AP Sports

NBA bans Jontay Porter after gambling probe shows he shared information, bet on games

The NBA has banned Toronto player Jontay Porter after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and bet on games. Porter, the league said, gave a bettor information about his own health status prior to Toronto’s game on March 20. The league said another individual, known to be an NBA bettor, placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million. Porter is the second person to be banned by Commissioner Adam Silver for violating league rules. The other was now-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014.

Stephen Curry tells the AP why 2024 is the right time to make his Olympic debut

Golden State guard Stephen Curry knew he was running out of chances to play in what would be his first Olympics, so he and his wife Ayesha started planning many months ago about how to make the Paris Games work for their family. Their growing family, that is. Ayesha Curry revealed in March that she is pregnant with the couple’s fourth child and the baby is due in June. That’s not entirely by accident; the couple thought ahead with hopes of keeping the Olympic months of July and August clear. Just in case. And USA Basketball made it official Wednesday, saying Curry is on the roster picked for the Paris Games.

Zion Williamson out for playoff play-in game vs. Kings; out 2 weeks if Pelicans advance

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson has been ruled out of the New Orleans Pelicans’ Western Conference play-in game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night because of a left hamstring injury. And Williamson is expected to miss up to two weeks should New Orleans advance to the NBA playoffs. Williamson’s status is the latest in a series of untimely injuries during his first five NBA seasons and removes the Pelicans leading scorer from their lineup for a do-or-die, play-in tournament finale that will decide the eighth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Williamson missed most of his first four seasons because of a series of injuries but played in 70 games this season.

Caitlin Clark looks like a natural as Indiana Fever introduce WNBA’s top draft pick

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark walked to the dais in Indianapolis and looked like a natural. The former Iowa star and No. 1 overall draft pick discussed the WNBA’s new television deal and the impact it could have on every player in the league. She talked about how she’d fit in with her new Indiana Fever teammates. She even explained the fear she had appearing on Saturday Night Live last weekend and teased Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton about playing at her rival school, Iowa State. But most of all, Clark talked about her desire to help the Fever win.

NCAA allows transfers to be immediately eligible, no matter how many times they’ve switched schools

NCAA athletes will be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer — as long as they meet academic requirements. The NCAA Division I Council’s move fast tracks legislation to fall in line with a recent court order. The council’s decision still needs approval from the D-I Board, which meets next week. The new rules would go into effect immediately, though in reality they have already been enacted through a lawsuit filed late last year by a coalition of states. A judge in West Virginia granted a temporary injunction that lifted restrictions on multiple-time transfers.

Korda chases fifth straight victory to tie LPGA record in Chevron Championship

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Nelly Korda hasn’t really considered her place in history as she prepares to chase her fifth consecutive victory, which would tie the LPGA record, this weekend at the Chevron Championship. “I’m so in the present that I don’t let myself think about that too much,” she said. “I feel like that just comes with a little bit more added pressure.” This tournament is the first of five women’s major championships this season where Korda will try to win her first major since the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2021 and join Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) as the only women to win five consecutive LPGA events. She’ll compete against a field which includes last year’s Chevron champion Lilia Vu, who captured her first major with the victory.

The Celtics have been the NBA’s most dominant team. Only a championship will make season complete

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics spent the regular season racking up superlatives and pulverizing opponents with one of the league’s most versatile rosters. Led by All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown they seamlessly integrated new additions Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, then became the only team to rack up 60 wins, beat 10 opponents by 30 or more points and clinched the East’s top playoff seed with 11 games to play. But for a franchise measured by championships, none of it will matter if it can’t also find a way to also add its 18th banner to the rafters at the Garden.

The sons of several former NFL stars are ready to carve their path into the league through the draft

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. wears his dad’s No. 54, plays the same position and celebrates sacks and big tackles with the same signature axe swing. Now, he’s ready to make a name for himself in the NFL. So are several other top prospects who play the same positions their fathers played in the league. Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, Frank Gore Jr., Brenden Rice, Luke McCaffrey, Kris Jenkins and Jonah Elliss are also turning this NFL draft into a family affair.

NHL has no appetite to expand playoffs beyond its 16-team tournament for the Stanley Cup

The NHL is the only major North American professional sports league that has not expanded its playoffs in recent years. It has no interest in doing so. The four-round, 16-team tournament for the Stanley Cup that begins Saturday is expected to remain in that format for the foreseeable future. Two-thirds of series over the past decade have gone to six or seven games compared to just over half for the NBA. The one thing that could alter the picture is if and when the NHL expands beyond 32 teams to 34 or beyond.

Who will win the NHL’s top awards this season? Here are AP’s predictions

Nathan MacKinnon seems to be the front-runner to be the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. But Colorado’s top center is far from a lock with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, three-time and reigning MVP Connor McDavid and Toronto 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews among the other top options. The Norris Trophy for the best defenseman is a three-way race between Colorado’s Cale Makar, Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and Nashville’s Roman Josi. And Connor Bedard is no shoo-in for the Calder as rookie of the year given the season Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber is having.