AP Sports Summary for Thursday, March 21st, 2024.
Cavs coach Bickerstaff says he received threats from gamblers, feels sports betting 'gone too far'
Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff revealed he received threats from gamblers last season and reported it to the NBA. Speaking before the Cavs game against Miami, Bickerstaff said gamblers got his telephone number and sent him "crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff." Bickerstaff said he told security and that the gambler was located. With sports gambling growing in the U.S., Bickerstaff, who is in his fourth full season with the Cavaliers, said his job has become more challenging. He said more should be done to protect players, coaches and others in the game.
Detroit Lions defensive back Cameron Sutton sought in Florida domestic violence warrant
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Detroit Lions defensive back Cameron Sutton is wanted on a Florida domestic violence warrant. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday asked for tips to help find him. Authorities said on the X social media platform that the warrant is for domestic battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The sheriff's office said Sutton may be driving a Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a Florida license plate. No other information was immediately provided. It wasn't clear if Sutton has a lawyer to speak for him and the team declined to comment. An email message sent to Sutton's agent was not immediately returned.
The four Grand Slams, the two tours and Saudi Arabia are all hoping to revamp tennis
Tennis could be on the verge of massive structural change if one of two separate proposals formulated by the four Grand Slam tournaments and the WTA and ATP professional tours ends up moving forward. There is plenty of discussion happening now behind closed doors about the sport's future. Negotiations involve the various governing bodies, tournaments, players, agents and Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund. The idea set forth by the four majors would get rid of the current WTA-ATP structure and create a new Premier Tour for roughly 100 women and 100 men and a lower-level Contenders Tour for roughly 200 women and 200 men. All events would have women and men and pay equal prize money.
Ohtani's interpreter is fired by Dodgers after allegations of 'massive theft' from Japanese star
SEOUL, South Korea. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani's interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara has been fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers following allegations of illegal gambling and theft from the Japanese star. Othani is playing in Seoul, South Korea, this week in a two-game series with the San Diego Padres to open the major league baseball season. Mizuhara was seen regularly chatting with Ohtani, who was the Dodgers' designated hitter, seemingly discussing his at-bats over a tablet computer during Wednesday's game. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said a different interpreter would be used and he said he did not know Mizuhara's whereabouts.
Agent Scott Boras defends himself and union leadership against a faction pushing for new negotiator
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Agent Scott Boras defended himself and the leadership of the Major League Baseball Players Association against a faction pushing for a change in the union's lead negotiator. Boras says: "When you have inexperienced people who haven't been doing this for a long time, they make statements that are just not supported by facts. During an online meeting Monday, players pushed for union executive director Tony Clark to remove deputy executive director Bruce Meyer, who led talks for the 2022 collective bargaining agreement. Some in the group pushing for change want to replace Meyer with Harry Marino, who helped minor leaguers organize.
Who will reach the women's Final Four and win it all? A March Madness bracket analysis
The women's NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins, with 68 teams trying to win the national championship. The Final Four will be in Cleveland. LSU ended a run of 10 straight national championships by No. 1 seeds. Look for that to be a one-year exception. Associated Press Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg is picking South Carolina, Ohio State, Stanford and UCLA to reach the Final Four. He also believes South Carolina will beat UCLA in the final to cap off the 10th unbeaten season in NCAA women's basketball history.
Andy Murray beats weary Matteo Berrettini to advance at the Miami Open
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Andy Murray won another lengthy match with Matteo Berrettini, who appeared weary and leaned on his racket to keep his balance during Murray's 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory Wednesday at the Miami Open. Playing his first match on the ATP Tour this season, Berrettini was serving with Murray leading 5-2 in the second set when he seemed to become dizzy, resting his racket on the court to hold himself up. He was visited by a medical attendant, who checked his blood pressure before play continued. Berrettini left the court after dropping that set but was able to finish the match, which last 2 hours, 49 minutes.
NFL competition committee proposes a ban on hip-drop tackles and a radical change to kickoffs
The NFL competition committee is proposing a rule to penalize so-called "hip-drop" tackles and a radical change to kickoffs to add more returns without compromising safety. The proposals will be presented to owners at the league meetings later this month, with 24 out of 32 votes needed for approval. The committee didn't propose any rule changes to limit the use of the "tush push" quarterback sneak that has been so successful for the Philadelphia Eagles the past few seasons or any change to the rule giving the defensive team a touchback if the team with the ball fumbles through the end zone.
Purdue faces the ghost of a shocking March Madness loss. Virginia has some advice on how to move on
Purdue is back in the NCAA Tournament with a No. 1 seed with the goal of regrouping from last year's shocking upset loss to Fairleigh Dickinson. The Boilermakers became the second top seed to lost to a No. 16 seed. The first was Virginia in 2018. The Cavaliers lost to UMBC but regrouped to win the championship a year later. The Cavaliers' journey offers a March Madness roadmap for the Boilermakers before their opener Friday. Former Virginia player Ty Jerome was part of that title winner. He says going through the loss together can make Purdue stronger for this year.
Susie Wolff files criminal complaint against FIA following conflict of interest investigation
The wife of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says she has filed a criminal complaint in the French courts "in relation to statements made about me" by Formula 1's governing body. Susie Wolff is an employee of F1's management group as director of the all-female series F1 Academy. The FIA said in early December it was investigating the Wolffs following allegations of a conflict of interest and whether they have shared confidential information. The nine other F1 teams all denied lodging a complaint against the Wolffs and the FIA dropped the investigation within 48 hours.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Atlanta 10 Toronto 9
Final Oakland 3 Chicago Cubs 1
Final Cincinnati 3 Chicago White Sox 1
Final Texas 8 Cincinnati 1
Final San Francisco 5 L.A. Angels 2
Final Baltimore 13 Philadelphia 4
Final N.Y. Yankees 12 Pittsburgh 0
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 12 Minnesota 3
Final L.A. Angels 8 Kansas City 8
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final L.A. Dodgers 5 San Diego 2
Final N.Y. Mets 6 Miami 3
Final Arizona 5 Colorado 1
Final St. Louis 13 Washington 4
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Indiana 122 Detroit 103
Final Miami 107 Cleveland 104
Final Sacramento 123 Toronto 89
Final Boston 122 Milwaukee 119
Final Oklahoma City 119 Utah 107
Final L.A. Clippers 116 Portland 103
Final Phoenix 115 Philadelphia 102
Final Golden State 137 Memphis 116
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Toronto 7 Washington 3
Final Dallas 5 Arizona 2
Final Los Angeles 6 Minnesota 0
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
N-Y Yankees at Atlanta 1:05 p.m.
N-Y Mets at Detroit 1:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia 1:05 p.m.
Houston at St. Louis 1:05 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington 1:05 p.m.
Toronto at Pittsburgh 6:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Seattle 9:40 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City at Cleveland 4:05 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Kansas City 4:05 p.m.
Baltimore at Boston 6:05 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego at L-A Dodgers 6:05 a.m.
Chi Cubs at Colorado 4:10 p.m.
San Francisco at Milwaukee 9:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
New Orleans at Orlando 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Washington 7 p.m.
Brooklyn at Milwaukee 8 p.m.
Chicago at Houston 8 p.m.
Utah at Dallas 8:30 p.m.
New York at Denver 9 p.m.
Atlanta at Phoenix 10:30 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
N-Y Islanders at Detroit 7 p.m.
N-Y Rangers at Boston 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Carolina 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Ottawa 7 p.m.
Winnipeg at New Jersey 7 p.m.
Nashville at Florida 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo at Edmonton 9 p.m.
Chicago at Anaheim 10 p.m.
Montreal at Vancouver 10 p.m.
Seattle at Vegas 10:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Jose 10:30 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
S. Dakota St. at (4)Iowa St. 7:35 p.m.
Wagner at (5)North Carolina 2:45 p.m.
St. Peter's at (6)Tennessee 9:20 p.m.
Long Beach St. at (9)Arizona 2 p.m.
Morehead St. at (10)Illinois 3:10 p.m.
Akron at (11)Creighton 1:30 p.m.
Oakland at (12)Kentucky 7:10 p.m.
Oregon at (16)South Carolina 4 p.m.
Samford at (17)Kansas 9:55 p.m.
McNeese St. at (18)Gonzaga 7:25 p.m.
Duquesne at (21)BYU 12:40 p.m.
NC State at (22)Texas Tech 9:40 p.m.
Drake at (25)Washington St. 10:05 p.m.
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