WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. women’s hockey gold medal-winning team has politely declined an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday. In a statement, the U.S. women's team said it was “sincerely grateful for the invitation" but would be unable to attend “due to the timing.” Trump also invited the U.S. men’s gold medal-winning team. Scheduling will be a challenge as the NHL schedule resumes with five games on Wednesday and the PWHL resumes on Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of both teams.
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA told the players’ union that it needs to get a deal in place by March 10 start the season on time. That's according to a person familiar with the discussions who told The Associated Press about the Monday meeting on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. It was the first meeting between the sides that involved players and the league since they met at the WNBA offices on Feb. 2. Because of the winter storm that hit New York, it was decided to hold the meeting virtually.
DETROIT (AP) — Tempers flared in the first half of the San Antonio Spurs-Detroit Pistons game, a matchup of two of the NBA’s top teams on Monday night. Pistons star Cade Cunningham was called for an offensive foul after extending his arms and knocking Spurs guard Stephon Castle down on the court. Spurs forward Keldon Johnson responded by pushing Cunningham and Pistons center Jalen Duren pointed his right finger in Johnson’s face. After a review, Johnson and Duren were called for technical fouls in the second quarter of the closely contested game.
VAIL, Colo. (AP) — Lindsey Vonn says she nearly lost her left leg following a crash at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Vonn detailed the extent her injuries in an Instagram post. The 41-year-old Vonn says the crash on Feb. 8 caused compartment syndrome in her left leg after the crash. The condition traps swelling and blood in the muscle. It cuts off blood flow and can cause permanent damage. Vonn says surgeon Tom Hackett performed an emergency fasciotomy, saving her leg. Vonn added she also broke her right ankle in the crash and is currently in a wheelchair.
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant will be less than two months shy of his 40th birthday when the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics begin, but he says he told USA Basketball Managing Director Grant Hill he’d like to be considered for the U.S. men’s team when the time comes. Durant has played in the last four Olympics, becoming USA men’s basketball’s career scoring leader in the process, but he says he doesn’t want to just be handed a spot on the 2028 team. He wants to earn it. During the 2024 Paris games, Durant became the first American player to win four Olympic gold medals in men’s basketball.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Tre White scored a season-high 23 points and No. 14 Kansas bounced back from a surprising defeat with a 69-56 victory over No. 5 Houston. Freshman star Darryn Peterson added 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting in 30 minutes for the Jayhawks, who fell six spots in this week’s AP Top 25 following an 84-68 loss at home Saturday to unranked Cincinnati. Bryson Tiller had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Kansas, which handed the scuffling Cougars their third consecutive defeat — all against top-15 opponents. Houston hadn’t dropped three straight games since January 2017.
Duke's win against Michigan has pushed the Blue Devils to No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll. Monday's poll marked a record 148th time at No. 1 for Duke. Duke claimed 56 of 61 first-place votes to supplant the Wolverines. Arizona moved up two spots to No. 2. Michigan, Iowa State and Houston rounded out the top five. No. 7 Florida and No. 17 Alabama had the week's biggest leaps. No. 14 Kansas and No. 25 Vanderbilt each fell six spots for the biggest falls. Tennessee returned to the poll at No. 22 while Wisconsin fell out.
Geno Auriemma broke a tie with Tara VanDerveer for most appearances by a coach in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 on Monday when UConn was again a unanimous No. 1. Auriemma has the Huskies ranked for the 655th time. UConn was atop all 31 ballots from the national media panel. The Huskies are the last unbeaten team in Division I basketball and have won 45 consecutive games dating to last season. The top five teams remained unchanged in the rankings this week with UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt following the Huskies.
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal plans to make only one start for the United States in the World Baseball Classic, regardless of how far Team USA advances. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner wants to remain on a regular spring training regimen and ramp up for opening day mostly with the Tigers. Skubal made his first spring training start Monday, striking out four over two scoreless innings of two-hit ball in Detroit’s 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins. He is expected to pitch for the Tigers again Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays and then start for the U.S. late next week during WBC pool play in Houston. After that, the rest of his outings this spring will come in a Detroit uniform, he said.
The Milan Cortina Olympics averaged 23.5 million viewers in the United States, making it the most-watched Winter Games since 2014 with a 96% larger audience than the Beijing Games four years ago. NBCUniversal said the average includes combined audiences on NBC, Peacock, CNBC, USA Network and other digital platforms during the live afternoon and prime-time windows. Viewership numbers for the United States’ 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in men’s hockey on Sunday morning were not expected until Tuesday.
Finals
MLB SPRING TRAINING
INTERLEAGUE
Final N.Y. Mets 4 Toronto 3
Final Atlanta 10 Baltimore 7
Final N.Y. Yankees 6 Pittsburgh 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 3 Seattle 0
Final Chicago Cubs 3 Kansas City 2
Final Colorado 5 Chicago White Sox 4
Final San Francisco 6 Athletics 2
Final Cleveland 9 Arizona 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Minnesota 3 Detroit 0
Final Tampa Bay 2 Boston 1
Final Texas 6 L.A. Angels 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 5 Miami 4
Final San Diego 7 Milwaukee 5
Final Philadelphia 5 Washington 5
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (14)Kansas 69 (5)Houston 56
Final (18)North Carolina 77 (24)Louisville 74