By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Basketball Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LeBron James was trading lob passes with Dwyane Wade again, one last time. Catching lobs from former teammate Kyrie Irving once again, too. And after making a stepback 3-pointer late, he stared down Joel Embiid to send a message ...

By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Denny Hamlin came to the Daytona 500 determined to honor his late car owner with a victory. He delivered with a storybook tribute for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin won NASCAR's biggest race for the second time in four years ...

By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Baseball Writer WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Major League Baseball is unilaterally starting the use of pitch clocks for spring training games, while brushing off complaints from players about the slow free agent market. With the sport looking for ways to speed the ...

By NOAH TRISTER, AP Sports Writer EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State shut down Ohio State in the second half despite an injury to Nick Ward. Now the Spartans may be without their standout big man for a while. Ward left in the second half with a broken left hand, but No. 11 Michigan ...

By DOUG FEINBERG, AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A 70-foot shot just before halftime gave St. John's momentum, and LJ Figueroa and the Red Storm used a strong defensive effort in the second half to surprise No. 13 Villanova. Figueroa scored 22 points and St. John's rallied to beat the ...

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Basketball Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Anthony Davis isn't completely sure if he's going to play in Sunday's All-Star game. He doesn't know how much the New Orleans Pelicans will have him play the rest of this season. Or where he'll play next season. Or where he'll play ...

By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Among those trying to win the Daytona 500 this year are a Florida watermelon farmer, a short-track champion from New England, a television analyst and a 22-year-old whose career nearly was derailed by a brain tumor. The front ...

By BOB MOEN, Associated Press LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Nevada relived last season's double-overtime loss at Wyoming by watching video of fans storming the floor every day for the past week, and even just before taking the court Saturday night. There were no fans storming the floor this time, as ...

By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — For the first 20 minutes Saturday night, Rui Hachimura and the Gonzaga Bulldogs looked pretty average. Once they got warmed up, there was no doubt they're one of the nation's best teams. Hachimura scored 16 of his 22 points in the second ...

By MATT CARLSON, Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Artemi Panarin had a big night against his former team, making the most of a little luck. Panarin had two goals and an assist, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Saturday night for their fifth win in six ...

By GARY B. GRAVES, AP Sports Writer LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — No. 5 Kentucky got the strong start it sought against No. 1 Tennessee and for a moment was blowing out the Volunteers. Most important was that the Wildcats finished off the Vols on a national stage, just what they needed days after ...

By Tim Reynolds AP Basketball Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Boston’s Jayson Tatum got his gamewinner from midcourt. Oklahoma City’s Hamidou Diallo went over Shaquille O’Neal to help win his trophy. And Brooklyn’s Joe Harris made all the shots at all the right times to deny Golden ...

By AARON BEARD, AP Basketball Writer CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — It's going to be a big week for the top teams in both the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences. Eight of the nine ranked teams in the SEC and Big Ten have at least one matchup against a ranked league mate in the week ahead. The ...

By STEVE REED, AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Buzz Peterson knew Michael Jordan as well as anyone when they were in college. Roommates and teammates at North Carolina, they spent countless days competing on the basketball court in practice and endless hours talking hoops. Their ...

By KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — There was only a little over a minute left in Houston's game and it looked as if James Harden's streak of 30-point games would be ending. Harden brought the ball down the court and was enveloped by two defenders near the 3-point line, so he ...

By The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matt Murray made 50 saves and Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. Jake Guentzel and Nick Bjugstad also scored and Kris Letang had an empty-netter for ...

By The Associated Press CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Guy scored 20 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the final two minutes, to help No. 4 Virginia beat No. 8 North Carolina 69-61 on Monday night. De'Andre Hunter also had 20 points for the Cavaliers (21-2, 9-2 Atlantic Coast ...

By ANDREW DAMPF, AP Sports Writer ARE, Sweden (AP) — One last comeback complete. One last medal. Five days after crashing in super-G, Lindsey Vonn bounced back to win the bronze medal in the world championship downhill Sunday in the final race of her career. "I laid it all on the line. ...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Robert Whittaker provided most of the early drama at UFC 234 in Australia and Israel Adesanya quite a lot at the end. About eight hours before their scheduled fight, Australia's UFC middleweight champion Whittaker withdrew from his championship defense against ...

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Saint Mary's has been No. 4 Gonzaga's toughest nemesis in the West Coast Conference in the past decade. The Gaels didn't pose much of a challenge Saturday night. Brandon Clarke scored 24 points and blocked three shots as ...