National Sports

By WILL GRAVES – AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — The decorations outside Acrisure Stadium suggested Christmas. The play on the field by the home team hinted at another holiday entirely. Groundhog Day. Like Bill Murray in the iconic movie — set about 90 minutes northeast of Pittsburgh in Punxsutawney — it’s not that the

By AP LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The successor to Ruben Amorim at Sporting Lisbon lasted just six weeks. João Pereira, who was hired on Nov. 11 following the departure of Amorim to Manchester United, was fired on Thursday and has been replaced by Rui Borges from Vitoria de Guimaraes. Pereira had three spells at Sporting

By STEPHEN HAWKINS – AP Sports Writer FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Navy coach Brian Newberry grew up only a few miles from the University of Oklahoma campus, and the first college game he attended as a kid was to watch the Sooners. His parents still live in his childhood home in Moore, Oklahoma. Now

By STEPHEN WHYNO – AP Hockey Writer The Detroit Red Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday and named Todd McLellan as his replacement, a major change by general manager Steve Yzerman more than a third of the way through another disappointing season in the place known as “Hockeytown.” The move the day after Christmas

By The Associated Press Detroit (13-2) at San Francisco (6-9) Monday, 8:15 p.m. EST, ESPN/ABC BetMGM NFL odds: Lions by 3 1/2. Against the spread: Lions 10-5; 49ers 5-10. Series record: 49ers lead 40-28-1. Last meeting: 49ers beat Lions 34-31 in NFC title game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Jan. 28, 2024. Last week: Lions

By AP DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Red Wings fire coach Derek Lalonde, name Todd McLellan as his replacement.

By The Associated Press Atlanta (8-7) at Washington (10-5) Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC BetMGM NFL odds: Commanders by 4 Against the spread: Falcons 7-8; Commanders 9-6 Series record: Washington leads 18-10-1 Last meeting: Commanders beat Falcons 24-16 on Oct. 15, 2023, at Atlanta. Last week: Falcons beat Giants 34-7; Commanders beat Eagles 36-33. Falcons:

By AP CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami coach Jim Larrañaga is retiring effective immediately, AP source says.

By TERESA M. WALKER – AP Sports Writer Joey McGuire grew up on the Texas-Arkansas border with his family season-ticket holders for the Razorbacks, a team known locally as the Hogs. The number for his first landline telephone as a teenager literally ended in 1464 — or 1HOG. McGuire is now wrapping up his third

By The Associated Press Dec. 27 1953 — The Detroit Lions edge the Cleveland Browns 17-16 for the NFL championship. Doak Walker’s extra point, following a 33-yard scoring pass, is the difference. 1959 — The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 31-16 in the NFL championship. Three field goals by Pat Summerall give the

By The Associated Press Dec. 27 1953 — The Detroit Lions edge the Cleveland Browns 17-16 for the NFL championship. Doak Walker’s extra point, following a 33-yard scoring pass, is the difference. 1959 — The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 31-16 in the NFL championship. Three field goals by Pat Summerall give the

By The Associated Press Dec. 31 1961 — Paul Hornung, on leave from the Army, scores 19 points to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 37-0 win over the New York Giants for their seventh NFL championship. Green Bay’s Bart Starr throws three touchdown passes in the first title game ever played in Green

By AP MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep pulled out of Australian Open qualifying and a tuneup tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday because of pain in her knee and shoulder, the latest interruption of her comeback from a drug suspension. Halep posted on social media that she was feeling

By AP UNDATED (AP) — No. 14 Gonzaga meets No. 22 UCLA in the lone matchup of AP Top 25 teams for the Christmas holiday week. Both teams will be returning to action a week after their previous games. Gonzaga is coming off a win against Bucknell while UCLA is coming off a loss to

By AP PHOENIX (AP) — Kansas State will try to rebound from a difficult finish to the regular season as it faces Rutgers in the Rate Bowl. The Wildcats were once in the thick of the Big 12 race, but lost three of their final four games as their offense faltered. Kansas State is certainly

By AP UNDATED (AP) — No. 14 Gonzaga meets No. 22 UCLA in the lone matchup of AP Top 25 teams for the Christmas holiday week. Both teams will be returning to action a week after their previous games. Gonzaga is coming off a win against Bucknell while UCLA is coming off a loss to

By AP TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Sam Leavitt has led No. 10 Arizona State from a three-win season a year ago to spot in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against No. 7 Texas in the New Year’s Day Peach Bowl. While running back Cam Skattebo has been the Sun Devils’ turbocharger, Leavitt has been the

By AP SYDNEY (AP) — Comanche took an eight nautical-mile lead over defending line honors champion and fellow 100-foot super maxi LawConnect early in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Thursday. LawConnect, which led the 104-yacht fleet out of Sydney harbor, gave up the lead when a furling line malfunctioned, but managed to recover,

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges scored a season-high 41 points, and the New York Knicks overcame 42 from Victor Wembanyama in a monster Christmas debut to edge the San Antonio Spurs 117-114 on Wednesday. Wembanyama set a Spurs’ record for points on the holiday and added 18 rebounds, four assists

By JOHN MARSHALL – AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 27 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 110-100 on Wednesday night in the nightcap to the NBA’s Christmas slate of games. The Nuggets blew out Phoenix 117-90 on Monday night in Denver, but the Suns

By AP HONOLULU (AP) — Brice Williams scored 11 of his 25 points in the final six minutes and Nebraska closed on a 6-0 run to beat Oregon State 78-66 on Wednesday night in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic. Nebraska (10-2) claimed its first tournament title since the San Juan Shootout in

By AP Mahomes throws 3 TDs as Chiefs clinch AFC’s top seed by breezing past the skidding Steelers 29-10 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Patrick Mahomes passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns and the Kansas City Chiefs locked up the top seed in the AFC for the fourth time in seven seasons with a 29-10 win

By JANIE McCAULEY – AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — LeBron James and the Lakers delivered once more when big man Anthony Davis went down. Davis didn’t return for Los Angeles against Golden State on Wednesday night after spraining his left ankle midway through the first quarter. “It’s always difficult to play without AD,

By JANIE McCAULEY – AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Austin Reaves scored the winning layup with one second left after Stephen Curry tied it on a 31-foot 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining, LeBron James had 31 points and 10 assists playing in his NBA-record 19th Christmas Day game, and the Los Angeles Lakers

By The Associated Press All Times EST Thursday, Dec. 26 NBA Charlotte at Washington, 7 p.m. Miami at Orlando, 7 p.m. Oklahoma City at Indiana, 7 p.m. Chicago at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. Brooklyn at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. Houston at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Toronto at Memphis, 8 p.m. Detroit at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Utah at

By KRISTIE RIEKEN – AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson passed Michael Vick for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history in a 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans on Wednesday. “Michael Vick, one of my favorite players,” Jackson said. “That’s just dope.” Jackson moved past Vick on a

By KRISTIE RIEKEN – AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Quarterback C.J. Stroud summed up Houston’s performance in an embarrassing 31-2 loss to Baltimore on Wednesday. “Sometimes you go out there and lay an egg,” Stroud said. “It’s not easy to say that, but that’s what happened. Didn’t play well from the first play to

By KRISTIE RIEKEN – AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Lamar Jackson broke the NFL career rushing record for quarterbacks in the Baltimore Ravens’ victory over the Houston Texans on Wednesday. A highlight came when Jackson dashed 48 yards for a touchdown on a run where he reached a career-best top speed of 21.25 mph.

By JIMMY GOLEN – AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid wasn’t going to let a pregame stumble keep him from playing the rival Boston Celtics in one of the NBA’s marquee games. Embiid got caught up in a barrier used to keep courtside fans away from the players and fell

By The Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — Patrick Mahomes passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns and the Kansas City Chiefs locked up the top seed in the AFC for the fourth time in seven seasons with a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions raced to an