Weekend Sports in Brief

Mon, Feb 15, 2021
By The Associated Press

AUTO RACING

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Michael McDowell stormed through a crash scene to win the Daytona 500, snapping an 0-for-357 streak with a fiery pileup in his rearview mirror.

McDowell led just the final lap - maybe half of it, really - when Brad Keselowski turned teammate Joey Logano as the Team Penske drivers jockeyed for the victory.

McDowell stayed flat in the gas and plowed past the two spinning cars to the lead, then won a three-wide drag race until NASCAR threw a race-ending caution.

McDowell, a 36-year-old journeyman from Arizona, was a 100-1 underdog at the start of the race and seemed in disbelief after taking his first checkered flag.

Reigning Cup Series champion Chase Elliott finished second and 2018 Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon was third.

NBA

DENVER (AP) - Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis will undergo an MRI on Monday after re-aggravating a sore right Achilles late in the first half of a 122-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Davis believes he may have stepped wrong as he drove to the basket and was fouled by Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. Davis hobbled to the free-throw line, made both shots and then was subbed out with 2:39 remaining. He gingerly headed toward the locker room with what the team later termed an Achilles strain.

NEW YORK (AP) - LeBron James was warned Saturday for violating the NBA's anti-flopping rule after a play in which the superstar appeared to fall dramatically with little or no contact.

The league also warned teammate Kyle Kuzma for flopping in the same game, the Los Angeles Lakers' 115-105 victory over Memphis on Friday.

Flopping penalties have been infrequent in recent years after the league began cracking down on the act of trying to fool referees into calling fouls by initiating penalties in the 2012-13 season.

MLB

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Justin Turner is returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers, announcing via Twitter on Saturday night that he's ready to "run it back" with the World Series champions after agreeing to a $34 million, two-year deal.

The 36-year-old third baseman batted .307 with four homers, 23 RBIs and an .860 OPS during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

The red-headed slugger hit .320 with two homers during the World Series before being pulled from the deciding Game 6 after testing positive for the coronavirus. He infamously broke protocol by returning to the field after the final out and removed his mask near teammates during the celebration. MLB decided against punishing him.

GOLF

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Daniel Berger won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a 30-foot eagle on the final hole.

That gave him a two-shot victory over Maverick McNealey.

Jordan Spieth will have to wait to end his long drought without a victory. Spieth took a two-shot lead into the final round, was caught quickly and never got anything going.

Berger tied for lead early with an eagle putt on the par-5 second hole. And then he finished it off with an eagle.

Patrick Cantlay finished third. Berger has two victories in eight months since the PGA Tour returned from the pandemic.

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan and Ohio State are the top seeds in the initial rankings for the committee that will ultimately select the field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs were the top overall seed, followed by the Bears in rankings released Saturday by the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. It's a snapshot of the top 16 seeds with a month to go before Selection Sunday. Gonzaga and Baylor have been 1-2 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll all season and remain unbeaten.

The third-ranked Wolverines were the third No. 1 seed, followed by the fourth-ranked Buckeyes. Another Big Ten team, sixth-ranked Illinois, was the top No. 2 seed and fifth overall.

WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis women's basketball coach Melissa McFerrin is retiring effective immediately.

McFerrin has a 193-199 record in her 13th season at Memphis, the third most wins in school history. Her overall record is 243-269 in 17 seasons. Memphis is 4-10 overall, 2-7 in the American Athletic Conference this season.

Associate head coach Michelle Savage will become interim head coach,

SOCCER

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Former AC Milan star Pato signed a one-year contract with Major League Soccer's Orlando City.

The team said Saturday that the 31-year-old Brazilian forward will join the team after receiving a U.S. visa and an international transfer certificate.

Pato's full name is Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva and his nickname is Portuguese for "Duck."

SPEEDSKATING

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (AP) - Nils van der Poel of Sweden set a world record in the 10,000 meters on Sunday to win his second title at the world single distances speedskating championships at the Thialf Oval.

Van der Poel's winning time of 12:32.95 shaved nearly a second off the record set a year ago by Graeme Fish of Canada at the Utah Olympic Oval.

SKIING

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) - Olympic skiing champion Ted Ligety's career ended six days earlier than planned.

The two-time Olympic champ was going to retire next Friday after the giant slalom at the skiing world championships.

But he woke up to severe back pain on Friday and announced on Instagram on Saturday that a scan revealed his back was "herniated to the point it's not safe to ski right now."

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