AP National Sports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are going green starting with next month’s Indianapolis 500. The initiatives include debuting a new natural rubber tire during the annual Carb Day pit stop challenge; using the tire for the first time in competition in August; transporting all tires to the speedway by electric

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots were one of the biggest spenders in free agency during the 2020 offseason, uncharacteristically giving big-money deals to beef up holes on both sides of the ball. Because of it, they entered this offseason with a much tighter grip on the wallet. It

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets have fired coach James Borrego after blowout losses in back-to-back years in the play-in tournament. Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Mitch Kupchak made the announcement on Friday. Kupchak says the team will begin a search for a new coach

IMOLA, Italy (AP) — Formula One champion Max Verstappen has earned his first pole position of the season after an incident-packed qualifying session for the sprint race at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. There were five red flags in qualifying on a rain-sodden day at Imola. The last red flag cut qualifying short with Verstappen edging

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton hopes two weeks is all he needs to recover from his sprained left knee and get back to helping his team repeat as NBA champion. The three-time All-Star is eyeing a return in the Eastern Conference semifinals, assuming the Bucks gets

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets have fired coach James Borrego. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press Friday about the move. the person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not publicly announced the move. The 44-year-old Borrego was

ISTANBUL (AP) — Defending champion Sorana Cirstea has advanced to the semifinals at the clay-court Istanbul Championship by defeating Julia Grabher of Austria 7-5, 6-1. Cirstea last year ended a 13-year wait for her second career singles title when she upset Elise Mertens in the final. She will next play third-seeded Veronika Kudermetova, who outlasted

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Baseball’s Hall of Fame is restructuring its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years. The Hall says it is revamping the panels into the Contemporary Baseball Era from 1980 on and Classic Baseball Era for before 1980. The Contemporary Baseball Era will hold a separate ballot for players and

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Andrey Rublev and Fabio Fognini will face off in the Serbia Open semifinals after they each picked up wins in Friday’s quarterfinals. Rublev held serve throughout as he swept aside Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-3 for his 21st win of 2022. Fognini went 5-2 down in the first set against Oscar Otte

LONDON (AP) — The mood was light and so was Tyson Fury who weighed-in for his WBC heavyweight title defense against Dillian Whyte 12 pounds or more than five kilograms lighter than his last fight. Fury weighed 264.8 pounds, also 120 kilograms, on Friday a day before the all-British bout at Wembley Stadium. Whyte tipped

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin has boasted one of the nation’s stingiest defenses virtually every season since Jim Leonhard took over as coordinator in 2017. Leonhard faces perhaps his biggest test in maintaining that standard this year. Wisconsin must replace eight of the top 10 tacklers from a defense

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas has beaten Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the Barcelona Open quarterfinals. Organizers have slotted in the third round and quarterfinals on Friday to make up for lost playing time this week due to rain delays. That means after a short break Tsitsipas will face local favorite

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Patrick Baldwin Jr. has announced he is entering the NBA draft. The move comes several weeks after his father was fired as Milwaukee coach. Baldwin announced his decision in a social media post. The 6-foot-9 Baldwin is a former top-10 recruit who chose Milwaukee for the opportunity to play for his father,