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BYU charted its path to the Big 12 through independence

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

PROVO, Utah (AP) — BYU’s path to the Big 12 began with the unorthodox decision to leave an established conference for the uncertainty of playing as a football independent.The Cougars had just watched state rival Utah announce in 2010 that it would leave the Mountain West for what became the Pac-12 Conference, and they had no intention sticking around.They spent 12 seasons cobbling together oddball schedules and racking up flight miles with the specific purpose of maintaining and perhaps even reviving a dormant national brand.Whether the Cougars achieved that is debatable, and even athletic director Tom Holmoe acknowledged BYU didn’t have anything tangible like a conference championship to aim for each season. But BYU had the long-term goal of making a major conference, which happened last September when the Big 12 opened its doors to the Cougars to join this year.Did going independent help land BYU in the Big 12? It’s possible the Cougars, given their strong national fol...

Cash on the money for Aston Villa with two goals in a 3-1 win at Burnley in Premier League

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

BURNLEY, England (AP) — Matty Cash’s first goals for Aston Villa in more than a year inspired the team to a 3-1 victory over Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday.The right back came into the starting side as the only unforced change from Villa’s 5-0 midweek win over Hibernian in the Europa Conference League playoffs and ensured there was no European hangover for Unai Emery’s team by scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes.Lyle Foster gave Burnley hope with a goal two minutes into the second half, but Moussa Diaby — who set up one of Cash’s goals — restored Villa’s two-goal advantage just after the hour as the visitors ended a five-match winless league run on the road.Burnley built its Championship title-winning campaign on the back of a 21-match unbeaten run at Turf Moor, but has started life back in the Premier League with back-to-back home defeats after losing to Manchester City in the opening round.Cash, playing as a wing back, needed only eight minutes to score, s...

Rodri comes up with another big goal for Man City to seal 2-1 win at Sheffield United

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — Rodri came up with another big goal for Manchester City, scoring in the 88th minute to secure the champions a 2-1 win at Sheffield United on Sunday and a third straight victory to open its Premier League title defense.After Erling Haaland responded to missing a first-half penalty by breaking the deadlock in the 63rd, it looked like City would be dropping points in a game it dominated when a mistake by captain Kyle Walker gifted Jayden Bogle an unlikely 85th-minute equalizer.Walker made amends by winning the ball back on the right wing and crossing to Phil Foden, whose miscontrol went straight to Rodri and the midfielder made no mistake with a fierce left-foot shot into the top corner.Rodri was the scorer of City’s winner in the Champions League final last season and has already scored twice this campaign, having netted at Burnley in the opening round.City is the only team with a maximum of nine points so far.City, and specifically Haaland, endured a f...

Culture and shared history cast by the wayside as the Big 12 and other leagues realign

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Like a rite of autumn on the patchwork of fields of western Kansas, farmers will soon climb into their combines and bring in the harvest, taking advantage of whatever good weather might come their way.If it happens to be a Saturday, they are probably tuning the radio to Kansas State football.It has been that way for generations across the corn belt, a quaintly American scene that has played out on farms ranging from Iowa and Missouri to Oklahoma and Nebraska. Other farmers there might be searching airwaves for their beloved Cyclones and Tigers, or Sooners and Huskers, and quite often the old rivals would be playing each other.Yet the ties that once bound so many schools together have been shattered by conference realignment. Shared history and cultural norms have been cast aside in the pursuit of money. And the latest round of maneuvering has birthed a soon-to-be 16-team league that will stretch from the sun-splashed beaches of Florida to the sun-baked deserts...

Recent winners Chris Buescher and William Byron open NASCAR playoffs as unwitting favorites

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Chris Buescher and William Byron have this in common: Neither wants to declare himself the favorite heading into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.Both have a strong case, though.Buescher won three of the last five regular-season races, including the finale Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Byron, meanwhile, has a series-leading five victories and is tied for the points lead with Martin Truex Jr. as the postseason begins at Darlington Raceway next Sunday.Buescher and Byron have diverse resumes and definitive momentum.“I think we’re a contender,” Buescher said after leading RFK Racing to its first 1-2 finish in more than nine years. “We still have work to do. I don’t think we’re under the illusion that it has to go through us and us only right now. We’ve got tracks we still need to be better at. We’ve got work to do as a group and as a team to get in the hunt.“I surely feel confident about our ability to drive through the playoffs and feel like...

South Florida couple trek to Maine to raise money for stranger battling ALS

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

A local couple took steps from South Florida up to Maine with the purpose of helping a complete stranger with a devastating disease. It took Brandon Mercado, Charlotte Collins, and their dog 63 days, 11 states and almost 2,000 miles to trek from Fort Lauderdale to Bar Harbour, Maine. “We got flooded out where we live in Fort Lauderdale and we had this opportunity where we needed to move out for three months, so instead of doing a bake sale or having a yard sale, selling all of our stuff, he was like ‘What if we did this?’ and I was like ‘I’m down,'” said Collins. All they needed was a recipient, which they found in David Appel, a Boca Raton Resident battling Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. “He had the diagnosis for four years now,” said Heather Appel, David’s wife. “So diagnosed at 34 and is now 38 and we’ve officially been home since May, but our goal is to keep him home.”In t...

Spanish football reels from sexism crisis

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

Luis Rubiales may be suspended as head of Spain’s football federation, but the controversy surrounding his non-consensual kiss of forward Jenni Hermoso is unlikely to die down anytime soon.The football chief’s suspension by global football governing body FIFA’s disciplinary committee on Saturday did little to quell the anger surrounding Rubiales’ actions and the Spanish football federation’s apparent tolerance of sexism within the organization.At sporting events across Spain this weekend, athletes expressed their solidarity with Hermoso and called for greater action to be taken to address the problem. At a match against FC Almeria, the members of the FC Cádiz team held up a banner that read “We are all Jenni” as the crowd chanted “Rubiales, resign!”The star footballer herself appeared for the first time since the controversial kiss at a match on Saturday in Alcalá de Henares, looking on as the players of the FC Milan and Atlético...

Verdugo becomes 1st player in Red Sox history to hit a leadoff homer in the 1st in 3 straight games

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Verdugo became the first player in Boston Red Sox history to hit a leadoff homer in the first inning in three straight games, connecting on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Fenway Park.Verdugo drove the second pitch from Julio Urías into the Dodgers’ bullpen, tying the game at 1.Verdugo is the third major leaguer to accomplish the feat. Brady Anderson had a four-game streak with Baltimore in 1996, and Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. had a three-game run in 2018.After he rounded first, Verdugo turned around and faced his team in the home dugout, backpedaling before turning and continuing his trot around the bases.On Friday, Verdugo hit Lance Lynn’s first pitch out to right, following his leadoff homer on the road against Houston in Boston’s previous game on Wednesday.

With improved velocity, DL Hall ready to contribute out of Orioles’ bullpen: ‘Just happy to be here’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

The number of the radar gun has been a major focus of DL Hall’s season.The Orioles’ top pitching prospect didn’t have a normal offseason, unable to lift weights or run because of a back injury that also stunted his spring training. When he returned to the mound and built up as a starter in Triple-A Norfolk, the 2017 first-round pick was throwing about 2 to 4 mph slower than normal.He’s back in Baltimore now, recalled Saturday for the injured Félix Bautista, and the high 90s numbers on the radar gun Saturday night in the Orioles’ 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies were no fluke.“Nah, I think that’s about where I’m at right now,” Hall said Sunday morning in his first time talking with media since rejoining the team. “That was something I’ve kind of been trying to get back all year, trying to get healthy and stronger again and finally getting to where I want to be.”Hall’s up-and-down season — and ca...

Rafael Devers out of Sunday lineup after hit-by-pitch, will get wrist X-rays

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:19:24 GMT

Fifteen minutes after releasing Sunday’s lineup, the Red Sox removed Rafael Devers from the slate.The superstar third baseman was hit by a pitch leading off the eighth inning on Saturday. He was in a lot of pain as he spoke to Alex Cora and a trainer, but eventually took his base and stayed in the game for the last inning.“He’ll get X-rays later on today,” Cora said. “He’s sore, so just stay away from him.”The manager explained that they’re waiting for the swelling to go down before taking a look. For now, he sees the lineup scratch as a precaution, not a cause for alarm.“We believe it’s a day-by-day thing, so it makes sense to keep him out of the lineup and go from there,” he added.Pablo Reyes will play second base, and Luis Urías will move to third for the series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers.It’s encouraging to see Reyes available for the lineup. He started at shortstop on Saturday, but didn’t ...