National Sports

By JOHN WAWROW – AP Hockey Writer It didn’t take goalie Mackenzie Blackwood long to establish himself as the Colorado Avalanche’s starter for the present and future after signing a five-year $26.25 million contract extension on Friday. The Avalanche announced the signing, and a person with direct knowledge of the contract confirmed its value to

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ – Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Colorado is relishing the chance to end its season on a high note regardless of the outcome of the Valero Alamo Bowl. While a number of teams are shuffling their roster with players opting out of bowl games to enter the transfer portal or prepare

By AP DOVER, Del. (AP) — Former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson is taking over the football program at Delaware State. The school announced Jackson’s hire Friday in the latest move by a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference program to hire a former NFL star as its football coach. Norfolk State hired Michael Vick last week. “DeSean Jackson

By AP DALLAS (AP) — Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov will miss Friday night’s game at Dallas because of a lower body injury. Kaprizov is tied for second in the NHL with 23 goals and tied for fourth in points with 50. He leads the league this season with six multi-goal games and is tied

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Miami football coach Mario Cristobal wants now-retired Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga to do at least one more thing for the Hurricanes. Cristobal wants him to share all his knowledge. A day after Larrañaga announced his sudden retirement after 41 years as a

By JIM FULLER – Associated Press STORRS, Conn. (AP) — The last few pictures were taken with the basketballs honoring Dan Hurley winning his 300th career game as a college head coach and Alex Karaban scoring his 1000th career point. Without saying a word, they began to walk off the court and headed in different

By AP ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record should be back on very soon. Signs point to Ovechkin returning to the Washington Capitals’ lineup on Saturday night at the Toronto Maple Leafs after missing five weeks with a broken left leg. Ovechkin skated with regular linemates Dylan

By PHILIP ROSSMAN-REICH – Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward missed out on the College Football Playoff, the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and the Heisman Trophy. He’s not missing one more chance to play for Miami. Ward and the 15th-ranked Hurricanes (10-2) take on 18th-ranked Iowa State (10-3) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl

By JIMMY GOLEN – AP Sports Writer The last time Nebraska sat out the bowl season for seven years in a row, the Big 12 was still the Big 8, the 10 schools in the Big Ten didn’t include the Cornhuskers, and Yankee Stadium was still the House that Ruth Built. That slump ended with

By ROB MAADDI – AP Pro Football Writer Nick Sirianni has the highest winning percentage among active NFL coaches and the fifth-best in NFL history. He should be lauded for his accomplishments with the Philadelphia Eagles. Coaches who win as frequently as Sirianni are esteemed. The four coaches ahead of him on the overall list

By The Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Tucker Gleason ran for one overtime score and threw for four more as Toledo beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a bowl-record six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Thursday. The game surpassed the previous mark set 48 hours earlier when South Florida beat San Jose

By ANDREW SELIGMAN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks made just enough plays to boost their fading playoff hopes by beating the struggling Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Now, they’ll be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals to beat the Los Angeles Rams this weekend. Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ late pass

By The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career high with 45 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-114 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. Gilgeous-Alexander hit 15 of 22 shots and all 11 free throws in Oklahoma City’s ninth consecutive victory. Jalen Williams scored 20 points

By JAY COHEN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The defense delivered for the Chicago Bears. It was one of the team’s best performances of the season on that side of the ball. Just not good enough. “I guess we should have held them to three points or zero points at the end of

By ERIC HE – Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jaden Ivey converted a four-point play with 3 seconds left and the Detroit Pistons rallied past the struggling Sacramento Kings 114-113 on Thursday night. With the Pistons trailing by three, Ivey made a 3-pointer in the right corner and was fouled by De’Aaron Fox. Ivey

By AP PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe each scored 27 points, and Scoot Henderson made a tiebreaking jumper with 0.1 seconds remaining as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 122-120 on Thursday night. Henderson finished with 18 points and 10 assists, Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 12 rebounds,

By AP FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down CeeDee Lamb with two games remaining after their 2023 All-Pro receiver spent the second half of the season dealing with a sprained right shoulder. The team said Thursday that additional exams revealed enough damage to keep Lamb off the field Sunday at Philadelphia

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jim Larrañaga insists he still loves the University of Miami, still loves the game of basketball, still loves mentoring players, still loves coaching. He doesn’t love what college basketball has become. And with that, he’s leaving. The 75-year-old Larrañaga stepped down Thursday, effective

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — If Jimmy Butler wants a trade, the Miami Heat have no plans to make him happy. Heat President Pat Riley — in a rare move — spoke out to address rumors Thursday, saying the team has no plans to trade Butler. It’s a clear

By ROB MAADDI – AP Pro Football Writer Pro Picks is a weekly column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games. For all previous Pro Picks, head here. Playoff berths, draft positioning and more are up for grabs in Week 17. There’s going to be plenty of football on

By SEAN HOLOHAN – Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson had a career-high 30 points and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from a late 21-point deficit by scoring 50 points in the fourth quarter in a 141-133 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. Atlanta trailed 124-107 with 6:23 remaining in the game and

By CLAY BAILEY – Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, Zach Edey also scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies set a franchise scoring record in blowing out the skidding Toronto Raptors 155-126 on Thursday night. Desmond Bane added 19