Sports

By ARNIE STAPLETON – AP Pro Football Writer DENVER (AP) — Count coach Sean Payton among those second-guessing his decision to go for the tie and not the win at the end of regulation in Cincinnati last weekend. “Oh, certainly. You go through it all the time relative to what the call would have been,”

By DAN GREENSPAN – Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeremiah Smith isn’t just the next great Ohio State wide receiver. “He’ll probably be the best receiver to come through here,” Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke said. “He’s already on that verge, so really happy for him.” Smith is certainly on that trajectory after smashing Cris

By DOUG FEINBERG – AP Basketball Writer Rutgers coach Coquese Washington has seen the Big Ten grow over the years, from her time leading Penn State to now being in charge of the Scarlet Knights. Her team is going through a rough part of the conference schedule with three straight games against top-10 opponents, including

By AP BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — If Nick Kyrgios was attempting to prove his match fitness after 18 months off the tour due to wrist and knee injuries, he did a good job on Tuesday, albeit in a losing cause at the Brisbane International. In a match that lasted 2 hours, 27 minutes at Pat

By JOHN MARSHALL – AP Basketball Writer Coming off a quiet stretch in the schedule, the college basketball season kicks into full gear this week, highlighted by a super Saturday with four games between ranked teams. It starts with top-ranked Tennessee hosting No. 23 Arkansas. The Vols have held the No. 1 spot in the

By ERIC HE – Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points, and the Sacramento Kings beat the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 110-100 on Monday night to give Doug Christie his first win as the interim head coach after the Kings fired Mike Brown last week. The Kings went on a 17-2 run

By ERIC HE – Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Doug Christie took over as the interim head coach of the Sacramento Kings amid a season-long losing streak, fans booing the team off their home court and questions surrounding the decision to fire Mike Brown, who led the franchise to its first playoff appearance in

By AP PERTH, Australia (AP) — The top-seeded pair of Coco Gauff and U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz of the United States are into the United Cup mixed teams tennis quarterfinals. Fritz beat Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday as the American team needed to win only one match to top Group A. For good measure,

By JOSH DUBOW – AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The big prizes for the Detroit Lions remain on the horizon, with the team seeking a division title, the top seed in the NFC playoffs and the franchise’s first Super Bowl trip. With almost nothing at stake in a rematch of last

By JOSH DUBOW – AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy hurt his surgically repaired throwing elbow late in a loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night, the latest blow in an injury-plagued season for the San Francisco 49ers. The injury came in the final two minutes of a 40-34

By The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Josh Hart had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 13 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 126-106 on Monday night for their eighth straight victory. It was the second game

By AP SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Malik Thomas scored 34 points and Carlton Linguard Jr. had a go-ahead layup with 55 seconds left in overtime as San Francisco held off Santa Clara 97-94 on Monday night. Thomas made 9 of 21 shots with four 3-pointers and all 12 of his free throws for the Dons

By GIDEON RUBIN – Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Darius Garland scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell scored 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to seven games with a 113-95 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. Dean Wade had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland, and Jarrett Allen

By AP MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Khalif Battle scored 21 points, Braden Huff added 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and No. 19 Gonzaga beat Pepperdine 89-82 on Monday night in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams. Huff converted a three-point play that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good 7:10 into the first

By The 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) for nearly

By MATTHEW COLES – Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Russell Westbrook became the second player in NBA history to have a triple-double with zero turnovers and shoot 100% from the field and the free-throw line in the Denver Nuggets’ 132-121 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Westbrook finished with 16 points,

By AP TORONTO (AP) — Two teams trying to find their stride in the Professional Women’s Hockey League have made a major trade. The Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres, tied for fifth in the six-team league with identical two-win, three-loss and one overtime loss records, pulled off a four-player swap on Monday. The Charge acquired

By PAUL JONES – Associated Press STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Riley Kugel scored 22 points and Josh Hubbard added 16 to lead No. 17 Mississippi State to an 87-73 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Monday night. Mississippi State (12-1) struggled to put away Bethune-Cookman (3-10) until reeling off a 16-4 run midway through the second half.

By AP SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Nate Calmese had 20 points, freshman Tomas Thrastarson scored a season-high 17 in his first start and Washington State beat Loyola Marymount 73-59 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Monday night. Calmese made 9 of 17 shots and both of his free throws for the Cougars (12-3, 2-0 West

By MICHAEL KELLY – Associated Press BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Curtis Jones scored 20 points, Keshon Gilbert had 14 and No. 3 Iowa State opened Big 12 Conference play with a 79-69 win over Colorado on Monday night. The Cyclones (11-1) have won eight in a row, two over Colorado. They beat the Buffaloes 99-71

By TIM WILLERT – Associated Press STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — J’Wan Roberts had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 14 Houston past Oklahoma State 60-47 on Monday night in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. L.J. Cryer added 18 points and Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan contributed 12 points and six rebounds

By AP The Lions beat the 49ers 40-34 in a tuneup for Week 18 division showdown SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes and the Detroit Lions tuned up for their Week 18 division showdown against Minnesota by beating the San Francisco 49ers 40-34. Goff threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to

By AP LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Reserve Connor Essegian matched his career-high with six 3-pointers and scored 20 points and Nebraska dominated the first half in a 77-43 win over Southern on Monday night. Brice Williams, who averaged 24 points in the Cornhuskers’ last four games, added 11 points and surpassed 1,500 for his career.

By The Associated Press SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jesper Boqvist scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third, and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 5-3 on Monday night. Eetu Luostarinen, Aleksander Barkov and Mackie Samoskevich also scored for Florida, and Uvis Balinskis had two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves. Florida

By AP TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) — Caleb Love hit five 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 33 points, Henri Veesaar added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Arizona beat TCU 90-81 on Monday night in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Love made 11 of 17 from the field, hit 6 of 6 from

By SHANE LANTZ – Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken scored three goals in the third period to finish off a 5-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday. Jaden Schwartz broke a 2-2 tie with 12:38 remaining, Matty Beniers made it a 4-2 game a few minutes later with his sixth

By BRETT MARTEL – AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Norman Powell scored 35 points, James Harden hit go-ahead free throws with 17.9 seconds left and the Los Angeles Clippers held on to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 116-113 on Monday night. With the Pelicans — losers of 10 straight and 19 of 20

By STEPHEN HAWKINS – AP Baseball Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joc Pederson won a World Series in Texas with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020, then got another championship ring the following season after twice changing teams. The Rangers missed the playoffs last season after winning their own title in 2023, when shortstop Corey

By The Associated Press All Times EST Tuesday, Dec. 31 NBA Milwaukee at Indiana, 3 p.m. Toronto at Boston, 3 p.m. L.A. Clippers at San Antonio, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. Cleveland at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m. Memphis at Phoenix, 9 p.m. NHL Boston at Washington, 12:30 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Toronto,

By AP WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Gabriel Vilardi scored a pair of power-play goals a minute apart in the third period to help the Winnipeg Jets extend their winning streak to four games with a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night. Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for his fifth shutout of the