AVONDALE, Ariz. — Joey Logano’s promising start to the afternoon fell apart with a slow, helpless slide though the field at ISM Raceway. Now he won’t have the opportunity to defend his NASCAR title at Homestead.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nick Bonino had a natural hat trick, Pekka Rinne made 20 saves for his second consecutive shutout and the Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 on Tuesday night.

CHICAGO — Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves through overtime and two more stops in the shootout, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON — It was merely the first inning, yet fans kept rising out of their seats to applaud or yell or twirl their red towels, to chant “Let’s go, Nats!” and “M-V-P!” and various players’ names, enjoying every moment of a seven-run outburst that would, eventually, propel their city to it…

TALLADEGA, Ala. — When rain stopped NASCAR’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, a gaggle of Chevrolet drivers headed into a private room for a meeting about alliances.

BOSTON (AP) — Everybody seems to be having fun when the kids in a new public service announcement are just playing football, until one boy is thrown to the ground and the background music turns ominous.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It is odd to classify a victory on a 1-mile concrete oval in Delaware as the biggest win of Kyle Larson’s career. Maybe he is among those who count their greatest triumphs on dirt, in sprint cars, venues far away from NASCAR’s glitz and glamour.

DOVER, Del. — The Latest on the NASCAR race at Dover International Speedway (all times local):

TEMPE, Ariz. — He owned one of the oldest franchises in professional football and rarely talked about it.

INDIANAPOLIS – An adjective rarely used to describe the Indianapolis Colts during the Frank Reich era applied Sunday.

CHICAGO — Matt Carpenter homered in the 10th inning against Craig Kimbrel in the All-Star closer’s return, and the St. Louis Cardinals regrouped after blowing a late lead to beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 Thursday night.

MONTEREY, Calif. — Josef Newgarden, clad head-to-toe in solid black, was the last championship contender to arrive at an IndyCar event already underway. He climbed the stairs, saw challenger Alexander Rossi bogged down in interviews and spread his arms wide as he made his entrance.

Gold-medal sprint contender Christian Coleman's Olympic prospects might be in jeopardy after three missed drug tests, two people familiar with the case told The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump presented 91-year-old basketball legend Bob Cousy with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday, praising the Boston Celtics star as “one of the all-time greats in the history of sports.”

The prospects of a Major League Soccer franchise ever calling St. Louis home appeared to have died two years ago when voters turned down the use of a business tax to finance a new downtown stadium.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long took it too far and knew it.

ST. LOUIS — Dakota Hudson and two relievers combined on a one-hitter, and Paul DeJong homered to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 Monday night in a series opener between NL Central contenders.

MEDINAH, Ill. — For the fifth time in the last six years, August on the PGA Tour means no more Tiger Woods for the rest of the season. Only now he’s healthy.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — A new quarterback, upgrades throughout the offense and a revamped defense — all of it has led to optimism at Illinois, where coach Lovie Smith heads into his fourth season.

CHICAGO (AP) — The NCAA suspended DePaul men's basketball coach Dave Leitao for the first three games of the regular season Tuesday, saying he should have done more to prevent recruiting violations by his staff.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have optioned shortstop Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa about two months after he completed a suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.

CHICAGO (AP) — Javier Baez hit the 100th homer of his career, a three-run drive in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs overcame another home run by Pete Alonso to beat the New York Mets 5-3 on Sunday.

CHICAGO (AP) — Free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel has agreed to a three-year contract with the Cubs in a big move to strengthen Chicago's bullpen.

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Chicago's beleaguered bullpen stepped up after Jon Lester departed with left hamstring tightness, leading the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 in their home opener on Monday.

The season did not end as Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett intended. The fabulous freshmen came to Duke to win a national championship and their bid came up short with a loss to Michigan State in the Elite Eight.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The confetti was still swirling around Auburn coach Bruce Pearl when he gazed over a team headed to the first Final Four in school history and declared, "This one was for Chuma!"

The upstart run for Loyola Chicago making the Final Four last year delivered more than just excitement for fans of Sister Jean and the Ramblers.

The St. Louis Cardinals knew that Paul Goldschmidt had one year left on his contract when they acquired the slugging first baseman in an offseason trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are close to finalizing a $432 million, 12-year contract that would shatter the record for the largest deal in North American sports history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis pitcher Carlos Martinez will begin the season on the injured list as the two-time All-Star tries to work his way back from shoulder weakness.