AP Sports

Aaron Donald announces his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Rams

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Defensive lineman Aaron Donald has announced his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Los Angeles Rams. The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made his surprising announcement on social media. Donald spent his entire career with the Rams, who drafted him in the first round in 2014. He was selected for 10 Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro first teams, and he won the award as the league’s top defensive player in 2017, 2018 and 2020. He was the cornerstone of every Rams defense during his career, drawing habitual double-teams away from his teammates and still racking up 111 total sacks.

Baseball superstar Ohtani and his wife arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB opener

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and his wife have arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates ahead of their season-opening Major League Baseball games against the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon international airport west of Seoul. His wife Mamiko Tanaka walked behind him. Before departing for South Korea, Ohtani revealed the identify of his wife by posting a photo of him and Tanaka, an ex-professional basketball player, on his Instagram account.

Michigan fires Juwan Howard, the former Fab Five star, after five seasons coaching men’s basketball

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has fired coach Juwan Howard after five seasons. The former Fab Five star returned to his alma mater and took the team to the NCAA Tournament twice before a concerning drop the past two seasons. Howard finished with an 82-67 overall record at Michigan. His team was just 8-24 this season after an 18-16 effort last year that earned the Wolverines an NIT bid. He was the Associated Press coach of the year in 2021.

Conferences and Notre Dame agree on 6-year deal to continue College Football Playoff through 2031

The nine Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame have reached an agreement on a six-year deal to continue the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season. The move establishes a revenue-sharing plan and allows the CFP to finalize a new media rights agreement. Executive Director Bill Hancock says the agreement doesn’t lock in a format for the CFP for 2026 and beyond. The playoff is expanding this season from four teams to 12, but that number could grow after the current contract with ESPN expires after the 2025 season. The new deal guarantees playoff access for at least five conferences through 2031.

Analysis: Eagles, Bucs, Packers and Commanders earn highest free agency grades; Cowboys get only F

NFL teams have spent hundreds of millions of dollars this week to add new players, re-sign their own and try to improve their chances of winning. From Kirk Cousins and Saquon Barkley changing teams soon after the league’s tampering window opened to Chris Jones and Mike Evans staying put before hitting the open market, it’s been a wild spending spree. The grades are in and the Eagles, Buccaneers, Packers and Commanders get the highest scores. The Cowboys are the only failure.

No. 3 Purdue hangs on to beat Michigan State 67-62 in Big Ten quarterfinals

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Zach Edey had 29 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for third-ranked Purdue as the Boilermakers recovered from a blown 12-point lead to beat Michigan State 67-62 in a hard-nosed quarterfinal game in the Big Ten Tournament. Lance Jones added 10 points for the Boilermakers, who improved to 29-3. They advanced to play the Wisconsin-Northwestern winner in the semifinals. Tyson Walker had 15 points, Malik Hall pitched in 12 points and Tre Holloman scored 10 points for the Spartans. They fell short in head coach Tom Izzo’s 1,000th game on the bench.

Steelers trade Kenny Pickett to the Eagles after signing Russell Wilson, sources tell the AP

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The brief and tumultuous Kenny Pickett era in Pittsburgh is over. The Steelers are trading the quarterback to the Philadelphia Eagles, multiple sources told The Associated Press. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not official. Pittsburgh will receive a third-round pick in this year’s NFL draft and two seventh-round choices in the 2025 draft in exchange for Pickett and Pittsburgh’s fourth-round pick this year. The move comes just hours after the Steelers signed nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson to a one-year deal.

NFL is reviewing whether Eagles and Falcons violated tampering policies

The NFL is reviewing whether the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles violated tampering policies during the legal tampering window, a league spokesman said Thursday. The Falcons agreed to a contract with four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins shortly after teams were permitted to start negotiating with unrestricted free agents on Monday. The Eagles quickly struck a deal with two-time Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley soon after the negotiation period opened at 12 p.m. EDT. Teams are permitted to talk directly with agents during the 52-hour negotiating window, but can’t speak to the player unless he has no agent and represents himself.

Pro Women’s Hockey League explores new markets with neutral site games in Detroit and Pittsburgh

The Professional Women’s Hockey League has no designs on expanding its six-team base for the foreseeable future. That isn’t stopping the first-year league from exploring potential markets by holding neutral site games in Detroit and Pittsburgh this weekend. And league executives promise there will be more neutral site games on the schedule in Season 2. The game in Detroit between Boston and Ottawa on Saturday has shed light on the state’s two major schools, Michigan and Michigan State, lacking women’s hockey varsity programs. Toronto and Montreal face off in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Bees cause a buzz and lengthy disruption at Indian Wells tennis during Alcaraz vs Zverev match

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — A swarm of bees forced a nearly two-hour disruption to the quarterfinal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev at the BNP Paribas Open. The match was suspended 19 minutes in with Alcaraz serving tied at 1-1. Alcaraz eventually won 6-3, 6-1. Dozens of bees attached themselves to the overhead spider camera that traverses the court and a man without any protective covering used a vacuum to clean them off. Alcaraz swatted at the bees buzzing around him before running for cover. A worker without protective covering used a vacuum to clean the bees off an overhead camera and then sprayed the seating area and walls of the court.