Sports

LEXINGTON, Ky (AP) — Kentucky coach John Calipari kept telling Justin Edwards he believed in him, even as the freshman struggled through an inconsistent season.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Elijah Hawkins scored 17 of his career-high 24 points in the second half, Dawson Garcia had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Minnesota defeated Ohio State 88-79 on Thursday night.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — While LSU’s Tyrell Ward was mobbed on the court by jubilant fans, including women’s basketball star Angel Reese, Kentucky coach John Calipari and the Wildcats could only watch the celebration — while awaiting a brief video review of the frantic, last-second sequence that did them in.

DALLAS (AP) — Now that the yearslong process to finalize how the 12 teams for the expanded College Football Playoff will be selected for the next two seasons is complete, there are already discussions about maybe adding more teams for 2026 and beyond.

The field for the 12-team College Football Playoff beginning next season will comprise of five conference champions and seven at-large selections — after the university presidents who oversee the CFP voted unanimously on Tuesday to tweak the format.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene faced off in Cincinnati Reds camp on Tuesday and it took a toll — on a window on Greene’s car.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State stunned No. 2 Purdue on Sunday in its interim coach’s debut, winning 73-69 a day after the NCAA Tournament selection committee picked the Boilermakers as the early favorite to be the No. 1 overall seed during March Madness.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Antonio Reeves and Kentucky stripped away Auburn’s aura of invincibility at home.

The Columbus Blue Jackets fired general manager Jarmo Kekalainen on Thursday, ending his time on the job ahead of another crucial trade deadline for the struggling club.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns coach Kevin Stefanski’s staff overhaul continued on Thursday — with the official hirings of offensive line coach Andy Dickerson and assistant Roy Istvan.