AP Sports Summary for March 9th, 2025:
LeBron James has 'not much concern' after exiting loss to Celtics with late groin injury
BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James didn't sound overly concerned about the strained groin that he suffered in the waning minutes of Los Angeles' loss to Boston. He also wasn't willing to put a timetable on how fast he could be back on the court as the Lakers look to maintain their recent surge in the standings. He said his first thoughts went to his first season in Los Angeles in 2018 when he suffered a groin injury during a Christmas Day matchup with Golden State. He missed the next 17 games and the injury bothered him for most of the remainder of the season. The good news is he doesn't believe this latest injury is as severe as the 2018 one. For how he's day-to-day as the Lakers enter pivotal upcoming stretch.
Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy released after Texas district attorney declines to pursue charges
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Xavier Worthy was released Saturday after a district attorney in Texas declined to pursue charges against the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver following an arrest in which he had been accused of felony domestic violence. Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick told the Austin American-Statesman his office had spoken with witnesses and was not accepting the case. Dick also said Worthy and his lawyers were fully cooperating with the investigation. In a statement, Worthy's attorneys said their client was innocent of the charge against him. Williamson County includes parts of Austin, where Worthy played college football at the University of Texas.
Magomed Ankalaev wins undisputed light heavyweight belt with unanimous decision over Alex Pereira
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Magomed Ankalaev scored a stunning upset with a unanimous decision to take Alex Pereira's undisputed light heavyweight belt at UFC313. All three judges scored in favor of Ankalaev (21-1-1), with scores of 29-26 and two at 28-27. In the co-main event, the No. 3-ranked lightweight and fan favorite Justin Gaethje (27-5-0) earned a unanimous decision over No. 11 Rafael Fiziev (12-4-0). Gaethje was scheduled to fight Dan Hooker, who pulled out because of a hand injury. Gatheje dropped Fiziev with a stiff right uppercut in the second round.
Warriors star Stephen Curry reaches 25,000 career points
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry became the 26th player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points, reaching the milestone during the third quarter of the Golden State Warriors' 115-110 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" Curry yelled while running back through the hallway to the locker room following a quick return to the court postgame — a tribute to Draymond Green's signature celebration of making a 3. Curry surpassed 25,000 on a 3-pointer with 8:32 left in the third and received a warm ovation during a timeout with 5:42 to go. Curry has 25,017 career points.
Super Bowl stars Josh Sweat and Milton Williams headline a list of NFL free agents
NFL teams can start reshaping their rosters by signing free agents this week. There's plenty of attention on the quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Aaron Rodgers technically isn't a free agent but the New York Jets already said they plan to release him so he's free to find a new team. Agents can start negotiating with teams at noon EDT Monday when the legal tampering period opens. Players can't officially sign new deals until the start of the league's new year at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
Bubble watch: Georgia is in position to end 10-year NCAA Tournament drought after beating Vanderbilt
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia may have ended its 10-year NCAA Tournament drought by beating Vanderbilt 79-68. In one of several games on Saturday involving teams perceived to be on the NCAA bubble, the Bulldogs improved to 20-11 overall and may have ended any remaining doubt about their hopes to make the NCAA field for the first time since 2015. In another Southeastern Conference game with NCAA implications, Arkansas edged No. 25 Mississippi State 93-92. Also, Wake Forest improved its fading NCAA hopes by beating Georgia Tech 69-43. Indiana beat Ohio State 66-60 in a Big Ten matchup of two bubble teams.
Tatum scores 40, Celtics beat Lakers 111-101 after James leaves late with groin injury
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Boston Celtics held off a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-101. Jaylen Brown added 31 points as the Celtics earned their fourth straight victory. With LeBron James in the locker room with a strained groin, the Lakers cut a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit to single digits. But Tatum and Brown scored Boston's final 12 points to preserve the win. The loss stopped Los Angeles' win streak at eight games. Doncic had 34 points and eight rebounds in his first game in Boston since he and the Dallas Mavericks' Game 5 loss to the Celtics in last season's NBA Finals. James finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
March Madness: Omaha headed to 1st NCAA Tournament, even with a loss in Summit League final
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Omaha is headed to its first NCAA Tournament — even if the Mavericks lose the Summit League championship game. Omaha will play St. Thomas in the tournament final Sunday night, but St. Thomas is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament while completing its transition to Division I. That means Omaha will receive the league's automatic bid no matter the result, because the Mavericks won the regular-season conference title. Tony Osburn scored 30 points in Omaha's 100-75 victory over South Dakota in the semifinals Saturday night. St. Thomas beat North Dakota 85-69. Playing its 14th season since moving up to Division I status, Omaha is in the Summit League championship game for the third time but has never won it.
No. 6 St. John's preps for March Madness with Pitino's 'favorite win of the season by far'
MILWAUKEE (AP) — St. John's coach Rick Pitino wanted his Red Storm to close the regular season with the kind of challenge they could expect to face in the NCAA Tournament. They got all that and then some Saturday. And they responded by producing perhaps their most thrilling victory in a season full of memorable moments. Zuby Ejiofor hit a game-winning shot to beat the overtime buzzer as the sixth-ranked Red Storm beat No. 20 Marquette 86-84 for their sixth straight victory. Not a bad way to head into March Madness.
Mikaela Shiffrin slips from first-run lead to place 3rd in World Cup slalom won by Katharina Truppe
ARE, Sweden (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin let a slalom win slip away Sunday yet set an all-time World Cup record with her 156th finish on a race podium. Shiffrin raced through steady falling snow with a first-run lead in Are, Sweden yet was only 25th-fastest in the second run. Shiffrin finished in third place trailing 0.19 seconds behind the winner Katharina Truppe. Katharina Liensberger was second, 0.05 behind her Austria teammate. Shiffrin said "Katharina Day!" as she hugged the two racers who beat her. Shiffrin's 156th top-3 result in her World Cup career breaks a tie with Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 5 Toronto 4
Final San Francisco 7 Kansas City 3
Final San Diego 7 Cleveland 2
Final Chicago Cubs 9 Seattle 8
Final Chicago White Sox 5 L.A. Dodgers 2
Final L.A. Angels 6 Milwaukee 2
Final Athletics 8 Colorado 1
Final Athletics 4 Arizona 2
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 5 Detroit 0
Final Tampa Bay 6 Baltimore 3
Final Minnesota 9 Boston 8
Final Texas 5 Kansas City 3
Final Houston 5 N.Y. Yankees 2
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 5 Washington 3
Final Atlanta 6 Pittsburgh 5
Final Cincinnati 9 Arizona 8
Final N.Y. Mets 7 Miami 3
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Charlotte 105 Brooklyn 102
Final Houston 146 New Orleans 117
Final Washington 118 Toronto 117
Final Atlanta 120 Indiana 118
Final Chicago 114 Miami 109
Final Orlando 111 Milwaukee 109
Final Boston 111 L.A. Lakers 101
Final Golden State 115 Detroit 110
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Seattle 4 Philadelphia 1
Final OT Ottawa 4 N-Y Rangers 3
Final Boston 4 Tampa Bay 0
Final Florida 4 Buffalo 0
Final Calgary 1 Montreal 0
Final Colorado 7 Toronto 4
Final OT Nashville 3 Chicago 2
Final OT Los Angeles 2 St. Louis 1
Final Edmonton 5 Dallas 4
Final N-Y Islanders 4 San Jose 2
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (7)Alabama 93 (1)Auburn 91
Final (2)Duke 82 North Carolina 69
Final (3)Houston 65 Baylor 61
Final (4)Tennessee 75 South Carolina 65
Final (5)Florida 90 Mississippi 71
Final (6)St. John's 86 (20)Marquette 84
Final (9)Texas Tech 85 Arizona St. 57
Final (10)Iowa St. 73 Kansas St. 57
Final (11)Clemson 65 Virginia Tech 47
Final Penn St. 86 (12)Wisconsin 75
Final (13)Maryland 74 Northwestern 61
Final (14)Louisville 68 Stanford 48
Final (19)Kentucky 91 (15)Missouri 83
Final (22)Texas A&M 66 LSU 52
Final (23)BYU 85 Utah 74
Final Kansas 83 (24)Arizona 76
Final Arkansas 93 (25)Mississippi St. 92
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final tie Houston 0 Columbus 0
Final Seattle 5 Los Angeles FC 2
Final tie New York 0 Atlanta 0
Final Cincinnati 2 Toronto FC 0
Final D.C. United 2 Sporting Kansas City 1
Final Philadelphia 2 New England 0
Final New York City FC 2 Orlando City 1
Final Colorado 1 Austin FC 0
Final Chicago 3 FC Dallas 1
Final Nashville 2 Portland 0
Final San Diego FC 3 Real Salt Lake 1
Final Vancouver 2 CF Montréal 0
Final Minnesota 1 San Jose 0
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Atlanta at Boston 1:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Detroit 1:05 p.m.
Miami at Houston 1:05 p.m.
Baltimore at Philadelphia 1:05 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at St. Louis 1:05 p.m.
Arizona at Athletics 4:05 p.m.
Milwaukee at Kansas City 4:05 p.m.
Athletics at L-A Dodgers 4:05 p.m.
Texas at Arizona 4:10 p.m.
Cincinnati at L-A Angels 4:10 p.m.
Colorado at Seattle 4:10 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota at Baltimore 1:05 p.m.
Toronto at Tampa Bay 1:05 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Cleveland 4:05 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington at N-Y Mets 1:10 p.m.
San Francisco at Chi Cubs 4:05 p.m.
San Diego at San Francisco 4:05 p.m.
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Denver at Oklahoma City 1 p.m.
Phoenix at Dallas 3:30 p.m.
Memphis at New Orleans 7 p.m.
Utah at Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Milwaukee 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Minnesota 8 p.m.
Detroit at Portland 9 p.m.
Sacramento at L.A. Clippers 9:30 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
New Jersey at Philadelphia 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Minnesota 3:30 p.m.
Seattle at Washington 3:30 p.m.
Winnipeg at Carolina 5 p.m.
Columbus at N-Y Rangers 6 p.m.
Los Angeles at Vegas 8 p.m.
Dallas at Vancouver 9 p.m.
N-Y Islanders at Anaheim 9 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(17)Michigan at (8)Michigan St. 12 p.m.
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Charlotte FC at Miami 4 p.m.
St Louis City at LA Galaxy 7 p.m.
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