No. 3 Stanford women win to earn piece of Pac-12 regular-season title
Kiki Iriafen had 22 points and 20 rebounds, Cameron Brink added 14 points and No. 3 Stanford beat Arizona State 81-67 on Sunday, responding after an upset loss to Arizona without Brink to wrap up at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title.
Brink, who also had nine rebounds, seven assists and five blocks while playing at a self-described “60%,” returned after missing the previous game with the flu and had a strong allaround performance in her last regular-season home contest.
Stanford (24-4, 13-3) hosted its final regularseason Pac-12 home game, with the Cardinal moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season and Arizona State (11-17, 3-1) going to the Big 12.
Stanford has beaten Arizona State 12 straight times. The Cardinal, looking to lock up the top seed in the Pac-12 Tournament next month, have a twogame cushion over both No. 7 Southern California and No. 9 Oregon State with two games to play with both of those schools losing Sunday.
MLB
BELLINGER REJOINS CUBS >> Cody Bellinger is going back to the Chicago Cubs, agreeing to an $80 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The slugger can opt out of the deal after each of the first two seasons, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical. Bellinger is set to make $30 million this year, and then $30 million in 2025 if he stays with Chicago and $20 million in 2026 if he doesn't opt out of the contract.
Healthy again after years of injuries, Bellinger hit a career-best .307 with 26 homers, 97 RBIs and 20 steals in 130 games in 2023.
Golf
KNAPP WINS MEXICO OPEN >>
PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp lost a four-shot lead in seven holes and then held it together with a remarkable short game, closing with an even-par 71 to win the Mexico Open at Vidanta
and earn a trip to the Masters.
He didn't hit a fairway until the eighth hole and found only two the entire round. The former UCLA player never lost the lead, but twice allowed Sami Valimaki of Finland to catch him.
TAVATANAKIT CLOSES LPGA WIN >> Local favorite Patty Tavatanakit closed with a 5-under 67 and held off a hard-charging Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland for a one-shot victory in the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Tavatanakit was coming off a Ladies European Tour victory last week in Saudi Arabia. She hit a superb approach for an easy birdie on the final hole to finish at 21-under 267. It was her first LPGA title since winning the ANA Inspiration in 2021 for her first major.
Valenzuela had a 63, including six birdies on the back nine, to finish alone in second.
NBA
FIVE PLAYERS SUSPENDED >>
Miami's Jimmy Butler and New Orleans' Naji Marshall have been suspended for one game apiece for instigating an on-court altercation, the NBA announced.
The incident happened during the Heat-Pelicans game Friday night.
Miami's Thomas Bryant and New Orleans' Jose Alvarado were both handed three-game suspensions for fighting and leaving the bench area. Miami's Nikola Jovic also got a one-game suspension for leaving the bench area and entering the altercation, the league said.
The Atlanta Hawks have lost All-Star point guard Trae Young for at least four
HAWKS LOSE YOUNG >>
weeks with a torn ligament in his left pinkie finger.
Young was hurt during Friday night's loss to Toronto and will have surgery Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
Motor sports
SUAREZ WINS AT ATLANTA >>
Daniel Suarez edged Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide finish to win a crashed-filled NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch, who won Saturday's Trucks race, moved to the middle between Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion, and Suarez to set up the dramatic finish. Suarez, 32, earned his second career Cup win in his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Blaney was second, only 0.003 seconds behind, and Busch was third.
Soccer
LIVERPOOL WINS CUP >>
Virgil van Dijk came up with a crucial header to secure Liverpool a record-extending 10th English League Cup trophy.
The center back's goal in the 28th minute of extra time sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea at Wembley after the game had ended 0-0 in regulation.
It clinched an eighth piece of silverware for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and ensured he will not end his final year at the club empty-handed.
PREMIER LEAGUE >> Sheffield United's players showed the wrong kind of fight after suffering a 19th loss of the season to stay at the foot of the Premier League.
Pablo Sarabia's 30thminute header secured a 1-0 win for Wolves at Molineux in the league's only game, but perhaps the most notable incident in the match was a clash between Sheffield United players Jack Robinson and Vinicius Souza.
College football BIENIEMY TO TAKE ROLE WITH UCLA >>
Eric Bieniemy is on the verge of returning home for his next job.
The former Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator is expected to become UCLA's associate head coach and offensive coordinator, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because details of the contract are still being worked out.
Bieniemy is the first significant hire for new UCLA coach DeShaun Foster, who was hired on Feb. 12 after Chip Kelly left Westwood to become Ohio State's offensive coordinator.
NHL
BLACKHAWKS HONOR CHELIOS >>
Watching his No. 7 rise into the rafters at the United Center, well, that traveled far beyond Chris Chelios' wildest imagination.
Chelios' jersey was retired by the Chicago Blackhawks during a pregame ceremony that highlighted the defenseman's hardcharging lifestyle on and off the ice.
Chelios, 62, played for his hometown team from 1990 until he was traded to Detroit in March 1999. He had 92 goals and 395 assists in 664 regular-season games with the Blackhawks. He remains the team's career leader with 1,495 penalty minutes.
Skiing
FELLER WINS TAHOE RACE >>
Manuel Feller of Austria overcame a first-run deficit to win a World Cup slalom, his fourth victory of the season.
Trailing by nearly a halfsecond entering the final run, Feller smoothly navigated the tricky course. He finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 42.08 seconds to edge Clement Noel of France by a margin of 0.28 seconds. Firstrun leader Linus Strasser of Germany made a small mistake that cost him time and wound up third.