AP Sports

Travis Hunter already has coaches and executives convinced he can be two-way player in NFL

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Travis Hunter arrived at the NFL’s annual scouting combine with a Heisman Trophy resume, an invitation to work out at two positions and ready to answer any and all questions. The former Colorado star already has convinced coaches and general managers of one thing — he can be the league’s first true two-way player in decades. Perhaps even a three-way player. All he has to do now is prove that he can handle the snap counts as smoothly as he did in college, and he could get his chance on Sundays.

Dolphins and Vikings finish 1-2 in NFLPA report cards for the second straight year

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Miami Dolphins are the top-ranked team, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, for the second consecutive season in the NFL Players Association report card. The Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers round out the top five in the third annual NLPA report card released Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine. The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals were the bottom five. JC Tretter, the NFLPA’s chief strategy officer, said 1,695 players responded to the survey, an average of 52 players per team and 77% of the union’s membership. The report cards were compiled between Aug. 26 and Nov. 20.

Defensive end Abdul Carter says he’s the best player in NFL 2025 draft class

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pass rusher Abdul Carter says he should be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. Carter made his comments Wednesday at the NFL’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis, the first day prospects spoke with reporters. The former Penn State star is likely to be the first or second defensive player selected in April’s draft. But he’s got competition to go No. 1. Quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are clearly in the mix as is Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, who is listed as a cornerback but could play receiver too — as he did at Colorado.

New Orleans Privateers players’ suspensions related to possible NCAA violations, AP source says

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Four New Orleans players who’ve been suspended since late January are under investigation for possible NCAA violations related to sports gambling, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because the university’s only public statement about the matter has described the reasons for the suspensions as an unspecified violation of team rules. James White, Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent have not played since the Privateers’ loss to Incarnate Word on Jan. 27. The revelations at New Orleans come after Fresno State suspended two men’s basketball players on Saturday and removed a third from the team amid reports the program is the subject of gambling investigations.

Matildas condemn misogynistic comments by radio host about Australian women’s soccer team

SYDNEY (AP) — The Matildas have joined in the heavy criticism of a commercial radio host’s misogynistic and crass comments about Australia’s national women’s soccer team. The host has since been taken off-air. The Matildas, coming off losses to Japan and the United States in the SheBelieves Cup, were the subject of a bizarre and offensive rant by comedian and host Marty Sheargold on his Triple M radio program this week. Among other things, he described the players as high schoolers with “all the infighting and all the friendship issues” and asked his co-hosts if they had “any men’s sports” to talk about.

Lando Norris is fastest and Lewis Hamilton 13th as a power cut disrupts F1 testing

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Lando Norris was fastest and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton 13th as Formula 1 teams had to deal with a power outage that disrupted preseason testing. In an early sign favoring Norris’ bid to beat defending champion Max Verstappen, the McLaren driver was fastest by .157 seconds from Mercedes’ George Russell. Verstappen was third-fastest and Hamilton’s new Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc fourth. The afternoon session was suspended for around an hour because of a power cut which plunged pit lane garages into darkness and disabled some floodlights around the track.

No. 8 UNC, No. 9 NC State, No. 16 Duke vying to give state’s ‘Triangle’ region 3 NCAA host sites

No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 N.C. State and No. 16 Duke are all within reach of hosting NCAA Tournament opening-weekend games together. That hasn’t happened since 1998. All three teams in North Carolina’s “Triangle” region are located within a 30-minute drive of one another. They all made the cut to host in the NCAA selection committee’s preliminary list of the top-16 overall seeds earlier this month. The committee updates that list Thursday night shortly before the Tar Heels visit the Blue Devils in that rivalry game.

Japanese forward ‘King Kazu’ turns 58 and prepares for his 40th season in professional soccer

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura has turned 58. That’s one milestone. But the more important one is that he’s set to start his 40th season in professional soccer. He’s the oldest player in the Japanese Football League. He’s known as “King Kazu” and plays for Japanese fourth-division team Suzuka. He’s on loan from second-division club Yokohama. Suzuka was set to begin training this week with the season to open next month. Miura has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Santos in Brazil, a club made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.

Palou, Pato, Newgarden and Fox: IndyCar starts season with big stars, big hopes and new TV partner

IndyCar enters a new era with broadcast partner Fox Sports, which takes over the television rights after the series spent 16 years with NBC Sports. The season starts Sunday in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Fox has heavily promoted the season in a marketing boost IndyCar needs. Alex Palou is the two-time reigning IndyCar champion and Josef Newgarden is the defending two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward are among the many drivers trying to dethrone them.

Rae Burrell and Dearica Hamby hope time together on Unrivaled team will carry over to LA Sparks

Los Angeles Sparks teammates Rae Burrell and Dearica Hamby are getting the chance to further build their chemistry on and off the court this offseason as they play together at Unrivaled. It was evident on the court the other night when the pair combined to score all the points in the fourth quarter of Team Vinyl’s win over Team Mist. Burrell scored the final nine, including the game-winner on an assist from Hamby. The Vinyl pair are two of four Sparks players competing in the new league. Azura Stevens and Rickea Jackson are also part of the Miami based basketball league.