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'It's history': Alexander Ovechkin after passing Phil Esposito with 718th goal
Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin comments on scoring his 718th goal, what it means to him and the importance of continuing to strive for more.
Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin comments on scoring his 718th goal, what it means to him and the importance of continuing to strive for more.
Tottenham fired Jose Mourinho on Monday after only 17 months in charge, and just as he was preparing to coach the club in the League Cup final.
Smith made an incredible comeback from a 2018 leg injury.
Tom Brady and Tie Domi were kickin' it again this weekend as the sports world's most unexpected friendship continues to blossom before our eyes.
The Vancouver Canucks made a splash in their return from a COVID-19 outbreak Sunday, edging the No. 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime.
Twelve top European soccer clubs on Sunday announced their plans to create a new league that could end the sport's global structure as we know it.
Jurors will deliberate following the conclusion of closing arguments on Monday.
William Nylander gives his thoughts on Alexander Edler's knee-on-knee hit on Zach Hyman in Vancouver's overtime win over the Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Salvador Perez's two-run home run lead the Kansas City Royals past the Toronto Blue Jays.
Adebayo thought about recreating Wade's iconic celebration after hitting Miami's first buzzer-beater since 2019.
The Achilles injury only briefly interrupted the honors for Stewie.
Kevin Durant is only 10 days removed from his return following a hamstring injury.
The offer would have made Stevens the highest-paid coach in college basketball.
The honeymoon between Jaguars fans and Trevor Lawrence isn't ending anytime soon.
Another 10K day for the Cy Young winner.
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Trey Smith has no problem explaining his situation, no matter how many times he has to detail his history of blood clots. The Tennessee guard wants to make sure no NFL coach or general manager has any unanswered questions about his availability to play before the upcoming draft. “I'll explain it a million times if I have to,” Smith said. “Because it’s just something unique. It’s something that’s different. At the end of the day, I want to play football at a high level. I want to go to the NFL, so I have no issue whatsoever helping people understand what I went through and making them comfortable with it as well.” The 6-foot-5, 321-pound Smith played 42 games at Tennessee even while dealing with his condition. Blood clots in his lungs kept him out of spring practice in 2018, but blood thinners allowed him to eventually return. He missed the final five games that season when doctors worried Smith had a recurrence of blood clots before extended testing made them confident that hadn’t happened. Doctors and specialists put together a plan and medications that allowed him to start 12 of 13 games in 2019 at left guard, and he earned first-time All-Southeastern Conference honours. Smith was confident enough in the plan that he played in each of the Vols' 10 games during the 2020 season instead of opting out during the pandemic. He also was All-SEC for a second straight season. That's why Smith has no concerns about being able to play in the NFL. He says teams that do their research will understand, especially if they talk to the doctors and specialists Smith went across the country to see. “They’ll sort of see the plan we have set and (have) a lot more confidence in it as well,” Smith said. “I know that’s something we haven’t been completely open about in the past due to my own privacy. But at the end of the day, it’s a plan that will not only sustain itself in the NFL, but have a lot of success as well.” NFL scouts and coaches got a closer look at Smith both at the Senior Bowl in January and at Tennessee's pro day in March. Before the Senior Bowl, Smith got some feedback from former Tennessee offensive lineman Ramon Foster, who played 11 seasons at guard with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “So just being able to be in communication with him, and just get knowledge and information from a veteran that played in the NFL that long, I mean, I want to soak it up like a sponge, man,” Smith said. Teams have talked with Smith about playing both tackle and guard and whether he prefers the left or right side. At Tennessee's pro day, he ran a 5.1-second 40-yard dash, had a 31-inch vertical leap and did the three-cone drill in a time of 7.43 seconds to show off his athleticism. Smith also bench-pressed 225 pounds 32 times, raising more than $4,100 for Uplifting Athletes to help people dealing with rare diseases. He wound up doing two more reps than he hoped for, inspired by people he trained with. “For them, it means the world,” Smith said. “But for us as athletes, with the platform we have, I think it’s something we should do.” That's nothing new for Smith, who won the Torchbearer award for serving Tennessee with overall excellence. Smith also joined some fellow athletes in leading an anti-racism march on campus last August. Still, the first and biggest question about Smith is his health. “Hopefully it will be a way to pioneer ground for people with my issues, that have blood-clotting issues and things of that nature,” Smith said. “Then you look at people like David Andrews, Russell Okung, they’ve been playing and they had very similar issues that I’ve had. We’re talking about very high-level offensive linemen.” And Smith wants to be the next. ___ Follow Teresa M. Walker at https://twitter.com/TeresaMWalker ___ More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press
Yahoo Sports recaps the three longest home runs from the week of April 12th utilizing statcast data
MONTREUX, Switzerland — Players at the 12 clubs setting up their own Super League could be banned from this year’s European Championship and next year’s World Cup, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said Monday. Ceferin showed his sense of anger and betrayal by the leaders of some wealthy European clubs as he spoke of “snakes,” and wished UEFA could ban Super League clubs and players “as soon as possible” from all of its competitions. Whether UEFA's lawyers will advise that — with the Champions League and Europa League semifinals starting next week, and Euro 2020 kicking off in June — is unclear. Ceferin spoke following a UEFA executive committee meeting and said some “legal assessments” will begin Tuesday morning. The meeting was held only hours after the English, Italian and Spanish clubs announced the Super League project that threatens to split the historic structure of European soccer. “They will not be able to represent their national teams at any matches,” Ceferin earlier warned. “UEFA and the footballing world stand united against the disgraceful self-serving proposal we have seen in last 24 hours from a select few clubs in Europe that are fueled purely by greed above all else.” UEFA’s 55 member federations are gathering for an annual meeting on Tuesday, including 24 nations that are playing in Euro 2020. Three of the 12 rebels — Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid — are scheduled to play in the Champions League semifinals next week. Two more, Manchester United and Arsenal, are in the Europa League semifinals. Earlier, the 12 planning to start the breakaway Super League told the leaders of FIFA and UEFA that they have begun legal action aimed at fending off threats to block the competition. The letter was sent by the group to Ceferin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino saying the Super League has already been underwritten by funding of 4 billion euros ($5.5 billion) from American bank JPMorgan Chase. Currently, teams have to qualify each year for the Champions League through their domestic leagues, but the Super League would lock in 15 places every season for the founding members. The seismic move to shake up the sport is partly engineered by the American owners of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, who also run franchises in closed U.S. leagues — a model they are trying to replicate in Europe. UEFA warned the Super League clubs, including Barcelona and Juventus, that legal action would be taken against them and said they also would be barred from existing domestic competitions like the Spanish league and the Premier League. “We are concerned that FIFA and UEFA may respond to this invitation letter by seeking to take punitive measures to exclude any participating club or player from their respective competitions,” the Super League clubs wrote to Infantino and Ceferin in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. “Your formal statement does, however, compel us to take protective steps to secure ourselves against such an adverse reaction, which would not only jeopardize the funding commitment under the Grant but, significantly, would be unlawful. For this reason, SLCo (Super League Company) has filed a motion before the relevant courts in order to ensure the seamless establishment and operation of the Competition in accordance with applicable laws.” The courts were not named. “It is our duty, as SLCo’s board members, to ensure that all reasonable actions available to protect the interests of the Competition and our stakeholders are duly taken, given the irreparable damage that would be suffered if, for any reason, we were deprived of the opportunity to form promptly the Competition and distribute the proceeds of the Grant," the Super League letter continued. The Super League intends to launch a 20-team competition with 15 founding members but only 12 have currently signed up. The others are Liverpool and Tottenham from England, Atletico Madrid from Spain, and AC Milan and Inter Milan from Italy. The breakaway was launched just as UEFA thought it had agreement on an expansion of the Champions League from 2024. Now, the same officials who backed the plans have decided to go it alone while claiming the existing competitions could remain — despite losing their most successful teams, including record 13-time European champion Real Madrid and six-time winner Liverpool. UEFA approved the new format proposal Monday amid the turmoil. The agreement was negotiated with the 246-member European Club Association. The ECA's leader, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, resigned from the UEFA executive committee overnight. “He is probably biggest disappointment of all," Ceferin said of Agnelli, whose young daughter he became godfather to. “I have never seen a person that would lie so many times and so persistently as he did. “Now I know who is who. Who is honest. Who loves football.” In their letter to the FIFA and UEFA presidents, the Super League clubs said their competition could also play alongside domestic leagues and cups. “We do not seek to replace the UEFA’s Champions League or the Europa League," they said, "but to compete with and exist alongside those tournaments.” ___ Harris reported from London. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Rob Harris And Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press
Alex Smith is retiring from the NFL after making an improbable comeback from a broken leg. Smith announced his retirement Monday on Instagram, saying he still has plenty of snaps left him but is calling it quits to enjoy time with his family. He turns 37 on May 7. Smith earned AP Comeback Player of the Year honours for getting back on the field last season, two years removed from his gruesome injury that required 17 operations. Washington released Smith in March and signed veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick during free agency. Smith initially expressed his intent to keep playing but decided not to pursue another contract. Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in 2005 and played 14 seasons for San Francisco, Kansas City and Washington. He threw for 35,650 yards and 199 touchdowns in 174 regular-season games and played in seven playoff games. Smith broke his right tibia and fibula in November 2018 against Houston. He was hospitalized for almost a month and survived a life-threatening infection in addition to the operations. He spent the next year and a half rehabbing and was back at practice when Washington assembled for training camp last summer. His first game action came in relief in October when Kyle Allen was injured, and he made his first start at Detroit weeks later. Smith was 5-1 as a starter in 2020, including a victory at Philadelphia in Week 17 on a strained right calf that clinched the NFC East title for Washington. The injury prevented Smith from playing against Tampa Bay in the wild-card round the next week. ___ More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
Anthony Edwards continues to distance himself from the rest of the rookie class, but Saddiq Bey is rising with his torrid 3-point shooting.