AP Sports Summary for February 1st, 2024.
Seahawks hire Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as new coach
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks hired Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their new head coach. Macdonald, 36, spent the past two years running Baltimore's defense, including this past season when the Ravens finished with the NFL's best regular-season record and reached the AFC championship game before losing to Kansas City. This will be the first head coaching position at any level for Macdonald. He will be the youngest head coach in the NFL.
Early money heavily on Kansas City Chiefs to repeat as Super Bowl champions
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The early money is heavily on Kansas City to repeat as Super Bowl champion when the Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. That caused sportsbooks to drop the opening number that favored the Niners by 2 or 2 1/2 points to 1 or 1 1/2 points. FanDuel Sportsbook opened the Niners as 2 1/2-point favorites. That number was 1 1/2 on Tuesday night.
Super Bowl-bound Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to Taylor Swift: 'Thanks for joining the team'
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce thanked his girlfriend, pop superstar Taylor Swift, for "joining the team" during his podcast with his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce. Swift began dating the younger Kelce after he invited her to a Chiefs game early in the season, and she has been a frequent attendee every since. Whether she makes it to Las Vegas to watch the Chiefs play the 49ers in the Super Bowl remains to be seen. She resumes her Eras Tour next week with four shows in Tokyo, and the last of them ends on Saturday about 10 p.m. local time. That could give her enough time to make the trip for Sunday's game.
Kevin Durant scores 33 points in Brooklyn return, leads Suns to 136-120 victory over the Nets
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 33 points in his return to Brooklyn, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 136-120 victory over the Nets on Wednesday night. Durant added eight assists in his first game in Brooklyn since being traded to Phoenix nearly a year ago. He got a mixed reception early in the game before helping take the crowd out of it with 11 points in the third quarter, when the Suns outscored the Nets 42-26 after leading by just three at halftime. Jusuf Nurkic added 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Suns, overwhelming an undersized Nets team as the Suns won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Caitlin Clark moves into No. 2 on NCAA scoring list as No. 3 Iowa pounds Northwestern 110-74
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Iowa star Caitlin Clark moved into second on the NCAA women's basketball career scoring list, finishing with 35 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the No. 3 Hawkeyes' 110-74 victory over Northwestern. Cheered on by a sellout crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena filled with Iowa colors and dotted with Clark shirts, the senior guard went 11 for 22 from the field. It was her 13th game this season with at least 30 points. Hannah Stuelke had 17 points and nine rebounds for Iowa, which earned its second straight win since a 100-92 overtime loss at Ohio State on Jan. 21.
With scoring up less than 1% over last season, the NBA is not seeing cause for alarm
Joe Dumars went to an NBA game a couple of weeks ago that came down to the very last shot, and he thought it was one of the best games of the season to this point. The final score was Denver 102, Boston 100. It was a reminder that defense still can get played in the NBA. Amid a flurry of big individual performances — Luka Doncic scoring 73, Joel Embiid scoring 70, Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns each scoring 62 — in the last two weeks alone, Dumars said Wednesday that NBA officials aren't alarmed by such numbers because the league's scoring average is up only slightly compared to last season.
PGA Tour strikes $3 billion deal with Fenway-led investment group. Players to get equity ownership
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The PGA Tour is getting a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group. The deal gives players access to more than $1.5 billion as equity owners in the new PGA Tour Enterprises. The launch of PGA Tour Enterprises comes eight months after the PGA Tour signed a framework agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. That led to private equity groups wanting to join. The tour still is negotiating with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The PIF is not yet part of the new venture. The tour says its partnership with SSG allows for the Saudis to be co-investors.
Tennessee, Virginia AGs suing NCAA over NIL-related recruiting rules with Vols under investigation
The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA that challenged its ban on the use of name, image and likeness compensation in the recruitment of college athletes. The legal challenge comes in response to the NCAA's investigation of University of Tennessee athletics for potential recruiting infractions. The lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Tennessee claims the NCAA is enforcing rules that unfairly restrict how athletes can commercially use their name, image and likeness. The NCAA already is facing other antitrust suits challenging transfer rules, employment status for athletes and athlete compensation rules.
Cal Ripken Jr. and Grant Hill are part of the investment team that has agreed to buy the Orioles
Cal Ripken Jr. and Grant Hill are part of the investor group that has agreed to buy the Baltimore Orioles. So are former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke. The group is headed by Baltimore native David Rubenstein. He is co-founder of the Carlyle Group. Additional investors were revealed in a news release announcing the agreement between Rubenstein and the Angelos family, which has run the team for the past three decades. The Angelos family is selling a control stake in the team to Rubenstein for $1.725 billion. The sale is subject to a full vote of Major League Baseball ownership.
Repeating in NFL used to be more common, but Chiefs aim to be first back-to-back champs in 19 years
Repeat championships in the NFL used to be more common. Over the first 39 Super Bowls, it happened eight times. But no team has done it since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots won two in a row following the 2003-04 seasons. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are aiming to become the first back-to-back Super Bowl champs in 19 years when they face the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas. The Chiefs had a chance to do it three years ago, but lost 31-9 to Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final L.A. Clippers 125 Washington 109
Final Chicago 117 Charlotte 110
Final Cleveland 128 Detroit 121
Final Miami 115 Sacramento 106
Final Minnesota 121 Dallas 87
Final Orlando 108 San Antonio 98
Final New Orleans 110 Houston 99
Final Oklahoma City 105 Denver 100
Final Phoenix 136 Brooklyn 120
Final Portland 119 Milwaukee 116
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final OT Ottawa 3 Detroit 2
Final Los Angeles 4 Nashville 2
Final OT Anaheim 3 San Jose 2
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1)UConn 74 Providence 65
Final (2)Purdue 105 Northwestern 96
Final Florida 94 (10)Kentucky 91
Final (16)Auburn 81 Vanderbilt 54
Final (18)Baylor 77 UCF 69
Final Boise St. 86 (19)New Mexico 78
Final (24)Alabama 85 Georgia 76
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Indiana at New York 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Boston 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Memphis 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Utah 10 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(6)Wisconsin at Nebraska 8:30 p.m.
California at (11)Arizona 8:30 p.m.
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