AP Sports SummaryBrief at 10:32 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press

Butler, Williamson injuries are part of story for Heat-Bulls and Kings-Pelicans play-in finales

MIAMI (AP) — All four teams in the finales of the NBA play-in tournament on Friday night are dealing with injury issues. Chicago goes to Miami and then Sacramento plays at New Orleans. The winner of the Bulls-Heat game meets Boston in Round 1 and the Kings-Pelicans winner meets Oklahoma City. The Heat will be without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier for their game against the Bulls, who had guard Alex Caruso go down to a sprained ankle in Wednesday’s win over Atlanta. The Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson because of a hamstring injury.

NFL draft has potential to set a record for most players on offense selected in the first round

The 2024 NFL draft has the potential to set a record for most players on offense selected in the first round. No draft has seen more than 19 players on offense chosen in the first round. That happened three times, most recently in 2009. Many draft experts are predicting more than 20 offensive players will go in the first round and some have up to 25. The AP’s final mock draft had 22 going in the first round, including 10 offensive linemen, six wide receivers, five quarterbacks and one tight end. Only once in the past 57 years have the first seven picks all been offensive players. That happened in 2021.

Heat star Jimmy Butler has sprained ligament in knee, will be sidelined several weeks

MIAMI (AP) — The results are in: Jimmy Butler is out. Butler will not be able to play for the Miami Heat in a win-or-else game on Friday night against the Chicago Bulls in the NBA’s play-in tournament because of a right knee injury, one that will sideline him for several weeks. An MRI exam on Thursday showed that he sprained the MCL ligament, an injury that typically takes at least four weeks or more to heal.

NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will have a name starting with Utah

The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at least initially. New owner Ryan Smith says the name will begin with Utah and he does not want to rush the process of rebranding the franchise upon relocation. The league’s board of governors unanimously approved the sale of the team to Smith Entertainment Group on Thursday. Smith has already contracted with an agency to oversee the process of determining a team name and logo. Former owner Alex Meruelo keeps the Coyotes name and has the chance to reactivate the franchise if he’s able to build an arena.

NHL PLAYOFFS: ‘It’s wide open’ is the theme as the race to the Stanley Cup begins

There is no prohibitive favorite to win the Stanley Cup as the NHL playoffs begin this weekend. Carolina gets the slight edge after the Hurricanes won 16 of their final 21 games and look every bit like a team poised for a long run. So did Boston last year after setting league records for the most wins and points in a season. This time it wouldn’t be surprising if any one of nearly a dozen teams is the last one left standing in June. That group includes defending champion Vegas, 2023 East winner Florida and Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers.

Chasing 5th straight win, Nelly Korda is 2 shots back at Chevron Championship after a first-round 68

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Nelly Korda, who is looking to tie an LPGA Tour record with her fifth straight win, shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round of the Chevron Championship. That leaves her two shots behind leader Lauren Coughlin in the year’s first major. The top-ranked Korda is seeking her second major after winning the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021. She could join Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam as the only players to win five consecutive LPGA events. The 31-year-old Coughlin has never won on the LPGA Tour and shot a bogey-free 66.

Scheffler wiped out from Masters and opens with a 69 at Hilton Head. He trails Poston by 6 shots

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is wiped out from his emotional Masters win and he’s already back to work. He hit a shank. He was annoyed by mud balls. He still managed a 69 and trails J.T. Poston by six shots after the first round of the RBC Heritage. Poston ran off six birdies over seven holes for his great start. He leads Collin Morikawa and Seamus Power by two shots. Masters runner-up Ludvig Aberg is another shot behind. Scheffler didn’t have much time to prepare and says he was giving himself some grace for not playing at his typical level.

Kawhi Leonard fighting ‘stubborn inflammation’ and is questionable for Game 1 of playoffs

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard has been fighting “very, very stubborn inflammation” in his surgically repaired right knee for three weeks. He’ll be listed as questionable for the Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff opener against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Team executive Lawrence Frank says Leonard is making progress but the inflammation needs to continue to go down so he can play. Leonard hasn’t played since March 31. Frank wouldn’t comment on a published report that Leonard had an injection in his knee earlier this month. Frank says the inflammation isn’t related to Leonard’s numerous past injuries with his right knee.

Unfair labor complaint filed against Notre Dame over athletes

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — An unfair labor complaint has been filed against the University of Notre Dame for classifying college athletes as “student-athletes.” The complaint was filed Thursday with the National Labor Relations Board by a California-based group calling itself the College Basketball Players Association. It said Notre Dame is engaging in unfair labor practices as defined by the National Labor Relations Act. The complaint is similar to one filed against University of Southern California last May by the NLRB’s Los Angeles office. Notre Dame cited its Statement for Principles for Intercollegiate Athletics in responding to a request for comment on the complaint, saying athletics is “an integrated participant in and contributor to the University’s education mission.”

Virginia law allows the state’s colleges and universities to directly pay athletes through NIL deals

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s governor has signed a law that allows state colleges and universities to directly pay athletes through name, image and likeness endorsement deals. The law signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin bypasses NCAA rules. It takes effect on July 1. NIL rules, enacted in 2021, allow college athletes to agree to deals with brands and businesses that compensate them for advertising or personal appearances. The NCAA says rules against “pay for play” and schools directly paying their athletes remain in place.