AP Sports

Bears outlast Vikings 12-10 on 4th field goal by Santos after 4 interceptions of Dobbs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cairo Santos made a 30-yard field goal for Chicago with 10 seconds left for his fourth of the game after a miss on the opening drive, and the Bears had four interceptions of Joshua Dobbs in a defense-dominated 12-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Justin Fields lost two fumbles in the fourth quarter. With excellent protection on third-and-10 near midfield he hit D.J. Moore for 36 yards to put the Bears at the 13 with 55 seconds left. They drained the clock to set up the winning kick and stop a 12-game losing streak against NFC North opponents.

LeBron James suffers worst defeat in NBA career as Embiid, 76ers rout Lakers by 44 points

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Philadelphia 76ers rout LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 138-94 on Monday night. Embiid notched his sixth career triple-double with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. It was Embiid’s first of the season and his seventh career game with 10-plus assists. LeBron James scored 18 points but nothing he did could make a dent in the 76ers’ lead. The 76ers hit 13 3-pointers in the first half.

Florida coach Billy Napier fires two assistants to begin defensive overhaul, AP source says

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Billy Napier began a much-needed defensive makeover by firing two assistants. A person familiar with the decision tells the AP on condition of anonymity that Napier parted with cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond and defensive line coach Sean Spencer, two days after a season-ending loss to rival and then-No. 5 Florida State. The Gators (5-7) lost five consecutive games to end the season and missed a bowl for just the third time since 1990. Defense was the biggest issue down the stretch, with Florida allowing 41.75 points a game in the first four of those losses.

Panthers fire Frank Reich after 11 games and name Chris Tabor their interim head coach

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers fired coach Frank Reich with the team off to an NFL-worst 1-10 record in his first year in charge. The move came a day after the Panthers lost 17-10 to the Tennessee Titans. Owner David Tepper hired Reich to fix one of the league’s worst offenses over the past few seasons and develop Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall draft pick. Instead, they are assured of a sixth straight losing season since Tepper bought the team in 2018. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will take over as interim head coach. Tabor’s first move was to fire quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and running backs coach Duce Staley, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Point differentials could come into play as NBA In-Season Tournament group phase ends Tuesday

MIAMI (AP) — Say this for the NBA. It will have some drama for the final night of group play in the inaugural In-Season Tournament. There are eight games left and all potentially have implications on who will advance. All teams play four games in the group stage. Fourteen teams are already done and the other 16 teams wrap up their group slates on Tuesday. Every group winner will reach the quarterfinals, and the best second-place team from each conference will earn a wild-card spot. There’s a really good chance that tiebreakers to separate teams will come into play. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, and the second is point differential.

Lawson apologizes for shoving Eagles fan, alleging person threatened Bills players and families

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills pass rusher Shaq Lawson has apologized for shoving a Philadelphia Eagles fan after alleging the person was making threatening remarks about players and their families. Lawson posted his apology on his Instagram account a day after a video showed him and five defensive teammates approach a spectator in the first row behind Buffalo’s bench during a 37-34 overtime loss at Philadelphia. The video showed Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips walking up and exchanging words with the unidentified spectator, when Lawson followed and shoved the fan. A spokesman for the Eagles said the matter is being reviewed.

Minnesota Wild replace coach Dean Evason with John Hynes after losing 14 of first 19 games

The Minnesota Wild have fired coach Dean Evason and assistant Bob Woods. General manager Bill Guerin announced John Hynes will be the next coach. The Wild have lost 14 of their first 19 games. Evason had the job for nearly five years. He started as a midseason replacement for Bruce Boudreau on Feb. 14, 2020. Evason went 147-77-27 in 251 regular season games and 8-15 in the postseason without winning any series. Hynes is 284-255-63 in eight NHL seasons. The Predators fired him on May 30, six weeks after missing the playoffs.

Cardinals get AL Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray with $75M deal to anchor revamped starting rotation

The St. Louis Cardinals agreed with AL Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray on a $75 million, three-year contract to anchor their staff heading into next season. Gray’s deal includes a $30 million team option for 2027 with a $5 million buyout, which could make the agreement worth $100 million over four seasons. The 34-year-old Gray went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA for Minnesota last season. He turned down a qualifying offer from the Twins, and St. Louis will lose its second-highest draft pick next year for signing him. The Cardinals went 71-91 last season.

Michael Penix Jr. and No. 3 Washington need the offense to start clicking again against No. 5 Oregon

SEATTLE (AP) — Rome Odunze can see not all is right with the offense for No. 3 Washington. It hasn’t looked quite right since Odunze caught the winning touchdown to beat Oregon back in October. The Ducks are the same team the Huskies will see in Friday’s Pac-12 championship game. There’s no debating that Washington hasn’t carved up defenses with the ease it displayed leading up to the 36-33 win over Oregon on Oct. 14. The Huskies know the offense must get better in short order.

Donovan Clingan scores 29 to lead No. 4 UConn over UNH 84-64 for a 24th straight nonconference win

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Donovan Clingan scored a career-high 29 points and No. 4 UConn beat New Hampshire 84-64 on Monday night to set a record with its 24th consecutive victory over a nonconference opponent by double digits. The 7-foot-2 sophomore hit 12 of his 13 shots from the floor for the Huskies (7-0), who broke a record held by North Carolina, which had 23 consecutive double-digit wins over nonconference opponents in 2008 and 2009. The Huskies will take their streak into Lawrence, Kansas on Friday to face the fifth-ranked Jayhawks. Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton each scored 17 points and Newtown also pulled down 10 rebounds for Connecticut.