Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield forced overtime with 8.7 seconds left in regulation and then scored the winner in overtime to help the Montreal Canadiens snap a 10-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Paul Byron also scored and Samuel Montembeault stopped 26 shots for the Canadiens whose last win came on Jan. 18 at Dallas. The victory was the first for interim coach Martin St. Louis, who was 0-3-0 since taking over for the fired Dominique Ducharme. Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Blues, and Ville Husso made 27 saves.
UNDATED (AP) — There are just three weeks left in the chase for the regular-season Big 12 title, and not surprisingly, Kansas and Baylor are at the top of the heap. They will meet again Feb. 27 in a massive game in Waco, but in the meantime, every time they step on the floor will be crucial. The sixth-ranked Jayhawks head to West Virginia on Saturday, while the seventh-ranked Bears get a visit from TCU. Neither of those games against NCAA Tournament bubble teams will be easy.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 16 Tennessee visits No. 23 Arkansas in a matchup of two of the SEC's hottest teams. The host Razorbacks have won 10 of 11 and are ranked for the first time since Dec. 13 at No. 24. Arkansas is coming off a 76-57 defeat of Missouri and stands third behind the Volunteers, who have won five in a row. Tennessee topped No. 4 Kentucky 76-63 on Tuesday night to temporarily forge a second-place tie behind No. 2 Auburn.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Moussa Diabate scored 16 of his career-high 28 points in the second half and Michigan beat Iowa 84-79. Diabate, a freshman whose career high had been 15 points, was 12-of-15 shooting with eight rebounds for the Wolverines, who broke a seventh-place tie with the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten. Hunter Dickinson scored 14 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. DeVante' Jones had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Keegan Murray scored 23 points with seven rebounds for Iowa, which had a three-game win streak end. Patrick McCaffery added 13 points.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Chris Lammons become the fourth suspect arrested in connection with an assault at a Las Vegas nightclub that prompted the Feb. 6 arrest of New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. Lammons turned himself in Thursday in Las Vegas and was briefly booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of felony battery resulting in substantial bodily harm and conspiracy to commit battery, police said. Two other men, Darrin Young and Percy Harris, turned themselves in Monday and were booked on the same charges before posting bonds. Kamara was arrested Feb. 6 after he played in the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Frankie Fidler had 22 points as Nebraska Omaha narrowly beat Denver 72-69. Darrius Hughes had 14 points for Nebraska Omaha (5-22, 4-12 Summit League), which snapped its four-game losing streak. Marco Smith and Nick Ferrarini added 11 points apiece. Felix Lemetti, whose 11 points per game coming into the matchup was second on the Mavericks, scored five points on 1-of-11 shooting. KJ Hunt had 16 points for the Pioneers (9-20, 5-11), who have lost four games in a row. Coban Porter added 16 points. Michael Henn had 13 points.
Update on the latest sports
OLYMPICS-RESULTS
Eileen Gu wins ski halfpipe gold for China
BEIJING (AP) — Eileen Gu has captured gold in the women's ski halfpipe final to become the first action-sports athlete to earn three medals at the same Winter Olympics. Gu warmed up with a score of 93.25 on her first run, before going even higher and even bigger to post a 95.25 her second. The standout American-born freestyle skier who represents China already possessed a gold from big air and a silver from slopestyle. Defending Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe of Canada finished second and her teammate Rachael Karker earned the bronze.
Also at the Games:
— The last Alpine skiing race of the Beijing Olympics has been rescheduled for an hour earlier than planned because of strong wind in the forecast. The mixed team parallel event is now set to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday Beijing time, instead of 11 a.m. The wind is supposed to top 20 mph. The team event involves men and women from each participating country and is the last chance for American Mikaela Shiffrin to pick up a 2022 Winter Games medal. Austria's Johannes Strolz is the only one of the 10 athletes who earned individual Alpine golds in Beijing who is listed on the team rosters.
— Sixteen years after he won the Olympic curling gold medal, Brad Gushue is going back to Canada with bronze. The Canadians capitalized on a missed final shot by American John Shuster in the second-to-last end that turned a one-point edge into an insurmountable 8-5 lead. Gushue won gold in Turin in 2006. Back then he shared a podium with bronze medalist Shuster. This time, the Canadian skip knocked his American counterpart off of it. Shuster has been back at every Winter Games since and won it all in Pyeongchang.
— Thomas Krol won the 1,000 meters, giving the Netherlands its third straight Olympic speedskating title in the event. Krol was timed in 1 minute, 7.92 seconds. Laurent Dubreuil of Canada took silver. Norway's Haarvard Lorentzen, the 2018 silver medalist, earned bronze. The Netherlands claimed its fifth gold in 12 events in Beijing with one day of competition remaining. Krol extended the Dutch dominance in the event. In 2014, Stefan Groothuis won and Kjeld Nuis followed with a victory in 2018. It was Krol's second medal in Beijing. He earned silver in the 1,500 behind Nuis.
OLYMPICS-NEWS
Bach notes 'coldness' of Valieva's entourage
BEIJING (AP) — International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has criticized Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's (val-YAY'-vah) entourage for their "tremendous coldness" toward the 15-year-old skater after her mistake-filled free skate at the Beijing Olympics. Bach says it was "chilling" to see on television. Valieva, who has been at the center of a controversy over a positive doping test, finished fourth overall despite placing first in the women's short program earlier in the week.
Bach says "you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance."
Valieva's coach and other members of her entourage will be investigated over the teenager's positive test for a heart medication ahead of the Olympics.
The judges who let Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva continue to compete at the Beijing Olympics blamed anti-doping officials for a "failure to function effectively." The Court of Arbitration for Sport had explained its verdict in the case that has dominated Olympics headlines for more than a week in a 41-page document. It cited the "untenable delay" at the testing laboratory in Sweden as a reason for letting the 15-year-old Valieva skate in the women's competition.
Valieva's positive test for a heart medication was only revealed during the Olympics despite her urine sample arriving at the Stockholm lab on Dec. 29. The lab's staffing was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Lowry, Heat battle back to beat Hornets 111-107 in 2OT
UNDATED (AP) — Kyle Lowry scored 12 of his 25 points after regulation and the Miami Heat entered the All-Star break tied for the Eastern Conference lead, rallying to beat the Charlotte Hornets 111-107 in double overtime Thursday night.
Duncan Robinson added 21 points for Miami, and Jimmy Butler overcame a horrendous shooting night to make clutch jumpers in the second overtime period to finish with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Miami has won six of their last seven games, tying the Chicago Bulls for the best record in the East at 38-21.
Miles Bridges had 29 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, and LaMelo Ball added 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds before fouling out in the second overtime.
In other NBA action:
— Marcus Morris Sr. scored 27 points and Luke Kennard added 25 as the Los Angeles Clippers sped to a 17-point lead in the first half and cruised to a 142-111 victory over the Houston Rockets. Terance Mann scored 20 points as the Clippers won for the third time in four games. Los Angeles shot 51.4% from 3-point range and had a 50-35 rebounding advantage. Kennard went 8 of 9 from 3-point range. Jalen Green had 21 points and Jae'Sean Tate added 19 for the Rockets, who lost their seventh straight and for the 11th time in 12 games.
— Joel Embiid (joh-EHL' ehm-BEED') had 42 points, 14 rebounds and five assists and the Philadelphia 76ers regrouped after squandering a 15-point lead to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 123-120 on Thursday night. Embiid put the 76ers ahead for good at 117-116 with a 10-footer with 2:32 left. Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH'-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON'-poh) had 32 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Bucks. Philadelphia played without James Harden, who hasn't made his 76ers debut since coming over in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets last week. The 10-time All-Star and 2018 MVP hasn't played since Feb. 2 due to an injured left hamstring.
— Rui Hachimura scored 20 points, Corey Kispert added 16 and the Washington Wizards beat the Brooklyn Nets 117-103. Ish Smith had 15 points, and Dani Avdija 13 to help the Wizards win their second straight. Patty Mills scored 22 points, and Cam Thomas added 20 for the Nets, coming off a comeback victory at New York on Wednesday night. They have lost 12 of 14.
— Luka Doncic (DAHN'-chich) had 49 points and 15 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks never trailed in a 125-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, their sixth victory in seven games. Doncic made four of his first five 3-point shots — sometimes skipping back to the defensive end in celebration as the net billowed from a long make — before finishing 7 of 14 from deep. Dallas raced to a 45-27 lead after the first quarter, when Doncic scored 19 points and the Mavs combined to make nine of 12 3s. CJ McCollum scored 38 for New Orleans.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Barzal, Dobson lead Islanders to 4-1 victory against Bruins
UNDATED (AP) — Noah Dobson and Mathew Barzal each scored and had an assist, helping the New York Islanders snap a three-game skid with a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves, Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored and the Islanders kicked off a two-game homestand with a victory after a disappointing four-game road trip. Brock Nelson also added an empty-net goal and an assist. Taylor Hall scored the Bruins' lone goal and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves, but Boston fell for the fourth time in five games.
In other NHL ice action:
— J.T. Miller scored with 2:21 remaining in overtime after Vancouver allowed a tying goal in the final second of regulation, giving the Canucks a 5-4 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Vancouver appeared set to win it in regulation when Conor Garland scored with 5:37 remaining and then the Canucks cleared the puck out of their own zone with less than 10 seconds to go. But the Sharks made one last rush and Alexander Barabanov tied it with 0.6 seconds remaining, forcing Vancouver into overtime. Miller then ended it when he beat James Reimer from the top circle on a delayed penalty.
— Leon Draisaitl scored twice and the Edmonton Oilers routed the Anaheim Ducks 7-3 to remain unbeaten under new head coach Jay Woodcroft. Evander Kane, Derek Ryan, Jesse Puljujarvi, Warren Foegele and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, who are 9-1-2 in their last 12 outings and 4-0 under Woodcroft. Mike Smith made 27 saves. Connor McDavid and Ryan McLeod each chipped in a pair of assists. Adam Henrique, Sonny Milano and Trevor Zegras scored for the Ducks, who have lost four in a row. John Gibson allowed seven goals on 41 shots.
— Pius Suter scored the winner in the sixth round of the shootout, and Thomas Greiss made 37 saves as the Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers 3-2. Detroit's Lucas Raymond and the Rangers Mika Zibanjead each scored in the first round of the shootout before each team missed its next four attempts. Suter beat Igor Shesterkin, and Rangers forward Filip Chytil failed to convert. The Rangers, 16-4-3 at home, had a three-game winning streak halted.
— Cole Caufield forced overtime with 8.7 seconds left in regulation and then scored the winner in overtime to help the Montreal Canadiens snap a 10-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Paul Byron also scored and Samuel Montembeault stopped 26 shots for the Canadiens whose last win came on Jan. 18 at Dallas. The victory was the first for interim coach Martin St. Louis, who was 0-3-0 since taking over for the fired Dominique Ducharme. Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Blues, and Ville Husso made 27 saves.
— Austin Watson scored the tiebreaker in the third period and Zach Sanford and Brady Tkachuk added goals as the Ottawa Senators beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Thursday night. Nick Holden had two assists and Anton Forsberg made 22 saves as the Senators improved to 5-2-1 in their last seven road games and 5-5-0 in their last 10 overall. Kyle Okposo scored for the Sabres, and Craig Anderson stopped 25 of 27 shots against his former team. Buffalo had won two in a row.
— Garnet Hathaway scored two goals in a span of less than two minutes late in the third period and the Washington Capitals rallied late to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3. Joe Snively, Michal Kempny and John Carlson also scored for the Capitals, who won their fifth in a row on the road to improve to 16-5-4 away from Washington. Philadelphia has lost four in a row. The Flyers played the first contest of a club-record eight-game homestand. They won't hit the road again until March 10 at Florida.
— Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews each had a goal and an assist, and Jack Campbell made 45 saves to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. David Kampf and Michael Bunting also scored for Toronto, which was outshot 46-29 but won its second straight. Evgeni Malkin scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry had 25 saves.
— Josh Morrissey scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:10 left in the third period and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3. Dominic Toninato, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler also scored for Winnipeg. Kyle Connor, who assisted on Morrissey's goal, added an empty-net goal at the buzzer. Eric Comrie stopped 20-and Dylan DeMelo had two assists. Vince Dunn, Marcus Johansson and Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle. Philip Grubauer made 24 saves.
— Red-hot Patrik Laine scored three goals to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Chicago Blackhawks 7-4. Boone Jenner, Yegor Chinakhov and Max Domi each had a goal and assist for Columbus, which has won three of four. Laine's first hat trick with Columbus extended his points streak to eight games, matching the second-longest of his career. He has 10 goals and six assists in the span, and 16 goals on the season. Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves for the Blue Jackets.
NHL-NEWS
NHL fines Predators coach $25k for inappropriate conduct
NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has fined Nashville Predators coach John Hynes $25,000 for inappropriate conduct at the end of a 4-1 loss to Washington.
Hynes was assessed a game misconduct at the end of Tuesday night's loss in Nashville.
The Predators lead the NHL for the most minor and major penalties, and their average of 12.9 penalty minutes per game also is a league-high.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Arizona beats Oregon State
UNDATED (AP) — Azuolas Tubelis scored 22 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 20 and No. 3 Arizona pulled away in the second half to beat Oregon State 83-69 Thursday night.
The Wildcats have won seven straight and maintained a two-game advantage in the conference. Christian Koloko added 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had nine rebounds.
Oregon State has lost 11 straight, going winless since beating Utah on Dec. 30. The Beavers have had a tough time with injuries this season and had just seven scholarship players available on Thursday.
In other college basketball action:
— Johnny Juzang scored 19 points, Jaylen Clark had a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 13 UCLA rolled to a 76-56 victory over Washington State. Juzang picked up two fouls in the first four minutes and sat the rest of the first half. He had 16 points in the second half. Clark got his second start of the season after Tyger Campbell was benched because of a violation of team rules. Tyrell Roberts led Washington State with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Noah Williams and Andrej Jakimovski scored 11 apiece.
— Chevez Goodwin scored 16 of his 24 points in the first half and No. 17 Southern California defeated Washington 79-69. Drew Peterson had 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Isaiah Mobley added 12 points, and the Trojans won for the fourth time in five games. Terrell Brown Jr. had 23 points and Emmitt Matthews Jr. added 20 as the Huskies lost by double digits again in the second of three straight games against ranked opponents.
— Taze Moore had 14 points and seven rebounds, Fabian White Jr. added 12 points, and No. 14 Houston snapped a two-game losing streak with a 70-52 win over Central Florida. Jamal Shead chipped in 12 points and eight assists, and Kyler Edwards finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Cougars. Houston shot 44% but struggled from behind the arc, going 7 of 23. The Cougars outrebounded UCF, 47-38, and held a 36-14 advantage in points in the paint. Darius Johnson and Dre Fuller Jr. each scored 12 points to lead UCF.
— KJ Williams had 25 points and seven rebound and Murray State beat Austin Peay for its 15th straight victory. Tevin Brown scored 13 points and DJ Burns, Justice Hill and DaQuan Smith each had 11 for the Racers. Elijah Hutchins-Everett had 12 points for Austin Peay.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-MICHIGAN-HARBAUGH
Harbaugh agrees to reworked 5-year contract with Michigan
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh agreed to a reworked five-year contract that runs through the 2026 season, guaranteeing he will make more than $7 million each season. Harbaugh would make $2 million in performance bonuses if the Wolverines repeat as Big Ten champions and go back to the College Football Playoff. Harbaugh would earn another $1 million bonus if he can lead the school to its first national title since 1997. Harbaugh agreed to a large pay cut last year after the Wolverines went 2-4 in the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season.
The announcement of a new deal comes two weeks after Harbaugh interviewed for the coaching vacancy with the Minnesota Vikings.
NFL-NEWS
NFL holds diversity meeting
UNDATED (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a few team owners and executives met with civil rights leaders who urged the league to make drastic changes to its hiring practices to improve diversity in leadership positions.
Goodell was joined on the video call by Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II, Atlanta Falcons owner and chairman Arthur Blank, Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell, Baltimore Ravens executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, Houston Texans limited partner Javier Loya and other top NFL executives.
National Urban League president and CEO Marc H. Morial told the group the NFL's focus on racial equity and social justice recently hasn't yet resulted in improved hiring procedures for the league's head coaches.
In other NFL news:
— New Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson announced his full staff Thursday. It's a staff filled with NFL experience. Press Taylor will be offensive coordinator and Mike Caldwell defensive coordinator. Heath Farwell will be special teams coordinator. Mike McCoy will serve as quarterbacks coach. And Jim Bob Cooter will be passing game coordinator.
— The Denver Broncos have plucked three assistants from the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams' coaching staff, including secondary coach Ejiro Evero, who will serve as Denver's defensive coordinator. New head coach Nathaniel Hackett also announced the additions of Dwayne Stukes as his special teams coordinator and Marcus Dixon as defensive line coach.
— The Carolina Panthers have agreed to a two-year contract extension with backup linebacker Frankie Luvu. The 25-year-old Luvu was a key player on special teams for the Panthers last season. The Panthers also re-signed veteran long snapper J.J. Jansen, the team's longest-tenured player.
— Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Chris Lammons become the fourth suspect arrested in connection with an assault at a Las Vegas nightclub that prompted the Feb. 6 arrest of New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. Lammons turned himself in Thursday in Las Vegas and was briefly booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of felony battery resulting in substantial bodily harm and conspiracy to commit battery.
GOLF-GENESIS INVITATIONAL
Scheffler, Spieth tied for early lead at tough Riviera
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Spieth (speeth) and Scottie Scheffler were happy with rounds of 66 at the Genesis Invitational. That gave them the early lead by one shot over a group that included Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson.
Spieth made seven birdies and was slowed only slightly by a pair of bogeys.
Scheffler is coming off a win last week in the Phoenix Open. His highlight was a tap-in eagle on the first hole that got him going.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NEWS
UCLA hires Bill McGovern as defensive coordinator
UNDATED (AP) — UCLA has hired Bill McGovern as its next defensive coordinator. McGovern was the inside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears last season. The move reunites McGovern with head coach Chip Kelly. McGovern was the outside linebackers coach on Kelly's staff with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-15. McGovern replaces longtime Kelly assistant Jerry Azzinaro, whose defenses struggled in four seasons. The highest the Bruins have finished nationally in total defense was 73rd the past two years.
Elsewhere in college football:
— Injuries are ending the college playing career of Clemson's Hunter Rayburn and the offensive lineman is joining Dabo Swinney's staff in a a student coaching role. The school said that a neck injury has forced Rayburn to give up playing.
MLB-NEWS
Former Angels employee convicted in Skaggs' overdose death
UNDATED (AP) — A former Los Angeles Angels employee has been convicted of providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in Texas. Eric Kay was convicted one count each of drug distribution resulting in death and drug conspiracy. The 47-year-old Kay faces at least 20 years and up to life in prison.
In other MLB news:
— What was to have been the second day of spring training workouts instead was the 78th day of the second-longest work stoppage in baseball history. After just the sixth meeting on core economics since the lockout began on Dec. 2, management attributed the lack of length to having nothing to talk about. While there is a session scheduled for Friday on non-core issues, there is no set date for the resumption of the main talks. The sides have about two weeks left to reach a deal that would allow sufficient spring training ahead of an on-time opening.
NASCAR-DAYTONA-BIFFLE
Greg Biffle races into Daytona 500 after 5-year hiatus
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former NASCAR Cup Series regular Greg Biffle is returning to the Daytona 500 for the first time since 2016. He agreed to drive for a start-up team, New York Racing, and raced his way into the 40-car field during Thursday night's Duel at Daytona.
Biffle had to beat fellow non-charter driver Timmy Hill to make "The Great American Race."
Biffle finished 13th despite running out of fuel with two laps to go. Hill was four laps down in the 60-lap event.
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