AP National Sports

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Darwin Núñez has scored late as Benfica defeated Ajax 1-0 to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in six years. The result ends the Dutch team’s great run in the European competition. Núñez found the net with a 77th-minute header off a free kick from the right side to

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — This is the seventh season for Karl-Anthony Towns with the Minnesota Timberwolves. His status has long been established as the franchise player for a long-languishing organization. Towns says he’s feeling fully appreciated by his team for the first time in his career. The connection between comfort

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United has been knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid to confirm the team’s fifth season without a trophy. The last path to a title was ended at an Old Trafford with a 1-0 loss after Renan Lodi headed in Antoine

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Coaching longevity is a rarity in college basketball’s top tier. Only 18 of the 75 coaches at schools in the Power 5 and Big East conferences have been at their current programs for at least 10 years. Ed Cooley has 11 seasons at No. 13

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen was simultaneously celebrating his daughter’s birthday and contemplating his future in the NFL when he got a phone call from Tom Brady, who was about to announce he was returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jensen was already leaning toward

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has hired Milan Bolden-Morris to be the first female graduate assistant football coach in the Big Ten. The former college basketball player, who started for Georgetown this past season, will start June 1 and work with quarterbacks. Graduate assistants usually receive a stipend and have their tuition covered by

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Legislation introduced in the California Legislature would force Major League Baseball to limit minor league contracts to four seasons and would allow those players to profit off name, image and likeness rights. State Sen. Josh Becker introduced a Minor League Baseball Players’ Bill of Rights and said Advocates for Minor Leaguers

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The big league spring training games begin soon. The actual big league players who usually compete in them might not be around for a little bit longer. The Arizona Diamondbacks are among eight teams that have their first game Thursday when they play the Colorado

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A jury has heard a gunshot-filled 911 call placed by former NBA player Lorenzen Wright on the night he was killed. The phone call was played Tuesday during a prosecutor’s opening statements in the trial of Billy Ray Turner, who is accused of conspiring with Wright’s

By ROB HARRIS and HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writers Wimbledon organizers are having conversations with the British government about whether Russian tennis players should be allowed to compete at the tournament if they don’t distance themselves from President Vladimir Putin over his country’s invasion of Ukraine. British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said Tuesday in London

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Pro Football Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have released veteran cornerback Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins after one season to clear approximately $6.9 million in salary cap space before the start of the new league year. The Titans announced the move Tuesday along with a multiyear extension for center

By RICH DUBROFF Associated Press SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Cedric Mullins’ outstanding 2021 statistics for the Baltimore Orioles appear even more impressive after learning of the offseason surgery he had to overcome. Mullins underwent intestinal surgery in November 2020 after a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. He only shared the news with Baltimore’s front office and

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Jets opened the second day of the NFL’s legal tampering period by addressing their shaky secondary. Former Seattle Seahawks cornerback D.J. Reed and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead agreed to terms on deals with the Jets on Tuesday.

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Tommy Lloyd has taken the lessons he learned in 22 years as an assistant at Gonzaga to fuel No. 2 Arizona’s accelerated ascension in his first year as a head coach. The Wildcats won 31 games this season to sweep the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament

By JAKE SEINER AP Baseball Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees star Aaron Judge refused to directly answer a question about his vaccine status Tuesday amid a requirement in New York City that every private sector employee be inoculated against the coronavirus. Just like Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, unvaccinated players on the Yankees and

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have finalized a $4 million, one-year contract with slick-fielding shortstop Andrelton Simmons. A native of Curacao who was drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Braves in 2010, Simmons had his best overall season in 2017 when he batted .278 with 14 home runs, 69 RBIs, 38

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals have re-signed defensive tackle B.J. Hill to a three-year, $30 contract. Hill was a critical player on the Bengals’ defensive line during their run to the Super Bowl last season, especially after the injury to Larry Ogunjobi. The 26-year-old Hill came to Cincinnati last August via a trade with