Coyotes sale to Utah Jazz owner expected next week
The Arizona Coyotes will likely be sold to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith shortly after the team's final game and will include a provision guaranteeing current owner Alex Meruelo an expansion team if a new arena is built within five years, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The $1 billion sale is expected to happen between the Coyotes' final game of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday and the start of the playoffs on Saturday, barring unforeseen circumstances.
The deal will transfer the franchise's hockey operations first to the NHL and then to Smith, who plans to move the team to Salt Lake City, and Meruelo will maintain business operations to move forward with a planned $3 billion project that will include a new arena in north Phoenix. Meruelo also will continue to own the Tucson Roadrunners, the franchise's AHL affiliate, and plans to move the team to Mullett Arena in Tempe, the current temporary home of the Coyotes.
College hockey
DENVER BEATS BOSTON COLLEGE TO WIN NCAA TITLE >>
Jared Wright and Rieger Lorenz scored second-period goals, Matt Davis had 35 saves and Denver beat No. 1 overall seed Boston College 2-0 to win the 10th national championship in program history.
No. 3 seed Denver (32-93), which finished the season
on a nine-game win streak, moved past Michigan (nine) for most titles all-time. Boston College is tied with Boston University (five) for fourth, behind Wisconsin (six).
Davis had 23 third-period saves in his third shutout of the season.
Women's hockey
US AND CANADA WIN SEMIFINALS >>
The United States versus Canada will meet for gold on Sunday for the 22nd time in 23 tournaments since the world championships were established in 1990.
The defending champion Americans advanced with a 5-0 win over Finland, in an outing Laila Edwards scored a natural hat trick and Aerin Frankel stopped 15 shots to set a single-tournament record with her fourth shutout.
The Canadians followed with 4-0 win over Czechia.
Motor sports
LARSON IS ON THE POLE
>> Kyle Larson will be the pole sitter for the third NASCAR Cup race in a row after a fast lap of 190.369 mph in qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway.
This is the 250th pole ever for Hendrick Motorsports and the team's fourth in a row.
It is the 19th career pole for Larson but his first at Texas Motor Speedway, where last year he led 99 laps before getting loose and spinning into the wall with 85 laps left.
Baseball
BRAVES ACE STRIDER WILL MISS REST OF SEASON >> Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider will miss the rest
of the season after having surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, performed the procedure on Friday, using an internal brace to repair the UCL.
Strider was 20-5 in 2023, leading the majors in wins and strikeouts (281). TWINS PLACE CORREA ON 10-DAY IL >> Twins shortstop Carlos Correa was placed on the 10-day injured list, a day after sustaining an oblique injury in Minnesota's 8-2 loss to the Tigers.
Correa was hitting .306 with a homer and four RBIs in 11 games and had an .876 OPS. The two-time All-Star was replaced on the 25man roster by catcher Jair Camargo, who was hitting .268 in 11 games for TripleA St. Paul.