NFL
NFL MVP Josh Allen was rewarded with a contract extension worth $330 million, with an NFL record $250 million of it guaranteed, which makes him among the league’s highest-paid players. The Buffalo Bills announced the agreement, while two people with knowledge of the deal revealed the contract’s value to The Associated Press. The people spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the Bills did not release that figure, which was first reported by ESPN.com. The new contract adds two years to Allen’s contract and locks the 28-year-old in through the 2030 season. The extension comes following Allen’s seventh NFL season in which he became the Bills third player to earn NFL MVP.
The Buffalo Bills made the long-anticipated decision to release Von Miller, parting ways with the aging edge rusher whose contract proved too expensive for his dwindling playing time and production. The move allows the Bills to free up about $8.4 million in salary cap space. The figure comes close to matching how much Buffalo was projected to be over the limit before the NFL’s new year begins Wednesday. The Bills posted a picture of Miller with the words “Thank You Von” in making the announcement on their X account.
Edge rusher Harold Landry is reuniting with coach Mike Vrabel in New England, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity on Sunday night, said Landry is getting a three-year, $43.5 million deal with $26 million guaranteed. Landry had nine sacks last season for Tennessee, which released the 2021 Pro Bowl pick for salary cap purposes. Landry had 10 1/2 sacks in 2023. He played seven seasons for the Titans, including six for Vrabel. Landry has 50 1/2 sacks and 70 tackles for loss. Vrabel returned to the Patriots to replace Jerod Mayo, who was fired after one season as the head coach.
Meanwhile, NFL teams can start reshaping their rosters by signing free agents this week. There’s plenty of attention on the quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Aaron Rodgers technically isn’t a free agent, but the New York Jets already said they plan to release him so he’s free to find a new team. Agents can start negotiating with teams at noon today when the legal tampering period opens. Players can’t officially sign new deals until the start of the league’s new year at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
Myles Garrett is staying in Cleveland after the Browns gave him a record four-year contract extension that makes the four-time All-Pro edge rusher the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. A person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press that Garrett’s deal includes $122.8 million guaranteed, an average annual salary of $40 million with a total value of $204.8 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because terms weren’t announced. Garrett, the 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year, had asked for a trade last month but the Browns were adamant about keeping the 29-year-old star in Cleveland.
The Pittsburgh Steelers finally have their established big-play wide receiver. The Seattle Seahawks are sending two-time Pro Bowler D.K. Metcalf to Pittsburgh for at least a second-round pick, two sources with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press. The sources spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was not official. Metcalf will receive a new five-year, $150 million contract in Pittsburgh. His exodus from Seattle comes during a tumultuous stretch for the Seahawks, which dealt quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders last week.
NHL
Sam Colangelo scored twice, Lukas Dostal stopped 31 shots and the Anaheim Ducks beat the New York Islanders 4-1. Drew Helleson and Mason McTavish also scored for the Ducks. Tony DeAngelo spoiled Dostal’s shutout bid with just under 5 minutes remaining, and Marcus Hogberg finished with 23 saves for the Islanders.
Adam Fantilli scored three goals for his second career hat trick, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the New York Rangers 7-3. Mathieu Olivier and Dante Fabbro each had a goal and an assist, and Kent Johnson and Justin Danforth also scored as Columbus won for the fifth time in seven games. Zach Werenski and Dmitri Voronkov each had two assists, and Daniil Tarasov stopped 30 shots. Artemi Panarin, Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers, and Mika Zibanejad had two assists. Jonathan Quick finished with 20 saves in New York’s third straight loss (0-1-2).
Cody Glass scored a goal in his first game with the New Jersey Devils and helped his new team defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1. Glass, who was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh at the deadline on Friday, scored 11:10 into the first period, snapping a wrist shot past Philadelphia goalie Ivan Fedotov to open the scoring. Jake Allen made 23 saves to earn his 10th win of the season and made several key stops, including thwarting a shot from Philadelphia’s Bobby Brink from point-blank range during a Flyers power play late in the third period.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 886th career goal into an empty net to move nine back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Ovechkin backhanded the puck in from center ice to seal the Washington Capitals’ 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken that extended their winning streak to four games. The 39-year-old’s 33rd goal of the season was also the 1,600th point of his two-decade career. Ovechkin remains on pace to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable before the end of this season.
Sidney Crosby scored twice, Evgeni Malkin also had a goal and Tristan Jarry made 30 saves and had an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins snap a four-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Jarry made his first start since being sent to the minors on Jan. 16 as Pittsburgh won for only the second time in regulation in its last 11 games. Ryan Hartman scored for Minnesota, which lost for the fifth time in seven games. In likely his last game against the franchise with which he won three Stanley Cups during 13 seasons, Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves.
Mark Jankowski scored two goals and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Logan Stankoven and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes, who won their fourth straight game. Frederik Andersen stopped 20 shots. Alex Iafallo and Adam Lowry scored for the Jets, and Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves. Carolina was playing for the first time since Friday’s trade deadline that saw them send get Stankoven from Dallas in a deal that sent star forward Mikko Rantanen to Dallas just six weeks after the Hurricanes acquired him from Colorado. In a separate deal, Carolina acquired Jankowski from Nashville.
Adrian Kempe scored the winner in the Los Angeles Kings’ 6-5 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night. Quinton Byfield, Warren Foegele, Anze Kopitar, Trevor Moore and Brandt Clarke also scored for the Kings. David Rittich stopped 27 shots in the win. Tomas Hertl scored a hat trick, and Nicolas Roy and Brandon Saad also scored for the Golden Knights. Adin Hill had 29 saves. The Kings won their second straight and ended the Golden Knights’ four-game winning streak that started after a 5-2 loss in Los Angeles on Feb. 24. Los Angeles went 3-1 against the Golden Knights this season, having won three in a row.
Mikael Granlund scored his first goal for the Stars and Dallas beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Sunday night. Thomas Harley, Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Stars, who were coming off a 5-4 loss to the Oilers. Dallas goalie Casey DeSmith — who played for the Canucks last season — stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in his return to Vancouver. Derek Forbort had the lone goal for the Canucks, scoring for the first time since Feb. 16, 2023, when he was a member of the Boston Bruins. Vancouver got 15 saves from Kevin Lankinen.
NBA
Lonnie Walker IV and Quentin Grimes scored 25 points apiece and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Utah Jazz 126-122. The 76ers moved to 22-41 with the victory and the Jazz dropped to 15-49. Utah, which has lost five games in a row to teams that are a combined 94 games below .500 this season, rallied from a 22-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to make it a two-point game in the closing seconds but Walker made two free throws just before time expired to seal it. Kyle Filipowski and Keyonte George each scored 25 points for Utah.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 127-103 in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference standings. Jalen Williams added 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Oklahoma City. Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who is competing with Gilgeous-Alexander in the most valuable player race, had 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. He was coming off the league’s first 30-20-20 triple-double in his team’s 149-141 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Michael Porter Jr. added 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Devin Booker scored 24 points, Kevin Durant had 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Phoenix Suns beat the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 125-116. Bradley Beal scored 19 points and Grayson Allen added 17 as the Suns pulled within 1 1/2 games of Dallas for the 10th seed in the Western Conference. That’s the final spot in the play-in tournament. Naji Marshall set a career high for the second consecutive game with 34 points for the Mavericks. The defending West champs were down to seven healthy players by the end of the game.
Ja Morant scored 32 points and Desmond Bane added 30 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the New Orleans Pelicans 107-104. Morant also had six assists and three steals for the Grizzlies, who trailed 64-57 at halftime. Trey Murphy III scored 27 points for the Pelicans. Karlo Matkovic added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Morant missed one free throw and then made his second with 6.2 seconds left. Jose Alvarado and then Kelly Olynyk missed 3-point attempts to try to force overtime.
Anthony Edwards scored 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the San Antonio Spurs 141-124 for their fifth consecutive victory and highest score this season. Naz Reid had 20 points and seven rebounds and Julius Randle added 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Timberwolves improved to 37-29. They never trailed on their way to a season-best eight games above the .500 mark. De’Aaron Fox scored 22 points for the Spurs. They fell to 3-7 since star center Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Cade Cunningham scored 28 points, Tobias Harris added 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and the Detroit Pistons defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 119-112. Jalen Duren finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit (36-29). The Pistons took the lead for good when Isaiah Stewart scored inside to make it 33-32 early in the second quarter and Cunningham made a layup that pushed Detroit’s lead to 92-74 with 3:08 remaining in the third. Anfernee Simons led Portland (28-37) with 34 points on 14-of-26 shooting and Jerami Grant scored 25.
Kawhi Leonard’s hook shot at the buzzer lifted the Los Angeles Clippers over the Sacramento Kings 111-110 in overtime to tighten their grip on eighth place in the West. Leonard dribbled to the top of the key with 21.6 seconds remaining and let the clock tick down before making his winning move through defenders in the lane. The ball bounced on the rim before going in. He finished with 17 points. James Harden had 29 points and 11 assists to lead the Clippers. The Kings were led by DeMar DeRozan with 31 points and 10 assists. Zach LaVine added 30 points.
Max Strus had 17 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 112-100 for their 14th consecutive victory. The Cavs became just the second team to win 14 straight while scoring at least 110 points in each of those games. The 1985-86 Boston Celtics also accomplished the feat. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points while moving into 50th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
MLB SPRING TRAINING
N.Y. Mets 7 Washington 6
St. Louis 6 N.Y. Yankees 5
Boston 7 Atlanta 3
Detroit 5 Pittsburgh 3
Philadelphia 12 Baltimore 2
Miami 10 Houston 6
L.A. Angels 4 Cincinnati 1
Kansas City 5 Milwaukee 2
Seattle 8 Colorado 1
Arizona 14 Texas 1
Athletics 7 L.A. Dodgers 5
Arizona 7 Athletics 5
Baltimore 4 Minnesota 3
Toronto 13 Tampa Bay 9
Cleveland 1 Chicago White Sox 0
San Francisco 8 Chicago Cubs 6
San Francisco 7 San Diego 4
GOLF
Russell Henley has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the biggest victory of his career. And he might not have seen this one coming. Henley was three shots behind Collin Morikawa with five holes to play at Bay Hill when everything changed so suddenly. There was a two-shot swing on the 14th hole when Henley made birdie and Morikawa made bogey. And on the par-5 16th, Henley chipped in from some 50 feet away for eagle to take the lead. He closed with two pars for a 70 and a one-shot victory over the hard-luck Morikawa.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 11 Duke rally from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 N.C. State 76-62 for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title. The win secured the Blue Devils’ first ACC title in a dozen years and their first under coach Kara Lawson. Okananwa was voted the tournament’s MVP after coming off the bench to match her career high for scoring. Ashlon Jackson also scored 22 points for the third-seeded Blue Devils. Aziaha James scored 18 points for the top-seeded Wolfpack. Duke shot 55.2% after halftime and held N.C. State to just 32.3%.
N.C. State has fired men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts. That marks an abrupt end to an eight-year tenure and comes less than a year after the Wolfpack’s improbable run to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and the Final Four. The school announced the move Sunday, a day after the Wolfpack closed a 12-19 season.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UConn 82 Villanova 54. The Huskies advance to the Big East finals, where they’ll play #2 Creighton at 7 p.m. today at home.
FORMULA ONE
Lando Norris will have to defy plenty of history to win the Formula 1 title this year. There’s his friend-turned-rival Max Verstappen’s bid for a fifth title in a row. Just like the only driver to achieve that feat, Michael Schumacher, Verstappen is a hard racer who isn’t afraid to bend the rules. Then there’s Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion going for a record eighth title in 2025. It’s his first season with Ferrari, which is itching to end a wait for a drivers’ title going back to 2007.
© 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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