AP Sports Summary for Friday, March 16th, 2024.
Aaron Donald announces his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Rams
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Defensive lineman Aaron Donald has announced his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Los Angeles Rams. The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made his surprising announcement on social media. Donald spent his entire career with the Rams, who drafted him in the first round in 2014. He was selected for 10 Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro first teams, and he won the award as the league's top defensive player in 2017, 2018 and 2020. He was the cornerstone of every Rams defense during his career, drawing habitual double-teams away from his teammates and still racking up 111 total sacks.
Conferences and Notre Dame agree on 6-year deal to continue College Football Playoff through 2031
The nine Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame have reached an agreement on a six-year deal to continue the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season. The move establishes a revenue-sharing plan and allows the CFP to finalize a new media rights agreement. Executive Director Bill Hancock says the agreement doesn't lock in a format for the CFP for 2026 and beyond. The playoff is expanding this season from four teams to 12, but that number could grow after the current contract with ESPN expires after the 2025 season. The new deal guarantees playoff access for at least five conferences through 2031.
Wyndham Clark sets a big target at The Players Championship. Scheffler coping with pain in his neck
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Wyndham Clark is leading The Players Championship by four shots after another 65. The big concern was for Scottie Scheffler. The No. 1 player in the world felt pain in his neck area on his second hole of the day and was trying to just finish the round. Scheffler shot 69 and was six back. It was his 25th consecutive round under par. Scheffler had treatment on the course and after his round. Clark is tough even in the best of circumstances. The U.S. Open champion opened his second nine with four straight birdies and shot 30.
Sakkari outlasts Gauff in 3 sets of rain-delayed semi at Indian Wells. She plays Swiatek for title.
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Maria Sakkari outlasted Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 after blowing three match points in the second set of their rain-delayed semifinal at the BNP Paribas Open. Sakkari advanced to Sunday's final against top-ranked Iga Swiatek. She routed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1 in the other semi. Swiatek has beaten Sakkari in three of their five meetings. There were delays of 20 minutes and two hours in the Sakkari-Gauff match. An hour and 10 minutes after holding three match points, Sakkari earned her fourth with a forehand winner. She closed out the match on Gauff's forehand error.
Baseball superstar Ohtani and his wife arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB opener
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and his wife have arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates ahead of their season-opening Major League Baseball games against the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon international airport west of Seoul. His wife Mamiko Tanaka walked behind him. Before departing for South Korea, Ohtani revealed the identify of his wife by posting a photo of him and Tanaka, an ex-professional basketball player, on his Instagram account.
Jokic scores 31, Nuggets top Spurs 117-106 in front of record crowd in Texas' capital city
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 31 points and the Denver Nuggets beat San Antonio 117-106 on Friday night in a game played in the Texas capital as the Spurs drew a record crowd in their bid to broaden their regional fan base. Jamal Murray added 15 points and 10 assists for Denver, which won its fifth straight game and for the 11th time in 12 games to remain atop the Western Conference standings. Jeremy Sochan scored 19 points and Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama each had 17 points for San Antonio, which lost its third straight. The game proved a popular choice as the Spurs set the attendance record for a sporting event at the Moody Center with 16,223 on Friday.
Antelope Valley was the college basketball team without a college. Its season has come to an end
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Antelope Valley men's basketball team is done after one of the stranger seasons in recent memory. The Pioneers lost in the first round of the NAIA men's national tournament and finished with a 26-5 record. The private university in Lancaster, California, announced it was closing on March 6 because of financial difficulties, which potentially could have ended the basketball team's season early. But men's basketball coach Jordan Mast started a GoFundMe page that raised nearly $50,000, which contributed to travel costs to finish out their season.
Cryer helps No. 1 Houston ride big second half to 82-59 rout of No. 25 Texas Tech in Big 12 tourney
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — L.J. Cryer hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points as top-ranked Houston used a big second half to rout No. 25 Texas Tech 82-59 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Cougars will play seventh-ranked Iowa State for the title on Saturday night. Houston went most of the way without big man J'Wan Roberts, who hurt his leg early in the game and only played a few minutes in each half. It hardly mattered as the Cougars used a 17-0 second-half run to pull away. Chance McMillian had 15 points and Joe Toussaint had 10 for Texas Tech.
Newton leads No. 2 UConn past St. John's 95-90 and into first Big East title game since 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Tristen Newton had 25 points and nine assists as No. 2 UConn advanced to the Big East championship game with a rollicking 95-90 victory over St. John's at Madison Square Garden. Cam Spencer added 20 points and nine assists for the top-seeded Huskies, who will face 10th-ranked Marquette on Saturday night. It's the 11th appearance in the Big East final for Connecticut and first since Kemba Walker carried the team to its most recent title in 2011. UConn had been 0-3 in conference semifinals since rejoining the league for the 2020-21 season. Daniss Jenkins scored 27 for fifth-seeded St. John's.
No. 9 seed Mississippi State stuns 5th-ranked Tennessee in SEC quarterfinals 73-56
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard each scored 18 points and ninth-seeded Mississippi State simply dominated fifth-ranked Tennessee 73-56 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The victory should push the Bulldogs firmly off the NCAA Tournament bubble with their second win over the SEC's regular season champions. They will play in the semifinals Saturday for the first time since winning this event in 2009. The Bulldogs held AP SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht to 14 points. Tennessee hurt its hopes for the first No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in program history with a second straight loss.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
___
INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City at Cincinnati 4:05 p.m. (Canceled)
San Francisco at Oakland 4:05 p.m. (Canceled)
Texas at Colorado 4:10 p.m. (Canceled)
Final Detroit 6 Atlanta 1
Final Chicago White Sox 3 Chicago Cubs 2
Final Houston 5 Philadelphia 3
Final Pittsburgh 6 N.Y. Yankees 2
___
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Seattle at L-A Angels 4:10 p.m. (Canceled)
Final Tampa Bay 7 Baltimore 2
Final Detroit 9 Toronto 6
Final Cleveland 6 Kansas City 1
Final Boston 8 Minnesota 5
___
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona at Milwaukee 4:10 p.m. (Canceled)
Final Washington 7 N.Y. Mets 3
Final Miami 8 St. Louis 4
___
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Miami 108 Detroit 95
Final Phoenix 107 Charlotte 96
Final Orlando 113 Toronto 103
Final New Orleans 112 L.A. Clippers 104
Final Denver 117 San Antonio 106
Final Utah 124 Atlanta 122
___
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Winnipeg 6 Anaheim 0
Final Los Angeles 5 Chicago 0
___
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1)Houston 82 (25)Texas Tech 59
Final (2)UConn 95 St. John's 90
Final (3)Purdue 67 Michigan St. 62
Final (4)North Carolina 72 Pittsburgh 65
Final Mississippi St. 73 (5)Tennessee 56
Final Oregon 67 (6)Arizona 59
Final (7)Iowa St. 76 (14)Baylor 62
Final Texas A&M 97 (9)Kentucky 87
Final (10)Marquette 79 Providence 68
Final (12)Auburn 86 (15)South Carolina 55
Final (13)Illinois 77 Ohio St. 74
Final San Diego St. 86 (18)Utah St. 70
Final Florida 102 (19)Alabama 88
Final Colorado 58 (22)Washington St. 52
___
TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
___
INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City at Chi Cubs 4:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Chi White Sox 4:05 p.m.
Seattle at Cincinnati 4:05 p.m.
Milwaukee at Oakland 4:05 p.m.
Detroit at Pittsburgh 4:05 p.m.
Cleveland at San Francisco 4:05 p.m.
Arizona at Texas 4:05 p.m.
Oakland at Colorado 4:10 p.m.
Chi Cubs at L-A Angels 4:10 p.m.
Texas at Milwaukee 4:10 p.m.
N-Y Mets at Houston 6:05 p.m.
L-A Dodgers at Kiwoom Heroes 11 p.m.
___
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston at Baltimore 1:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Minnesota 1:05 p.m.
Toronto at N-Y Yankees 1:05 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Seattle 4:10 p.m.
___
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis at Washington 12:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at Miami 1:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Atlanta 6:05 p.m.
___
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Cleveland at Houston 5 p.m.
Brooklyn at Indiana 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Philadelphia 7 p.m.
Portland at New Orleans 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Memphis 8 p.m.
Washington at Chicago 8 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Lakers 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Utah 9:30 p.m.
New York at Sacramento 10 p.m.
___
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo at Detroit 12:30 p.m.
Ottawa at N-Y Islanders 12:30 p.m.
N-Y Rangers at Pittsburgh 3 p.m.
New Jersey at Arizona 5 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Florida 6 p.m.
Carolina at Toronto 7 p.m.
Montreal at Calgary 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Boston 7 p.m.
San Jose at Columbus 7 p.m.
Los Angeles at Dallas 8 p.m.
Minnesota at St. Louis 8 p.m.
Colorado at Edmonton 10 p.m.
Nashville at Seattle 10 p.m.
Washington at Vancouver 10 p.m.
___
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(7)Iowa St. at (1)Houston 6 p.m.
(10)Marquette at (2)UConn 6:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at (3)Purdue 1 p.m.
NC State at (4)North Carolina 8:30 p.m.
Mississippi St. at (12)Auburn 1 p.m.
Nebraska at (13)Illinois 3:30 p.m.
___
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
CF Montréal at Chicago 2 p.m.
Miami at D.C. United 2 p.m.
Colorado at Seattle 3:30 p.m.
New York at Columbus 7:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at New York City FC 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Austin FC 8:30 p.m.
Vancouver at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m.
Portland at Houston 8:30 p.m.
San Jose at Sporting Kansas City 8:30 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Minnesota 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte FC at Nashville 8:30 p.m.
St Louis City at LA Galaxy 10:30 p.m.
___