Sports

Deciphering the reasons behind Shedeur Sanders’ stunning free fall in the NFL draft

It’s not often that the 144th overall pick is the biggest story of the NFL draft. In a three-day spectacle of cringe that will live in football lore for a long time, University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders fell from a potential top-five overall selection on Thursday to the fifth round on Saturday in an excruciating slide that had his supporters fuming and detractors laughing. The Cleveland Browns finally ended Sanders’ misery with the No. 144 selection. In this analysis, The Associated Press examines some of the potential reasons for Sanders’ free fall, using the quarterback’s own words, his father’s comments, the analysis of pundits and his on-the-field performance.

Bucks confirm Damian Lillard has a torn left Achilles tendon

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard has a torn left Achilles tendon that will knock him out for the rest of this postseason. This type of injury also could put his status for next season in doubt as well. Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals and ended up missing the entire 2019-20 season. The Bucks had been bracing for this outcome after their 129-103 Game 4 loss to the Pacers. Milwaukee trails Indiana 3-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Game 5 is Tuesday at Indianapolis.

Commanders and Washington agree to a deal to build at RFK Stadium site, a nearly $4 billion project

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington’s NFL franchise is set to return to the nation’s capital. Mayor Muriel Bowser says the District of Columbia and the Commanders reached an agreement to construct a new home for the football team in the city on the site of the old RFK Stadium. The project will cost the team and city nearly $4 billion, with the Commanders paying $2.7 billion. Commanders ownership has been considering places in Washington, Maryland and Virginia since buying the team from Dan Snyder in 2022. Washington has played in Landover, Maryland, since moving there in 1997.

Rob Manfred says he discussed Pete Rose’s status with Donald Trump and will rule on reinstatement

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he discussed Pete Rose with President Donald Trump at a meeting two weeks ago and he plans to rule on a request to end the sport’s permanent ban of the career hits leader, who died in September. Speaking at a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred said he and Trump have discussed several issues, including Manfred’s concerns over how Trump’s immigration policies could impact players from Cuba, Venezuela and other foreign countries. Manfred is considering a petition to have Rose posthumously removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list.

Penguins split with two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Mike Sullivan

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Sullivan’s nearly decade-long tenure running the Pittsburgh Penguins is over. The team announced Monday that it was parting ways with the two-time Stanley Cup winning coach just over a week after the Penguins missed out on the playoffs for a third straight season. Sullivan’s 409 wins with Pittsburgh are a franchise record. He led the Penguins to back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017 and had two more years left on his contract. Sullivan said recently that he wanted to remain with the club as it tries to retool around future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby. Instead, general manager Kyle Dubas said “we felt it was the best course forward for all involved” to move on.

Tennis players in the dark as matches at Madrid Open suspended because of major power outage

MADRID (AP) — Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament has been suspended because of a major power outage reported in Spain and Portugal. The ATP Tour says two singles matches and one doubles match were underway when power was lost at 12:34 p.m. local time. It adds that “the cut is preventing the use of electronic line calling systems and also left a spider cam dangling over the court inside Manolo Santana Stadium.” Grigor Dimitrov was leading Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 5-4 inside the main stadium when play was stopped. There were also women’s matches scheduled. The tournament said later that “in order to guarantee general safety” all of the day’s matches were postponed.

Andersen’s status could put spotlight on Kochetkov for Hurricanes’ clinching shot against Devils

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have some uncertainty in net as they try to clinch their first-round playoff series against the New Jersey Devils. Starter Frederik Andersen was knocked from Sunday’s Game 4 win on a hit by Timo Meier. Coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday that Andersen was still being evaluated for an unspecified injury. The Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs are both leading their first-round series by 3-1 counts and can become the first teams to advance with Tuesday wins. The Leafs host Ottawa. The schedule also includes Game 5 for the Edmonton-Los Angeles and Minnesota-Vegas series that are tied.

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese’s return to college for WNBA preseason games to be shown on national TV

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s return to college for WNBA preseason games will be two of a record four exhibition games shown on national TV. Clark will head back to Iowa for an exhibition between her Indiana Fever and the Brazilian national team on Sunday, a game airing on ESPN. The Fever’s game against the Washington Mystics a day earlier will be on NBA TV. Reese will lead the Chicago Sky back to her alma mater, LSU, on Friday to face the Brazilian team. Sky teammate Kamilla Cardoso played for that Brazilian team in February 2024, trying to help it qualify for the Olympics. That game will be part of a doubleheader on ION. The other game is Dallas playing Las Vegas at Notre Dame.

Champions League semifinals: Barcelona-Inter revives memories of 2010 epic and Arsenal hosts PSG

The Champions League semifinals begin this week with the first legs. It’s Arsenal vs. Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday and Barcelona vs. Inter Milan on Wednesday. The Barcelona-Inter Milan game revives memories of their epic semifinal in the Champions League in 2010. Inter was protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg and delivered a defensive masterclass under coach Jose Mourinho to survive with 10 men for more than an hour and lose just 1-0 against Pep Guardiola’s Barca to progress to the title match. Neither Arsenal nor PSG has won the Champions League before.

Converted reliever Clay Holmes has been a key addition to the Mets’ surprisingly effective rotation

Clay Holmes has made the transition from closer to starter look easy. He’s 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in six outings. That’s helped the New York Mets surge to baseball’s best record despite injuries elsewhere in the rotation and a pedestrian start by Juan Soto. Soto is batting .248 with three home runs, and he’s not the only high-priced addition to the Mets who hasn’t peaked yet. Frankie Montas hasn’t thrown a pitch, and reliever A.J. Minter just joined him on the injured list. New York boasts a major league-best 2.36 ERA from its starters despite injuries to Montas and Sean Manaea.