AP Sports

Lakers outlast Wolves 108-102 in OT, advance to face Memphis

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers claimed the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a grueling 108-102 overtime victory over the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s play-in tournament. Dennis Schröder scored 21 points and iced the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left for the Lakers, who will face second-seeded Memphis in the first round starting Sunday. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points and Mike Conley hit three free throws with 0.1 seconds left in regulation to tie it for the Wolves, who will host New Orleans or Oklahoma City on Friday for the eighth spot.

Focus on coaches as Madrid hosts Chelsea in Champions League

MADRID (AP) — The latest encounter between Real Madrid and Chelsea in the Champions League will put a spotlight on their coaches. Chelsea will travel for Wednesday’s first leg in Madrid with Frank Lampard trying to win for the first time since being named interim coach. Madrid will play still surrounded by doubts about Carlo Ancelotti’s future amid rumors of him taking over Brazil’s national team. The outcome could potentially help Lampard reclaim the permanent job with the English club. It could also influence Ancelotti’s decision on whether to accept the Brazil job. Lampard says “we have an opportunity against a fantastic team.”

Hawks grab No. 7 seed in East, hold off Heat 116-105

MIAMI (AP) — Trae Young scored 25 points, Clint Capela grabbed 21 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks grabbed the No. 7 in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Miami Heat 116-105 in a play-in tournament game Tuesday night. Dejounte Murray scored 18 for the Hawks, who avenged a five-game Round 1 loss to Miami last season and earned an East first-round matchup with Boston that will start Saturday. Kyle Lowry scored 33 points for the Heat, who will play host to either Toronto or Chicago on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed and a spot against top overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1.

AP mock NFL draft: CJ Stroud goes to the Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have been on the clock since making a blockbuster trade to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft and get their choice of potential franchise quarterbacks. There’s still no general consensus on which QB will go first. Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud? The Panthers themselves are still trying to decide and they’re doing their due diligence on Anthony Richardson and Will Levis in the process. The Panthers traded four picks along with wide receiver DJ Moore to give new coach Frank Reich a quarterback to build around. The first edition of the AP’s 2023 mock draft says it’ll be Stroud.

Bottoms up! Some MLB teams extend beer sales to 8th inning

PHOENIX (AP) — Thanks to the pitch clock, the action is moving much faster at Major League Baseball games. It also means a little less time for fans to enjoy a frosty adult beverage. To combat that time crunch, at least four teams — the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers — have extended alcohol sales through the eighth inning this season. Teams historically have stopped selling alcohol after the seventh. MLB games have been considerably shorter this season, largely thanks to a series of rule changes. Through the first 1 1/2 weeks of the season, the average game time was down 31 minutes, on track to be the sport’s lowest since 1984.

Confident Rays not surprised by 11-0 start to season

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The streaking Tampa Bay Rays are running out of superlatives to describe baseball’s best start in more than three decades. Remarkable, incredible and unbelievable are words players have used to describe the dominant, all-around team effort that has carried them to an 11-0 record that is the toast of the big leagues two weeks into the season. The Rays have made the playoffs each of the past four years and expected to be good. But no one could have envisioned them joining the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, 1982 Atlanta Braves, 1981 Oakland Athletics, 1966 Cleveland Indians, 1962 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers as the only clubs to begin seasons with double-digit win streaks.

Column: PGA and LIV produced a Masters just like any other

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — PGA Tour and LIV Golf players were part of the year’s first major and it turned out to be a Masters just like any other. Ultimately Jon Rahm winning was more relevant than where players made their living. It was an example that majors should strive to have the best fields without regard to which tour a player belongs. But it’s all about the world ranking at the moment. And after this year, the path to the majors will become increasingly difficult for players who chose to join LIV Golf. They would do well to play their best at majors.

Bruins top NHL season points mark, beating Capitals 5-2

BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi had power play goals and the Boston Bruins broke the NHL points record with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night in their regular-season home finale. Under chants of “We want the Cup!” the Bruins’ won their seventh straight to push their points total to 133, one more than the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. Those Canadiens played in an era without overtime and shootouts. The Bruins broke the mark a game after setting the NHL victory’ record with 63 on Sunday at Philadelphia, breaking a tie with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. Tomas Nosek, Garnet Hathaway and Jake DeBrusk also scored for Boston on Tuesday night in win No. 64.

Japan stadium where Babe Ruth played may face wrecking ball

TOKYO (AP) — A historic baseball stadium in Tokyo where Babe Ruth played could be demolished. It’s part of a disputed redevelopment plan harshly criticized by environmentalists. Ruth played in 1934 at the Meiji Jingu stadium on a barnstorming tour with other American stars that included Lou Gehrig, Lefty Gomez, and Jimmie Foxx. Ruth homered several times before 60,000 fans in games at the stadium. Only three other major ballparks remain where Ruth played: Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Koshien Stadium in Kobe, Japan. Wrigley and Fenway have been renovated, but plans to save Meiji Jingu have been dismissed by developers and politicians.

PGA Tour has 7 tournaments in the fall to secure full cards

The PGA Tour is offering seven tournaments in the fall with just over $56 million in prize money. Also at stake is a chance for some players to keep their full PGA Tour cards or qualify for two of the $20 million events next year. Missing from the fall schedule is Houston. That tournament is moving to the spring. Also missing is the CJ Cup in South Korea. That’s been played in Las Vegas and South Carolina the last three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It could take over as sponsor of the Byron Nelson. AT&T is ending its title sponsorship of the longtime Dallas-area event.