AP Sports Summary for November 30th, 2023.
Sands casino family says they'll buy majority of Mavs from Cuban. AP source says valuation is $3.5B
The family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company says it has entered agreements to buy the majority stake of the Dallas Mavericks from team owner Mark Cuban. The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion, according to an AP source, and will take weeks for the league to process. Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. The family of Miriam Adelson, widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has announced it is selling $2 billion of her shares to buy the team.
Mavericks likely will end up in the hands of one of Las Vegas' most powerful families
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Cuban in many ways has been the face of the Dallas Mavericks franchise since he bought the club in 2000. Tuesday's news that he was selling a majority share to perhaps Las Vegas' most powerful family created a number of questions. The Adelsons confirmed the purchase Wednesday. Miriam Adelson is a medical doctor and widow of Sheldon Adelson. He was the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands. She has no corporate role with the company. Her son-in-law is Patrick Dumont. He is the company president and a board member.
Jets begin Aaron Rodgers' 21-day practice window in next step in recovery from torn Achilles tendon
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets opened the 21-day practice window for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The move Wednesday is the next step in the four-time NFL MVP's rehabilitation from a torn Achilles tendon. Coach Robert Saleh said Rodgers, who turns 40 on Saturday, was cleared for some football activities but was limited at practice and isn't cleared for contact. Saleh emphasized it's not necessarily a signal Rodgers will play again this season as it is the next step of the quarterback's rehabilitation process. At the end of the 21-day period, the Jets will decide whether to activate him or he'll spend the rest of this season on injured reserve.
Brazile, Battle and defense lead Arkansas to 80-75 victory over No. 7 Duke
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Trevon Brazile had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Khalif Battle scored 21 off the bench and Arkansas held on to beat No. 7 Duke 80-75. Playing without leading scorer Tramon Mark, the Razorbacks snapped a two-game skid before a capacity crowd of 20,344 — a record at Bud Walton Arena. When the final horn sounded, fans rushed the floor to celebrate. The Razorbacks stayed in the game early with defense, ultimately limiting Duke to 36% shooting. But it was a scoring run midway through the second half that finally broke things open — and Arkansas built a 14-point lead before staving off a furious Duke comeback down the stretch. Kyle Filipowski scored 23 of his 26 points in the second half for the Blue Devils, and finished with 10 rebounds.
LSU's Angel Reese is back with the No. 7 Tigers after 4-game absence
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU star forward Angel Reese is ending her four-game absence and rejoining the No. 7 Tigers in advance of their match-up with ninth-ranked Virginia Tech on Thursday night. LSU coach Kim Mulkey says Reese has looked good in practice lately and will play against the Hokies. Reese foreshadowed her return when she posted on social media a photo of herself inside LSU's home basketball stadium earlier this week. Mulkey has declined to go into detail about why Reese was not with the team for much of the past two weeks beyond saying it stemmed from unspecified "locker-room issues." LSU won all four games Reese missed. Last season, a Reese-led LSU squad won the program's first national title.
Jokic's triple-double lifts Nuggets past Rockets 134-124 in Murray's return
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 30 points and the Denver Nuggets rolled past the Houston Rockets 134-124 on Wednesday night in Jamal Murray's return from a hamstring injury. Murray scored 16 points after missing Denver's past 11 games. After starting 6-1 with Murray available, the Nuggets were just 6-5 without their point guard. It was the third consecutive win for the NBA champion Nuggets, who had lost four of five before their current streak. Jokic, who was sidelined with a lower back injury in a win Monday at the Los Angeles Clippers, recorded his seventh triple-double of the season.
Baltimore's Félix Bautista and Milwaukee's Devin Williams win MLB's Reliever of the Year Awards
NEW YORK (AP) — Baltimore's Félix Bautista is the unanimous winner of the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award and Milwaukee's Devin Williams won the Trevor Hoffman National League honor. A 28-year-old right-hander, Bautista was 8-2 with a 1.48 ERA and 33 saves in 39 chances for the AL East champion Orioles. He made his final appearance on Aug. 25 and had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 9, which likely will cause him to miss the 2024 season. A 29-year-old right-hander, Williams was 8-3 with a 1.53 ERA and 36 saves in 40 opportunities for the NL Central champion Brewers.
Paris angers critics with plans to restrict Olympic Games traffic but says residents shouldn't flee
PARIS (AP) — Stay and enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime show. That is the message organizers of the Paris Olympics are sending in an effort to reassure the French capital's residents that security measures and traffic restrictions won't make their lives nightmarish during the July 26-Aug. 11 event and the Paralympic Games that follow. But critics, including in the Senate, were displeased by plans to require motorists to apply online for a QR code to access traffic-restricted zones of Paris during the games. Senators complained that lawmakers had not been consulted. Nathalie Goulet, a senator from Normandy, likened the proposal to ID papers that France's Nazi occupiers imposed in World War II.
Pro Picks: Cowboys will keep rolling but the Seahawks will avoid a rout
Dak Prescott is rolling and so are the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys enter Thursday night's game against Seattle with three straight wins by a combined margin of 127-47. They've won seven games this season by at least 20 points. Prescott has thrown for 300-plus yards and three or more touchdowns four times in the past five games. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are skidding. They've lost three of four, including lopsided games against Baltimore and San Francisco. Geno Smith and the offense are struggling over that span, scoring just three TDs as a unit. The Cowboys are 9-point favorites.
College Football Picks: Awkward trophy ceremonies, CFP implications highlight championship weekend
There could be some awkward trophy ceremonies around college football's championship weekend. From the Pac-12, where the winner is guaranteed to be one of the schools that helped collapse the conference, to the Big 12, where the commissioner was outwardly rooting against the favorite to win the championship game, to the Big Ten, where Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and the commissioner who suspended him could be sharing a stage, awkward handshakes are highly likely. The games themselves should provide high drama, too, as seven teams fight for four playoff spots.
AP-Scorecard
TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final L.A. Lakers 133 Detroit 107
Final Orlando 139 Washington 120
Final Toronto 112 Phoenix 105
Final Memphis 105 Utah 91
Final New Orleans 124 Philadelphia 114
Final Denver 134 Houston 124
Final L.A. Clippers 131 Sacramento 117
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Montreal 4 Columbus 2
Final N-Y Rangers 3 Detroit 2
Final Washington 2 Los Angeles 1
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Arkansas 80 (7)Duke 75
Final (17)North Carolina 100 (10)Tennessee 92
Final Virginia 59 (14)Texas A&M 47
Final Saint Joseph's 78 (18)Villanova 65
Final (20)Colorado St. 88 Colorado 83
Final (22)James Madison 81 Buffalo 66
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