AP Sports Update for Satruday
Tiger Woods goes viral for all the wrong reasons at Riviera
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiger Woods had some explaining to do in the Genesis Invitational. Not only did a bad day putting give him a 74 and place him on the verge of missing the cut, some chauvinistic humor went viral as well. Social media zoomed on video of Woods handing Justin Thomas a tampon during the opening round after Woods hit it farther than Thomas off the tee. Woods apologized if anyone was offended. He said it was meant as a joke with Thomas. As for his golf, Woods finished with three bogeys on his last four holes and was outside the cut line when he finished.
Homa feeling at home and leads at Riviera as Tiger makes cut
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Max Homa is leading the Genesis Invitational. That used to be a big deal to the guy who grew up in the area. Now it feels normal because Homa is playing so well. Already a two-time winner this season, he had a 68 for a one-shot lead over Jon Rahm, Keith Mitchell and Lee Hodges. Tiger Woods will be around for the weekend, just barely. Woods made three bogeys over his last four holes for a 74 and will make the cut on the number. Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay are also in the mix going into the weekend.
AP source: QB Derek Carr meeting with Jets this weekend
A person familiar with the situation says free agent quarterback Derek Carr is meeting with the New York Jets this weekend. The 31-year-old spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Raiders but was released by Las Vegas after he declined to waive the no-trade clause in his contract. The Jets are looking for a veteran quarterback to lead their offense after Zach Wilson struggled mightily after being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team didn't announce its plans. NFL Network first reported on the meeting.
AP source: Commanders finalizing hire of Bieniemy as OC
The Washington Commanders are finalizing terms of a deal with Eric Bieniemy to hire the longtime Kansas City Chiefs assistant as their offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. That's according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn't been competed. Bieniemy spent the past five seasons as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator. They won the Super Bowl twice in that time. Bieniemy has interviewed for numerous head coaching jobs. But coach Andy Reid calling plays for Kansas City appeared to hurt Bieniemy's stock. He's now set to get the chance to call plays for Washington and run every aspect of its offense under Ron Rivera.
Qatar-based bid for Man United confirmed on deadline day
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A Qatar-based bid for Manchester United has been confirmed with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani promising to rid the iconic soccer club of debt and return it to its former glories. Sheikh Jassim is the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank and has submitted a 100% offer to buy out current owners the Glazer family. Friday was the final day for serious bidders to step forward in the race to buy the club. The Glazer family bought United for about $1.4 billion in 2005. BBC Sport says it understands that British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos had also made a bid and met the deadline. There's been no official confirmation from Ineos.
Gasol, Nowitzki, Parker, Popovich among Hoop Hall finalists
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker are all one step closer to basketball immortality. The three international greats were among the list of Class of 2023 finalists unveiled Friday by the Basketball Hall of Fame, putting them on the doorstep of enshrinement this summer. Also on that list was Gregg Popovich, the winningest coach in NBA history with the San Antonio Spurs, and Dwyane Wade, part of three championship teams with the Miami Heat. The other finalists are Olympic champion and world champion Jennifer Azzi, six-time WNBA All-Star and WNBA championship-winning coach Becky Hammon; and longtime coaches Gary Blair, Gene Bess, David Hixon, Gene Keady and Marian Washington.
American skier Shiffrin leads 1st run of slalom at worlds
MERIBEL, France (AP) — American skier Mikaela Shiffrin took the lead with her first run of the slalom at the world championships Saturday. Shiffrin opened the race in 52.54 seconds. Swiss skier Wendy Holdener trailed by 0.19 seconds in second place. Laurence St-Germain of Canada was 0.61 behind in third. The rest of the field had more than nine-tenths of a second to make up in the second leg. Shiffrin is after her third medal at these worlds after winning gold in the giant slalom two days ago and silver in the super-G last week.
Ghana soccer player Christian Atsu dies in Turkey earthquake
Christian Atsu, the Ghana international forward who played for Premier League clubs Chelsea and Newcastle, has died in the earthquake in Turkey. He was 31. His manager said Saturday that search teams recovered Atsu's body in the ruins of a luxury 12-story building where he had been living in the city of Antakya, Hatay province. Murat Uzunmehmet told private news agency DHA, "Atsu's lifeless body was found under the rubble." Atsu joined Turkish club Hatayspor in September. Antakya, the city where Hatayspor is based, is in the southern region of Turkey hardest hit by the earthquake. The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude quake on Feb. 6 in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria passed 43,000 on Friday.
With 'Air,' Affleck tells lesser-known Michael Jordan story
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ben Affleck is promoting his movie "Air" at NBA All-Star weekend. It's the story of how Nike signed a rookie named Michael Jordan in 1984 to what became an iconic deal. Jordan is not shown in the film. "Air" will be released April 5. Affleck directed and co-stars with Matt Damon, Viola Davis and Jason Bateman, among others. He says he met with Jordan about the movie and that he didn't want to tell a predictable story. Affleck says most people know who Jordan is even if most have never met him, and in the movie he's "a presence that's felt and discussed."
1979 Daytona 500 picked as NASCAR's most memorable race
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — To mark NASCAR's 75th season, The Associated Press interviewed 12 key contributors to the industry on multiple topics. According to the survey, the 1979 Daytona 500 is considered most memorable race in NASCAR history. The race is best remembered for a fight that included Cale Yarborough and brothers Bobby and Donnie Allison. More than 15 million people watched that race and its rough-and-tumble aftermath. It was the highest-rated NASCAR race on TV until 2001.