AP Sports

Celtics look to pull off the impossible, as Heat stand on brink of making NBA Finals

MIAMI (AP) — Blown out in Game 3, facing elimination in Game 4, tasked with engineering the sort of comeback that no team in their league has ever pulled off before. This may sound familiar to Boston fans. Yes, what the Red Sox did to the New York Yankees in 2004 was discussed around the Boston Celtics on Monday. A day after a debacle in Miami to fall into a 3-0 deficit in these Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics will try to extend the series and at least delay a Heat celebration in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

Nuggets shaking off team history, staking claim for first NBA title

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Denver Nuggets played with disruption on their minds in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. Everybody on that tight-knit bench Monday night seemed to know their team had never reached the NBA Finals, had never swept a playoff opponent and had never beaten the Los Angeles Lakers in a postseason series. After Nikola Jokic conjured his latest triple-double playoff masterpiece and Gordon blocked LeBron James’ shot at the buzzer, the Nuggets had torn up their franchise’s history with a clinching 113-111 victory. This often-overlooked franchise will be favored to win its first championship when the Nuggets get back on the court in nine days.

LeBron posts historic first half, questions future after Lakers eliminated

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James began the final game of his 20th NBA season with the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless NBA career. He ended it by questioning how much longer he plans to chase history after his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals. James set a personal record with 31 points in the first half of Game 4, but the Denver Nuggets ended the Lakers’ season with a 113-111 victory. The 38-year-old James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and immense frustration after Los Angeles’ remarkable late-season rally ended with four consecutive defeats.

7 people arrested in Spain linked to racial abuse cases against Vinícius Júnior

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police say they have arrested seven people accused of racially abusing Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior. Three have been arrested in Valencia for alleged abuse against Vinícius in a Spanish league match on Sunday. Four were arrested in Madrid for allegedly hanging an effigy of the player off a highway bridge in January. The effigy was hanged by the neck on the morning of a derby match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Along with it was a banner with the words “Madrid hates Real.”

All eyes on rookie QBs and Aaron Rodgers as NFL teams kick off practices

Rookie quarterbacks will get much of the attention this week when most NFL teams hit the field for non-contact practices. Twenty teams kicked off their voluntary organized team activities on Monday and 10 more will do so on Tuesday. Only the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the AFC runner-up Cincinnati Bengals aren’t holding workouts this week. Teams are allowed, per the collective bargaining agreement, to hold 10 days of practices without pads and no live contact over a four-week span. They can run 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.

NFL approves limited flexible scheduling for Thursday night games

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — NFL owners have approved a flexible scheduling policy for Thursday night games on Amazon Prime Video. The rule covers Weeks 13-17, and teams would have their games moved only with at least 28 days’ notice. The league could push a Thursday night matchup in that range to Sunday afternoon if there is a more desirable game. The mechanism is currently in place for Sunday night and Monday night games. The flexible scheduling for Thursday night games was approved on a trial basis for 2023 only. Owners also approved at their spring meetings a rule allowing teams to play an emergency quarterback from the inactive list if the first two are injured during a game.

Bobrovsky gets shutout, Panthers top Hurricanes 1-0 for 3-0 lead in East final

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for his first career playoff shutout, Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and the Florida Panthers moved one win away from a most improbable trip to the Stanley Cup Final by blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett had the assists on Reinhart’s goal for Florida, which now leads the Eastern Conference final 3-0. The Panthers haven’t played for the Stanley Cup since 1996, but can clinch a trip to the title round with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday.

Golden Knights keep rallying, lead Stars 2-0 with NHL West final moving to Dallas

DALLAS (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights certainly know how to rally when they’ve fallen behind in these NHL playoffs. The Knights have trailed in 11 of their 13 games this postseason, including 10 times when the opposing team scored first. But they have a 2-0 series lead over the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Dallas. The Stars scored first in both games at Vegas before losing in overtime. Vegas has eight comeback victories this postseason. That includes their last four games to match an NHL record for the longest streak.

A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper let go after racial slur on air

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper was let go by NBC Sports California after using a racial slur during a telecast while describing a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Kuiper was suspended by the network earlier this month following his slur that aired during a pregame segment of an A’s game against the Kansas City Royals on May 5. Kuiper talked about a trip to the museum with colleague Dallas Braden but seemingly mispronounced the word “Negro,” making it sound instead like a slur. NBC Sports California says after an internal review that the network decided to “end its relationship” with Kuiper.

Sherpa guide Kami Rita scales Mount Everest for a record 28th time

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita has scaled Mount Everest for the 28th time, beating his own record less than a week after setting it. Two guides have been competing with each other for the title of most climbs of the world’s highest peak. Expedition organizer Seven Summits Treks says Kami Rita reached the 29,032-foot summit at 9:20 a.m. Tuesday. His latest climb comes a day after fellow Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa matched his record of 27 trips to the summit. The race for the title began with Pasang Dawa climbing the peak for the 26th time on May 14, equaling Kami Rita’s previous record. Kami Rita went on to the peak three days later for the 27th time.