AP National Sports

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Freshman Ben Hess struck out seven straight batters in relief after a two-hour rain delay and No. 11 seed Alabama beat sixth-seeded Georgia 5-3 to begin the SEC Tournament. Alabama (33-26) advances to face No. 3 seed Arkansas on Wednesday in the double-elimination portion of the tournament. The Crimson Tide won

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Former Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker has pulled out of the Senior PGA Championship after testing positive for the coronavirus. Stricker revealed his positive test Tuesday on Twitter. He says he was “super bummed” and that it was “just a small setback.” Stricker was out of competition for six months

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of California system announced Tuesday it will pay nearly $375 million to more than 300 women who said they were sexually abused by a UCLA gynecologist, bringing a record amount in total payouts by a public university in a wave of sexual misconduct scandals

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A survey of college athletes by the NCAA suggests that rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety and depression remain as much as twice as high as pre-pandemic levels, but feelings of hopelessness have improved. The study is a follow-up to two conducted in the fall of 2020. It’s based on input from more

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The pandemic prevented Scott McLaughlin from saying goodbye to his family in New Zealand when he moved from Australia to the United States to race in the IndyCar Series. He didn’t see his parent for 31 months until travel restrictions were lifted. Wayne and Diane

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer PARIS (AP) — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has ended his career as a singles tennis player with a 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (0) loss to Casper Ruud in the first round of the French Open. Tsonga was ranked as high as No. 5, reached the 2008 Australian Open final

TAMPERE, Finland (AP) — The United States secured its spot in the quarterinfals of the ice hockey world championship on the last day of group play with a 4-2 win over Norway. That sets up a tricky quarterfinal game against undefeated Switzerland. The Swiss beat Germany 4-3 in a shootout to make it seven wins

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche take a 3-1 lead over St. Louis into Game 5 in Denver on Wednesday night. The Avalanche are looking to advance to their first Western Conference Final since 2002, when Hall of Famers Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy played

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain has suspended the coach of its women’s team, with the club saying it had been informed of “inappropriate behavior and remarks” made by Didier Ollé-Nicolle toward some of his players. PSG said it has opened an internal club investigation but did not give more details about the case. According to

By MARK LONG AP Pro Football Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne is back to full speed and cleared to do anything and everything after a foot injury ended his rookie season before it even began. The 25th overall pick in the 2021 draft could be a huge addition to

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer The NFL has expanded the Rooney Rule again, this time to include quarterbacks coaches in a further effort to diversify the coaching ranks. The change was announced Tuesday at the owners meeting in Atlanta by Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer.

By CASEY SMITH Associated Press/Report for America INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Indiana voted Tuesday to override the GOP governor’s veto of a bill banning transgender females from competing in girls school sports and join about more than a dozen other states adopting similar laws in the past two years. State senators voted 32-15

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — One of the women accusing Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct while she gave him a massage says she felt “scared” and threatened by a comment he made following a therapy session. Appearing on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Ashley Solis provided graphic

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers began organized team activities with uncertainty at quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger retired in January after 18 seasons. The team signed Mitch Trubisky and drafted Kenny Pickett to compete with Mason Rudolph for the starting job. Coach

BY LISA RATHKE The Associated Press Moriah Wilson had shifted gears a number of times in her 25 years of life, but no matter her focus — collegiate ski racing, a career in logistics and, most recently, professional mountain bike and gravel racing — those who knew her described her as “exceptional in every way.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville has added Milt Wagner as men’s basketball director of player development and alumni relations, reuniting the Cardinals scoring great with former teammate and first-year head coach Kenny Payne. Wagner, whose 1,834 career points rank sixth all-time in program history, was a starter on on Louisville’s 1986 NCAA championship squad while

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ron Washington Jr. homered and drove in four runs,  Jeffrey Wehler added three RBIs and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh used an eight-run sixth inning to rally past seventh-seeded Georgia Tech 12-6 in the opening game of the ACC Tournament. Pittsburgh faces No. 2 seed Louisville on Wednesday and Georgia Tech plays

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Wide receiver Terry McLaurin and pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat were noticeably absent from the first Washington Commanders practice of the offseason. McLaurin is skipping the on-field portion of voluntary organized team activities while negotiations are ongoing for a contract extension. Coach Ron