AP Sports

NFL teams often misfire on drafting QBs. But how often do they fail? And why?

NFL teams are using premium draft picks on quarterbacks at an increasingly high rate. The draft this weekend is slated to be the eighth in the past nine years with at least three QBs taken in the first round. That will match the number of times that happened in the first 38 years of the common draft era. But finding a capable starter is still essentially a coin-flip proposition. Half of the first round QBs from 2011 until 2022 left their original teams without reaching the relatively low bar of receiving a second contract.

Jets trade quarterback Zach Wilson to the Broncos, AP source says

A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press the New York Jets have traded quarterback Zach Wilson to the Denver Broncos. The Jets are sending Wilson and a seventh-round pick in this week’s draft to the Broncos for a sixth-rounder, the person said. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the teams haven’t announced the deal. NFL Network first reported the trade in which the Jets are parting ways with Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, after just three disappointing seasons. New York is also expected to pay a portion of Wilson’s $5.5 million salary for this season.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone is ejected 5 pitches into game vs. Athletics

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected by Hunter Wendelstedt five pitches into a game against the Oakland Athletics over a remark from a fan behind the dugout aimed at the plate umpire. Esteury Ruiz was hit on the back foot by a Carlos Rodón slider leading off the game. Standing on the dugout steps, Boone raised his hands, questioning whether Ruiz swung at the pitch. First base umpire John Tumpane determined Ruiz did not. After the first pitch to Tyler Nevin, Wendelstedt could be heard by a YES Network microphone yelling at Boone, then ejected the manager after a fan behind the dugout yelled at the umpire.

Caitlin Clark’s early play in WNBA will be her tryout for a roster spot on US Olympic women’s team

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Caitlin Clark will have the start of her WNBA career to show the U.S. women’s basketball selection committee whether she deserves a spot on the Paris Olympic roster. Clark couldn’t attend the U.S. training camp this month in Cleveland during the Final Four because she was still playing with Iowa. Attending the camp wasn’t mandatory to make the team, but it certainly would have helped the NCAA all-time scoring leader show the selection committee whether she can hold her own against some of the best players in the world. The U.S. isn’t expected to name its roster for the Paris Games before June 1.

NASCAR revels in an M.J. moment. His Airness gives a big boost to his posthoops passion

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — Michael Jordan’s new life suddenly seems just as satisfying as his old one. This felt a whole lot like M.J. knocking down a buzzer beater, winning the big game, celebrating like a champion. Of course, his title-winning days in the NBA are long behind him. But Jordan’s current passion is filling that competitive void. For the first time since he became a NASCAR Cup team owner, Jordan was at the track to savor a victory by one of his drivers. Tyler Reddick stole a victory at Talladega Superspeedway when front-runner Michael McDowell wound up crashing with the finish line in sight.

The culinary game at MLB ballparks has exploded in the past 20 years. Eating healthy is a challenge

PHOENIX (AP) — Danielle LaFata’s been around major sports ballparks and arenas for most of her adult life, so the nutritionist has one word of advice for those who want to eat healthy when attending a sporting event. Don’t. LaFata says her advice is simply practical and based on her own appetite. Over the past 20 years, the culinary game across the baseball landscape has exploded, with offerings like The Renegade in Pittsburgh, The 4 Bagger in Atlanta or a Polish Sausage topped with smoked brisket and spicy BBQ sauce in Chicago. LaFata said she likes to use an 80/20 rule when it comes to a diet, eating healthy 80% of the time while indulguing in some comfort food for the other 20%.

Matt Ryan calls it a career. The quarterback officially announces his retirement

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Matt Ryan has called it a career. Ryan officially announced his retirement as a player after putting up Hall of Fame-worthy numbers over his long career with the Atlanta Falcons but coming up shy of a Super Bowl championship. His decision to retire was not a surprise, given the quarterback had not played since a single disappointing season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022. He worked last season as an analyst for CBS. Ryan threw for 62,792 yards and 381 touchdowns over his 15-year career, spent mostly as the face of the Falcons during the most successful era in franchise history.

Scottie Scheffler finishes off another win at Hilton Head to extend dominant run

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler winning the RBC Heritage was inevitable. He returned to Harbour Town on Monday morning with a five-shot lead and three holes to play. Scheffler ended his streak of 68 holes at par or better with a meaningless bogey for a 68. That gives him a three-shot victory. He wins for the fourth time in his last five starts, which includes the Masters. Scheffler is the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win the Masters and the following week on the PGA Tour. There is no one close to him in the game at the moment.

For years, a Michigan company has been the top pick to quickly personalize draftees’ new NFL jerseys

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (AP) — Employees of the company tasked with rapidly personalizing jerseys for each first-round NFL draft pick as they are announced don’t need to travel very far for this year’s player selections in Detroit. STAHLS’ headquarters in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, is just 17 miles from the stage where NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will inform players that they have been selected by an NFL franchise. The STAHLS’ team has under two minutes to personalize each jersey backstage at the NFL Draft Theater. The draft gets underway Thursday. It marks the 13th year the company has worked behind-the-scenes at the draft.

Chinese generosity in lead-up to cleared doping tests reflects its growing influence on WADA

In the two years before the World Anti-Doping Agency cleared 23 Chinese swimmers of doping allegations, that country’s government contributed nearly $2 million in additional funding to WADA programs, including one designed to strengthen the agency’s investigations and intelligence unit. The Associated Press obtained confidential minutes from meetings of the WADA executive committee that lists China as having given $993,000 in 2018 and $992,000 in 2019, two years that coincided with one of its Olympians being elected as a vice president. There is no indication from the documents AP reviewed that the money was donated in expectation of a quid pro quo to gloss over positive drug tests.