AP Sports Summary for January 18th, 2025:
Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says he intends to sign with Los Angeles Dodgers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki will join fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a move many baseball executives have long expected. The San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays also were pursuing Sasaki, who has until next Thursday to finalize a contract.
Notre Dame and Ohio State arrive in Atlanta and it's the 2nd visit of the season for Fighting Irish
ATLANTA (AP) — Ohio State and Notre Dame arrived in Atlanta on their charter flights on Friday as the teams moved closer to Monday night's College Football Playoff national championship game. The Buckeyes are big favorites but the Fighting Irish may have an advantage. Coach Marcus Freeman's team has previously played in Atlanta — and in Mercedes-Benz Stadium — this season. In a game that strengthened Notre Dame's playoff hopes, the Fighting Irish beat Georgia Tech 31-13 on Oct. 19 as quarterback Riley Leonard ran for two touchdowns. Asked if that gives his team an advantage, Freeman said "We hope so."
Penguins' Nedeljkovic makes NHL history as he becomes 1st goalie with goal and assist in a game
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Alex Nedeljkovic remembers admiring the way Marty Turco and Martin Brodeur handled the puck in his childhood. On Friday night, he accomplished something neither of them — or any other goalie — had ever done. Nedeljkovic became the first goalie in NHL history to have a goal and an assist during the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres. Nedeljkovic, who halso had 40 saves, had a secondary assist on Glass' goal with 8:17 left in the second period that gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead. His goal came with 2:42 to play after the Sabres pulled goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for an extra skater. He gathered the puck behind his own net and fired away from behind the goal line and buried the shot from about 180 feet away.
Jimmy Butler returns from suspension, plays Friday for Miami against Denver
MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler walked out of the Miami Heat locker room on Friday night wearing a Michael Jordan jersey. It wasn't a No. 23 jersey. It was a No. 45 — the one Jordan briefly wore when he returned to the Chicago Bulls after coming out of retirement in March 1995. The message was clear: "I'm back." Temporarily, perhaps. Butler's seven-game suspension by the Heat for conduct they deemed to be detrimental to the team is now over and he returned to the Heat lineup for the first time in two weeks, scoring 18 points in Miami's 133-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Australian Open: Iga Swiatek is in total control during a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Emma Raducanu
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Iga Swiatek has described her performance as perfect after a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open. Saturday's contest was the only matchup in the women's third round between two players who have won a Grand Slam title. Swiatek has a total of five such trophies although never has made it past the semifinals at Melbourne Park. She lost in the third round a year ago. Next for Swiatek will be a matchup against Eva Lys, a player who lost in qualifying but made it into the main draw when someone else withdrew. Other women's winners included Elena Rybakina, Eva Navarro and Daria Kasatkina. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner advanced. Other men's winners included Americans Ben Shelton, Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen, while No. 4 Taylor Fritz lost to 38-year-old Gael Monfils.
Defending champ Jannik Sinner gets back to the fourth round at the Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Jannik Sinner has defeated 46th-ranked Marcos Giron of the U.S. 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 at the Australian Open. Saturday night's victory moved Sinner into the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the fourth time. Sinner stretched his unbeaten run to 17 matches, dating to last season. He had an eventful 2024, claiming his first two Grand Slam titles, reaching No. 1 in the ATP rankings for the first time — and going through a doping case that is still not quite resolved, because the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed his exoneration.
Breanna Stewart scores first basket in Unrivaled history in debut of 3-on-3 women's league
MIAMI (AP) — Unrivaled shined brightly on its opening night. The 3-on-3 women's basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier debuted Friday night. The co-founders squared off in the opening game and fittingly Stewart scored the first basket in league history _ a baseline jumper. Collier's team got the last laugh though, rallying to win the inaugural game. The idea for the domestic league was first discussed a couple of years ago and now it's come to fruition. The Miami venue that was created in about six weeks and seats about 850 fans was full. Those in attendance cheered virtually on every play as they didn't really have allegiances to either team.
LA's Olympic venues were spared by wildfires, but the city's rebuild could impact the Games' runup
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The deadly wildfires that have ravaged sections of Los Angeles left an indelible imprint on the region's landscape and psyche. The runup to the city hosting the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will coincide with massive rebuilding of housing and infrastructure at a time when the region's resources figure to be stretched to the max. LA28 president and chairman Casey Wasserman has met with President-elect Donald Trump to shore up support, and he says Trump has offered his "unwavering commitment." The region's ability to recover will be sorely tested as it prepares to host World Cup soccer games in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027 and then the Olympics for a third time.
Fox exec calls Brady rumors "a never-ending, merry-go-round" of narratives
Even as Tom Brady goes through his first postseason and prepares to call his first Super Bowl in three weeks as a television analyst, rumors about his future continue to be rampant, much to the dismay of Fox Sports. Fox Sports president of production and operations/executive producer Brad Zager understands the spotlight Brady and the network are under. Still, Zager said Brady is in it for the long haul. Friday's comments by Zager are the first about Brady by someone from Fox Sports. Brady has not been made available for media interviews this season. He has discussed his first season in the booth during appearances on Colin Cowherd's show on FS1.
Charley Hoffman, Rico Hoey charge into the lead midway through The American Express
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Charley Hoffman and Rico Hoey both shot a 9-under 63 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course to share the lead Friday after two rounds at The American Express. Hoffman and Hoey were at 16-under 128 midway through this three-course tournament in the Coachella Valley desert, although both Southern California natives have yet to play PGA West's tougher Pete Day Stadium Course. They were a shot ahead of Justin Lower, Mark Hubbard and Sepp Straka. Jason Day and J.J. Spaun were 14 under. Rickie Fowler charged into contention with 10 birdies and a second-round 62 on the Nicklaus, moving him even with Justin Thomas and Sony Open champion Nick Taylor at 13-under 131. Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris and Doug Ghim were 12 under.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Boston 121 Orlando 94
Final Minnesota 116 New York 99
Final Denver 133 Miami 113
Final Charlotte 125 Chicago 123
Final Milwaukee 130 Toronto 112
Final New Orleans 136 Utah 123
Final Dallas 106 Oklahoma City 98
Final Memphis 140 San Antonio 112
Final L.A. Lakers 102 Brooklyn 101
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 5 Buffalo 2
Final Carolina 3 Vegas 2
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Phoenix at Detroit 4 p.m.
Atlanta at Boston 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Indiana 7 p.m.
Washington at Golden State 8:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Minnesota 9 p.m.
Houston at Portland 10 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Philadelphia at New Jersey 12:30 p.m.
Boston at Ottawa 3 p.m.
Dallas at Colorado 4 p.m.
Anaheim at Florida 6 p.m.
Calgary at Winnipeg 7 p.m.
Columbus at N-Y Rangers 7 p.m.
Detroit at Tampa Bay 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Washington 7 p.m.
Toronto at Montreal 7 p.m.
San Jose at N-Y Islanders 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Nashville 8 p.m.
Vegas at Chicago 8 p.m.
St. Louis at Utah 9 p.m.
Edmonton at Vancouver 10 p.m.
Los Angeles at Seattle 10 p.m.
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Houston at Kansas City 4:30 p.m.
Washington at Detroit 8 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(1)Auburn at (23)Georgia 1 p.m.
(2)Iowa St. at West Virginia 5 p.m.
(3)Duke at Boston College 8 p.m.
(4)Alabama at (8)Kentucky 12 p.m.
Texas at (5)Florida 4 p.m.
(6)Tennessee at Vanderbilt 3:30 p.m.
Xavier at (7)Marquette 2 p.m.
Kansas St. at (9)Kansas 1 p.m.
(10)Houston at UCF 12 p.m.
LSU at (11)Texas A&M 8:30 p.m.
(17)Purdue at (13)Oregon 3 p.m.
Creighton at (14)UConn 12 p.m.
(21)Mississippi at (15)Mississippi St. 6 p.m.
Santa Clara at (16)Gonzaga 9 p.m.
(24)Wisconsin at Southern Cal 3 p.m.
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