Kevin Kisner hits a tee shot on the sixth hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 25, 2023.
LM Otero – staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kevin Kisner would not have guessed his stock was starting to rise as his golf game was starting to age.
A year ago, he had finished out of the top 200 on the PGA Tour for the first time in 10 years as he struggled to find his form when NBC called and asked if he’d like to try his hand in the broadcast booth for The Sentry at Kapalua.
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The NFC-leading Detroit Lions host Green Bay on Thursday night, aiming for a franchise-record 11-game winning streak and a playoff spot. Detroit has won 11 of its first 12 games for the first time. Green Bay has won five straight NFC North road games, including last year at Detroit on Thanksgiving. The Lions are favored by 3 1/2 points, according to BetMGM. Detroit won at Green Bay 24-14 last month.
Hardly in need of an introduction, U.S. women’s rugby player Ilona Maher will get one anyway when her new team in England presents the Olympic bronze medalist to fans. Maher signed with the Bristol Bears women’s team this week and will be “officially unveiled” on Saturday. The American has nearly 8 million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok. The 28-year-old Maher helped lead the U.S. to the bronze medal in rugby sevens at the Paris Games. She signed for Bristol on a three-month contract that starts in January. Maher will participate in a Q&A session in Bristol on Saturday.
With Tommy DeVito still dealing with a sore forearm, Drew Lock will make his second straight start at quarterback for the Giants when New York plays host to New Orleans on Sunday. Coach Brian Daboll announced the decision Wednesday, saying Lock showed some good things against Dallas in a loss on Thanksgiving. DeVito was hurt in his first start after replacing Daniel Jones for the game against Tampa Bay on Nov. 24. He was limited at practice Wednesday. Daboll was not sure whether DeVito can be the backup on Sunday. The Giants are 2-10, while the Saints have a 4-8 record.
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant is out for at least the next week after spraining his left ankle in Tuesday night’s win over the San Antonio Spurs. The 14-time All-Star rolled his left ankle while driving to the basket late in the second quarter of the Suns’ 104-93 win. He stayed in the game for a few moments before eventually checking out, finishing with 13 points. The team announced the extent of the injury on Wednesday and said he’ll be re-evaluated in a week.
Safety Micah Hyde has rejoined the Buffalo Bills by signing to the practice squad in a late-season move that brings experience, stability, leadership and familiarity with the defensive scheme to the five-time defending AFC East champions. Coach Sean McDermott stressed that as much as he welcomes Hyde’s addition, it in no way reflects on Buffalo’s safety group led by starters Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin. Hyde spent the previous seven seasons playing for Buffalo. His return shouldn’t surprise anyone after the 33-year-old and the team spent the past eight months keeping the door open for such a possibility after completing the final year of his contract.
Kevin Kisner is the next lead analyst for NBC Sports. The four-time PGA Tour winner was coming off his worst season in 2023 when he was asked to try out broadcasting at the start of this year. Now he’s the main analyst for NBC’s portfolio of PGA Tour events that include two majors and the Ryder Cup. Kisner still plans to play. He’s using a one-time exemption from career money. Kisner says NBC likes the idea of him playing when he’s not working. Kisner takes over for Paul Azinger after his stint ended following the 2023 Ryder Cup.
WWE will perform on a stage next month that could be vastly larger than its current home on cable television when it makes its “Raw” debut on Netflix. The sports entertainment company is moving to a platform with about 283 million subscribers worldwide as it departs its current home on the USA Network, which averaged 688,000 viewers in prime-time last year, according to the Nielsen company. For Netflix, onboarding the WWE is part of strategic move to air more live events on the heels of a hugely successful fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that was viewed by more than 60 million people.
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber’s contract has been extended by the league’s Board of Governors through 2027. The league confirmed the extension on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s MLS Cup final between the LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls. Financial terms were not disclosed. Launched in 1996, MLS was losing money and close to folding when Garber, an NFL executive, took over in 1999. Since then, MLS has expanded from 12 to 30 teams, including the addition of San Diego FC next year.
Larry Day has been hired by the St. Louis Cardinals as director of player development, Matt Pierpont as director of pitching and Carl Kochan as director of performance. The moves follow two seasons of the Cardinals failing to reach the playoffs. Day had spent 10 seasons with Cleveland, the last two as assistant field coordinator. Rob Cerfolio was hired as assistant general manager of player development and performance on Oct. 22 after 10 seasons with Cleveland, the last three as director of player development.
Six division matchups and Kirk Cousins’ return to Minnesota highlight a lighter Week 14 schedule. Six teams aren’t playing as the NFL wraps up its final week of byes before going to a full slate over the last four weeks. Two games feature the top two teams in the division. The Seattle Seahawks (7-5) visit the Arizona Cardinals (6-6) on Sunday in a battle for a tight race in the NFC West. The Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) host the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) on “Sunday Night Football” with plenty of breathing room between the two teams in the AFC West.
South Korean All-Star second baseman Hyeseong Kim has been posted to Major League Baseball teams and will be available to sign as a free agent from Thursday through 5 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 3. Kim turns 26 on Jan. 27 and has played eight seasons in South Korea, the last six with the Seoul-based Kiwoom Heroes. He set career highs with a .326 average, 11 homers and 75 RBIs while stealing 30 bases. Kim has a .304 career average with 37 homers, 386 RBIs and 211 steals for the Nexen Heroes from 2017-18 and Kiwoon.
London’s Royal Albert Hall is preparing to host a different kind of spectacle: Sumo wrestling. Wrestlers put on an exhibition of heavyweight grappling to promote a tournament scheduled for next October. It marks only the second time an elite five-day tournament will be held outside Japan. The first was held in 1991 at the same venue. Organizers are hoping to whip up the kind of excitement that was generated three decades ago, when the deeply ritualistic sport attracted sell-out crowds and a national television audience.
Lindsey Vonn is going to enter an official ski race for the first time in nearly six years this weekend at age 40. Vonn announced last month that she was coming out of retirement and she will race lower-level FIS downhills and super-Gs on Saturday and Sunday in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Vonn needs some decent results to improve her long-dormant ranking so she can enter World Cup races this season under a new wild card rule. U.S. Ski Team head coach Paul Kristofic says that “obviously her history speaks for itself and she’s definitely the most decorated speed skier out there.” He adds that “it will be really, really fun and interesting to see what she can do.”
Trent Dilfer will remain as UAB’s coach for a third season after two straight losing records. Blazers athletic director Mark Ingram said that the school is retaining Dilfer for 2025, days after the team completed a 3-9 season that included a 71-20 loss to Tulane and a 53-18 loss to Memphis. The Super Bowl-winning former NFL quarterback is 7-17 through two seasons with five American Athletic Conference wins. Ingram said the program would “make operational and staff changes, as well as additional investments.”
Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Ohio State are competing to bring in the nation’s top recruiting class as high school prospects across the nation finalize their college plans. The identity of the No. 1 class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports may not be clear until defensive tackle Justus Terry announces his decision Friday. Terry is the nation’s top-ranked uncommitted prospect. Virtually every top recruit already had committed to a school well before the signing period arrived Wednesday.
Ball State has hired Mike Uremovich as its football coach, athletic director Jeff Mitchell says. Uremovich previously led the Butler Bulldogs to three straight winning seasons and their first national ranking. He replaces Mike Neu, who was fired 10 games into his ninth season at his alma mater. The move comes on the first day of football’s early signing period and will give Uremovich a few days to convince current players to play for the Cardinals before the transfer portal opens Monday.
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner has a hamstring injury that could sideline him against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich says Gardner was still having tests on his leg after he left the Jets’ loss last Sunday against Seattle late with the injury. Ulbrich didn’t sound optimistic about Gardner’s chances of playing, especially against a speedy Dolphins receiving corps that includes Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Ulbrich said running back Breece Hall, right tackle Morgan Moses and right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker also wouldn’t practice Wednesday. The Jets opened the 21-day practice windows for wide receiver Allen Lazard and offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer.
Josh Allen and Jameis Winston delivered signature performances in prime time. Allen used his athleticism, creativity and a statistical quirk to become the first quarterback ever credited with a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game in Buffalo’s win over San Francisco. Winston showed off his propensity for big plays and big blunders when he became the first player ever to throw for at least 400 yards, four touchdowns and two pick-6s in the same game in a loss for Cleveland at Denver.
No football coach would tell you he’s excited about the prospect of having to beat the same team twice in the same season. That will be the task for four teams in Football Bowl Subdivision conference championship games. The FCS-level Southwestern Athletic Conference game also is a rematch. Western Kentucky, Boise State, Miami and Georgia will be going for sweeps. Sportradar reports there have been 78 same-season rematches in the FBS since 2000. There have been 43 sweeps and 35 splits.
Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin needs hip surgery and will be out four to six months, jeopardizing the season for the 32-year-old now dealing with the second major hip injury of his career. The team says Seguin will have a procedure to repair an impingement and the labrum in his left hip. The surgery is planned for Thursday. The six-time All-Star missed all but three games of the 2020-21 season following a similar surgery on his right hip. Seguin also underwent arthroscopic knee surgery during that absence.
The LPGA and the USGA have updated their gender policies that will require players to be assigned female at birth or to have transitioned to female before going through male puberty. The policies begin in 2025 and follow more than a year of study involving medicine, science, sport physiology and gender policy law. The groups concluded that going through male puberty allows for competitive advantages in golf. The USGA has seven championships for females next year. The new policy rules out eligibility for Hailey Davidson. She missed U.S. Women’s Open qualifying by one shot this year and tried LPGA Q-school.
Soccer’s biggest ever global club tournament comes to the United States next year and the 32-team group stage is drawn Thursday. FIFA relaunched the Club World Cup to be played every four years. A new generation of stars plays in the 11 U.S. cities from June 15 to July 13. One year later they plan to return for the 2026 World Cup. Real Madrid has Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham. Manchester City has Erling Haaland. Missing out are superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski because Al-Nassr and Barcelona failed to qualify. FIFA ensured an entry for Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
The Colorado Avalanche continue to struggle with slow starts this season. And they continue to show ways to overcome them, rallying from a four-goal, first period deficit for a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Colorado became the first NHL team this season to win when trailing by four or more goals. And it marked the 90th time that’s happened in league history. The Avalanche happened to be the last team to do so in a 5-4 OT win over Pittsburgh in March. Artturi Lehkonen capped the comeback and newly acquired goalie Scott Wedgewood stopped all 22 shots he faced in a backup role in his Colorado debut.
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League has announced that its team names will be the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts. They are not yet affiliated with cities. The league will start with a new touring format in June before becoming city-based in 2026. The Bandits will have Jenny Dalton-Hill as general manager and Stacey Nuveman-Deniz as coach. The Blaze will have Dana Sorensen as general manager and Alisa Goler as head coach. The Talons will have Lisa Fernandez as general manager and Howard Dobson as head coach. The Volts will have Cat Osterman as general manager and Kelly Kretschman as coach.
The Associated Press has learned that two longtime NASCAR executives have been introduced at Andretti Global as part of the restructuring now that Michael Andretti has stepped aside. Doug Duchardt, who has served multiple roles with race teams and with General Motors, was named chief performance officer of motorsports at TWG Group. TWG now oversees all of the former Andretti properties. Jill Gregory, a former NASCAR vice president and marketing officer who was also ran Sonoma Raceway, was named chief operating officer of a subsidiary of TWG and president of Andretti Global.
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi will face no formal action from the English Football Association despite defying its rules for a second time by writing a religious message on his uniform during a Premier League campaign celebrating LGBTQ+ inclusion. Guehi and Palace were contacted by the FA and reminded of English soccer’s kit regulations after he wore a rainbow armband with “I love Jesus” written on it for a Premier League match against Newcastle on Saturday. That was in contravention of an FA regulation stating religious messages on clothing, boots or other equipment is prohibited. Guehi then wrote a similar message on the armband against Ipswich on Tuesday.
UNDATED (AP) — Harkening back to the days of Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, Hawaii-born Dillon Gabriel has led the undefeated Ducks into Saturday’s Big Ten championship game against Penn State with dual-threat flair. He’s accounted for 24 touchdown passes and seven rushing scores this…
UNDATED (AP) — Athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU are in a turf war over the latest College Football Playoff rankings, leading to a “stay off my lawn” moment on social media. Cyclones AD Jamie Pollard tweeted at his SMU counterpart Rick Hart suggesting the Mustangs’ eighth ranking was …
UNDATED (AP) — Miami’s playoff hopes took a nosedive while Alabama’s got a boost in the last rankings before the College Football Playoff bracket is set next weekend. The Hurricanes moved down six spots to No. 12 after suffering their second loss of the season. They are one spot behind the C…
UNDATED (AP) — Athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU are in a turf war over the latest College Football Playoff rankings, leading to a “stay off my lawn” moment on social media. Cyclones AD Jamie Pollard tweeted at his SMU counterpart Rick Hart suggesting the Mustangs’ eighth ranking was …
DALLAS — Texas plans to stock public waters, including the Trinity River, with hundreds of thousands of rainbow fish over the next few months, officials said.
(Table for Dec. 8-Dec. 22)
MIAMI — Javier Mascherano’s introductory meeting with the media as Inter Miami coach on Tuesday opened with a revelation from managing owner Jorge Mas: The legendary Argentine defensive midfielder came extremely close to joining the club in August 2019 for the final year of his playing caree…
A bull elk and a whitetail buck carcass were found decapitated — and the rest of the animals left to waste — in northern Montana, officials say.
ATLANTA — There’s no problem spotting turkey at your local grocery — U.S. farms produce more than 200 million of the fowl a year, many of them to be carved up for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
ATLANTA — To the college football world, Travis Hunter is Colorado’s brilliant two-way star en route to the Heisman Trophy.
CINCINNATI — Pat Freiermuth caught the pass from Russell Wilson, split a few defenders and ran through the back of the end zone at Paycor Stadium, scanning the crowd for a group of Bengals fans that he’d try and sell on some sort of celebration.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Mack Brown’s departure from North Carolina ended up being far more awkward than it needed to be, thanks to Brown’s own refusal to go quietly, the Tar Heels’ failure to send him out with a win, and the chairman of the board of trustees siding with Brown over his own athletic d…
LOS ANGELES — To truly understand how far the Galaxy have come in reaching the MLS Cup final on Saturday, you first must know where they started.
MINNEAPOLIS — Of the more than 153,000 whitetail deer felled in Minnesota so far this fall, Mason Rudolph’s was different. This was a buck, and a good one, a nine-pointer. None of that was unusual. It was the animal’s coloring that was surprising, witnessed initially on a misty morning in fa…
