Sports

By THOMAS PEIPERT Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Firefighters have extinguished a blaze that torched several rows of seats and a suite area at the Denver Broncos’ stadium. The fire broke out on the fourth level at Empower Field at Mile High on Thursday afternoon and spread to the third level, where it burned at

DENVER (AP) — Chris Paul could be back from a broken thumb sooner than expected when the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns face the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. Paul was listed as “probable” on the team’s injury report for the game against the Nuggets, roughly five weeks after he broke his right thumb in a game

PORTO, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal moved a big step closer to the World Cup with a hard-fought 3-1 home win over Turkey in the playoffs of European qualifying. Portugal opened a two-goal lead in the first half but only salvaged the victory after Turkey missed an 85th-minute penalty kick at the Estádio

NEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Miller, a two-time All-Star and dominant postseason reliever who helped negotiate the recent labor deal that ended Major League Baseball’s 99-day lockout, has retired at 36. Miller had a 4.75 ERA in 40 games last season, his third year with St. Louis. The left-hander with a devastating slider played 16

CLAY BAILEY Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins says All-Star guard Ja Morant is expected to miss at least the next two weeks with right knee soreness. Morant, the Grizzlies’ leading scorer at 27.6 points a game, has missed the last two games after tweaking the knee against Atlanta last

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Miami coach Jim Larrañaga is in a familiar spot with the 10th-seeded Hurricanes set to face No. 11 seed Iowa State in the Midwest Region semifinals on Friday. It’s the first Sweet 16 for Miami since 2016 and the third in 11 years under Larrañaga. A

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) — European champion Italy will miss the World Cup. Again. The unthinkable happened in Palermo as the Azzurri were beaten 1-0 by North Macedonia following a last-gasp goal by Aleksandar Trajkovski in their playoff semifinal. It was North Macedonia’s only real opportunity after a completely dominant performance by Italy. The Azzurri missed

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Robin Quaison kept alive Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hopes of playing in another World Cup for Sweden. With the suspended Ibrahimovic watching on, Quaison came off the bench and scored in the 110th minute as Sweden beat the Czech Republic 1-0 after extra time to advance to one of the playoff finals in European

PORTO, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal moved a big step closer to the World Cup with a hard-fought 3-1 home win over Turkey in the playoffs of European qualifying. Portugal opened a two-goal lead in the first half but only salvaged the victory after Turkey missed an 85th-minute penalty kick at the Estádio

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton sat out the  Milwaukee Bucks’ game Thursday night ag host the Washington Wizards. Middleton missed his second straight game due to a sore left wrist. Antetokounmpo was out for the second time in the last three games because of a sore right knee. Antetokounmpo wasn’t available for

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Two days, two wins and making it look easy. Naomi Osaka sure seems like herself again. The former world No. 1 is through to the third round at the Miami Open, easily handling 13th-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday. It was

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Italy has gone from winning the European Championship to failing to qualify for the World Cup in just eight months. In a stunning fall from grace, the Azzurri were upset by North Macedonia in a 1-0 loss in the qualifying playoffs. They will miss out on back-to-back World Cups

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Ben Martin birdied six of the last eight holes for a 6-under 66 and the first-round lead Thursday in the PGA Tour’s windy Corales Puntacana Championship. After opening his morning round with a bogey and making the turn in even par, Martin began the run with birdies on the

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers are bringing back two familiar faces on defense, signing one-year deals with defensive lineman Kerry Hyder Jr. and cornerback Dontae Johnson. Hyder returns to San Francisco after spending last season with Seattle. Hyder has had his most production playing for Niners defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer North Carolina and Creighton have added a bit of unpredictability to the NCAA Tournament’s Greensboro Region. The fifth-seeded Tar Heels and 10th-seeded Bluejays have reached the Sweet 16 by beating higher-seeded teams on the road. They don’t see any reason they can’t keep it going now that they have

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — A second grand jury in Texas has declined to indict new Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by 22 women and still faces civil lawsuits. The decision was announced shortly after Watson arrived in Cleveland to meet his new team.

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer Global sailing league SailGP could have a team owned and operated by cryptocurrency enthusiasts as soon as the start of its fourth season in late 2023. SailGP announced a multi-year partnership with blockchain development platform NEAR that will allow sailing and cryptocurrency fans to engage with their favorite teams

By DEBORA REY Associated Press BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Former striker Sergio Aguero has been offered a role on Argentina’s staff at the World Cup in Qatar to serve as a link between the players and the coaches. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed he wants the former Manchester City star to be a middleman in

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The NCAA Tournament returns to Chicago this weekend, and the Midwest Region semifinals feature four teams that know a little something about defense. Ochai Agbaji and No. 1 seed Kansas take on Nate Watson and Providence on Friday night, followed by Iowa State and Miami in

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier became the first American pairs team to win the figure skating world championship in more than 40 years. They performed a clean program minutes after watching teammate Ashley Cain-Gribble taken off the ice on a stretcher in Montpellier, France. Cain-Gribble fell during a triple