32 points and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers to help a Los Angeles team missing its biggest stars stun the Boston Celtics 114-105 on Thursday night.
“We’re all talented players. And this was an opportunity to show the world what you can do,” Reaves said. “Before the game we come to together and was like, ‘Look, the least we can do is we can do is go out there and play as hard as we can and live with the results.”
The result was perhaps the Lakers’ best victory of the season.
The anticipated nationally televised meeting between the longtime rivals was tempered when James was ruled out because of a left ankle injury and Davis by an Achilles tendon issue and left hip spasms.
That sentiment that the game would be a mismatch didn’t affect the remainder of the Lakers’ young roster.
Reaves was 7 of 10 from beyond the arc. He also was fouled on one of the misses and made all three free throws. The Lakers hit 19 of 36 3-pointers, holding off the NBA-leading Celtics to end a two-game losing streak.
D’Angelo Russell added 16 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers. Jaxson Hayes had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Jayson Tatum scored 23 points for the Celtics, who had 15 turnovers. Boston has lost three of its last five at home since starting the season 20-0 in TD Garden.
“It just happens. Stretches of bad basketball happen,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We can’t sit here and act like we’re too entitled for it to happen to us. It happens. And it’s a matter of how we respond to it and how we work through it.”
Boston never got closer than seven points in the fourth quarter.
Lakers big man Jarred Vanderbilt had 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 16 minutes. But he limped off the floor in the final minute of the first half as he tried to turn up court following a strip of Tatum. He sat out the rest of the game with what the team said was right foot soreness.
The Celtics came alive with a 12-2 run in the third quarter that included four straight 3s to cut it to 77-71. Tatum brought the crowd to its feet during the surge after he dove onto the floor to tie up Rui Hachimura to force a jump ball.
Thursday marked the first time this season both James and Davis have sat out the same game for Los Angeles, The Lakers began the day in ninth place in the West standings.
Ham said before the game that the injuries are things both players have dealt with throughout the season. It is unclear how long either will be sidelined. James has played 44 of of 49 games this season. Davis has appeared in 46 games.
Reaves said there’s no secret what they need to do when James and Davis return.
“If you remember Bron’s quote the other night — ‘Go out and do your job.’ And I feel like that’s just what we did tonight,” Reaves said. “It wasn’t nothing special. It wasn’t like we was out there running a million set plays. We went out there and competed our (butts) off. We gave it 110% on the defensive end. We competed. We didn’t foul much. Just bringing those two back, we need to continue to do the same thing.”
UP NEXT
Lakers: At New York on Saturday night.
Celtics: Host Memphis on Sunday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
[ad_2]
Source link
[ad_1]
JASNA, Slovakia — Mikaela Shiffrin earned her record-extending career win 95 by triumphing in a women’s World Cup slalom Sunday, a day after the American ski star’s main rival sustained a season-ending injury.
In the first race without Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova, Shiffrin edged out Croatian teenager Zrinka Ljutic by 0.14 seconds. Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson in third and Switzerland’s Camille Rast in fourth were the only other racers to finish within a second of Shiffrin’s time.
“We’re missing somebody really big today, we missed Petra a lot, so it’s wonderful that you stayed,” Shiffrin addressed the Slovakian spectators in a course-side interview.
“It was not easy on the second (run), now I feel the energy has gone,” said the American, who led Ljutic by more than half a second after the opening run.
“I could hear you cheering for Zrinka, which was actually quite cool from the start to hear this noise. I knew she put down an amazing run and I had to push.”
It was Shiffrin’s fifth slalom win of the season and her 58th in total, a World Cup record for both men and women.
Shiffrin also set a record for most World Cup podiums in a single discipline with 82, having shared the previous best mark with Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark, who had 81 top-three results in slalom in the 1970s and ’80s.
Vlhova crashed and tore ligaments in her right knee in Saturday’s giant slalom near her hometown in the Tatra mountains.
Shiffrin and Vlhova have been dominating women’s slalom skiing for years and combined to win 14 of the last 15 races, including all eight this season, in a series only interrupted by Lena Duerr when the German triumphed at the Czech resort Spindleruv Mlyn a year ago.
“I have been thinking about (Vlhova) a lot the last 24 hours,” Shiffrin said. “For me, personally, over these years I have grown to love the battles with her. I think today she would have been so strong. So, I really miss watching her ski today and having that battle.”
With Vlhova out of the race, Shiffrin is close to wrapping up her eighth World Cup season title in slalom, leading third-ranked Duerr by 228 points with three events left. With a race win being worth 100 points, Shiffrin can secure the title at the next slalom in Soldeu, Andorra, on Feb. 11.
On Sunday, Duerr was 1.77 seconds off the lead in seventh.
Vlhova became the third former overall champion who had their season end prematurely this month. On the men’s side, Alexis Pinturault and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde underwent surgery far various injuries after they crashed at speed races in Wengen, Switzerland.
___
More AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/skiing
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
MADISON, Wis. — Five of the six major conferences have a leader or co-leader that failed to make the NCAA Tournament last season.
That doesn’t mean this is a college basketball season full of Cinderella stories. Four of the major-conference leaders that got left out of March Madness last season have reached a Final Four within the last decade.
But those teams’ early success shows how the 2021 rule change allowing players to transfer without sitting out a season has made it easier for established programs to bounce back quickly.
“A lot of kids that are coming over from different rosters are bringing in new skillsets to the team,” said St. John’s transfer AJ Storr, who is scoring a team-high 15.3 points per game for No. 11 Wisconsin. “And they already have good skillsets there. They’re just adding new pieces. It’s like a new piece to the puzzle.”
Wisconsin has sole possession of first place in the Big Ten and Oregon leads the Pac-12 outright after those two teams faced off in last season’s NIT quarterfinals. No. 4 North Carolina, which went 20-13 and turned down an NIT bid last season, is unbeaten in Atlantic Coast Conference competition.
No. 25 Texas Tech is in a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12 after going 16-16 last season, while Seton Hall shares the Big East lead with No. 1 UConn after finishing 17-16 a year ago.
Most of these programs are accustomed to success.
Wisconsin has played in 22 of the last 24 NCAA Tournaments and reached the championship game in 2015. North Carolina won its most recent national title in 2017 and was runner-up in 2022. Texas Tech lost the NCAA final in overtime in 2019. Oregon reached the Final Four in 2017.
The schools just needed to get back to their usual standards. In many cases, they found solutions in the transfer portal.
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland added five transfers who played in the NCAA Tournament last season: Warren Washington (Arizona State), Devan Cambridge (Arizona State), Chance McMillian (Grand Canyon), Joe Toussaint (West Virginia) and Darrion Williams (Nevada).
All five are averaging over eight points per game, though Cambridge suffered a season-ending knee injury last month. They’ve complemented leading scorer Pop Isaacs, a holdover from last season.
“This team just learns,” McCasland said last week. “We learn as we play. That’s what I love. Their heart is to get better.”
North Carolina lost its leading scorer from last season when Caleb Love transferred to Arizona, but the Tar Heels added Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame) and Harrison Ingram (Stanford) to the starting five and Jae’Lyn Withers (Louisville) and Paxson Wojcik (Brown) to the bench.
Those newcomers have boosted a roster that features RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, key players on North Carolina’s 2022 squad that nearly won it all.
“We’ve been having fun all year,” Bacot said last week. “I think the other guys are really starting to see how fun it is, winning at a school this and a program like this, and how much the fans are into it. It’s been great.”
Seton Hall’s starting five includes a pair of transfer newcomers in Dylan Addae-Wusu (St. John’s) and Jaden Bediako (Santa Clara).
All five of Seton Hall’s starters began their careers elsewhere. Kadary Richmond spent one season at Syracuse before transferring in 2021. Al-Amir Dawes (Clemson) and Dre Davis (Louisville) are in their second seasons with the Pirates.
That hasn’t hindered Seton Hall’s chemistry.
“Our togetherness is through the roof,” Dawes said earlier this month. “No matter what we’re going through — ups and downs — we’re just connected.”
Oregon also added a few transfers during the offseason. Kario Oquendo (Georgia) is averaging over 10 points per game, Mahamadou Diawara (Stetson) has been a part-time starter and Jesse Zarzuela (Central Michigan) is out for the season with an ankle injury.
The Ducks have benefited from the emergence of freshman Jackson Shelstad, and their depth has enabled them to withstand injuries. N’Faly Dante just came back from a knee injury last week and Nate Bittle is nearing a return from a wrist injury that has kept him out since mid-November.
“When we went into the season, we thought our depth was going to be one of our big things, one of the things that we could really count on, when you’re playing Thursday-Saturday, that we would have 10 guys that we could play,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “I think moving forward that’s got to be one of our strengths.”
Wisconsin has benefited from a similar formula as Storr joined a roster that returned 92% of its scoring from last season, but Badgers coach Greg Gard wonders if the lack of transfer restrictions eventually could make it difficult for programs to maintain consistency.
“If there’s three or four or five bluebloods, I think they will because they’ll be in the market for the best transfers and they’re probably going to have the top five kids who don’t go to the NBA but can you sustain it over the course of time because of the volatility of the roster,” Gard said. “I think we’re too early in this process to have an answer for that, but that’s something obviously I keep an eye on and watch other programs and their rosters as the fluctuation happens.”
It could make it tougher for teams to return to the NCAA Tournament just about every year as Wisconsin has done over the last two decades.
But for now, it also could assure that the Badgers don’t get let out of the field for a second straight season.
___
AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard contributed to this report.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
[ad_2]