AP National Sports

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Broadcast television networks, inundated with competition from cable and streaming services, have learned the power of franchises. Last week’s Nielsen company list is a stark reminder: 12 of the 20 most popular scripted series last week were parts of existing franchises — the three “Chicago”

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press A bill to keep transgender women and girls in Louisiana from competing on college and K-12 women’s and girls’ athletic teams has been approved by the state House. Tuesday’s vote in Baton Rouge puts it closer to the desk of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who vetoed similar legislation last

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Three huge matchups to kick off the college football season, the XFL, a new Australian Open agreement and two new “30 for 30” documentaries were announced Tuesday by ESPN as part of its presentation to advertisers in New York. The five-year agreement with the XFL concluded the presentation. It

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves started his historic quest just the way he’d hoped — in a “perfect” car. The Brazilian wasn’t sure how last year’s winning car would respond after he slammed into the outside wall during last month’s testing on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler has earned the right to strut onto the first tee at Southern Hills and puff out his chest, an unintended yet unmistakable consequence of winning the Masters, ripping off three more victories and rising to No. 1 in the world. Except, well, ahem

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Rick Bowness isn’t ready to be done coaching after more than 2,500 NHL games. He is at the end of his contract with the Dallas Stars. It’s still unclear if the 67-year-old Bowness will return for another season in Dallas. General manager Jim Nill says

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although the Los Angeles Dodgers keep falling behind early, they’ve had enough power lately to make sure they don’t stay there. Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Justin Turner homered in a five-run sixth inning, and the Dodgers outlasted the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 Tuesday to begin

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Boston will be without two starters for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, with Al Horford entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols and Marcus Smart unable to play because of a mid-foot sprain. The Celtics announced those updates about three hours before the series

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Phil Mickelson isn’t even at Southern Hills and he’s still the talk of Tulsa. Hardly a player could escape the microphone Tuesday without addressing Mickelson’s decision to skip the PGA Championship after his incendiary comments about a Saudi-funded rival league he supports in conflict with

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Nottingham Forest will play Huddersfield for a place in the Premier League after reaching the Championship playoff final thanks to a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Sheffield United. Forest lost the second leg 2-1 after extra time, making it 3-3 on aggregate, but won 3-2 on penalties at the City Ground

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract with the 18th pick overall in wide receiver Treylon Burks. The Titans did not announce details of the contract Tuesday. They now have five of their nine draft picks under contract. They drafted Burks using the 18th selection following a

NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher J.C. Mejía has been suspended for 80 games following a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance. He’s the second Brewers player disciplined this season under Major League Baseball’s drug program. A 25-year-old right-hander acquired from Cleveland in November, Mejía had a 23.14 ERA during a pair of relief

SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Liverpool took the Premier League title race with Manchester City to the final round of the season after coming from behind again to beat Southampton 2-1. Joel Matip completed Liverpool’s latest comeback by unwittingly heading home the winning goal in the 67th minute to leave Jurgen Klopp’s team a point behind

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Baltimore Orioles pitcher Matt Harvey was suspended for 60 games by Major League Baseball on Tuesday for distributing a prohibited drug of abuse, a punishment stemming from his admission of providing opioids to a teammate who fatally overdosed. The former New York Mets star also

EMPOLI, Italy (AP) — Ukraine’s national soccer team won its second straight friendly match by beating Italian Serie A club Empoli 3-1. The Ukraine players wore shirts that read “United for Ukraine” on the front, and the numbers on the back were composed of the names of the country’s cities that have been under attack

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer BALTIMORE (AP) — Graham Motion always wondered what it would be like to show up at the Preakness with the Kentucky Derby winner, and when that happened in 2011 with Animal Kingdom it was all he was hoping for and then some. “Nobody else can win the Triple Crown,”