AP National Sports

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has canceled the first week of spring training games through March 4 in the first public acknowledgement of the disruption caused by the lockout. The work stoppage was in its 79th day Friday, a day after economic talks between the management and

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer BEIJING (AP) — Finland has never won an Olympic gold medal in hockey. To break that drought, the Finns will have to beat the defending champion Russians — the team that, if you include all its various designations, has won as many Olympic titles in men’s hockey as anyone.

MIAMI (AP) — Mexico will play its March 24 World Cup qualifier against the United States at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, where the Americans have 12 losses and four draws in qualifying. The match will start at 8 p.m. local time, 10 p.m. Eastern. The United States hosts Panama three days later at Orlando, Florida,

By ROB HARRIS AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — Britain’s 4×100-meter relay team has been stripped of its silver medal from the Tokyo Olympics after C.J. Ujah’s doping violation was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Ujah’s sample taken in Japan in August contained the prohibited substances ostarine and S-23, which are selective

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer BEIJING (AP) — The defending champion Russians are back in the final looking for a second consecutive Olympic gold medal. They will face Finland on Sunday in Beijing. The Russians entered the tournament as the betting favorites. One more victory will give them five titles in the past six

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Tom Clements is back for a second stint as Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach in a move that could reunite him with four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. The Packers also have hired Jason Rebrovich as outside linebackers coach. The 68-year-old Clements previously worked for the Packers from 2006-16 in a variety

TORONTO (AP) — Canada will host Jamaica at Toronto’s BMO Field in its final home World Cup qualifier. Closing in on its first World Cup berth since 1986, Canada leads North and Central America and the Caribbean with 25 points and can clinch with one win its final three games. Canada is at Costa Rica

By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ty Gibbs is stepping into arguably the top ride in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series. The grandson of Pro Football and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs will race full time for his grandfather’s team in the No. 54 Toyota this season. That car won

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson had hoped its trip to the NCAA Tournament last year during the pandemic-impacted season would provide a springboard for more winning. Instead, the Tigers men’s basketball team are in the midst of its longest losing streak in five seasons and two defeats away from

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer The College Football Playoff is set to remain a four-team format through the 2025 season. The administrators who manage the postseason failed to agree on a plan to expand before the current contracts run out. The CFP management committee met by video conference earlier this week. Executive

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer BEIJING (AP) — Arseni Gritsyuk scored the shootout winner to put the Russians into the men’s hockey final by beating Sweden 2-1. The team known as Russian Olympic Committee will face Finland on Sunday looking for back-to-back gold medals. Goaltender Ivan Fedotov stopped six of the eight shots he

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer Lewis Hamilton has called on social media companies to do more to stop the spread of online abuse after fellow Formula One driver Nicholas Latifi received death threats following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Latifi crashed his Williams car with a few laps left and with Hamilton

LONDON (AP) — Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has received a 10-year ban for being part of what’s been described as an “organized doping regimen” ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The former world championships silver medalist was initially suspended in July just before she was due to run in the semifinals of the 100 meters at

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BEIJING (AP) — Eve Muirhead scored four points in the second-to-last end of regulation and Britain beat defending Olympic champion Sweden 12-11 in an extra end to advance to the gold medal match in women’s curling. Britain will play in the final Sunday against Japan, which beat top-seeded Switzerland

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur has denied wrongdoing after being linked to a Spanish police investigation of people suspected of paying for false COVID-19 vaccination certificates. De Minaur says he has “a completely valid, accurate and true vaccination record.” Spanish media reported that De Minaur

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer BEIJING (AP) — The Germans remain right at home on China’s Olympic sliding track. Winners of gold medals in seven of the eight sliding events so far at the Beijing Games, Germany has put itself in prime position to add more hardware to its record-setting total. It holds down