AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:16 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press
Updated: April 2, 2025 - 3:24 AM
Published: April 1, 2025 - 4:00 AM

Ovechkin scores No. 891. He needs 3 to tie Gretzky and 4 to pass him

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin moved four goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record after scoring the 891st of his career in the Washington Capitals game against the Bruins in Boston on Tuesday night. The 39-year-old Russian has 38 goals this season and is on track to reach 40 for a record 14th time despite missing 16 games because of a broken left fibula. The first-place Capitals have eight more games left this season.

NBA suspends 5 players for their roles in Pistons-Timberwolves altercation that spilled into stands

NEW YORK (AP) — Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart has been suspended for two games by the NBA and four other players from the Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves drew one-game suspensions for the roles in an on-court altercation between the teams earlier this week. The league says Stewart got two games “based in part on his repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.” The NBA handed the one-game bans to Detroit’s Ron Holland II and Marcus Sasser along with Minnesota’s Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo.

NFL postpones a decision on the tush push but passes other rule changes

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The future of the tush push has been pushed until next month. NFL team owners had been set to vote Tuesday on Green Bay’s proposal to ban the play that’s helped the Philadelphia Eagles win one Super Bowl and reach another, but the proposal was tabled until May. Team owners approved modifying the kickoff rule, expanding replay assist and revising overtime rules, along with other changes. The decision to postpone the tush push vote means the debate will continue as the league seeks more information about the safety of the play. Proponents of the play and those who oppose it presented strong arguments while the league’s medical experts expressed safety concerns.

Here’s how the new NFL rules on kickoffs and overtime will work

The one-year trial version of the dynamic kickoff in the NFL led to an uptick in the return rate that wasn’t quite as much as the league had hoped. Now the new form of the kickoff that is more like a scrimmage play is permanent with a change for 2025 that the league hopes will lead to a significant increase in returns. Owners voted to move touchbacks on kicks from the 30 to the 35 in hopes that more teams will kick the ball in play instead of giving up an extra 5 yards of field position. The league also approved changes to the overtime rule and expanded replay assist.

The Masters goes on without Tiger Woods. No joke

Tiger Woods is out of action with a ruptured Achilles tendon and has plenty of time for social media. His latest move was an April Fools’ Day joke saying that he had miraculously healed and would be playing at the Masters next week. He waited six minutes to say it was a joke. But there was enough reaction to show how much hope his fans still have about seeing a little more magic. The sad thing is that Woods hasn’t finished closer than 12 shots to a winner in the last five years. But his presence at Augusta National is still missed.

Curry hits 12 3-pointers, scores 52 as Warriors defeat Grizzlies 134-125

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Stephen Curry had 52 points, including 12 3-pointers, as the Golden State Warriors held on for a 134-125 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. Curry was 16 of 31 from the field, making 12 of his 20 shots from distance, the dozen 3-pointers matching his season high. Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, and Draymond Green had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists as the Warriors moved into fifth place in the Western Conference. Ja Morant led Memphis with 36 points and six assists, and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 22 points. Zach Edey had 10 points and 16 rebounds as Memphis dropped its third straight.

Maryland strikes quickly, hires Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams after Kevin Willard’s exit

Maryland has hired Buzz Williams as its men’s basketball coach. The Terrapins quickly moved on after Kevin Willard left to take the Villanova job. Maryland says it will introduce Williams at a news conference Wednesday. Willard left for Villanova last weekend after leading the Terrapins to the Sweet 16. Williams arrives after six seasons at Texas A&M. He took the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. He previously was the head coach at Virginia Tech, Marquette and New Orleans.

Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton says he’ll continue using torpedo bats upon return from injury

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton said he’ll continue using a torpedo bat whenever he returns from pain in both elbows, but also declined to say whether he thought using the new model might have caused his injury. Last season Stanton began using the unique bats that feature more wood lower down the barrel closer to the label, shaped a little like a bowling pin. During spring training, he seemed to hint that using the different bats could have caused pain, before later adding he didn’t know why his injury occurred. “You’re not going to get the story you’re looking for,” Stanton said Tuesday before New York opened a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “So if that’s what you guys want, that ain’t going to happen.”

Jokes abound as Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman misses 2nd game while recovering from shower slip and fall

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman says his slip and fall in the shower was a “freak accident.” The Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman was out of the lineup for a second straight day to get treatment on his injured right ankle. An X-ray showed no serious damage. Freeman says he’s feeling much better and hopes to return to the lineup on Wednesday. Freeman’s father, wife and 4-year-old son joked with him about the weekend incident. However, the World Series MVP says he feels fortunate nothing worse happened because the combination tub-shower has a glass door.

Why college basketball coaches say the game no longer has the same appeal

Coach after coach, from Miami’s Jim Larrañaga to Virginia’s Tony Bennett to Villanova’s Jay Wright, have walked away from college basketball, saying it no longer holds the appeal it once did. With the Final Four approaching, The Associated Press asked coaches a simple question: Do you still like your job? Most said they did, but expressed concerns. Tom Izzo of Michigan State called the transfer portal a “urinal.” Cori Close says her UCLA women will have resources but wonders if they’re learning the right lessons. And Leonard Hamilton, who recently stepped down from Florida State, asks if anyone out there thinks about academics anymore.