Top surfers grab final shot at qualifying for Olympics
>> Top surfers Gabriel Medina of Brazil and Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia won the final qualifier for the upcoming Olympics on Sunday following nine days in which scores of competitors faced volatile weather and painful sea urchin spines.
The World Surfing Games competition organized by the International Surfing Association began in late February in Puerto Rico with 266 surfers from 55 nations, nearly half of them women. The athletes ranged in age from teenagers still in school to those in their 40s with full-time jobs in fields including engineering and teaching.
The win was especially sweet for Medina, a threetime world champion who announced in 2022 that he was taking a mental health break from the sport. Shortly after the buzzer sounded, Medina emerged from the water with a wide smile as he pounded his heart with an open palm.
Shortly afterward, Fitzgibbons got a ride from a jet ski following her win, standing tall on the back as she raised her fist. Less than an hour before, she had scored big in the final minute of a repechage to make it to the finals.
NASCAR
LARSON WINS >> Kyle Larson won his second consecutive race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to keep Chevrolet undefeated and give Hendrick Motorsports its second victory in the first three NASCAR Cup Series races of the season.
Larson won for the third time in his career at Las Vegas, where in 2021 he got his first win driving for Hendrick following a nearly yearlong suspension in 2020. Larson also won in the No. 5 Chevy at Las Vegas last October in the playoffs.
Larson held off Tyler Reddick for his 24th career Cup victory. In a Toyota for 23XI Racing, Reddick chased Larson for the final several laps but could never find enough room to make a move for the pass.
Golf
CLASSIC GOES TO MONDAY >>
Austin Eckroat left PGA National with a share of the
lead Saturday. He left with the outright lead Sunday.
He'll have to come back Monday to finish the job.
A Monday finish awaits at PGA National, after the final round of the opening event on the PGA Tour's Florida Swing was interrupted by thunderstorms that brought nearly 2 inches of rain in a hurry and forced everyone off the course for 31/2 hours.
Tennis
NADAL FALLS TO ALCARAZ >>
There has been plenty of mystery around Rafael Nadal and his health because he has played just 12 official matches since the 2022 U.S. Open.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner played an unofficial event, losing to fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 3-6, 6-4 (14-12) in The Netflix Slam before a sellout crowd of 9,489. The 37-year-old Nadal showed no apparent sign of any issues related to his hip.
MLB
D'BACKS SIGN ANDRUS
>> The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed veteran infielder Elvis Andrus to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training.
The two-time All-Star has played in the majors for 15 seasons, spending time with the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's and Chicago White Sox. He has 2,091 career hits, which ranks third among active players, behind only Joey Votto and Freddie Freeman.
NFL
ESPN'S MORTENSEN DIES >>
Chris Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for
close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, has died. He was 72.
ESPN confirmed Mortensen's death. There was no immediate word on the cause or place of death.
“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hardworking teammate,” ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones.”
Mortensen announced in 2016 that he had been diagnosed with Stage IV throat cancer.
Soccer
U.S. TOPS COLOMBIA >>
Jenna Nighswonger and Jaedyn Shaw scored in the first half, and the United States rebounded from its loss to Mexico with a 3-0 victory over Colombia to advance to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup.
Lindsey Horan also converted a penalty in the opening minutes for the Americans, who shook off the embarrassment of their 2-0 loss to Mexico last Monday in the final game of group play. The U.S. was back in dominant form against an impressive Colombian team that reached the quarterfinals of last year's World Cup.
The U.S. will face Canada in the Gold Cup semifinals in San Diego on Wednesday. Mexico takes on Brazil in the other semifinal after its 3-2 quarterfinal win over Paraguay earlier Sunday at BMO Stadium.
CITY BEATS UNITED >> Good luck trying to knock Manchester City off its perch.
With new investment and renewed hope, Manchester United fans have been encouraged to believe the good times will return. That great revival felt as far away as ever after a humbling 3-1 loss to City in the Premier League, which could have been even worse if not for a spectacular miss from Erling Haaland and a series of saves from United goalkeeper Andre Onana.
“This team is legendary,” City manager Pep Guardiola said afterward.
The same cannot be said for United after a 16th defeat in all competitions this season and its 11th loss in the league. The latest setback delivered another blow to Erik ten Hag's hopes of securing Champions League qualification, with his team in sixth and 11 points off fourth-place Aston Villa.
City, meanwhile, marches on in its threepronged defense of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
BOURNEMOUTH BOOST
>> Goals from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo secured Bournemouth its first win in the league in 2024 by beating Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor.
Burnley, meanwhile, is still waiting for a win of any description since the turn of the year and a latest loss pushed Vincent Kompany's team closer to relegation.
Bournemouth hadn't won since beating Tottenham on New Year's Eve and moved 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
Defeat extended Burnley's winless from to 10 games in all competitions and left it 11 points adrift of safety.
Skiing
MEILLARD WINS >> Loic Meillard of Switzerland capped a podium-filled weekend in Aspen by winning a World Cup slalom.
After taking second in back-to-back giant slalom races in the glitzy resort town, Meillard overcame a first-run deficit to win with a combined time of 1 minute, 42.73 seconds. He held off Linus Strasser of Germany.