Ben Yedder scores two as Monaco beats Clermont 4-1 to move closer to Champions League (2024)

The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 Coaches baseball poll, with first-place votes received in parentheses, team's RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th and ranking in the last poll.

Jim Larranaga, Lon Kruger, Fran Dunphy and Dianne Nolan are this year’s recipients of the Joe Lapchick Character Award. This is the 16th year the award will be presented to those who have shown the character traits of Lapchick, who coached at St. John’s and with the New York Knicks. The quartet will be honored at a luncheon on Sept. 24 in New York. Larranaga has spent the last 53 years coaching in college since he got his start as an assistant at Davidson College in 1971.

Belgian rider Tim Merlier has won the third stage of the Giro d’Italia after race leader Tadej Pogacar almost caught the sprinters by surprise. Merlier claimed his second career stage win at the Italian grand tour on Monday. Jonathan Milan was second and Biniam Girmay third. Pogacar kept the pink jersey ahead of Geraint Thomas. The pair escaped from the main pack close to the finish but were caught with 500 meters left.

Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness has announced his retirement after 38 seasons in the NHL. Bowness is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. The oldest coach at 69 led the Jets to back-to-back playoff appearances in his two seasons on the job. Bowness previously coached the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 after being named interim replacement earlier that season. Bowness in earlier years coached the Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators along with numerous assistant gigs across the league.

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NBA

Coach Ruben Amorim has pledged to stay with Sporting Lisbon after leading the club to its second Portuguese title in four seasons. Amorim has been linked with moves to Liverpool and other clubs. But he says he does not intend to leave. His contract expires in 2026. Sporting clinched the Portuguese league on Sunday after Benfica lost at Famalicao 2-0. It is eight points ahead of second-placed Benfica with two rounds remaining. The 39-year-old Amorim is a former Portugal midfielder. He has coached Sporting since 2020 and led the team to the league title in his first year in charge.

The NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing and betting the under in hockey paid off this weekend at BetMGM Sportsbook while most of the money in basketball was on the over in the final game of the first round. Both sports are now headed to the second round with eight teams remaining in each. There were two Game 7s in the NHL and both the under bets hit. The under bets are 43-26-9 in Game 7 of the NHL playoffs since 2005. The Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic in the NBA’s lone Game 7 and the over bet was a winner. Eighty percent of the money was on the over.

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has signed a multi-year contract extension with the team. The Mavericks announced the move a day before opening their second-round playoff series at Oklahoma City. Dallas advanced last week by eliminating the Los Angeles Clippers in six games. The hall of fame point guard, who won an NBA title with the Mavericks in 2011, is in his third season coaching Dallas. He guided the Mavs to win the Southwest Division title with a 50-32 record — his second 50-win season with the team. The Mavs did not disclose the length of the contract extension.

NBC Sports has been without a permanent analyst in the 18th tower all year. That's not going to change for the U.S. Open. The network says Dan Hicks will be calling the even-numbered holes with Brandel Chamblee. Mike Tirico will do the odd-numbered holes with Brad Faxon. Four other partnerships will handle early coverage. NBC officials also says Smylie Kaufman's popular “Happy Hour” set will be part of the U.S. Open coverage. Also returning to work at Pinehurst is Roger Maltbie and Jim “Bones” Mackay as on-course reporters. The U.S. Open is June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2.

Today in Sports, May 7 - Reggie Miller scores 8 points in the last 16 seconds to lead Pacers to a win

This Date in Baseball, May 7 - Fred McGriff sets MLB record by homering in his 34th major league ballpark

Union Berlin has fired Nenad Bjelica as coach and appointed Marco Grote in his place in a bid to save the team from Bundesliga relegation. Grote becomes interim coach for the second time this season after taking over from longtime favorite Urs Fischer, who was fired in November after a 14-game run with a win. The 51-year-old Grote will again be assisted by Marie-Louise Eta and Sebastian Bönig to prepare the team for its final games of the season. Union travels to Cologne on Saturday, a must-win game for the hosts to avoid being the second team relegated after last-place Darmstadt. Union then plays Freiburg on the final day.

Some 155 police officers were injured in fighting involving Dynamo Berlin and Energie Cottbus fans over the weekend. Berlin police say most of the injuries are from tear-gas use. The police say 116 officers suffered injuries from tear-gas use, 28 from assaults and 11 after being hit by pyrotechnics fired by fans after the fourth-division match at Dynamo’s ground. Security at soccer games is an issue for police, with Germany hosting the European Championship for 24 national teams this summer. Police have been training for potential trouble at matches.

Tottenham has stumbled to four straight losses, has just two clean sheets since the end of October and is on its worst run of results for 20 years. Those looking at Spurs to provide a late twist in the Premier League title race might just be disappointed. Manchester City’s May 14 trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for its next-to-last game of the season appeared the last possible stumbling block for the champions in their bid to reel in Arsenal and win a fourth successive title. Arsenal is surely losing hope of a favor from its north London neighbor. And doubts are starting to creep in about whether Ange Postecoglou is the man to bring a winning culture to the club without a trophy since 2008.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam is hoping Haris Rauf will regain full fitness after a shoulder injury and make an impact at next month's T20 World Cup. Fast bowler Rauf has been included in an 18-man squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England, with Pakistan delaying its 15-strong party for the World Cup in the United States and West Indies until May 22. The fitness of Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan and Azam Khan will be assessed during the seven T20s against Ireland and England.

Brittney Griner says since her release from a Russian prison 17 months ago that she has used her platform as a WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist to advocate for the return of other Americans detained overseas. She has met President Joe Biden twice. While many WNBA players play in international leagues to supplement their incomes, Griner says the only time she'll ever play outside country again is with the USA Basketball. Griner told The Associated Press that she regularly sees a therapist to help her cope mentally after spending 10 months in jail following her arrest at a Moscow airport in February 2022. She shares details of the experience in her book, “Coming Home” that will be released Tuesday.

Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer had so many emotions to process after a Game 7 victory over his former team. There were those mixed feelings still from last year, when the Vegas Golden Knights beat Dallas in the Western Conference Final and that team for which he had such a great affection went on to win its first Stanley Cup. And there was just the tremendous joy of getting past Vegas in his second postseason chance with the Stars. Dallas advanced with a 2-1 victory over Vegas on Sunday night, wrapping up a tight series with both teams scored 16 goals.

Kyle Bradish and John Means are back. Their impact for the Baltimore Orioles was immediate. Bradish allowed a run in 4 2/3 innings in a victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday. Then Means threw seven scoreless frames in a win at Cincinnati on Saturday night. Both pitchers were making their season debuts after they began spring training with arm-related injuries. The Orioles got off to a good start even without them, but if Bradish and Means are healthy and effective, that would give Baltimore another boost as it tries to repeat as AL East champion.

It took Donovan Mitchell’s magnificence, a historic comeback and plenty of grit for the Cavaliers to escape the first round. It will take even more to go further. Cleveland avoided a second straight first-round playoff knockout — and a potential doomsday scenario for the organization — by rallying from an 18-point deficit on Sunday to beat the Orlando Magic 106-94 in Game 7. Now it gets tough as the Cavs will face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the second round. The Cavs have spent the season dodging injuries and doubt and know they're huge underdogs against the East's top team when the series begins Tuesday in Boston.

J.League

TOKYO (AP) - Results from Japanese football:

DENVER – NBA arenas aren't the easiest places for people to get around if they are limited in their mobility. There are ramps, steps and scaffolding in the way, and it's something Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is finding out as he coaches this Western Conference second-round series shortly …

CLEVELAND — It has become tradition during the Orlando Magic’s 35th anniversary season for delirious fans in Kia Center to chant, “Play the song! Play the song!” when the Magic record a victory. And then the crowd celebrates and sings along when a remade version of the original team anthem b…

The referee for the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United on Monday will wear a camera on his head for a program that will be broadcast later this year to offer an insight into the demands of being a match official. The league says the head-mounted device worn by Jarred Gillett at Selhurst Park will be integrated into the referee’s usual communications system. It is being called “RefCam." The technology is being used on a one-off basis as part of filming for a short program promoting match officials. The footage will not be broadcast live.

Former President Donald Trump — and many of the world’s top brass that includes Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and LeBron James — made an appearance Sunday afternoon at Formula 1’s Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.

NEW YORK — If all you heard was the booing every time Tony DeAngelo touched the puck, or the “Tony sucks” chant in the third period, how would you know DeAngelo had left and come back since the Carolina Hurricanes’ last playoff game at Madison Square Garden?

LOS ANGELES — This wasn't October. This can't be confused with October. This has nothing to do with October.

The Avalanche just overpowered the Winnipeg Jets in a Stanley Cup Playoffs series with a tenacious forecheck, a terrifying combination of skill and will in front of the net and … statistical analysis?

Kylian Mbappé will lead Paris Saint-Germain against Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their semifinal on Tuesday. He hopes to score in what will be his final Champions League match in the French capital in a PSG shirt. Mbappé is leaving this summer after a seven-season stint in Paris. PSG trails 1-0 from the first leg in Germany last week. The winner will play Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the final in London. The old rivals drew 2-2 in their first leg in Munich. PSG has never won Europe’s top club competition. Dortmund claimed the 1997 title.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The NCAA and major college conferences are considering a possible settlement of an antitrust lawsuit that could cost them billions in damages and force schools to share athletics-related revenue with their athletes. But even if college sports leaders create a new, mo…

The Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche to begin the Western Conference second round.

The Minnesota Twins begin a four-game series at home against the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

The Detroit Tigers aim to end their three-game skid with a win over the Cleveland Guardians.

The San Francisco Giants come into the matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies after losing three games in a row.

The Kansas City Royals host the Milwaukee Brewers to start a three-game series.

The St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game series at home against the New York Mets on Monday.

The Oakland Athletics host the Texas Rangers to start a four-game series.

The Chicago Cubs open a three-game series at home against the San Diego Padres on Monday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers play the Miami Marlins after Shohei Ohtani had four hits against the Braves on Sunday.