Update on the latest sports
APNCAA-SCHEDULE
1st NCAA semifinal game under way in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The first NCAA Tournament semifinal has tipped off in Indianapolis between two Texas teams that have Indiana connections.
Jared Butler was more than halfway toward a career high with 17 points and the Bears lead Houston 45-20 at halftime of their national semifinal.
Butler is 6 of 8 from the field, hitting four 3-pointers, to give the Big 12 champions a big cushion in their first Final Four appearance since 1950.
Marcus Sasser is doing his best to keep Houston in the game, hitting five 3-pointers and scoring 17 himself. But the rest of the Cougars are 1 of 15 from the field.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Yanks beat Jays in Kluber debut
UNDATED (AP) — Gary Sánchez joined Elston Howard in 1963 as the only Yankees catchers to homer in each of the first two games and Jay Bruce blooped a two-run single in the seventh for his first hit with his new team in New York’s 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, limited by injuries to one inning in the previous two seasons, pitched around control problems to allow one earned run over four innings in his Yankees debut.
Left-hander Lucas Luetge also debuted for the Yankees in his first major league appearance in six years. Chad Green got Rowdy Tellez to swing under a 96 mph pitch to strand two on in the eighth and got a four-out save in the absence of Aroldis Chapman, who completed a two-game suspension for throwing near the head of Tampa Bay’s Mike Brousseau (BROO’-soh) last Sept. 1.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Jake Arrieta (ehr-ee-ET’-uh) pitched six solid innings in a triumphant return to the Cubs, Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward homered, and Chicago beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1. Arrieta got a warm reception prior to the game, then gave up just one run and six hits. Bryant made it 3-1 in the third with a solo homer against Tyler Anderson, and Heyward bumped the lead to three with a long drive to the right-field bleachers in the sixth.
— Maikel Franco drove in two runs after another Boston error, Pedro Severino had his second two-hit game in a row and Matt Harvey made his Orioles debut in Baltimore’s 4-2 victory over the Red Sox. Red Sox rookie Tanner Houck struck out eight in five innings, allowing three runs — two earned — on six hits and a walk.
— Michael A. Taylor homered and drove in three runs for the second straight game, leading the Kansas City Royals over the Texas Rangers 11-4. Released by Washington after hitting .196 last season, Taylor is off to a sensational start for Kansas City. Texas starter Kohei Arihara allowed three runs in five innings in his major league debut after six seasons in Japan.
— Julio Teheran pitched through trouble in his Detroit debut, and the Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 5-2. Willi Castro hit an RBI triple off Zach Plesac (PLEE’-sak) and came home on Miguel Cabrera’s groundout. The Tigers added three runs in the seventh. Teheran allowed a run and four hits in five innings. Eddie Rosario drove in both Cleveland runs with a home run in the second and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
MLB-NEWS
Georgia governor vows a fight after MLB yanks All-Star Game
UNDATED (AP) — Baseball fans are divided about Major League Baseball’s decision to pull this summer’s All-Star Game from Georgia over a new voting law that critics say will hurt communities of color.
But Gov. Brian Kemp vowed Saturday to defend the measure, saying “free and fair elections” are worth any threats, boycotts or lawsuits. Some fans upset about the decision say they won’t watch or attend any games because of it.
Others who support the league’s move say not taking a stand would have alienated those who oppose the law.
In other baseball news:
— Ty Buttrey has decided to retire from baseball, saying his love for the game had diminished. The 28-year-old right-hander was one of the key pieces of the Angels’ bullpen the past three seasons, but he struggled with control problems during spring training and was optioned to the team’s alternate training site. Buttrey said he informed the Angels of his decision to leave baseball and the organization asked him to take some more time to think about it.
— Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes left the game against the Chicago Cubs with discomfort in his left wrist. Hayes walked and scored on Kevin Newman’s two-out single in the first inning, but he jammed his left hand diving back to first on a pickoff attempt.
— Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson is on the 10-day injured list with a mild right hamstring strain two days after he appeared to hurt himself running the bases on a double in the first inning of the Twins’ season-opener against the Brewers. The 35-year-old Donaldson played just 28 games last season due to a calf injury. The Twins recalled outfielder Brent Rooker from the taxi squad to take Donaldson’s spot on the roster.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Vasilevskiy 12-0 against Detroit, Lightning beat Wings 2-1
UNDATED (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy (va-sih-LEHV’-skee) made 25 stops to move to 12-0 lifetime against Detroit and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-1 victory.
Tampa Bay has won 17 consecutive home games against the Red Wings and improved to 20-1-1 in the last 22 meetings overall. The teams meet again Sunday. Ross Colton and Brayden Point scored Tampa Bay’s goals.
Adam Erne scored for Detroit. Thomas Greiss finished with 27 saves.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Brad Marchand had two of his three goals and set up another in Boston’s five-goal second period for a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Patrice Bergeron (pah-TREES’ BEHR’-zhehr-ahn) added an assist, giving him 899 career points to move past Rick Middleton (898). David Pastrnak (PAS’-tur-nahk) scored twice, David Krejci (KRAY’-chee) and Bergeron each had a goal for Boston.
— Juuse Saros made 41 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Eeli Tolvanen, Colton Sissons and Luke Kunin scored for the Predators, winners of seven of eight. Kevin Lankinen made 18 saves for Chicago, losers of four of five.
NBA-HORNETS-HAYWARD
Hornets’ Hayward out at least 4 weeks with right foot sprain
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Gordon Hayward will miss at least a month after spraining his right foot during the Charlotte Hornets’ win Friday night over the Indiana Pacers when he stepped on Myles Turner’s foot while driving to the basket in the second quarter and immediately crumpled.
The 31-year-old forward is averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in his first season with the Hornets on a $128 million, four-year deal.
Charlotte is already without rookie guard LaMelo Ball, out indefinitely with a broken right wrist.
This injury is on the opposite side of the gruesome broken left ankle Hayward suffered in his first game with the Boston Celtics in 2017. He was an All-Star in 2016-17 with the Utah Jazz.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NEWS
Oklahoma hires Loyola Chicago’s Moser as basketball coach
UNDATED (AP) — Oklahoma has hired Loyola Chicago’s Porter Moser as its basketball coach following Lon Kruger’s retirement. Moser led Loyola to two deep runs in the NCAA Tournament and takes over a program accustomed to success.
Kruger led the Sooners for 10 years and reached seven of the past eight NCAA Tournaments. Oklahoma reached the Final Four in 2016 with Buddy Hield (heeld) leading the way. In Kruger’s final season, the Sooners went 16-11 and finished with a loss to top-seeded Gonzaga in the second round.
Moser lauded the “standards that the programs at Oklahoma have set” and the opportunity to coach in the Big 12.
In other college basketball news:
— Michigan senior Isaiah Livers has had surgery on his right foot. Recovery time is expected to be a minimum of six months. The Wolverines made it to the Elite Eight before losing to UCLA. Livers averaged 13.1 points a game this season.
— The University of Cincinnati has put put basketball coach John Brannen on paid leave. The school announced it was investigating the program after six Bearcats players decided to transfer last month because of a rift between them and Brannen. The Bearcats finished 12-11 in Brannen’s second year at Cincinnati after a 20-10 season in 2019-20.
USA BASKETBALL-HILL
USA Basketball picks Grant Hill as Colangelo’s replacement
UNDATED (AP) — USA Basketball has announced that Grant Hill will take over as managing director of the men’s national team following the Tokyo Olympics. He will succeed the retiring Jerry Colangelo, replacing one Basketball Hall of Famer with another in the critical role of assembling teams that will compete for gold.
Hill helped the U.S. win Olympic gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games and was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
TENNIS-MIAMI OPEN
No. 1 Barty repeats as Miami champ when Andreescu retires
MIAMI (AP) — No. 1-ranked Ash Barty has won her second successive Miami Open championship when No. 8-seeded Bianca Andreescu (an-dree-EHS’-koo) retired after hurting her foot in a fall. The 20-year-old Canadian has been plagued by injuries, and the tournament was her first in the United States since she won the 2019 U.S. Open.
On Sunday, 19-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner will try to become the youngest men’s champion in tournament history when he plays Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.
