Sports

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Christian Pulisic scored his first international hat trick, leading the United States to the brink of returning to the World Cup with a 5-1 rout of Panama, Pulisic converted two penalty kicks during a four-goal burst in the first half that also saw Paul Arriola

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul had 19 points and 14 assists and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns won their eighth straight game, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-104 on Sunday. The Suns have wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and best record

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 10 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics coast to a 134-112 over the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was Boston’s sixth straight win and 24th in its last 28 games. This one came at the expense

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer Defending champion Tom Slingsby of Team Australia sped ahead of rivals Nathan Outteridge and Jimmy Spithill to claim SailGP’s $1 million, winner-take-all Season 2 championship on a crazy afternoon on San Francisco Bay. The ultra-competitive Slingsby claimed sailing’s biggest cash prize for the second time by avoiding trouble on

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ross Chastain bumped and banged his way around the final overtime lap at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday for first career Cup win and upstart NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing’s first trip to victory lane. Trackhouse is owned by former NASCAR driver Justin Marks

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had his 13th career hat trick and added an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins drilled the reeling Detroit Red Wings 11-2. Sidney Crosby, Kasperi Kapanen, Jeff Carter, Teddy Blueger, Danton Heinen, Brian Boyle and recently acquired Rickard Rakell also scored for the Penguins. Pittsburgh

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saint Peter’s saw its fantastic run in the NCAA Tournament end with a 69-49 loss to North Carolina in the East Region final. The Peacocks were the first No. 15 seed to ever reach the Elite Eight. Saint Peter’s missed 16 of its first 20 shots

By DAVE HOGG Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Alec Burks hit a 3-pointer for New York’s final points and finished off Detroit with a last-second steal in the Knicks’ 104-102 victory over the Pistons on Sunday. R.J. Barrett led New York with 21 points, Julian Randle had 20 and Burks and Immanuel Quickly had 18

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — North Carolina crushed all hope of a March Madness miracle, getting 20 points and 22 rebounds from Armando Bacot in a wire-to-wire 69-49 runaway over 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s. The eighth-seeded Tar Heels made their record 21st Final Four. Next on their list is none other than

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer Duke and North Carolina will meet for the 258th time but first in the NCAA Tournament when they tip off Saturday night in the Final Four in New Orleans. It will be the final trip to college basketball’s biggest stage for Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is chasing

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is the hottest player in golf and has the ranking to prove it. Just six weeks after his first PGA Tour victory, Scheffler won the Dell Technologies Match Play for his third win in five starts. And it was enough to move him

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Cristhian Paredes scored on a penalty kick in the 80th minute to givel the Portland Timbers a 1-1 draw with Orlando City on Sunday. Junior Urso scored for Orlando City (2-1-2) in the 52nd minute in the first game between the two teams since August 2020, when they met in the

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay have already secured the region’s four direct spots at the World Cup in Qatar later this year, but there’s still a lot at stake in the final round of South American qualifying on Tuesday. The biggest prize is the international