Month: March 2022

By CLAY BAILEY, Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant threw down a massive dunk over 7-footer Jakob Poeltl and scored a career-high 52 points, lifting the Memphis Grizzlies over the San Antonio Spurs 118-105 Monday night. The arena was still buzzing from Morant’s fast-break slam late in the second quarter when Steven Adams delivered a length-of-the-court pass to Morant, who caught it mid-air and flipped in a buzzer-beater from the left baseline for a 68-58 halftime lead. Morant also hit a 3-pointer from near the logo with the shot clock running down, creating a load of highlights from a memorable night. “It’s got to be the 50 (points),” Morant said when asked what was most memorable, adding: “I’m thankful for my teammates, my coaches. They bel...

Adam Flagler and James Akinjo each scored 19 points and No. 3 Baylor pulled away late for a tough 68-61 win over No. 21 Texas on Monday night, quieting a raucous sellout crowd of more than 16,000 in the final men's basketball game at the 45-year-old Frank Erwin Center. Flagler scored 16 in the second half behind four 3-pointers, while Akinjo provided the scoring punch and key ballhandling late for the Bears (25-5, 13-4 Big 12). Akinjo also had eight rebounds and seven assists. Arena security was braced for another attempt by Texas fans to rush the court after a win, only to watch them start heading for the exits throughout the final minute. “This is a really tough team. ... It feels good whether it was the last game or not,” Akinjo said after Baylor earned a regu...

By GRAHAM DUNBAR, AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — International sports bodies moved to further isolate Russia on Monday for its invasion of Ukraine and pushed Moscow closer to becoming a pariah on the playing field. The International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies to exclude Russian athletes and officials from international events, including soccer's World Cup. The IOC said it was needed to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.” The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of soccer, Hey Dude Sneakers  to exclude Russia from the World Cup ahead of qualifying playoff on March 24. Poland already has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia. It was unclear how the IOC...

By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer The NHL is launching a new faceoff probability stat that uses a decade's worth of data and in-game analytics to determine the likelihood of each player in the circle winning the draw. The league and Amazon Web Services are unveiling the new feature Tuesday. It's the latest innovation in the puck and player tracking sphere and could be just the start of machine-learning technology in hockey with implications for gambling and countless other statistics. Using information from the past 10 years of games in combination with the location of a faceoff, game situation and player performance, AWS software spits out percentage Brooks Running Shoes chances of who's coming away with the puck in a matter of seconds before the linesman drops...

By DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Phil Mickelson was one of the louder voices on the Ryder Cup Task Force that reshaped the American blueprint and created so much continuity it was easy to predict the next captain. Zach Johnson, a four-time Ryder Cup player and a vice captain on the previous two teams, is the choice for the 2023 matches in Italy. That was easy. The next choice for Bethpage Black in 2025 should have been just as predictable, except that now it isn't. All signs had pointed to Mickelson. Never mind that Mickelson is a six-time major champion who has been part of every Ryder Cup team since 1995, before Collin Morikawa was even born. New York Hey Dudes  loves Mickelson despite — or maybe because of...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Approximately two-thirds of the United States watched the Super Bowl, according to a survey conducted by the National Football League and Nielsen. Nielsen reported the total audience on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and NFL digital platforms averaged 112.3 million viewers for the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb. 13. Nielsen originally measured 167 million people watched at least one minute of the game. However, that swells to 208 million-plus when trying to take into account people watching the game in groups or out of the home. The survey of 6,600 households, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago using the AmeriSpeak panel, examined the size of viewing groups at any Skechers Womens Outlet location and to wh...