NEW YORK (AP) — Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid are two of the finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy, the NHL’s most valuable player award. New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is also in contention. Matthews, who earned this season’s Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading
Continue Reading MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The city of Memphis and the University of Memphis will be spending at least $150 million to renovate and renovate the home of the annual Liberty Bowl before the 2025 season. The renovation announced Thursday could reach $200 million for the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Memphis studied options of renovating the
Continue Reading MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman has been named the NBA basketball executive of the year. The 33-year-old Kleiman is the youngest to ever win the award and is the second executive with the Grizzlies to receive the honor. Jerry West won the award for the 2003-04 season while working with
Continue Reading By HAU DINH Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The Southeast Asian Games have officially kicked off with a mask-optional opening ceremony in Vietnam’s capital, the first major gathering in the country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Athletes from 11 nations paraded and about 600 artists performed traditional acts and dances in My
Continue Reading LONDON (AP) — Greg Norman’s brushing off of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing as a “mistake” has been condemned by the fiancee of the late Washington Post columnist. The former No. 1 golfer is leading a series of Saudi Arabia-funded tournaments in England and has come under criticism for his comments about Khashoggi’s gruesome death inside the
Continue Reading By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The challenger to the Russian incumbent in the presidential election at the troubled International Boxing Association has been ruled ineligible a day before the vote. Dutch boxing federation president Boris van der Vorst was subject to complaints of “prohibited collaboration” with candidates in other IBA elections.
Continue Reading By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek was tested before pulling out a 6-4, 6-1 win over former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals and extend her winning streak to 25 matches. Azarenka took a 3-0 lead before Swiatek won five straight games in a grueling
Continue Reading By Ben Church, CNN Despite a disappointing season on the pitch, Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi was the highest-paid athlete in the world over the last 12 months, according to Forbes. The soccer sensation is reported to be bringing in pre-tax gross earnings of $130 million a year from on-field and off-field pursuits, keeping him
Continue Reading By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Former New Zealand cricket star Brendon McCullum has been hired as head coach of England’s test team in another bold appointment coming soon after the decision to select Ben Stokes as captain. The 40-year-old McCullum currently coaches Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders. He has never been in
Continue Reading By Amy Woodyatt, David Close and CNN Sport staff, CNN Golf great Greg Norman has appeared to downplay the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi ahead of the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf professional series. “This whole thing about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi and human rights, talk about it, but also talk about the good that
Continue Reading NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA’s championship trophy has a new look. And the league will hand out some new trophies for the first time during these playoffs. The league unveiled a slightly redesigned Larry O’Brien Trophy on Thursday and announced changes to the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy. The Eastern Conference championship trophy
Continue Reading By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — It’s been a long season for Barcelona. Lionel Messi left in tears. Ronald Koeman was fired. The team dropped out of the Champions League and into Europa League and will end the season without a title. The club’s focus now is to ensure that next season
Continue Reading By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer The United States will stage a Rugby World Cup for the first time after being voted as the host of the men’s tournament in 2031 and the women’s tournament two years later. Australia also is staging back-to-back tournaments in 2027 (men) and 2029 (women). World Rugby announced the host
Continue Reading By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — The name “FIFA” can bring to mind images of the World Cup and soccer’s greatest players, like Pele, Zinedine Zidane or Lionel Messi. The acronym for the sport’s governing body may also remind some of shameless bribery and corruption. For many, though, it’s the video
Continue Reading By Wayne Sterling, CNN Former Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo is suing the NFL team, alleging that former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer created a “hostile work environment.” In the lawsuit, filed in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court in Duval County, Florida on Tuesday, Lambo claimed that during a practice in August, Meyer “kicked him
Continue Reading By Ben Morse, CNN The Golden State Warriors emphatically missed the opportunity to clinch their Western Conference semifinals playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. In a dominant performance in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series, the Grizzlies won 134-95 — leading by as many as 55 points — at the FedExForum. Memphis
Continue Reading By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund is already looking ahead to the next season as its current campaign is set to end in frustration and disappointment. Erling Haaland’s departure was expected and the club has already moved to address problems in other areas. Defenders Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck are
Continue Reading By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer An American consortium has bought an English soccer team with the ultimate aim of winning the Premier League title. Some would say there is nothing especially new there but there is a huge catch when it comes to the recent purchase of Crawley Town. The unheralded fourth-division club located
Continue Reading PARIS (AP) — French soccer club Nantes has expressed its shock at Nice fans who made derogatory chants about Emiliano Sala during a league game. Sala died after the single-engine Piper Malibu aircraft in which he was traveling crashed in the English Channel on Jan. 21, 2019. He was leaving Nantes to join Cardiff in
Continue Reading By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer Kori Cheverie reflects fondly on the conversations she had with her grandfather growing up in Nova Scotia, where he encouraged her to believe anything was attainable in sports. First woman to play for the Toronto Blue Jays? Sure. Hoist the Stanley Cup over her head while representing the Toronto
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