Update on the latest sports
NFL-SUPER BOWL-WINNERS
Buccaneers look ahead
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady’s coming back. So is Bruce Arians. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are already thinking about what it’ll take to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
The challenge begins with trying to keep some key components together for next season.
Brady threw three touchdowns passes on the way to claiming a record seventh NFL title with a 31-9 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs — two to Rob Gronkowski and one Antonio Brown. Both played on one-year contracts after being lured to Tampa Bay by Brady.
Leonard Fournette ran for the team’s other TD. He also joined the Bucs on a one-year deal.
In other NFL news:
—The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired longtime NFL assistant Mike Sullivan as their new quarterbacks coach. The move is one of three made by the team to fill coaching vacancies. Sullivan replaces Matt Canada, who was promoted to offensive coordinator last month. Sullivan is a 16-year NFL coaching veteran, winning two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants.
TENNIS-AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Djokovic among first-round winners
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic extended his streak of straight-set wins over Jeremy Chardy to 14 matches as he opened his Australian Open title defense with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 victory in the last match on the first-day program at Rod Laver Arena.
The top-ranked Djokovic was never close to losing against the 33-year-old Chardy, maintaining a winning streak that dates back to 2009.
In other first-day action:
— Serena Williams is off to a fast start at the Australian Open. After losing the opening game, Williams won 10 games in a row and beat Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-1 on the first day of the tournament. The victory marked the start of Williams’ latest bid for a record-tying 24th major title.
— Venus Williams has won a Grand Slam match for the first time since 2019. Playing in her 21st Australian Open, Williams beat Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 6-2 on the first day of play.
— Second-seeded Simona Halep breezed into the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Australian wild-card entry Lizette Cabrera.
— Three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka won her opening match at the Australian Open. Osaka, who won the title in Melbourne two years ago, played the first match of the tournament in Rod Laver Arena and beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 6-2.
Back on the men’s side:
— U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem has moved into the second round at the Australian Open, where he was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic a year ago. The No. 3-seeded Thiem needed about a set to get going en route to a 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3 win over 90th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
— Sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev lost the first set in a tiebreaker against Marcos GIron after saving four set points. Then, to let off steam in the second set, he smashed his racket into the court and broke it. It helped a little bit, with Zverev regaining his composure to beat the 27-year-old American 6-7 (8), 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
— Tenth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, but it’s been a year since his last victory. The latest setback for Monfils came on Day 1 at Melbourne Park, beaten by 86th-ranked Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland.
— No. 11-seeded Denis Shapovalov finally beat Jannik Sinner 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in a marathon lasting almost four hours. It meant the 21-year-old Shapovalov, not accustomed to being the older player on court, avoided a first-round loss at Melbourne Park for the second straight year. For 19-year-old Sinner, it was an early end to his fifth major.
— The total crowd at Melbourne Park on the first day of the Australian Open hit 17,922, including day and night sessions in three divided zones. It was well down on the 64,387 fans that crammed onto the grounds on Day 1 of last year’s Australian Open, but way more than any other major since then.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLL
You’re not in, Kansas, anymore
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas has dropped out of The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the first time in 12 years.
The Jayhawks’ record streak of 231 consecutive weeks ranked is over. Gonzaga and Baylor kept the top two spots, just as they have all season, with the Bulldogs getting 55 of 63 first-place votes and the Bears getting the other eight.
Michigan took advantage of Villanova’s loss at St. John’s to jump into the top three, Ohio State climbed three spots to No. 4 and the Wildcats rounded out the top 5.
With Kansas and UCLA falling out, that leaves the AP Top 25 without the Jayhawks, Bruins and fellow bluebloods Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina for the first time since December 1961. It also means none of the 13 winningest Division I programs are ranked.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baylor postpones three more
WACO, Texas (AP) — The No. 2 Baylor men’s basketball team has postponed three more games because of COVID-19 issues and won’t play again until at least Feb. 20.
The Bears didn’t play Saturday’s scheduled home game against TCU and had already postponed Wednesday’s game at No. 12 Oklahoma before the latest changes announced Monday.
Now postponed are next Saturday’s home game against No. 7 Texas Tech, then two games next week at No. 14 West Virginia. That includes a Feb. 15 game at Morgantown, and then a Feb. 18 game in Waco that was supposed to be the makeup of a game postponed in January because of COVID-19 protocols in the Mountaineers program.
Baylor’s next scheduled game is Feb. 20 at home against No. 23 Oklahoma State.
MLB-ANGELS-OHTANI
Angels reach two-year deal with Ohtani
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani agreed to a two-year, $8.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, avoiding arbitration. The two-way player will make $3 million in 2021 and $5.5 million in 2022. Both years are guaranteed.
Ohtani asked for $3.3 million for the upcoming season, and the Angels countered with $2.5 million.
Ohtani earned $259,259 in the prorated portion of his $700,000 contract in 2020, but the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year struggled at the plate and on the mound in his return from Tommy John surgery. Ohtani batted .190 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 175 plate appearances.
NBA-BULLS-MARKANEN
Bulls’ Markkanen out 2-4 weeks with sprained right shoulder
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls expect forward Lauri Markkanen to miss two to four weeks because of a sprained right shoulder. The Bulls say an MRI confirmed he has a sprained acromioclavicular joint.
Markkanen was hurt Friday at Orlando when he was fouled by Magic forward Gary Clark early in the third quarter.
Markkanen is averaging a career-high 19.1 points and 6.1 rebounds coming off a disappointing season. He missed seven consecutive games early in the season because of COVID-19 protocols.
NBA-NETS-VONLEH
Nets make another frontcourt addition
NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have made another addition to their frontcourt by signing Noah Vonleh. The 6-foot-10 forward has played for six previous teams after being the No. 9 pick in the 2014 draft by Charlotte. He has averaged 5.0 points and 5.2 rebounds in 335 games.
Vonleh most recently played for Denver last season. His best season was with the New York Knicks in 2018-19, when he averaged 8.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Seeking more size and defense, the Nets recently added Norvel Pelle and Iman Shumpert.
NHL-MAPLE LEAFS-SIMMONDS
Simmonds out until mid-March
TORONTO (AP) — The NHL-leading Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Wayne Simmonds until mid-March.
The team announced that the bruising winger is set to miss six weeks after suffering a broken wrist in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. The 32-year-old Simmonds scored twice in the game but took a clearing attempt off his left arm in the third period. The injury was looked at by a trainer on the bench before Simmonds headed to the locker room for more treatment.
The Toronto native scored five times in his last six outings.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
— Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin says he’s back to normal with the team after being held out of a game as discipline for being late to practice. Khudobin was back on the ice Monday. The goalie says all is fine and settled after talking to his coaches. He says he was late to practice Saturday after not sleeping well throughout the night. He then woke up late after not hearing his alarm. Coach Rick Bowness didn’t allow him to dress out for Sunday’s game against Chicago. Bowness says the situation is over, calling it yesterday’s news.
—Edmonton’s CFL team has a shortlist of seven candidates for its new name. And, like the old name, fans want an apt alliterative approach. The seven names listed as possibilities in an online survey released Monday are: Elk, Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles and Elements. Edmonton dropped the name Eskimos last year and now goes by Edmonton Football Team or EE Football Team.
