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AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:36 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press
Updated: March 26, 2025 - 3:40 AM
Published: March 25, 2025 - 4:00 AM

Alex Ovechkin scores his 889th career goal to move 6 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s NHL record

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Alex Ovechkin is now six goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record after scoring the 889th of his career in the Washington Capitals’ game Tuesday night at the Winnipeg Jets. Ovechkin beat two-time Vezina Trophy winner and current favorite Connor Hellebuyck to tie the score at 2 with 4 minutes left in regulation. The Capitals lost 3-2 in overtime. The 39-year-old is on pace to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894 on April 15 at the New York Islanders.

Russell Wilson is heading to the New York Giants, AP source says

Russell Wilson has agreed on a one-year contract with the New York Giants, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the signing hasn’t been finalized, said Wilson’s deal is worth up to $21 million with $10.5 million guaranteed. The Giants signed veteran Jameis Winston to a two-year contract last week and have the third pick in next month’s NFL draft. The 36-year-old Wilson joins his fourth team in five years.

Bucks say Damian Lillard has deep vein thrombosis in his right calf

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard will likely be sidelined indefinitely, with the team announcing Tuesday night that he has deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and is taking blood-thinning medication. The Bucks provided the update on the seven-time all-NBA guard’s status without offering a target date for his potential return. Lillard has missed the last three games for the Bucks, who close a five-game trip Wednesday at Denver. Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel. The Bucks said Lillard’s medication has stabilized the thrombosis and that he will continue with regular testing.

There’s no easy answers for slowing down rising level of pitching injuries at all levels of baseball

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Figuring out a cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries among pitchers is easy. Finding a solution could prove much more challenging. Major League Baseball issued a 62-page report in December that showed how the focus on throwing with increased velocity and using maximum effort on every pitch was a likely cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries. The study provided numerical data backing a thesis already supported by conventional wisdom.

Xavier hires Richard Pitino as basketball coach

There will be more than one Pitino in the Big East next season. Xavier hired Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, as its basketball coach on Tuesday night. The school had an opening after Sean Miller left to accept the Texas job on Monday. Richard Pitino arrives at Xavier after four years at New Mexico, where he led the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. New Mexico went 27-8 this season and was eliminated by Michigan State in the second round of the NCAAs on Sunday. The younger Pitino was the Mountain West Coach of the Year this season after the Lobos won the conference’s regular-season title. He was 88-49 at New Mexico and has an overall mark of 247-186.

World Athletics to require chromosome testing of athletes in women’s track and field

NANJING, China (AP) — World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says the track and field’s governing body has approved the introduction of cheek swabs and dry blood-spot tests for female athletes in order to maintain “the integrity of competition.” The planned changes include reinstating a version of chromosome testing that was discontinued in the 1990s, requiring athletes who compete in the female category to submit to a cheek swab or dry blood-spot test for the presence of a gene that indicates whether the athlete has a “Y” chromosome present in males. Coe says athletes will have to take the test just once during their career. No timeline for the introduction of pre-clearance testing has been officially announced.

USC looks to keep March Madness title hopes alive without generational talent JuJu Watkins in lineup

LOS ANGELES (AP) — If Southern California wants to win its first women’s national championship in 41 years, the Trojans will have to find a way to get it done without star guard JuJu Watkins. She was lost to a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of USC’s 96-59 win over Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Now the Trojans are headed to the Sweet 16. They have a deep and talented roster that will be called upon to contribute in Watkins’ absence. Three of USC’s freshmen scored in double figures against the Bulldogs. Graduate transfer Kiki Iriafen scored 36 points and had eight rebounds.

Josh Hart breaks Knicks franchise record with ninth triple-double of the season

NEW YORK (AP) — On a night when Josh Hart broke a New York Knicks franchise record that stood for 56 years, he decided to give the game ball to a teammate who played three minutes. It was just one more unselfish play in a season full of them for the eight-year veteran. Hart broke the Knicks’ franchise record for single-season triple-doubles (9), which star player-turned-broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier set in 1969, by posting 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in New York’s 128-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. Hart’s historic performance was equaled by one from Karl-Anthony Towns as well. The duo became the first Knicks teammates to post triple-doubles in the same game in the franchise’s 79-season history.

MLB free agency: Plenty of talent potentially available in ’25-26 class, likely none for $700M

There almost certainly won’t be a $700 million deal for any player in the baseball’s next free agency class, nothing like the record contracts for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and four-time All-Star slugger Juan Soto the past two winters. Still, plenty of talented players are going into their final seasons before potentially becoming free agents for the first time. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., five-tool player Kyle Tucker and starting pitchers Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen could all become available to other teams after this season. Three-time batting champion Luis Arráez could also be a first-time free agent.

Same old Cal: Arkansas’ Calipari not backing off relying on freshmen in NIL, transfer portal era

John Calipari embraced the one-and-done era in college basketball, bringing in talented freshmen and getting them to Final Fours before shipping them off to the NBA. The formula served him well during his 15-year run at Kentucky that ended after last season, as NIL money and the transfer portal skewed rosters older. But Cal is up to his old tricks in his first season at Arkansas. The 10-seeded Razorbacks earned a second-round win over St. John’s and longtime rival Rick Pitino, who has vowed not to recruit any freshmen next season. But Pitino may reconsider after watching Arkansas’s trio of freshmen power the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16.