AP Sports Digest

Tue, Feb 9, 2021
AP Sports

The highlights of the AP Sports report. An up-to-the minute listing of all stories planned, including games and events, is available in Coverage Plan on AP Newsroom, http://newsroom.ap.org/coverageplan You can also find a link to Coverage Plan on the left navigation of the Newsroom home page, http://newsroom.ap.org

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The AP's Ralph Russo hosts the latest AP Top 25 College Football Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-us-podcast-ap-top-25-college/id1138957862

TOP STORIES

FBN--TAMPA TITLETOWN

TAMPA, Fla. -- Fans, many not wearing masks, pour into downtown streets and pack bars and nightclubs around the city to celebrate another professional sports title for Tampa Bay -- home of the Super Bowl-winning Buccaneers, Stanley Cup champion Lightning and World Series runner-up Rays. By Fred Goodall. SENT: 660 words, photos.

BBO-MLB-LABOR

NEW YORK - Seven-inning doubleheaders and runners on second base to start extra innings will return as experiments for a second straight season under an agreement for 2021 health protocols reached Monday between Major League Baseball and the players' association. By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum. SENT: 500 words, photos.

BBO-MLB-CHANGING THE BALL

NEW YORK - Major League Baseball has slightly deadened its baseballs amid a years-long surge in home runs. MLB anticipates the changes will be subtle, and a memo to teams last week cited an independent lab that found the new balls will fly 1 to 2 feet shorter when hit over 375 feet. By Baseball Writer Jake Seiner. SENT: 380 words, photos.

FBN--CHIEFS-WRAPUP

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A season that began with such high expectations ends with a thud. But not more than an hour after a Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay, Patrick Mahomes takes to Twitter with a vow: The Chiefs will be back. By Dave Skretta. SENT: 850 words, photos.

TEN-AUSTRALIAN OPEN

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rafael Nadal showed no signs of a back problem that hampered his preparation for the Australian Open as he won his first-round match against Laslo Djere. By John Pye. SENT: 700 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos. With Latest, Notebook. Sidebars on merit.

BKW--T25-SOUTH CAROLINA-UCONN

STORRS, Conn. -- Paige Bueckers scored 31 points, including her team's final 13, to lead No. 2 UConn to a 63-59 overtime win over top-ranked South Carolina. By Pat Eaton-Robb. SENT: 600 words, photos.

AP POLLS

BKC--T25-COLLEGE BKB POLL

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kansas is out of the AP men's basketball rankings poll for the first time in 12 years. Gonzaga and Baylor hold down the top two spots as they have all season, with Michigan, Ohio State and Villanova rounding out the top five. By Basketball Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 750 words, photos. With BKC--T25-Top 25 This Week (upcoming).

BKW-T25-WOMEN'S BKB POLL

NEW YORK -- South Carolina jumps to No. 1 in the AP women's poll, supplanting Louisville. UConn rises to No. 2 and will immediately be tested against South Carolina on Monday night. Next in the poll are Louisville, North Carolina State and Sanford. By Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg. SENT: 500 words, photos.

COMMENTARY

BKN-AROUND THE NBA

Tom Brady is old by football standards, and is back atop the NFL world. And LeBron James took notice. If there's a lesson that the 43-year-old Brady showed by winning a seventh Super Bowl title when Tampa Bay beat Kansas City, it's that age is but a number. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 3 a.m.

TEN--ON TENNIS-VENUS' ANSWERS

Questions about Venus Williams' future have been accumulating for a while, some subtle, some less so. Now 40, she offered the best sort of answer to such questions by winning her first match at the Australian Open. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 700 words, photos. Early lead for main Australian Open story.

NOTABLE

FBN--BUCCANEERS-WINNERS

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tom Brady's coming back. So is Bruce Arians. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are already thinking about what it will take to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The challenge begins with trying to keep some key components together. By Fred Goodall. SENT: 800 words, photos. With sidebar on Female Coaches (sent).

FBN-SUPER BOWL-BEHIND THE CALL

With such a paucity of penalties, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to laugh off their infrequent infractions in Super Bowl 55 while the Kansas City Chiefs were seeing red over all the yellow flags thrown at them. By Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton. UPCOMING: 820 words, photos by 3 a.m.

CAR--DAYTONA-KYLE LARSON

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kyle Larson is ready to show his growth from the fallout of his use of a racial slur last NASCAR season. Larson said the N-word while racing online and it cost him his sponsors and his job. He has been reinstated by NASCAR and hired by Rick Hendrick following months of off-track work to educate himself on issues of racial injustice and inequality. By Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer. SENT: 720 words, photos.

SOC-MLS-LABOR NEGOTIATIONS

Major League Soccer and its players have approved an amended collective bargaining agreement after the league and the union avoided a lockout by striking a deal that runs through the 2027 season. By Anne Peterson. SENT: 430 words, photos.

BBO-UMPIRE-WINTERS RETIREMENT

Longtime Major League Baseball umpire Mike Winters is calling it a career. The 62-year-old Winters was among 12 big league umps who opted out last season over coronavirus concerns. By Baseball Writer Ben Walker. UPCOMING: 630 words, photos by 3 a.m.

OLY-TOKYO-MORI

TOKYO - The postponed Tokyo Olympics have yet another problem besides the pandemic. This time it's the president of the local organizing committee. By Stephen Wade. SENT: 650 words, photos.

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Tuesday Time Schedule (EST)

NBA

Brooklyn at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Houston at New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.

New York at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Golden State at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Boston at Utah, 10 p.m.

Orlando at Portland, 10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

NHL

Philadelphia at Washington, 6 p.m.

Detroit at Florida, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Nashville, 8:30 p.m.

Anaheim at Vegas, 10 p.m.

San Jose at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.

Winnipeg at Calgary, 10 p.m.

College Basketball (Top 25)

Men

No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 West Virginia, 9 p.m.

No. 11 Alabama at South Carolina, 6:30 p.m.

No. 13 Texas at Kansas St., 8 p.m.

No. 19 Creighton at Georgetown, 9 p.m.