Sports

By RONALD BLUM – AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Prized Japanese free agent Roki Sasaki may visit one or two teams before deciding which club he wants to sign with. Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said Monday that 20 Major League Baseball clubs submitted information to the 23-year-old right-hander, who listened this month to

By JAY COHEN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Connor Bedard practiced with the Chicago Blackhawks right in the middle of Wrigley Field. He skated with his parents and his sister. The moment was not lost on the 19-year-old center. “It’s one of the coolest experiences of my life so far,” Bedard said, “and

By JUSTIN FERGUSON – Associated Press AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Johni Broome had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Dylan Cardwell had 12 points and 11 rebounds and No. 2 Auburn overcame a slow start to beat Monmouth 87-58 on Monday night. After an eight-day break between games, Auburn (12-1) struggled early and trailed Monmouth (2-11)

By GREG BEACHAM – AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oregon and Ohio State are two of the most daunting teams left in the College Football Playoff in no small part because they’ve both got starting quarterbacks who had already seen — and beaten — just about everything they’re ever going to face at

By FRED GOODALL – AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Todd Bowles didn’t bother staying up late to find out whether the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got some much-needed help to make the NFL playoffs. The Bucs (9-7) have been in playoff mode for more than a month, winning five of the past six games

By AP MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant has a sprained right shoulder and will be considered week to week, the Memphis Grizzlies said Monday. Morant was hurt Friday when he crashed into a hard, but legal, screen set by Daniel Theis during the third quarter of the Grizzlies’ 132-124 victory in New Orleans. He

By AP NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA’s five-game Christmas Day slate averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, in final ratings released by the league and Nielsen on Monday. All of the Yuletide games — San Antonio at New York in Victor Wembanyama’s holiday debut, Minnesota at Dallas,

By JIMMY GOLEN – AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox, who struggled to come up with five dependable starting pitchers last season, are considering a six-man rotation in 2025. “We have had some conversations,” Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said Monday in his first comments since trading for starter Garrett Crochet

By JOHN MARSHALL – AP Basketball Writer Tennessee remains No. 1 after a quiet holiday week in the AP Top 25. The Volunteers received 41 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday. No. 2 Auburn had 20 first-place votes, with Iowa State, Duke and Alabama

By AP OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Maxim Strbak scored 2:55 into overtime to lead Slovakia to a 5-4 win over Kazakhstan on Monday at the world junior hockey championship. Slovakia hled a 4-2 lead with less than five minutes remaining in regulation and Kazakh forward Asanali Sarkenov was assessed a 5-minute major and a game

By JOE REEDY – AP Sports Writer EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers could have their AFC playoff seeding locked in before going to bed Saturday night in Las Vegas. When it comes to Jim Harbaugh’s plans for playing or resting his starters, he is keeping things close to the vest as

By TERESA M. WALKER – AP Sports Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blake Craig kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter, his second a 56-yarder with 4:36 left as No. 23 Missouri rallied to beat Iowa 27-24 on Monday in the Music City Bowl. Missouri trailed 24-14 when the Tigers started the comeback, scoring

By AP AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Auckland tennis classic, saying a back injury she has been nursing in recent weeks had not improved as much as she hoped. The 22-year-old British player was seeded sixth for the tournament and was due to play her

By AP PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Ace Bailey scored 24 points, fellow freshman Dylan Harper recorded the first triple-double for Rutgers since 1983 and the Scarlet Knights beat Columbia 91-64 on Monday night. Harper grabbed his 10th rebound with 5:05 remaining in the second half and he found Bailey for a layup at the other

By The Associated Press The National Football League Inactive Report. DETROIT LIONS at SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — DETROIT: RB David Montgomery, QB Teddy Bridgewater, OL Giovanni Manu, OL Kayode Awosika, OL Colby Sorsdal, DL Jonah Williams, DL Brodric Martin. SAN FRANCISCO: QB Brandon Allen, DL Khalil Davis, LB Dre Greenlaw, OL Spencer Burford, DL Robert

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. – AP Pro Football Writer Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets have one more game left before bidding farewell to what has been a miserable season. An offseason of uncertainty will follow for the quarterback and the franchise, but the four-time MVP will start the finale at home Sunday against

By GREG BEACHAM – AP Sports Writer EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday with gratitude for his basketball longevity and optimism about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers. And when James was asked how he’ll know when it’s finally time to retire, the top scorer in NBA

By AP NEW YORK (AP) — The Dallas Stars were fined $100,000 by the National Hockey League on Monday for an optional practice session during the mandatory Christmas break that was attended by several young players. That session the day after Christmas was in violation of the collective bargaining agreement. Any sort of on-ice activity

By SCHUYLER DIXON – AP Sports Writer Micah Parsons had never seen anything close to a losing record with the Dallas Cowboys, or at Penn State, and didn’t have any reason to believe his fourth NFL season would be different. Even after a stunning and gutting blowout loss to Green Bay at home in a

By DAVE CAMPBELL – AP Pro Football Writer EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings had just retaken possession with a precarious two-point lead on Green Bay right before the two-minute warning, badly needing to drain the clock and stem the momentum the Packers seized down the stretch. Convention calls for running the ball. Coach

By FRED GOODALL – AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The stakes aren’t as high as they were when No. 11 Alabama and Michigan last met in the postseason, however the Crimson Tide and Wolverines say they’re excited about their New Years Eve matchup in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Tuesday’s game at Raymond James Stadium

By AP ROME (AP) — Benjamín Domínguez scored a brace for Bologna but a red card for Tommaso Pobega and a late own-goal by Santiago Castro sent the host team crashing to a 3-2 defeat against Verona in Serie A on Monday. Domínguez scored in the 20th and 58th minutes, either side of a Verona

By JOE REEDY – AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ask anyone on Ohio State’s offense what the biggest difference is for Oregon on defense going into Wednesday’s Rose Bowl, and the near unanimous answer is Jordan Burch. The senior defensive end did not play in the first meeting on Oct. 12 after he

By AP GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft’s low block on Patrick Jones apparently didn’t lead to any serious injury for the Minnesota Vikings edge rusher. However, it did produce plenty of debate between the two NFC North rivals. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday that he wasn’t ruling

By AP LONDON (AP) — Alexander Isak scored for the sixth straight Premier League game as Newcastle beat Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford on Monday to condemn Ruben Amorim’s side to its worst home run in the top tier since the 1970s. Relegation-threatened Ipswich beat Chelsea 2-0 to win at home for the first

By AP BOSTON (AP) — Boston College guard Donald Hand Jr. made history on Monday when he was chosen the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball player of the week – joining his father, who received the honor for Virginia in 2000. They are the first father-son duo to both earn ACC player of the week

By AP LONDON (AP) — Former England soccer manager Gareth Southgate has been given a knighthood in the New Year Honors list. Southgate led England to two consecutive European Championship finals and the 2018 World Cup semifinals, making him the most successful incumbent since Alf Ramsey. The 54-year-old Southgate, who left the role shortly after

By BRIAN MELLEY – Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Actors Carey Mulligan and Stephen Fry and author Kazuo Ishiguro were awarded New Year Honors on Monday that celebrate artists, athletes, politicians and others who make notable contributions to British society. Mulligan, a winner of a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for “An

By BRETT MARTEL – AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — What looked like such a promising season for the New Orleans Saints back in mid-September will instead go down as their worst since the franchise was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and went 3-13 in 2005. The Saints (5-11) have lost three straight and four

By PAUL NEWBERRY – AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Two games into the Michael Penix Jr. era, it’s clear the Atlanta Falcons are in good hands at quarterback. Trouble is, there might not be enough time to salvage a trip to the playoffs. A gut-wrenching loss to the Washington Commanders, who rallied from a