Sports

If you’ve gotten tired of watching curling, imagine how the athletes feel

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO (AP) — If you’ve gotten tired of watching curling, imagine how the athletes feel. By the end of the Milan Cortina Olympic Games, there will have been a total of 147 curling matches crammed into 18 days. In Cortina, curling began on Feb. 4, a full two days before the Opening Ceremonies. It ends Feb. 22, the last day of competition at the Games. Athletes coming off the ice say that this Olympics has left them worn out, physically and mentally. That reflects the near-constant competition schedule that has led to curling’s popular reputation as the Olympic sport that’s always on.

China’s Ning Zhongyan beats Jordan Stolz in speedskating’s 1,500 meters at the Olympics

MILAN (AP) — American speedskater Jordan Stolz’s bid for a third gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics has come up short with a loss to China’s Ning Zhongyan in the 1,500 meters. Ning won Thursday in an Olympic-record time of 1 minute, 41.98 seconds. Stolz, skating in the day’s last heat, finished 0.77 off the pace, and adds a silver to the golds he claimed earlier at these Winter Games in the 500 and 1,000. The 21-year-old from Wisconsin will participate in his last race, the mass start, on Saturday. Two-time 1,500 defending Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands got the bronze on Thursday.

Alysa Liu carries US medal hopes into concluding women’s free skate at the Milan Cortina Olympics

MILAN (AP) — Alysa Liu carries U.S. gold hopes as women’s figure skating heads into its final night at the Milan Cortina Games. On Tuesday, Japan’s Ami Nakai took the short program lead, with Kaori Sakamoto just a point behind. Their Japanese teammate Mone Chiba stayed close too, while Liu sits among that trio. The 20-year-old world champion has returned strong after a two-year retirement, and now Liu is chasing the first Olympic women’s gold medal for the U.S. since 2002. Adeliia Petrosian is the wildcard. The neutral athlete from Russia has the ability to land a quad jump and could upend the standings on Thursday night.

Hilary Knight-led Team USA faces Olympic gold-medal showdown against Canada in women’s hockey

MILAN (AP) — Captain Hilary Knight and the tournament favored U.S. women’s hockey team is going for gold in its seventh Olympic final matchup against rival Canada at the Milan Cortina Games. The Americans have romped through the field in winning all six games by a combined margin of 31-1, and haven’t allowed a goal since the second period of a tournament-opening 5-1 win over Czechia. The 36-year-old Knight has already announced these will be her USA Hockey record fifth and final Games. The defending Olympic champion Canadians have shown signs of age during a tournament in which they dropped a 5-0 preliminary round decision against the U.S., and eked into the final with a 2-1 win over Switzerland.

Without nationwide rules, South Carolina lawmakers move to keep college athlete payments secret

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina lawmakers have approved a bill to keep secret how much money teams and athletes are paid under new college sports rules. The state is poised to join Arkansas, Utah, Colorado and Kentucky, which already keep Name, Image and Likeness deals from the public. The push to do so came after a lawsuit prompted athletic directors from Clemson, South Carolina and other schools to ask for a new law. Gov. Henry McMaster says he supports transparency but will study the bill. Supporters say schools need secrecy to stay competitive. Critics say secrecy blocks oversight of public money and hurts athletes who want to know their market value.

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is expected to play against the Rockets a day after being in a car crash

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball is not listed on the team’s injury report and is expected to play Thursday night against the Houston Rockets, one day after being involved in a two-car crash in Charlotte. The Hornets have won 10 of their last 11 games. Ball appeared to be driving through an intersection when his camouflage-colored, custom-made Hummer collided with another vehicle Wednesday, according to video obtained by WSOC-TV in Charlotte. The station later posted video of Ball, wearing an aqua-colored Hornets hoodie, getting out of his truck and into another car before being driven away. Police were on the scene at the time.

Georgia is facing more reckless driving problems following the arrests of Cole and Ikinnagbon

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia linebackers Chris Cole and Darren Ikinnagbon have been arrested on misdemeanor charges of speeding and reckless driving. Ikinnagbon also was charged by Athens-Clarke County Police with following too closely. Georgia coach Kirby Smart addressed his frustration last season in trying to put an end to driving offenses by players. Georgia had three players leave the program following arrests on driving offenses last season. Cole ranked fourth on the team with 59 tackles and second with seven tackles for losses, including 4.5 sacks, as a sophomore last season. Ikinnagbon had two tackles as a freshman.

Kyle Busch won all the time until the checkered flags dried up. Can he find NASCAR success again?

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch was once the most dominant driver in NASCAR. He has 232 wins. That’s a NASCAR record across the three national series. But the last three seasons have been rough ones for Busch. He just lost his 21st straight Daytona 500. And that’s the longest active Daytona 500 losing streak in the series. He is also on a 94-race Cup Series losing streak. Busch is in a contract year and hopes to remind everyone that he can still hang on as a championship contender.

11 days that blew the Premier League title race wide open

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — On Feb. 7 Arsenal players walked off the field after a convincing 3-0 home win against Sunderland with their lead in the Premier League at nine points. Then things started to go wrong. By the time Arsenal next takes the field in Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham its advantage over second-placed Manchester City could be just two points. Over a bruising 11-day period what was beginning to look like a procession towards a first league title in 22 years is now far less certain. The momentum has shifted in the direction of City, which has very recent form for chasing down Arsenal in the final straight.

Kings’ Sabonis, LaVine out for rest of season after surgeries

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis and guard Zach LaVine will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgeries Wednesday. Sabonis, a three-time All-Star, averaged 15.8 points and a team-leading 11.4 rebounds in 19 games this season. He was used sparingly since suffering a meniscus tear in November, playing in seven of Sacramento’s final eight games in January and appearing in only one game in February. Sabonis, 29, had surgery in Los Angeles and will begin rehabilitation soon. The team said he will be re-evaluated prior to the start of training camp. LaVine had surgery to repair a tendon on his right pinky finger. The 30-year-old guard He averaged 19.2 points in 39 games.