AP Sports Summary for January 24th, 2025:
Injured Djokovic quits mid-match and walks off to boos, putting Zverev in the Australian Open final
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An injured Novak Djokovic has quit after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev. Djokovic lost the opening set 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker Friday and immediately walked around the net to concede the match to Zverev. Fans booed as Djokovic walked off toward the locker room, and he responded by giving two thumbs-up. Djokovic, who was bidding for an 11th championship at the Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam title overall, hurt his left leg during his quarterfinal victory against Carlos Alcaraz. The No. 2-seeded Zverev reached his third Grand Slam final and first at Melbourne Park.
Jannik Sinner beats Ben Shelton to return to the Australian Open final
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Jannik Sinner has overcome some third-set cramping to beat Ben Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2 to return to the Australian Open final as he pursues a third Grand Slam title. The No. 1-ranked Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, fell behind in the opening set and twice was a point from losing it when Shelton served at 6-5. But Sinner broke there, then dominated the ensuing tiebreaker, and broke again to begin the second set. The only trouble Sinner ran into the rest of the way was when he clutched at his left hamstring, and then his right thigh, in the third set. Sinner plays No. 2 Alexander Zverev on Sunday for the championship.
The AP NFL MVP finalists are Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff and Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Saquon Barkley are finalists for The Associated Press 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards. Josh Allen and Jared Goff also are MVP finalists while Burrow is also in the running for Comeback Player of the Year. Ja'Marr Chase and Derrick Henry are the other finalists for the Offensive Player award. The winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 6. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the playoffs began.
Jaguars on the verge of hiring Bucs OC Liam Coen as their head coach, AP source says
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the verge of hiring Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen as the eighth head coach in franchise history. Coen left Jacksonville without a contract, but a person familiar with the search says it's expected to come together Friday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side has confirmed the decision. It would cap a covert operation that included owner Shad Khan moving on from general manager Trent Baalke and Coen reversing course with the Buccaneers. Khan fired Baalke on Wednesday to clear a path for Coen to land in Jacksonville.
LeBron James picked for 21st straight All-Star Game, extending NBA record
LeBron James is extending his All-Star records. The NBA revealed the starters — some of them, anyway — for the revamped All-Star Game on Thursday night, and there wasn't much in the way of surprises. James is now officially an All-Star for the 21st year. The other starters are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Ichiro Suzuki wants to have a drink with writer who left him off Hall of Fame ballot
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot. Speaking through a translator, Suzuki says: "I would like to invite him over to my house, and we'll have a drink together, and we'll have a good chat." Suzuki had been to the Hall seven times before attending a news conference with fellow electees CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. The trio will be inducted on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee.
The new Champions League format appears to be leveling the playing field. Just ask Man City
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A bold new vision for the Champions League was launched this season. It has involved more games and more money for European soccer's elite in a rebuttal to the threat of a controversial breakaway super league. The new-look format was intended to be about more than just further enriching the sport's wealthiest clubs. It was intended to deliver more drama, more competition and more entertainment to fans than in its previous guise, which was widely deemed to have become stale as the same teams routinely advanced beyond the old group stage. The introduction of a 36-team league phase of the competition has provided shock results and left some of Europe's giants in danger of early elimination.
Nikola Jokic hits 66-foot heave to highlight his 5th straight triple-double
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic took an inbounds pass with 1.7 seconds left in the third quarter, turned and let fly with a 66-foot heave that got all net at the other end. He casually walked over to his bench as his teammates mobbed him and the sold-out arena erupted. It appeared to be a footnote in what looked like a Denver Nuggets blowout win Thursday night. Denver led Sacramento 110-85 at that point but had to hold off a late rally to pull out a 132-123 victory over the Kings, its fourth straight. Jokic finished with 35 points, 22 rebounds and a season-high 17 assists, and the shot from three-quarters court stood out among his 12 field goals.
Welcome home, Wemby: As expected, Spurs' star gets a hero's welcome in Paris
PARIS (AP) — The first enormous roar from the crowd came before the game even started. All Victor Wembanyama needed to do to get the fans in Paris into a full-blown frenzy was, it turned out, say hello into a microphone. The roar just from that lasted about 30 seconds. Welcome home, Wemby. For the first time as an NBA player, Wembanyama played in his homeland on Thursday — the star attraction in this two-game set of games between San Antonio and Indiana, a series that concludes on Saturday night.
Ovechkin moves within 20 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record, Capitals beat Kraken 3-0
SEATTLE (AP) — Alex Ovechkin moved within 20 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record with an empty-netter, helping the Washington Capitals beat the Seattle Kraken 3-0 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory. Ovechkin scored his 22nd goal of the season to push his career total to 875. Gretzky scored 894 goals in the NHL. Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves in his first start since Jan. 10 for his first shutout of the season — and the NHL-leading Capitals' third in five games after Logan Thompson blanked Anaheim and Ottawa in consecutive games last week. Aliaksei Protas and Ethen Frank also scored. Joey Daccord made 30 saves for Seattle in his fifth straight start and 100th NHL game.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final San Antonio 140 Indiana 110
Final Portland 101 Orlando 79
Final Toronto 122 Atlanta 119
Final Dallas 121 Oklahoma City 115
Final Milwaukee 125 Miami 96
Final Denver 132 Sacramento 123
Final L.A. Lakers 117 Boston 96
Final Golden State 131 Chicago 106
Final L.A. Clippers 110 Washington 93
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Detroit 4 Montreal 2
Final N-Y Rangers 6 Philadelphia 1
Final Carolina 7 Columbus 4
Final Boston 2 Ottawa 0
Final Utah 4 Minnesota 0
Final Vegas 4 St. Louis 2
Final Edmonton 6 Vancouver 2
Final Calgary 5 Buffalo 2
Final Washington 3 Seattle 0
Final Anaheim 5 Pittsburgh 1
Final Nashville 6 San Jose 5
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Maryland 91 (17)Illinois 70
Final (24)Memphis 61 Wichita St. 53
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Cleveland at Philadelphia 7 p.m.
Portland at Charlotte 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Memphis 8 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Philadelphia at N-Y Islanders 7:30 p.m.
Vegas at Dallas 7:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Chicago 8 p.m.
Utah at Winnipeg 8 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Villanova at (10)Marquette 7 p.m.
(21)Michigan at (11)Purdue 8 p.m.
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