Associated Press stories, Page 1926
This date in sports history: Jan. 3Video
1920 — Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells pitcher-outfielder Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 plus a $350,000 loan. 1931 — Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons scores two goals four seconds apart in the third period of a 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins. 1946...
Report: Talk show host Larry King in hospital with covid-19
LOS ANGELES — Former CNN talk show host Larry King has been hospitalized with COVID-19 for more than a week, the news channel reported Saturday. Citing an unidentified person close to the family, CNN said the 87-year-old King is undergoing treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Hospital protocols...
Cowboys, Giants need win and Washington loss for playoffsVideo
Playing with a backup quarterback and a defense that finally has found itself, the Dallas Cowboys are the hottest team in the NFC East entering the final weekend of the regular season. It might not be good enough to get them back to the playoffs. The Cowboys (6-9) will try...
Hall of Fame basketball coach Paul Westphal dies at 70Video
Paul Westphal, a Hall of Fame player who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and later coached in the league and in college, died Saturday. He was 70. He died in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to a statement from Southern California, where Westphal starred in college. He was...
No. 12 Iowa State beats No. 25 Oregon in Fiesta BowlVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Breece Hall ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns, Brock Purdy accounted for two scores and No. 12 Iowa State grinded out a 34-17 victory over No. 25 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday. The Cyclones (9-3, CFP No. 10) used their ball-control offense to dominate...
Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence sputters at Superdome in likely final college gameVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was on his back, reaching out desperately with his right hand to try to gather in the ball after it squirted through his arms as he was dragged down to the Superdome turf. The Heisman Trophy finalist couldn’t quite get a grip on...
More GOP lawmakers enlist in Trump effort to undo Biden win
WASHINGTON — A growing number of Republican lawmakers are joining President Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn the election, pledging to reject the results when Congress meets next week to count the Electoral College votes and certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on Saturday announced a...
No. 9 West Virginia loses road game vs. OklahomaVideo
NORMAN, Okla. — Umoja Gibson made eight 3-pointers and scored a season-high 29 points, and Oklahoma recovered after blowing an 18-point halftime lead to beat No. 9 West Virginia, 75-71, on Saturday. The Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) have won three straight and four of five against the Mountaineers (8-3,...
NFL races go down to the wire in AFC South, NFC East
As the calendar turns to 2021, the NFL is experiencing pretty much what it covets. Try two division races and five wild-card berths out of six still undecided. Not to go unnoticed, naturally, is that the league is about to finish an entire schedule on time, with a few postponements...
California funeral homes run out of space as covid-19 rages
LOS ANGELES — As communities across the country feel the pain of a surge in coronavirus cases, funeral homes in the hot spot of Southern California say they must turn away grieving families as they run out of space for the bodies piling up. The head of the state funeral...
On Football: From 2020’s best play to its weirdest moment
The Associated Press will hand out its individual NFL awards on the night before the Super Bowl in Tampa. Until then, here are some off-the-beaten-track honors to consider. Best game: In Week 9, the first professional matchup of Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray lived up to the hype. The two...
Kentucky runs for 281 yards, beats N.C. State in Gator BowlVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Kentucky’s postgame locker room provided a scene players and coaches might never forget. They celebrated a third consecutive bowl victory while dedicating it to two guys who couldn’t be there. This one was for late offensive line coach John Schlarman and rehabbing linebacker Chris Oats, who has...
Ole Miss takes down No. 7 Indiana in Outback BowlVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Matt Corral threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, leading Mississippi to a 26-20 upset of seventh-ranked Indiana in the Outback Bowl on Saturday. Corral’s 3-yard pass to Dontario Drummond put the Rebels (5-5) ahead for good with 4 minutes, 12 seconds remaining. The Ole Miss defense...
Syracuse and Broncos great Floyd Little dies at 78Video
Floyd Little, the great running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, died. He was 78. The Pro Football Hall of Fame said he died Friday night at his home in Nevada. No cause was given. “Floyd Little was not only a Hall of Fame running back,...
Browns down 2 more coaches for Steelers game because of covid issuesVideo
CLEVELAND — Down at least five players and three assistant coaches, the Cleveland Browns will try to become a playoff team again. Unable to practice most of the week because of covid-19 cases and protocols, the Browns said Saturday that offensive line coach Bill Callahan and assistant line coach Scott...
Texas fires football coach Tom Herman, hires Alabama’s Steve SarkisianVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas was tired of waiting for Tom Herman to deliver a Big 12 title and turn the Longhorns back into national championship contenders. Next up: Steve Sarkisian, the architect of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offense and its tsunami of points this season. Texas fired Herman on Saturday...
McConnell, Pelosi homes vandalized after $2,000 relief fails
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Vandals lashed out at the leaders of the U.S. House and Senate over the holiday weekend, blighting their homes with graffiti and in one case a pig’s head as Congress failed to approve an increase in the amount of money being sent to individuals to help cope...
Fast rollout of virus vaccine trials reveals tribal distrust
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The news came during a hopeful time on the largest Native American reservation. Daily coronavirus cases were in the single digits, down from a springtime peak of 238 that made the Navajo Nation a U.S. hot spot. The tribe, wanting to ensure a covid-19 vaccine would be...
Massachusetts policeman pays for shoplifting suspects’ holiday dinner
SOMERSET, Mass. — A Massachusetts police officer declined to charge two women accused of trying to steal groceries for the children — and instead bought them Christmas dinner. Somerset Officer Matt Lima responded to a report of shoplifting Dec. 20 at Stop & Shop, where two women with two young...
Alabama in record 5th CFP title game vs. 1st champ Ohio State
ARLINGTON, Texas — Top-ranked Alabama has two Heisman Trophy finalists and is in the College Football Playoff championship game for a record fifth time. Ohio State is back for the first time since winning the inaugural title in the CFP era. After the SEC champion Crimson Tide rolled past Notre...
Bolsonaro’s tough 2021 balance between ideology, pragmatism
BRASILIA — Brazil’s pugnacious president, Jair Bolsonaro, survived 2020 in surprisingly good shape personally and politically, with buoyant popularity ratings despite his own bout of covid-19 and a broader pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 of his countrymen. But the new year — and a looming reelection campaign — bring...
Justin Fields leads No. 3 Ohio State to rout of No. 2 Clemson in Sugar BowlVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Justin Fields threw six touchdown passes to outshine Trevor Lawrence and No. 3 Ohio State avenged last season’s painful College Football Playoff loss to Clemson with a 49-28 victory in the Sugar Bowl semifinal Friday night. The Buckeyes (7-0) head to the CFP title game for the...
This date in sports history: Jan. 2Video
1961 — George Blanda passes for three touchdowns and kicks a field goal and the extra points to give the Houston Oilers a 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the first AFL championship game. 1965 — The New York Jets sign Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported...
Alvin Kamara on covid-19 list, could miss Saints’ playoff opener
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints have placed running back Alvin Kamara, who leads the club in both yards rushing and receiving, on their COVID-19 reserve list. The move means Kamara is unavailable for Sunday’s regular-season finale at Carolina and also could miss the Saints’ first playoff game if...
No. 1 Alabama rolls past Notre Dame in Rose Bowl, advances to title gameVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Alabama rolled into another College Football Playoff championship game. DeVonta Smith caught three of fellow Heisman Trophy finalist Mac Jones’ four touchdown passes, Najee Harris ran for 125 yards with a high-hurdling highlight and top-ranked Alabama beat No. 4 Notre Dame, 31-14, in the relocated Rose Bowl...

