Sports

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Ben Martin shot his second straight 6-under 66 on Friday to double his lead to two strokes in the PGA Tour’s Corales Puntacana Championship. Martin had four birdies in a late five-hole stretch, finishing the afternoon round on the front nine at breezy Corales Golf Course. The 34-year-old former

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Mohamed Salah had his say this time as Egypt beat Sadio Mané’s Senegal 1-0 in the first leg of their World Cup playoff in Cairo. A Salah shot came off the crossbar and forced an own goal to give Egypt a slender lead

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer BEREA, Ohio (AP) — New Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson maintained his innocence and strongly denied committing any sexual misconduct despite allegations made by 22 women against him. Wearing a dark pinstriped suit and orange tie at his introductory news conference, Watson showed little emotion while saying he’s done nothing

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The women’s basketball program that Jeff Walz has built at Louisville over the past 15 years resembles in so many ways the juggernaut Pat Summitt built at Tennessee, with one important exception: winning a national championship. The Lady Vols piled up eight of them. The

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Richard Bland is having quite a ride at the Dell Technologies Match Play. He didn’t realize he would be in the 64-man field until a runner-up finish in Dubai two months ago. That meant having to cancel plans for the second time to take his

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers desperately wanted to land quarterback Deshaun Watson. But when the three-time Pro Bowler snubbed the Panthers’ overtures and refused to lift his no-trade clause for Carolina, it left the team back at square one searching for that elusive franchise quarterback. Panthers general

By JOHN PERROTTO Associated Press BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pirates reliever and Pittsburgh-area native David Bednar looks to build on a fine rookie season and will likely serve as the rebuilding team’s closer. Bednar had a 2.23 ERA in 61 games and 77 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings last year after being acquired from the

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Wes Moore isn’t worried about having to potentially face UConn in the state of Connecticut yet. That game wouldn’t occur until Monday night and would require both teams to win their Sweet 16 games on Saturday. Top-seeded North Carolina State’s coach has his team’s attention

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the Buffalo Bills moved closer to landing $200 million in NFL funding to help finance their bid to build a new stadium. The NFL’s stadium and finance committee backed the Bills’ request for

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have hired Chase Blackburn as an assistant special teams coach after he spent the past six seasons with Carolina. The Titans announced the hiring Friday along with two other promotions. Clint McMillan and Kylan Butler worked on the coaching staff for the 2021 season and now are full

By SAM METZ and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — GOP lawmakers in Utah have pushed through a ban on transgender youth athletes playing on girls’ teams, overriding a veto and joining 11 other states with similar laws amid a nationwide culture war. The Friday vote followed Cox’s veto letter that said

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Hours after Formula One drivers voiced concerns about a race already dogged by human rights issues, Saudi Arabia’s war with Yemen landed on F1’s doorstep when Houthi rebels attacked an oil depot near the glittering Saudi track where they were racing. Yemen’s Houthi

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Algeria has returned to the scene of its embarrassing group-stage exit at the African Cup to clinch a crucial 1-0 away win over Cameroon in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. Striker Islam Slimani scored with a glancing header at Japoma

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer There were 17.3 million brackets filled out in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge this year, and the quest for a perfect one was done before the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. And the two favorites to win it all, Gonzaga and Arizona, were done before the second weekend. Another topsy-turvy

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — UMass has found a leader for its basketball program, hiring Frank Martin as its new coach. The 56-year-old Martin takes over the Minutemen program from Matt McCall, who was fired this month after going 58-81 over five seasons in Amherst. Martin arrives following his own dismissal from South Carolina last week

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer VENICE, Fla. (AP) — Five months later, the Atlanta Braves’ decision to have Dylan Lee start last season’s World Series Game 4 against Houston is still shocking. Even on a depleted staff, Lee was the most unlikely choice to start. Lee made history as the first pitcher to make