AP Sports Summary for January 16th, 2025:
March Madness will pay women's teams under a new structure approved by the NCAA
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Women's basketball teams finally will be paid for playing games in the NCAA Tournament each March just like the men have for years under a plan approved Wednesday at the NCAA convention. The vote by NCAA membership was the final step toward a pay structure for women playing in March Madness after the Division I Board of Governors voted unanimously for the proposal in August. Now, so-called performance units that represent revenue will be given to women's teams playing in the tournament. A team that reaches the Final Four could bring its conference roughly $1.26 million over the next three years. The lack of a performance units program for the women's tournament has been a point of sharp criticism.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers declares for NFL draft as program ushers in Arch Manning era
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas junior quarterback Quinn Ewers has declared for the NFL draft, ending a Longhorns career in which he led the program to a Big 12 championship and twice to the College Football Playoff but was not always embraced by a fan base eagerly waiting for Arch Manning to take over. Ewers passed for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns in a career that few Texas quarterbacks can match. His biggest legacy will be leading the program to the playoff semifinals in consecutive years, but Texas fell short of the championship game both times. Ewers' departure sets the stage for Manning to take over in 2025. Manning passed for 939 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for four TDs this season but has seen only limited playing time since September.
Urban Meyer joins Nick Saban in College Football HOF's Class of 2025; Vick, Strahan also elected
Urban Meyer will join Nick Saban in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class. The National Football Foundation announced Saban's selection last week and the rest of the 18-player, four-coach class on Wednesday. Michael Vick and Michael Strahan are among the former players who will be inducted. Saban retired last year as the NCAA's active leader in wins with 292 and seven national championships. Meyer led Florida to national titles in 2006 and 2008 and Ohio State in 2014. The 2025 class will be inducted Dec. 9 during an awards dinner in Las Vegas. The Hall of Fame is in Atlanta.
Coco Gauff is into the Australian Open's 3rd round and still unbeaten in 2025
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Coco Gauff has stretched her unbeaten start to 2025 to seven matches and 14 sets. The 2023 U.S. Open champion moved into the third round at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over 173rd-ranked Jodie Burrage of Britain at Rod Laver Arena. Gauff was a semifinalist at Melbourne Park a year ago. Against Burrage, she went through a bit of a rough patch in the second set, struggling with double-faults and dropping four games in a row to go from a break up at 3-1 to a break down at 5-3. But when Burrage served for the second set, Gauff got back in control.
Lindsey Vonn falls toward end of downhill training run in Cortina
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lindsey Vonn has fallen toward the end of a World Cup downhill training run in Italy and appeared slightly banged up. Vonn got back up and skied to the finish area on the Olympia delle Tofane course that will host next year's Milan-Cortina Olympics but then went inside a medical tent for treatment on Thursday. The 40-year-old Vonn recently returned to ski racing after nearly six years in retirement. She has a titanium knee replacement. Last Sunday, she finished fourth in a super-G in St. Anton, Austria.
Curtis Jones scores 25 points in rare start to lead No. 2 Iowa St to 74-57 win over No. 9 Kansas
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Curtis Jones scored 25 points in his second start of the season to lead No. 2 Iowa State to a 74-57 win over No. 9 Kansas for the Cyclones' 12th straight victory. The Cyclones came into the game with their highest ranking in program history but without one of their key starters in forward Milan Momcilovic. He's out indefinitely with a left hand injury. Jones looked comfortable starting in Momcilovic's place. He made his first six shots and finished 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. Zeke Mayo led the Jayhawks with 17 points.
NFL's wild-card round averages 28.3 million viewers, a 9.3% decline from last year
Viewer audiences for the first weekend of the NFL playoffs were down 9.3% from last year, a bigger decline than what the league experienced during the regular season. According to the league and Nielsen, the six wild-card round games averaged 28.3 million viewers on television and digital platforms, compared to 31.2 million last year. The two Saturday games held steady while the Sunday and Monday matchups saw declines.
Iga Swiatek moves into a 3rd-round match against Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Iga Swiatek rushed through her first set in 26 minutes and completed her 6-0, 6-2 second-round win over Rebecca Sramkova in an hour at the Australian Open. The five-time Grand Slam champion makes a habit of advancing quickly through the early rounds at the majors. She's won almost 12% of her sets in Grand Slams by 6-0, according to the tournament broadcaster. When No. 49-ranked Sramkova ended a seven-game losing run by holding serve, she raised her arm to acknowledge the applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. Second-seeded Swiatek next faces 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, who held off Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.
Why the Australian Open is streaming live tennis with gaming-style player avatars
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open is getting in on the newest trend in the sports world by re-creating tennis matches in video-game form. The year's first Grand Slam tournament runs through Jan. 26 and is streaming real-time animated feeds on its YouTube channel that mimic what's happening in the three main stadiums. Players are represented by characters that look like something out of a Wii game. They might not exactly be perfect portrayals of Coco Gauff or Novak Djokovic but the graphics do try to show the correct outfit colors or hats and bandanas the athletes are wearing and reflect what is happening in the matches, with about a one-point delay.
Pro Picks: Chiefs, Bills, Lions and Eagles will advance to the conference championships
The road to the NFL's final four features seven of the eight division winners. Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs open the divisional round weekend against C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon. Rookie sensation Jayden Daniels leads the Washington Commanders against the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions in a prime-time matchup. Daniels helped the Commanders upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a wild-card game. Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams, who are coming off a short week following a Monday night win, in the early game Sunday. Then it's Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills to cap the weekend.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final OT New York 125 Philadelphia 119
Final Toronto 110 Boston 97
Final Atlanta 110 Chicago 94
Final Memphis 129 San Antonio 115
Final Milwaukee 122 Orlando 93
Final New Orleans 119 Dallas 116
Final Houston 128 Denver 108
Final Charlotte 117 Utah 112
Final L.A. Lakers 117 Miami 108
Final Golden State 116 Minnesota 115
Final L.A. Clippers 126 Brooklyn 67
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Buffalo 4 Carolina 2
Final Edmonton 5 Minnesota 3
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Iowa St. 74 (9)Kansas 57
Final (6)Tennessee 74 (23)Georgia 56
Final (10)Houston 70 West Virginia 54
Final (12)Michigan St. 90 Penn St. 85
Final (17)Purdue 69 Washington 58
Final UNLV 65 (22)Utah St. 62
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Indiana at Detroit 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Washington 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Oklahoma City 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Sacramento 10 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Portland 10 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Anaheim at Tampa Bay 7 p.m.
Detroit at Florida 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Toronto 7 p.m.
San Jose at Columbus 7 p.m.
Washington at Ottawa 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at N-Y Islanders 7:30 p.m.
Calgary at St. Louis 8 p.m.
Chicago at Nashville 8 p.m.
Montreal at Dallas 8 p.m.
Seattle at Winnipeg 8 p.m.
N-Y Rangers at Utah 9 p.m.
Edmonton at Colorado 9:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at Vancouver 10 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(16)Gonzaga at Oregon St. 11 p.m.
(18)Memphis at Temple 7 p.m.
(20)Michigan at Minnesota 7 p.m.
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