National Sports

By JOHN MARSHALL – AP Sports Writer TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Snoop Dogg has nearly as many ties to football as he does to rap music. The entertainer coached youth football for years and created the Snoop League, an after-school program for inner city Los Angeles youths. Snoop has been a guest analyst on football

By AP DUBAI (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo backed Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim on Friday, saying “the storm will finish” after his Portuguese countryman’s difficult start to life in the Premier League. The former Manchester United star, and five-time Ballon d’Or winner, currently plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr. Ronaldo spoke after being named the best

By AP KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson is heading to the NFL draft after leading the Southeastern Conference in rushing and setting a handful of school records. The SEC Offensive Player of the Year announced on social media his intention Friday to leave after his junior season. He helped the seventh-ranked

By AP ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Program milestones are on the line Saturday when Louisiana-Lafayette and TCU meet in the New Mexico Bowl. In the first meeting between the two schools, the Ragin’ Cajuns (10-3) are playing in a seventh consecutive bowl game and looking to reach 11 or more wins for only the third

By DANIELLA MATAR – AP Sports Writer BORMIO, Italy (AP) — French standout Cyprien Sarrazin was in intensive care with a head injury and will undergo surgery after a crash during training for a World Cup downhill race on Friday on the slope set to be used for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Sarrazin, who won

By JOSH DUBOW – AP Sports Writer Athletics president Dave Kaval will resign from the organization after being the public face of the organization’s planned move from Oakland to Las Vegas. Kaval has been president of the A’s for the past eight years and will step down from the role on Dec. 31 to pursue

By JOHN WAWROW – AP Hockey Writer It didn’t take goalie Mackenzie Blackwood long to establish himself as the Colorado Avalanche’s starter for the present and future after signing a five-year $26.25 million contract extension on Friday. The Avalanche announced the signing, and a person with direct knowledge of the contract confirmed its value to

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ – Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Colorado is relishing the chance to end its season on a high note regardless of the outcome of the Valero Alamo Bowl. While a number of teams are shuffling their roster with players opting out of bowl games to enter the transfer portal or prepare

By AP DOVER, Del. (AP) — Former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson is taking over the football program at Delaware State. The school announced Jackson’s hire Friday in the latest move by a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference program to hire a former NFL star as its football coach. Norfolk State hired Michael Vick last week. “DeSean Jackson

By AP DALLAS (AP) — Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov will miss Friday night’s game at Dallas because of a lower body injury. Kaprizov is tied for second in the NHL with 23 goals and tied for fourth in points with 50. He leads the league this season with six multi-goal games and is tied

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Miami football coach Mario Cristobal wants now-retired Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga to do at least one more thing for the Hurricanes. Cristobal wants him to share all his knowledge. A day after Larrañaga announced his sudden retirement after 41 years as a

By JIM FULLER – Associated Press STORRS, Conn. (AP) — The last few pictures were taken with the basketballs honoring Dan Hurley winning his 300th career game as a college head coach and Alex Karaban scoring his 1000th career point. Without saying a word, they began to walk off the court and headed in different

By AP ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record should be back on very soon. Signs point to Ovechkin returning to the Washington Capitals’ lineup on Saturday night at the Toronto Maple Leafs after missing five weeks with a broken left leg. Ovechkin skated with regular linemates Dylan

By PHILIP ROSSMAN-REICH – Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward missed out on the College Football Playoff, the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and the Heisman Trophy. He’s not missing one more chance to play for Miami. Ward and the 15th-ranked Hurricanes (10-2) take on 18th-ranked Iowa State (10-3) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl

By The Associated Press Dec. 28 1944 — Maurice Richard has five goals and three assists to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 9-1 rout of the Detroit Red Wings. 1947 — The Chicago Cardinals behind Elmer Angsman’s two 70-yard scores and Charlie Trippi’s 44-yard TD run and 75-yard punt return beat the Philadelphia Eagles

By JIMMY GOLEN – AP Sports Writer The last time Nebraska sat out the bowl season for seven years in a row, the Big 12 was still the Big 8, the 10 schools in the Big Ten didn’t include the Cornhuskers, and Yankee Stadium was still the House that Ruth Built. That slump ended with

By AP LAS VEGAS (AP) — Southern California opened its season at Allegiant Stadium with a victory over LSU that set up the Trojans for early contention for the College Football Playoff. They instead will end the year where they started. Texas A&M also had high hopes for a playoff spot. The Aggies went even

By AP PHOENIX (AP) — Dylan Edwards ran for 196 yards and scored his third touchdown on a 36-yard run in the fourth quarter, helping Kansas State rally past Rutgers 44-41 in the Rate Bowl. The Scarlet Knights led by 10 at halftime and went up 34-17 on Ja’shon Benjamin’s 7-yard touchdown catch on the

By AP CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jim Larrañaga has stepped down as Miami’s men’s basketball coach effective immediately. Larrañaga will be replaced by associate head coach Bill Courtney — one of Larrañaga’s best friends for the past three decades or so — for the remainder of the season. The now-former coach says he loves

By AP UNDATED (AP) — Penn State’s offense is thriving under first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. The Nittany Lions are one of a handful of Power Four schools averaging 200 yards per game rushing and receiving heading into their College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Boise State. Penn State has one of the most unique offensive

By ROB MAADDI – AP Pro Football Writer Nick Sirianni has the highest winning percentage among active NFL coaches and the fifth-best in NFL history. He should be lauded for his accomplishments with the Philadelphia Eagles. Coaches who win as frequently as Sirianni are esteemed. The four coaches ahead of him on the overall list

By ANDREW SELIGMAN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith put in a good word for former coach Pete Carroll, saying any team would be fortunate to have him on the sideline. So did his teammates. “Coach Carroll, man, is a special human being,” Smith said after the Seahawks’ 6-3

By The Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Tucker Gleason ran for one overtime score and threw for four more as Toledo beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a bowl-record six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Thursday. The game surpassed the previous mark set 48 hours earlier when South Florida beat San Jose

By AP MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Jaylen Raynor passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns to go with a rushing score, and Zak Wallace had 99 yards rushing and a TD to help Arkansas State beat Bowling Green 38-31 on Thursday night in the 68 Ventures Bowl. Wallace scored on a 14-yard run with 3:10

By ANDREW SELIGMAN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks made just enough plays to boost their fading playoff hopes by beating the struggling Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Now, they’ll be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals to beat the Los Angeles Rams this weekend. Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ late pass

By The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career high with 45 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-114 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. Gilgeous-Alexander hit 15 of 22 shots and all 11 free throws in Oklahoma City’s ninth consecutive victory. Jalen Williams scored 20 points

By JAY COHEN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The defense delivered for the Chicago Bears. It was one of the team’s best performances of the season on that side of the ball. Just not good enough. “I guess we should have held them to three points or zero points at the end of

By ERIC HE – Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jaden Ivey converted a four-point play with 3 seconds left and the Detroit Pistons rallied past the struggling Sacramento Kings 114-113 on Thursday night. With the Pistons trailing by three, Ivey made a 3-pointer in the right corner and was fouled by De’Aaron Fox. Ivey

By AP PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe each scored 27 points, and Scoot Henderson made a tiebreaking jumper with 0.1 seconds remaining as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 122-120 on Thursday night. Henderson finished with 18 points and 10 assists, Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 12 rebounds,

By AP FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down CeeDee Lamb with two games remaining after their 2023 All-Pro receiver spent the second half of the season dealing with a sprained right shoulder. The team said Thursday that additional exams revealed enough damage to keep Lamb off the field Sunday at Philadelphia