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'It's about time': Pascal Siakam on making three-pointers vs. Grizzlies
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has struggled from three-point range this year, but hit five threes against Memphis and explained what was different in the 128-113 win.
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has struggled from three-point range this year, but hit five threes against Memphis and explained what was different in the 128-113 win.
The Nets are expected to sign the six-time All-Star after his buyout from the Pistons.
Connor Murphy will likely become the latest player to meet with the NHL Department of Player Safety after landing a head shot on Tampa Bay's Erik Cernak.
A vicious, intentional knee to the head of a downed Aljamain Sterling cost Petr Yan his bantamweight title on Saturday at Apex on the main card of UFC 259.
The Philadelphia 76ers stars had contact with a barber who is a likely COVID-19 positive, per reports.
This NHL season has gone all-in on complete and utter weirdness.
A "small number" of U.S.-based NHLers are reportedly getting vaccinated as supply increases across the United States.
Success for Manchester United these days is being the spoiler as Manchester City goes on to eventually claim the league titles.
It seemed Walter Gretzky both knew what he had in his son, and how best to handle it. It’s one of many reasons why he was the ultimate hockey dad.
Watching Rasmus Ristolainen race Mat Barzal to a loose puck and then try to defend him 1-on-1 must be pure nightmare fuel for Sabres fans.
The latest installment of the Battle of Alberta ended up being the perfect place for Connor McDavid to snap his pointless streak, and help his team snap a losing streak.
The Raptors face a lot of questions heading to the second half of the NBA season, including the futures of Masai Ujiri & Kyle Lowry.
MADRID — The president of Barcelona when Lionel Messi began playing in Spain will also be in charge when the club tries to convince the star to stay. Joan Laporta was elected Barcelona president again on Sunday, inheriting a club in crisis and facing daunting problems that include a huge debt and the possible departure of Messi when his contract finishes at the end of the season. Laporta defeated businessman Víctor Font and longtime board member Toni Freixa, the other two candidates who were among the more than 110,000 members eligible to vote. The election was held just days after the club’s last elected president — Josep Maria Bartomeu — spent a night in jail while Catalan police investigated possible irregularities during his administration. The election, which was postponed from January because of the coronavirus pandemic, caps a week in which the club made worldwide headlines after a police raid at the team's headquarters led to arrests and further embarrassment for an institution that has long prided itself as “more than a club.” The police investigation was related to the so-called “Barçagate,” which involved allegations that the former executive board hired an internet services company to spread negative messages about its own players and opponents on social media to boost the image of senior club officials. Laporta, who has a five-year term, was the team’s president between 2003-2010, during Messi’s breakout seasons. Laporta has said all along during his campaign that he was the best candidate to convince the playmaker to stay. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports ___ Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
MANCHESTER, England — Long after the final whistle blew, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola stood on the touchline, arms wrapped around each other. Deep in conversation, the managers of the Manchester rivals had a rare moment of respite in this chaotically congested season to debrief a derby that left United the victorious spoiler but City the only team with the Premier League trophy in its sights. Manchester United's 2-0 victory on Sunday halted City's winning run at 21 matches in all competitions. Guardiola's side will have to settle for having the English record streak. The pursuit of the world-record 27-game mark is over. The most important number to Guardiola is 11 — the points advantage City holds over second-place United. City running away with the title seemed unimaginable in November when it lost to then-leader Tottenham. So too, perhaps, when it was United topping the standings less than 50 days ago. United's challenge has crumbled but not as spectacularly as Liverpool's title defence. A sixth successive home defeat — losing 1-0 to Fulham on Sunday — left Liverpool in eighth place. Champions by 18 points last season, Liverpool is now a remarkable 22 points behind City. Even qualifying for the Champions League could be slipping from Liverpool's reach with Chelsea four points ahead in fourth ahead of Monday's match with fifth-place Everton. Even Tottenham has recovered to close the gap on Chelsea to two points after beating Crystal Palace 4-1. With the title looking settled, it's the race for fourth place that could provide the drama in the final weeks of the season. QUICK START Only 36 seconds had elapsed at the Etihad Stadium when Gabriel Jesus tripped Anthony Martial and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Bruno Fernandes stepped up and converted his 17th penalty since joining United in January 2020. That was a time when fans were still allowed into stadiums. The last time these sides played in front of a full crowd was the March 8 Manchester derby last year, days before the pandemic was declared. Just like at Old Trafford, United won 2-0 on City's soil. Five minutes into the second half on Sunday, United goalkeeper Dean Henderson threw the ball out to Shaw, who was gifted time and space to run into the penalty area. After a one-two with Marcus Rashford, the left back scored his first league goal since 2018, putting the ball through Rodri’s legs. But it is City set to be champions just like in 2014, 2018 and 2019 since United’s last title in 2013 when Alex Ferguson retired. “We need to improve on so many things to get up ... to get our consistency better,” Solskjaer said. "Of course, they’re 11 points ahead of us. So that’s a long, long way so we need to focus on ourselves and just be a better Man United. I feel we’re a better Man United now we were 12, 13, 16 months ago.” KLOPP MISERY Liverpool is a team in freefall, domestically at least. The season's hopes are now on progressing past Leipzig to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Liverpool has now gone more than 11 hours without a goal from open play at Anfield. The latest setback came against a Fulham side that is in the relegation zone. And Mario Lemina had never scored for the London club before netting at Liverpool just before halftime. “Not good enough," Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said. “We got used to each other and played some good stuff, created chances, didn’t score and the longer the game goes on in our situation it is not that you get stronger, it gets lesser and that it how it was.” WEST BROM WOES While Fulham has raised its hopes of survival — only sitting in the relegation zone on goal difference — West Bromwich Albion looks doomed. Sam Alllardyce's side is eight points from safety following a 0-0 draw with Newcastle, which is only one point above Fulham in the final relegation spot. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Rob Harris, The Associated Press
The Paley Impact event, Choosing to Challenge: How Women Are Leading the Way, featured a panel of prominent women from around the world and across public policy, sports, business, entertainment and culture. In this clip Julie Foudy speaks about the power of being a trailblazer and how sports teaches you so many skill sets beyond what you use between the lines.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora isn’t your usual Florida tourist. “It’s an off-day here tomorrow. Hopefully it rains and it’s cold,” he said on Sunday as he prepared for the team to take its first full break of spring training. It’s not that Cora doesn’t like sunshine. He would just prefer that his players stay home with their families and not risk any potential COVID-19 exposure. With bad weather, he said, “There’s no temptation of going to the beach or going to an outdoor restaurant or whatever. So I’ll be praying for that.” The actual forecast for Fort Myers, where Boston trains: mostly sunny, high in the low 70s, almost zero chance of rain. What started in the early days of the pandemic as a health concern has also become a competitive issue for baseball teams, who have been reminded over the past year that a player on the COVID-19 list can't help them win games. “You protect yourself for the right reason, to protect your family. That’s No. 1,” Cora said. “But now we’re getting to the baseball side of it. We’ve done an outstanding job until today. But we’ve got to keep doing it the right way, because you don’t want to be that guy that’s going to miss two weeks because you weren’t responsible.” Boston lost pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez for the entire season last year when his COVID-19 infection resulted in damage to his heart muscles. This season, they placed Kevin Plawecki and Franchy Cordero on the COVID-19 related injured list upon their arrival, but they have avoided an outbreak like the one that sent eight pitchers away from the Astros facility on Friday (it was not clear whether any had tested positive, or spent time in close contact with someone who had). In the NFL, the Denver Broncos had to play a game without an actual quarterback. On Sunday, Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were pulled from the NBA All-Star Game after going to a barber who tested positive. Golfers and tennis players have had to withdraw from tournaments after testing positive. And the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled Justin Turner from the World Series clincher after his test came back positive mid-game. “You guys saw what happened in Houston,” Cora said on Sunday. “It’s never good that you test positive. But it’s getting to that point that we better to really take care of each other and keep doing what the things that we’re doing because it’s getting closer to the season.” Baseball's spring training manual permits players and other team members to venture out for baseball activities and medical care, along with grocery shopping, takeout food pickup and outdoor physical activity. Banned: indoor restaurants, bars, fitness centres, casinos, bowling alleys, pool halls, dance clubs or any indoor gathering of 10 or more people. “If you’re a baseball player you understand that there’s a lot of obstacles, a lot of no-nos," Cora said. “You’ve just got to be smart about it.” And while Cora hopes his players will get a chance to relax, he won't be able to do so until he receives his nightly email with the results of everyone's COVID test. “The best part of camp is when you get that email,” he said. Also Sunday, Cora said that shortstop Xander Bogaerts is getting antsy about returning to full workouts after shutting down on Monday because of a sore shoulder. Bogaerts will take batting practice on Tuesday and DH over the weekend. He has been able to take grounders, but the team is limiting his throwing to protect his shoulder. “He told me, ‘April first, I’ve got to face this lefty throwing 95, 96.' And I’m not going to be ready," Cora said. “I said, ‘You’ll be ready. There’s plenty of time for that.’” Also Sunday: --Cora confirmed that the team has brought in utilityman Danny Santana as a non-roster invitee. Santana has a .260 average with 42 homers and 188 RBIs in seven seasons with Minnesota, Texas and Atlanta. According to the Twitter account Red Sox Notes, in the previous four seasons only three players have hit 15 or more homers while playing every position other than pitcher and catcher: Marwin Gonzalez, Enrique Hernandez and Santana. All three are now with the Red Sox. “Very versatile, athletic,” Cora said. “I think I’m repeating myself with the signings of position players.” —Plawecki was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. He was placed on IL on Feb. 17, the day pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Jimmy Golen, The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman each scored a power-play goal in the second period, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Sunday. Pat Maroon added his 100th career goal in the third period, giving Tampa Bay a season-high four goals with the man advantage. Gourde finished with two goals and two assists, and Alex Killorn scored for the third straight game. The Lightning improved to 3-0-1 on their season-long six-game trip and stretched their point streak to a season-high eight games. They took two of three in the series between Central Division contenders. Mattias Janmark had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Philipp Kurashev and Pius Suter also scored, and Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves. Chicago opened a 3-0 lead when Janmark fed Suter in front for the rookie's eighth goal of the season 3:11 into the second. But Tampa Bay responded with a big push. The rally started with goals by Palat and Gourde 23 seconds apart. Palat beat Lankinen from the right circle for a power-play goal at 3:51, and then Gourde knocked in his own rebound for his seventh of the season. Two more power-play goals put Tampa Bay in front to stay. Victor Hedman got his fifth of the season when he blasted one home from near the blue line. Gourde then made it 4-3 when he converted a slap shot from the top of the left circle with 3:05 left in the period. The Lightning played with the man advantage for a large chunk of the second. The only successful kill for the Blackhawks in the period occurred after defenceman Connor Murphy was ejected for an illegal hit to the head of Lightning defenceman Erik Cernak at 9:27. After he was visited by a trainer, Cernak skated off gingerly and missed the rest of the game with what the team said was an upper-body injury. The hit behind Chicago's net likely will draw some level of punishment for Murphy from the league. Coming off a 4-3 shootout win Friday night, the Blackhawks controlled much of the first period. Kurashev got his sixth of the season on a nice backhand in front, and Janmark finished a pretty passing sequence for a power-play goal at 15:34. ABOUT THAT LINEUP Chicago defenceman Calvin de Haan was scratched. He left Friday's win after blocking a shot. With de Haan out, the Blackhawks went with 11 forwards and seven defencemen. Wyatt Kalynuk made his NHL debut, and Lucas Carlsson also entered the lineup. Forward Lucas Wallmark was scratched. INJURIES The Lightning played without defenceman Jan Rutta, who missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Defenceman Andreas Borgman played in his first NHL game since Feb. 1, 2018, for Toronto. UP NEXT Lightning: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Blackhawks: Open a six-game trip at Dallas on Tuesday night. ___ Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
Ovechkin defended his teammate, despite the consensus opinion that Tom Wilson landed a dirty hit on Brandon Carlo.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — FIFA president Gianni Infantino brokered a deal to give politically connected South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe a clear run to lead the African soccer confederation after the other three contenders withdrew over the weekend and backed Motsepe. FIFA said the agreement for candidates Augustin Senghor of Senegal, Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast and Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania to withdraw from the upcoming election — and unite behind Motsepe — came after meetings in Rabat, Morocco, last week. The deal was confirmed at another meeting on Saturday in Mauritania, FIFA said. On that day, all four men appeared alongside Infantino at a ceremony celebrating “African unity” in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, and Infantino said it was the desire of all African soccer federations “to stop the divisions and get united.” FIFA said Motsepe would lead the Confederation of African Football with “a common program" that takes from the manifestos of all four men. Reports said Senghor and Yahya would be given CAF vice-president positions and Anouma a role as a consultant to Motsepe, although FIFA didn't announce any details of what agreements might have been made to allow Motsepe to stand unchallenged. “The four leaders have reiterated that what unites them is much stronger than what could potentially divide them,” FIFA said. “This was the reason it was decided that they should join forces and form a team under the leadership of Patrice Motsepe.” Motsepe, a 59-year-old mining magnate and the brother-in-law of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, is now almost certain to be elected CAF president in Rabat on Friday. With it, he would become a FIFA vice-president. The only possible stumbling block is if the man Motsepe is in line to replace, Ahmad Ahmad, overturns his five-year ban from soccer for financial misconduct at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and is allowed to stand for re-election. Even then, it appears unlikely that Ahmad would find enough votes to win with FIFA now openly backing Motsepe. Ahmad, who was CAF president from 2017 until he was banned last year by FIFA, had his appeal hearing at CAS last week. A verdict is expected early in the week, possibly Monday. Motsepe was a surprise candidate when he announced in November he would stand for the top job in African soccer. He owns South African club Mamelodi Sundowns but has never had a role at the African soccer body, or even his own national body. He was a lawyer before investing in gold mines in the late 1990s and became the first Black African billionaire on Forbes' list in 2008. He has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion and is the ninth richest man in Africa. He rapidly became the favourite for CAF president over the last few weeks after emerging as Infantino's preferred candidate. Infantino's involvement has stoked talk of election interference. FIFA has been closely involved in the affairs of the African confederation since effectively taking over its running for six months in 2019 after it became dysfunctional under Ahmad. Aware also of the significance of Africa’s 54 votes for his own position as FIFA president, Infantino has been close to CAF elections before. Infantino attended a party hosted by Ahmad’s campaign manager in the run-up to the 2017 CAF election, giving rise to speculation he was backing Ahmad in the contest against longstanding CAF president Issa Hayatou. Hayatou had led African soccer for 29 years and was also a FIFA veteran. Infantino denied he was taking sides but Ahmad, a relative unknown, resoundingly beat Hayatou in a major surprise. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Gerald Imray, The Associated Press
LONDON — Gareth Bale and Harry Kane both scored twice to help Tottenham make it three Premier League wins in a row and boost its top-four hopes after a 4-1 victory against Crystal Palace on Sunday. The duo combined twice with Kane the architect for both goals by Bale before the England captain hit a wonder strike and then created history with another in the 76th minute. Son Heung-min assisted Kane’s second and it was their 14th goal combination in the Premier League this season to beat the previous record of 13 set by Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton for Blackburn in the 1994-95 season. Christian Benteke had threatened to spoil proceedings for Jose Mourinho’s side when he equalized just before halftime, but two quick-fire goals after the break ensured the hosts rose to sixth. Tottenham is two points behind fourth-place Chelsea with 11 games remaining. Dele Alli was back on the bench after his second league start of the season at Fulham in midweek while the visitors listed the returning Wilfried Zaha as a substitute. Bale showed no early ill-effects on his third consecutive start and should have had an assist in the sixth minute but Son headed straight at Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. The Welsh attacker had slalomed between two opponents to create the chance and it was a sign of things to come. After a brace in Tottenham’s win over Burnley last weekend, Bale added to his tally again after 25 minutes. Palace captain Luka Milivojevic was dispossessed by Lucas Moura deep inside his own half and Kane dropped a shoulder to beat the midfielder and race into the area where he squared for Bale to tap in. It was a poor way for the visitors to concede and not long after the hosts almost produced a superb team move but Sergio Reguilon sliced wide on the volley. A flurry of corners in quick succession saw Palace build some momentum and in the first minute of stoppage time they equalized against the run of play. Ebere Eze found Milivojevic in space and the captain atoned for his earlier error with a fine delivery into the area where Benteke headed home for his fifth goal of the season. Zaha was introduced at the break, but he was largely a spectator during a lightning-quick start to the second period where Tottenham scored twice in the space of three minutes. First, Bale doubled his tally for the night when he nodded home from Kane’s header across the face of goal after another excellent cross from Reguilon in the 49th. That made it 10 goals for the season for Bale, who is on loan from Real Madrid having left Tottenham in 2013. A slick move was concluded in style when Matt Doherty cut back for Kane in space and he produced a 25-yard curler into the top corner to leave Guaita with no chance. The Bale and Kane show was ended in the 70th when Bale was replaced but it had been another impressive showing to continue his return to form. There was still time for one more Spurs goal and it proved a record-breaking effort when Son squared for Kane to head in from close range. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press