Sports

TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian Hockey League said Wednesday that Russian and Belarusian players will be ineligible for selection in its July 1 import draft because of the war in Ukraine. The CHL is the umbrella organization for the three major junior hockey leagues — the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Former No. 1 Naomi Osaka enters the clay-court season with the goal of not being too hard on herself. Osaka made the final in Miami last month and will be playing as a wild-card entry when the Madrid Open begins on Thursday. The 24-year-old Osaka says

By IAN HARRSION Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora rejoined the team in Toronto after missing the past six games because of COVID-19. The Red Sox have gone 1-5 under bench coach Will Venable since Cora tested positive before last Thursday’s home loss to Toronto. Boston is 7-11 overall. Cora

CHICAGO (AP) — Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Chicago White Sox stopped an eight-game slide with a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The winning rally for the White Sox started when Danny Mendick and Tim Anderson hit consecutive two-out singles off Collin Snider. Scott Barlow

By JOE HARRIS Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — The New York Mets’ hit-by-pitch frustrations boiled over when reliever Yoan López threw a pitch near Nolan Arenado’s head, sparking a benches-clearing brawl that led to Arenado’s ejection in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 10-5 victory. Arenado reached four times and drove in three runs before the

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool looks like being one European giant too many for Villarreal. A third Champions League final in five years is in sight for the English club after a 2-0 win in the first leg of the semifinals, secured after an own-goal by Pervis Estupinan and

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — Very little is certain heading into an NFL draft. Not that the prospects on hand seem to care. There’s a level of confidence that, for them, Thursday night’s first round is a sure thing. “I know I am the best cornerback in this draft,”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have picked up the fifth-year option on defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. The Titans announced they picked up the option worth $10.7 million on the 19th pick overall of the 2019 draft. Simmons is coming off his best season yet after posting a career-high 8 1/2 sacks, including three

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer The Philadelphia 76ers were up 3-0 in their series against the Toronto Raptors just a few days ago. The lead has since been sliced to 3-2. That is waking up some echoes for 76ers coach Doc Rivers. He’s the only coach in NBA history to lose three series in

ROME (AP) — A goalkeeping blunder handed Bologna a 2-1 win as Inter Milan wasted a lead and a chance to reclaim the Serie A lead in a match that was postponed from January. Defending champion Inter was left trailing city rival AC Milan by two points with four matches remaining. Reserve goalkeeper Ionut Radu

MUNICH (AP) — Eighteen-year-old Danish player Holger Rune has stunned top-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the BMW Open on Wednesday. Rune broke in Zverev’s first service game in each set to take control of the match on his way to his first career win over a player ranked in the

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Melvin Gordon III is returning to the Denver Broncos, but it’s likely that he’ll serve as the second jab in the team’s 1-2 punch. Gordon and rookie Javonte Williams split carries right down the middle last season, each one getting 203 handoffs, but Gordon

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer Brittney Griner remains detained in Russia and it’s unclear how an unexpected prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia that freed marine veteran Trevor Reed on Wednesday will affect the status of the WNBA star. Griner has been detained in Russia since mid-February. The deal announced by the

by PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks fought hard just to make the playoffs. They battled to the very last second against the top-seeded team in the East. But in the end, there’s only one word to describe this season. Disappointing. Coming off a surprising run to the conference final

CHICAGO (AP) — The United States will play 13th-ranked Uruguay in a June 5 soccer exhibition at Kansas City, Kansas. That completes the schedule for the first four of six planned World Cup warmups for the Americans. The No. 15 U.S. plays No. 24 Morocco on June 1 in an exhibition at Cincinnati and has

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper threw his support behind struggling head coach Matt Rhule on Wednesday, saying it takes patience and time to build a winning foundation in the NFL. Rhule is 10-23 in his two seasons with the Panthers. Only the Lions, Texans, Jets