Griner prisoner swap Associated Press Sports Story of the Year

The return of Brittney Griner to the United States in a dramatic prisoner swap with Russia marked the culmination of a 10-month ordeal that captivated world attention, a saga that landed at the intersection of sports, politics, race and gender identity — and wartime diplomacy.

Griner had for years been known to fans of women’s basketball — college player of the year, a twotime Olympic gold medalist and WNBA all-star who dominated her sport. But her arrest on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport in February elevated her profile in ways neither she nor her supporters would have ever hoped for, making her by far the most high-profile American to be jailed abroad — and her saga the AP Sports Story of the Year.

Her case not only brought unprecedented public attention to the dozens of Americans wrongfully detained by foreign governments, but it also emerged as a major inflection point in U.S.-Russia diplomacy.

College football

MIAMI (OHIO) LOSES BAHAMAS BOWL >> Jermaine Brown Jr. rushed for 116 yards and two fourthquarter touchdowns, Trea Shropshire had 183 yards receiving and a score, and UAB held off Miami (Ohio) 24-20 on Friday in the Bahamas Bowl.

UAB (7-6) won its second bowl game in a row — beating No. 13 BYU 31-28 in the Independence Bowl last season — and third in program history. The Blazers won their 50th game since returning in 2017 from a program shutdown.

Shropshire dominated the first half with 120 yards, and his second catch after halftime went for 50 yards to set up Brown’s 12-yard rushing touchdown.