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Ancelotti wants to ‘honor’ Madrid contract amid Brazil links

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Carlo Ancelotti says he’s flattered by the reported interest Brazil has in him becoming its next coach but says he remains committed to finishing his current deal with Real Madrid.The 63-year-old Ancelotti is under contract with the Spanish club through the end of next season.“I have a contract and I want to honor it,” the Madrid coach said Saturday, a day before Madrid plays Valladolid in the Spanish league. “I’m not doing it because there’s a written agreement, but because I like this club. Everything that can happen after the end of the contract is a matter of the future and everything’s possible in the future.”Brazil’s soccer confederation issued a statement in February denying that it had reached a deal with Ancelotti. But the rumors in the media have continued, and Brazil goalkeeper Ederson said last week that he believed there was a “big possibility” that Ancelotti could become their next manager.Brazil is currently under interim coach Ramon Menezes as it ...

Inter struggling ahead of Champions League quarterfinals

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

ROME (AP) — With a Champions League quarterfinal match against Benfica coming up, Inter Milan is in far-from-perfect form.The Nerazzurri were beaten 1-0 at home by Fiorentina on Saturday for their third straight loss in Serie A.Giacomo Bonaventura headed in a rebound early in the second half after Inter center forward Romelu Lukaku inexplicably missed a wide open close-range chance.It was Fiorentina’s eighth straight win across all competitions, and the Viola extended their unbeaten run to 10 games.Fiorentina, which faces Lech Poznan in the Conference League quarterfinals, had gone 11 straight matches without beating Inter, with its previous victory over the Nerazzurri coming nearly six years ago.Inter missed out on a chance to move into second and remained third, two points behind Lazio. Fiorentina moved up to eighth.ATALANTA EYES CHAMPIONS LEAGUEAtalanta beat last-place Cremonese 3-1 to move up to fifth, just below the Champions League places, and level on points with fourth-place...

Bayern beats Dortmund 4-2 in ‘der Klassiker’ to retake lead

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Thomas Müller scored twice and Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 4-2 on Saturday to overtake the visitors at the top of the Bundesliga and give Thomas Tuchel a winning start as coach.Bayern capitalized on a shaky performance from Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel on his return from injury to move two points above Dortmund with eight rounds of the league remaining.It was Tuchel’s first game in charge of the Bavarian powerhouse – and against his former club. Bayern fired his predecessor Julian Nagelsmann last week after the team’s 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen. Kobel was adjudged to have scored an own-goal after letting through Dayot Upamecano’s hopeful forward ball, Müller added two more by the 23rd minute, and Kingsley Coman got the fourth in the 50th as Bayern overran the visitors.Emre Can scored a penalty in the 72nd, and Donyell Malen added another goal in the final minute for Dortmund’s consolation.It was Dortmund’s first defeat in the Bundesliga in 2023. ___More ...

Transylvania women beat Christopher Newport for D-III title

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Madison Kellione scored seven of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, Dasia Thornton added 13 points and 10 rebounds to help Transylvania beat top-ranked Christopher Newport 57-52 Saturday to win the NCAA Division III women’s basketball championship, the first national title in program history. Kennedi Stacy had eight points on 2-of-14 shooting (1 of 7 from 3-point range) but added 11 rebounds and a career-high eight steals for No. 2 Transylvania (33-0). “We were so excited to be able to do this for Transylvania and the entire community,” Transylvania coach Juli Fulks said. The Captains (32-1) lost for the first time since the Sweet 16 of the 2022 tournament. Christopher Newport’s Lauren Fortescue made two free throws to cap a 12-3 run and make it 47-all with two minutes to play. Kellione put the Pioneers back in front when she made two foul shots with 90 seconds remaining and Gabbi San Diego kissed a left-hand layup off the glass but Thornton scored inside and, ...

Scottish boxing great Ken Buchanan dies at 77

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Scottish boxing great Ken Buchanan, who became the undisputed world lightweight champion in 1971 and won his first 33 fights, has died at the age of 77.His death was announced Saturday in a Facebook post from the Ken Buchanan Foundation, which read: “It’s with great sadness that we have to inform you that Ken Buchanan passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning.“Further announcements will come and please give the family some time to process this sad news. RIP Ken, always a gentleman and one of the best champions we will ever see.”Buchanan’s son revealed last year that the former boxer was suffering from dementia and living in a nursing home.Buchanan finished his career with a 61-8 win-loss record.The boxer won the WBA lightweight title in 1970 by defeating Ismael Laguna in a famous fight in Puerto Rico and added the WBC crown the following year with victory over Ruben Navarro.He was stripped of the WBC title for failing to defend it against Pedro Carr...

Kyle Busch ahead of Richmond: Parity keeps it interesting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Kyle Busch is off to a solid start for Richard Childress Racing with a victory, two top-10 finishes and sitting fourth in points through six races. Now comes Richmond Raceway, where Busch leads all active drivers with six career victories, to start a stretch of three consecutive short-track events.Ford driver Joey Logano and Toyota driver Tyler Reddick have won the last two races after Chevrolet drivers won the first four, and Busch said that’s a good thing.“Parity is always good, right?” he said Saturday. “Last year we had 19 different winners, every manufacturer, obviously. … it’s been a while since it’s been that few of races won by the top winner of the series,” he said. Chase Elliott led all drivers with five wins last season, one year after Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson won 10 and two years after Kevin Harvick won nine. NASCAR’s top series has had five different winners already, with William Byron the only two-time winne...

Bucks’ Thanasis Antetokounmpo gets one-game suspension

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has been suspended one game without pay for head-butting Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin on Thursday night.Antetokounmpo was ejected from the game after the incident, which occurred with 1:25 remaining in the Bucks’ 140-99 blowout loss. Antetokounmpo will serve his suspension Sunday when the Bucks host the Philadelphia 76ers.The 6-foot-7 Antetokounmpo was going up for a shot from under the basket when he took a hard foul from Griffin, which resulted in a flagrant-1 foul on the Celtics forward. Antetokounmpo responded by head-butting him.Antetokounmpo is the older brother of Bucks teammate and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. He has appeared in 33 games and is averaging 0.8 points, 0.9 rebounds and 4.2 minutes. ___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Vote now for Colorado's best burger: 8 remain in Round 4 of Big Burger Bracket

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- More than 1,500 people have shared their votes in the Big Burger Bracket, with more than 15,000 votes tallied through three rounds. We're now down to eight restaurants and bars in the quest to find Colorado's best burger.>> Vote now: Big Burger BracketFourth-round voting runs through Sunday at noon, with voting for the winner beginning Monday at noon.The remaining matchups are: Crown Burgers in Denver vs. Westbound & Down Brewing in Idaho Springs, Bob's Atomic Burgers in Golden vs. My Brother's Bar in Denver, Rosie's Diner in Monument vs. Bud's Cafe & Bar in Sedalia, and The Cherry Cricket vs. Bunk House Burgers in Canon City.The initial 64 places were selected through Google reviews in early March. A search was done for the highest rated burgers in each Colorado county. Any location which had at least 4.5 stars and 900 total reviews was included in the bracket. Any restaurants with more than one location were included once on the bracket, using the hi...

Yankees Notebook: Estevan Florial designated for assignment, Luis Severino begins throwing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

A once-promising future in pinstripes may have come to an end on Saturday afternoon.The Yankees designated former top prospect Estevan Florial for assignment. The 25-year-old was out of minor-league options as the Yankees had to clear the way to have an even 13 position players and 13 pitchers on the 26-man roster.Florial was the odd man out.“[The conversation with Florial was] difficult,” said manager Aaron Boone before Saturday afternoon’s game against the Giants at the Stadium. “In some ways [it was] a little sad. We’ve been through a lot with Flo, such a great kid. The one thing that I tried to remind him and encourage him of is he’s still a young man with a ton of talent.“Whatever happens here over the next few days moving forward, we’ll see, but yeah, tough conversation.”The Dominican native can be traded within the next seven days and if he’s not he will be placed on waivers for any team to pick him up. If he clears ...

Chris Sale’s first Fenway start since 2021 ALCS is worth savoring

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

It’s been 528 days since Chris Sale last pitched in a home game.Game 5 of the 2021 ALCS.Since the 2021 postseason, Sale has suffered a rib stress fracture, fractured a pinky in the second game back (off a line-drive comebacker), and broken his wrist in a bicycle accident while recovering from the pinky injury. The Florida native also weathered one of the worst hurricanes in global history last September.The seemingly endless parade of afflictions over the last 17 months has been so relentless that last summer, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom wondered if someone had a voodoo doll of the pitcher.Charlie Brown standing on the mound under his own personal storm cloud is another apt comparison.So, who is Chris Sale now?He’s no longer the 29-year-old with a seven-year All-Star streak who brought Manny Machado to his knees to clinch the organization’s fourth championship of the century.Maybe he will be again, but at this point, having a healthy spring training and being ready for the st...