Sports

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer Ja Morant has been named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. The Memphis Grizzlies guard was rookie of the year in 2020 and now adds his second major award in three seasons. Morant is the first Grizzlies player to receive the award. He scored a career-best 27.4 points per game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots now have a pick in every round of the upcoming draft following a trade with the Texans. New England dealt a fifth-round pick (170th overall) to Houston for a sixth-round pick (183rd overall) and seventh-round pick (245th overall). Following the deal the Patriots now have at least one pick

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has a history of making deals early in drafts and has more trade options than usual this year with four of the top 59 overall picks. The Packers already were picking 28th and 59th before they acquired

By W.G. RAMIREZ Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Eichel came to Las Vegas to get back on the ice and get into the playoffs. Eichel’s desire to reach the playoffs for the first time in his seven-year career hasn’t been fulfilled, though the Golden Knights are mathematically still alive entering the final week

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer The Atlantic Coast Conference changed significantly last football season with Pitt winning the league title, Wake Forest winning the Atlantic Division and conference powerhouse Clemson largely out of the championship picture by mid-October. Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi and Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson believe their teams worked hard this

By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A jury has been selected in the civil trial of a man who was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love. A wrongful death lawsuit brought by Love’s mother seeks to hold George Huguely V

LONDON (AP) — Leeds has moved five points clear of the relegation zone by drawing at Crystal Palace 0-0 in the English Premier League. The team coached by American Jesse Marsch has been sucked back into the relegation fight by the improved form of Burnley and has some tough opponents among its remaining five games.

By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer Coordinator changes and heavy player personnel losses made it a spring of uncertainty for the top Big Ten defenses. Start with Wisconsin. The Badgers have been in the national top five in total defense three straight years. They must replace eight of their top 10 tacklers. Penn State

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer Phil Mickelson has signed up for the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. His manager also asked the PGA Tour for permission to play in a Saudi-funded golf tournament outside London. That doesn’t mean Lefty is going to play. Steve Loy is his longtime manager. He says Mickelson has

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson has hired Billy Donlon as associate head coach and Sean Dixon as assistant for men’s basketball. Tigers coach Brad Brownell announced the hirings on Monday. Both received two-year  contracts. Donlon will earn $450,000 per year and Dixon $285,000. The deals were approved by a committee of the school’s board of

LONDON (AP) — Leeds has moved five points clear of the relegation zone by drawing at Crystal Palace 0-0 in the English Premier League. The team coached by American Jesse Marsch has been sucked back into the relegation fight by the improved form of Burnley and has some tough opponents among its remaining five games.

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso is in the NBA’s concussion protocol and is questionable for Game 5 of the first-round playoff series at Milwaukee. Caruso took an inadvertent hit to the face from the Bucks’ Jevon Carter while trying to get around a pick late in the second quarter on Sunday. He

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer The North Dakota State baseball team has never experienced anything like this year The Bison have played their first 36 games on the road or at neutral sites because of an unusually wet and cold spring in Fargo. That number is heading toward 39 after Monday’s announcement the home

REGGIO EMILIA, Italy (AP) — Moise Kean’s 89th-minute winner has earned Juventus a 2-1 win in a tricky visit to a talented Sassuolo side in Serie A. It marks a major step for the Bianconeri toward securing a Champions League spot. Kean controlled a pass with his back to the goal then turned his defender