Sports

By BARRY WILNER AP Sports Writer Figure skating icon Scott Hamilton will sit atop a bike and cycle 444 miles in the Erase the Trace, a five-day ride along the Natchez Trace Parkway. The fundraiser that goes through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee is designed to raise $1.25 million in funding for a breakthrough glioblastoma multiforme

By TIM DAHLBERG AP Sports Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The weekend couldn’t come soon enough for players at the Masters. They really had only two choices as the sun began to set on Augusta National and the reality of their situation became clear. They could watch Scottie Scheffler roll in birdie putts and hope

By The Associated Press Justin Verlander will pitch for Houston for the first time since having Tommy John surgery late in 2020. The 39-year-old will face Noah Syndergaard and the Angels. Verlander, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, returned to the Astros on a $25 million, one-year deal that includes a $25 million player option

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jeremy Peña hit his first major league home run while his parents were being interviewed on the broadcast, Kyle Tucker went deep twice and the Houston Astros pounded the Los Angeles Angels 13-6. Houston homered six times in total, with Jose Altuve, Aledmys Díaz and

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Guard Lorne Bowman is leaving Wisconsin’s program to play somewhere closer to his Detroit home. Bowman played 22 games this season and averaged 3 points, 1.1 rebound and 10.4 minutes. He had taken a leave of absence for the entire 2020-21 season and returned home to deal with a family matter.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — McLaren driver Lando Norris has posted the fastest time in an eventful final practice session at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The 22-year-old Norris completed a lap of the Albert Park circuit in 1 minute, 19.117, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc .132 seconds behind in second position in a session

By MATTHEW COLES Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devin Booker scored 33 points and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 111-105 on Friday night. Deandre Ayton sealed the victory off a pass from Chris Paul with 18.4 seconds left. Ayton had 19

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s David Peralta has lined a leadoff single in the eighth inning, ending another no-hit bid by the San Diego Padres. Sean Manaea was brilliant in his Padres debut, but was pulled by manager Bob Melvin after throwing 88 pitches over seven innings. Melvin’s decision wasn’t

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP National Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A benches-clearing interruption after Mets star Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch overshadowed Max Scherzer’s return to Nationals Park even as the three-time Cy Young Award winner pitched New York to a 7-3 victory over Washington. The game got off to an odd start because

By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Brandon Jones overtook Ty Gibbs on the last lap of a two-lap sprint to the finish and won at Martinsville Speedway for his fifth career victory. It was one that also set off a brawl on pit road when it was over. On the

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo made the go-ahead dunk with 27 seconds remaining and scored 24 points in the Miami Heat’s 113-109 comeback victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. Jimmy Butler added 20 points, Kyle Lowry finished with 16 points and Tyler Herro had 15 for the Heat. They finished on a 10-2

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — San Diego Padres newcomer Sean Manaea is pitching a no-hitter through six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Manaea was traded from the Oakland Athletics to the Padres earlier this month. His start Friday night in Arizona is his first for San Diego. This is the second

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Cale Makar scored a power-play goal 2:42 into overtime to lift the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche to a 5-4 victory over the struggling Winnipeg Jets. Andre Burakovsky and Nathan MacKinnon each had a goal and an assist, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon also scored for the Avalanche, who have

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Toronto Blue Jays erased a seven-run deficit and completed the biggest opening day comeback in seven decades to beat the Texas Rangers 10-8. Toronto hosted a capacity crowd of 45,022 for the first

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Rachel Balkovec was a winner as the first woman to manage a minor league affiliate of a Major League Baseball team. Working for the New York Yankees, she guided the Tampa Tarpons over Lakeland 9-6 Friday night in the Class A Florida State League. The 34-year-old

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 39 points, 11 rebounds and his 16th technical foul of the season for the Dallas Mavericks in a 128-78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The win guarantees the Mavericks opening the playoffs at home for the first time since 2011. The 16th