AP Sports Summary for January 8th, 2025:
Raiders fire coach Antonio Pierce after he goes 4-13 in lone full season
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders have fired Antonio Pierce after just one season as their full-time coach. It's the latest in a line of coaching changes for the Raiders over the past several years. Pierce took over as the interim coach midway through the 2023 season and went 5-4 the rest of the way. That earned strong player support for him to get the job on a full-time basis. But the Raiders went on a 10-game losing streak this season to put his job in jeopardy. Minority owner Tom Brady is expected to have a role in the Raiders' coaching search.
Justin Verlander and the Giants agree to a $15 million, 1-year contract, AP source says
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $15 million, one-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical. It's the latest big move by new Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey since he was hired in September. San Francisco also signed free agent shortstop Willy Adames to a $182 million, seven-year contract in December. This will be the 20th major league season for Verlander, a three-time AL Cy Young Award winner who turns 42 next month. The right-hander went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts for Houston last year.
Indoor golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has a loud, swift debut match
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Ludvig Aberg will be the answer to a trivia question: He made the first birdie in TGL history. And with that, the indoor golf competition that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy had envisioned for years was finally underway. TGL had its debut match Tuesday night, with Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele of New York Golf Club taking on Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark and Aberg of The Bay Golf Club in the opener. Lowry struck the first shot at 9:15 p.m. Four minutes later, the first hole in TGL history was complete when Aberg rolled in a 9-footer for the first point in league history. The Bay went on to beat New York 9-2.
'This is good for us': No. 1 Tennessee falls by 30 to No. 8 Florida, becoming last unbeaten to lose
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Tennessee coach Rick Barnes believes losing at Florida will be good for his team. At least in the long run. The top-ranked Volunteers became the last Division I team to lose this season, getting thumped 73-43 at No. 8 Florida. This one was over shortly after it tipped. Tennessee missed its first nine shots, trailed by double digits a few minutes later and never recovered. The Volunteers got bullied in the paint, outmuscled on the boards and beaten up and down the court. The result was the most lopsided victory against a No. 1 team since UCLA and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, beat Houston 101-69 in the 1968 Final Four.
Lakers coach JJ Redick says his family evacuated and people are 'freaking out' due to LA wildfires
DALLAS (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick says members of his family were among those in Southern California forced to evacuate their homes due to a wildfire that was being whipped by strong winds around Los Angeles. The fire swept through a Los Angeles hillside where Redick lives alongside other celebrities, burning homes in Pacific Palisades and prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands. Before the Lakers took on the Mavericks in Dallas, Redick acknowledged the gravity of the situation affecting his family and neighbors. He says "a lot of people are freaking out."
Final chapter: France's greatest coach Didier Deschamps says he'll leave after 2026 World Cup
Didier Deschamps says he won't continue as France coach after the next World Cup. The 56-year-old Deschamps said in an interview Wednesday with broadcaster TF1 that he will leave when his contract expires in the summer of 2026. "It's going to stop, because it has to stop at some point," Deschamps said in excerpts of the interview to be aired later Wednesday. "I did my time, with the same desire and the same passion to keep the French team at the highest level." Deschamps started in his role in 2012 and led France to victory at the 2018 World Cup, also reaching the final in 2022 and at the 2016 European Championship.
Trae Young's game-winning heave at the buzzer caps a series of huge plays in Hawks' win over Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — After imposing his will on offense for four quarters, Atlanta's Trae Young still had one play left in him with the final seconds ticking off the clock. Young heaved a buzzer-beating 49-foot 3-pointer from just behind the halfcourt line to give the Hawks a 124-121 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. The dramatic shot capped a game in which Young had 24 points and 20 assists while committing only two turnovers.
Jets interview Rex Ryan, who led franchise to its last playoff appearance, for head coaching job
Rex Ryan has returned to the New York Jets for an interview. The former Jets coach and current ESPN analyst, who led the franchise to its last playoff appearance in the 2010 season, met with the team Tuesday about its head coaching vacancy. Ryan went 50-52, including 4-2 in the playoffs, in six years with the Jets before being fired after the 2014 season. He openly has lobbied for the job during his recent TV appearances and said Monday on ESPN New York radio that he's the perfect candidate and he expected to be hired.
Belgian Grand Prix gets contract extension but set to be dropped from F1 schedule in 2028 and 2030
LONDON (AP) — Formula 1 has extended its contract with the Belgian Grand Prix but one of the sport's most established races is set to be dropped from the schedule in 2028 and 2030. F1 said Wednesday that the extension starting from next year includes races only in 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2031. F1's push in recent years to expand the schedule with more races in the United States and Asia has meant more competition for traditional venues in Europe seeking to keep their places on the calendar. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit, a favorite with the drivers, was on the F1 schedule for the first championship season in 1950 and has been on the calendar every year since 2007.
Dolphins GM Chris Grier: Tyreek Hill 'never asked for a trade with me'
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins don't appear to have any immediate plans to trade Tyreek Hill. General manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel both had conversations with Hill on Monday, a day after the star receiver indicated he might want out of Miami following a loss to the New York Jets, which punctuated a losing season in which the Dolphins missed the playoffs. Grier said Hill did not retract his postgame statements in which the receiver said he was opening the door to potentially leave Miami, but Hill did not request a trade.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Houston 135 Washington 112
Final Charlotte 115 Phoenix 104
Final Dallas 118 L.A. Lakers 97
Final Minnesota 104 New Orleans 97
Final Atlanta 124 Utah 121
Final Miami 114 Golden State 98
Final Boston 118 Denver 106
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Edmonton 4 Boston 0
Final OT Dallas 5 N-Y Rangers 4
Final OT Detroit 3 Ottawa 2
Final SO Columbus 4 Pittsburgh 3
Final Tampa Bay 3 Carolina 2
Final Toronto 3 Philadelphia 2
Final Minnesota 6 St. Louis 4
Final Winnipeg 5 Nashville 2
Final OT Calgary 3 Anaheim 2
Final Vegas 4 San Jose 2
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (8)Florida 73 (1)Tennessee 43
Final (2)Auburn 87 Texas 82
Final (3)Iowa St. 82 Utah 59
Final (4)Duke 76 Pittsburgh 47
Final Georgia 82 (6)Kentucky 69
Final (7)Marquette 74 Georgetown 66
Final (14)Mississippi St. 76 Vanderbilt 64
Final Arizona 75 (21)West Virginia 56
Final (24)Michigan 94 (22)UCLA 75
Final (25)Utah St. 85 San Jose St. 78
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Chicago at Indiana 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Cleveland 7 p.m.
Washington at Philadelphia 7 p.m.
Detroit at Brooklyn 7:30 p.m.
Toronto at New York 7:30 p.m.
Portland at New Orleans 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Denver 9 p.m.
San Antonio at Milwaukee 9:30 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Colorado at Chicago 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Washington 7:30 p.m.
Florida at Utah 10 p.m.
Calgary at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(5)Alabama at South Carolina 7 p.m.
(9)UConn at Villanova 6:30 p.m.
(10)Texas A&M at (17)Oklahoma 9 p.m.
Arizona St. at (11)Kansas 9 p.m.
Penn St. at (13)Illinois 9 p.m.
San Diego at (18)Gonzaga 9 p.m.
(23)Mississippi at Arkansas 7 p.m.
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