AP California

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brittney Griner stood for the national anthem before her first regular-season WNBA game since being jailed in Russia. Griner was outspoken for social justice in 2020 and didn’t take the court during the pregame anthem. But nearly a year behind bars in Russia changed her.

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mickey Moniak ended up coming through in center field for the Los Angeles Angels as Mike Trout had the night off. Moniak had three hits and made a game-saving catch at the wall in the seventh inning as Los Angeles rallied for a 5-4 victory

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points, rookie Zia Cooke added 14 and the Los Angeles Sparks defeated Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury 94-71 on Friday night in Griner’s first WNBA game since being jailed in Russia. Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in 25 minutes. She has

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rafael Devers homered twice and drove in four runs to help the Boston Red Sox beat San Diego 6-1 Friday night to hand the staggering Padres their 10th loss in 12 games. Devers and his friend and former teammate, Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts, took the

HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Tucker homered, José Altuve made his season debut and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory. Tucker hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning that landed deep in right where many fans wore metallic gold crowns in honor of “King Tuck.”

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brittney Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots Friday night in her first WNBA regular-season game since being jailed in Russia. Her Phoenix Mercury lost to the Los Angeles Sparks 94-71 in the teams’ opener. Griner made an immediate impact. She fired

NEW YORK (AP) — Gustavo Dudamel and the New York Philharmonic received a seven-minute standing ovation Friday night following his first performance with the orchestra since he agreed to become music director. Dudamel conducted a performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony at David Geffen Hall, a program he is scheduled to repeat on Saturday night and

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The former chief lobbyist for the San Francisco 49ers has testified that a Silicon Valley city councilman illegally leaked a confidential report criticizing the team’s political influence, it was reported Friday. Rahul Chandhok told a criminal grand jury March 21 that Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker digitally sent him the

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened her pregame comments without announcing how many days Brittney Griner had been jailed in Russia. Griner has been free s6-ince December when she was part of a high-profile prisoner swap. She hit the

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Forget defending his PGA Championship title. Justin Thomas had to scramble on his final hole to simply make the cut at Oak Hill on Friday. Two former PGA champions, Jason Day and Jimmy Walker, are out. So is Talor Gooch, whose failure to make the

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego State University says an internal investigation found no wrongdoing by former punter Matt Araiza in an alleged gang rape at an off-campus party in October 2021. “There are no findings against Matt Araiza,” the school said in a statement to Yahoo Sports on Thursday evening. The school also said

By SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers blocked two big environmental bills Thursday: One that would have ramped up the state’s emissions targets, and another that would have made oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells. They are among the hundreds

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres slugger Manny Machado was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday because of a hairline fracture in his left hand. Machado was hit by a pitch Monday night. The move was backdated to Tuesday and manager Bob Melvin said there’s a possibility Machado can return when the Padres

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — At least 19 inmates were left with minor injuries after a car ran a red light and crashed into a bus Friday morning in downtown Sacramento, authorities said. The car crashed a few blocks away from Sacramento County Main Jail, the Sacramento Fire Department said in a tweet showing damage to

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although the Los Angeles Lakers’ late-season transformation is one of this NBA season’s best stories, LeBron James and his teammates finally appear to be running out of steam in the Western Conference finals. They’ve also finally run into an opponent capable of making sure this

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California athletic director Mike Bohn has resigned. USC confirmed the 62-year-old Bohn’s resignation Friday, roughly 3 1/2 years after he succeeded Lynn Swann in the high-profile job. The Trojans’ athletic department experienced a surge of success during Bohn’s tenure, and the school also made