Sports

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Mike Pettine has just begun his first season with the Minnesota Vikings as assistant head coach on a staff busy implementing a fresh culture and installing new schemes. The full plate didn’t stop Pettine from spearheading a pilot project designed for minorities seeking to

JESI, Italy (AP) — An Eritrean cyclist who was celebrating a victory at the Giro d’Italia cycling competition was struck in the eye by a cork popped from a bottle of Italian sparkling wine and forced to withdraw Wednesday from the race. Biniam Girmay had just become the first Black African to win a stage

NEW YORK (AP) — Luke Jackson, sidelined for the season by Tommy John surgery, had his lockout-delayed salary arbitration hearing with the Atlanta Braves. Jackson asked for a raise from $1.9 million to $4 million, and the Braves argued for $3.6 million. The case was heard by Robert Herzog, Richard Bloch and Scott Buchheit, and

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks were fined $50,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for a second violation of bench decorum during their Western Conference semifinal series against Phoenix. The second fine, twice as much as the first, was issued after Dallas’ blowout Game 7 victory in Phoenix that sent the Mavericks to the

By MIKE CRANSTON Associated Press DENVER (AP) — C.J. Cron hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in a three-run eighth inning, and the Colorado Rockies stopped their 12-game losing streak against San Francisco by rallying past the Giants 5-3 on Wednesday. Logan Webb retired 16 straight batters in pursuit of becoming the major leagues’ first six-game

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Dave Stockton won the 1970 PGA Championship at Southern Hills and his nostalgic return this week included the champions dinner for swapping stories of the great shots, the terrible ones and memories of career-making victories. He was disappointed by the low turnout. Only 11 former

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Rain washed out all activity on Day 2 of preparations for the Indianapolis 500. It meant the highlight was the trio of drivers from Arrow McLaren SP entertaining fans on both social media and then later by racing paper boats through puddles on pit lane.

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth are examples of how quickly the landscape can change. Look back one year, and Johnson was the No. 1 player in the world who had been runner-up in the previous two PGA Championships and among the favorites every time he

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Keston Hiura hit a two-run, winning homer off Jesse Chavez in the 11th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-6. The Brewers had tied the game on a two-out triple from Kolten Wong in the ninth. Hiura

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn from the PGA Championship after practicing for two days at Southern Hills to test his surgically repaired left wrist. The former U.S. Open champion had practiced with wrap that extended several inches up his left forearm. He tweeted Tuesday it had “held up nicely” after his initial

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Scott Dixon says he’s had a horrendous start to the IndyCar season. The six-time series champion has a shot to turn it around at the Indianapolis 500. He had a very fast car on opening day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dixon is considered the greatest

GENEVA (AP) — Defending champion Casper Ruud eased into the quarterfinals of the Geneva Open, while three seeded players went out in the second round. The second-seeded Ruud won 6-3, 6-1 against Benoit Paire to confirm his status as the favorite to retain his title. Second-ranked Daniil Medvedev was beaten Tuesday by Richard Gasquet. Second-seeded

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer A study examining diversity hiring practices finds Major League Baseball with rising gender scores but also a three-decade low for Black players on opening day rosters. Wednesday’s report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida issued an overall grade of B-minus, with a

By DICK SCANLON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Isaac Paredes homered twice against his former teammates to double his career big league total, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 6-1 on an afternon Eduardo Rodriguez  left in the first inning and headed to the injured list. Rodriguez lasted just one

TAMPERE, Finland (AP) — Sweden prevailed in a penalty shootout to edge host Finland 3-2 Wednesday for its fourth straight victory at the ice hockey world championship. Emil Bemstrom was the only player to score in the shootout to lift Sweden to the top of Group B in Tampere with 11 points. Finland is a

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper sat out a third straight game as he recovers from a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow and the Phillies slugger may not play right field again until late July. Harper said he was hopeful of returning at some point in the Philadelphia’s three-game series against the Padres. The

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer The Pac-12 announced Wednesday it was scrapping its divisional format for the upcoming football season moments after the NCAA Division I Council tossed out requirements that dictate how conferences can determine a champion. The Pac-12 will now pair the teams with the highest conference winning percentages in

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers continued the offseason rebuild of their defense by signing defensive lineman Morgan Fox on Wednesday. Fox will be entering his seventh year in the league. He spent his first five seasons with the Rams (2016-20) before going to the Carolina Panthers last year. Fox’s most productive

NEW YORK (AP) — Fans have watched more than 2.8 billion minutes of game action on MLB.TV through the first 40 days of the regular season. That is a record for the streaming platform and a 9% increase over the same period last year. Three of the most-watched days on the 20-year-old streaming package have