JD Ralls and Tyler Ricks are promoted to NBA's full-time referee staff

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has promoted referees JD Ralls and Tyler Ricks to the league's full-time staff for this season. Ralls has worked 28 NBA games in his career, including two this season. Ricks has worked 24 games in the NBA, one of those this season. The...

Palestinian officials say an Israeli strike in northern Gaza killed 34, mostly women and children

Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes in northern Gaza kill 22

Ilia Topuria makes good on his promise, becomes first man to stop Max Holloway at UFC 308

Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria vowed to become the first man to knock out Max Holloway. He made good on his promise at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Using a huge right hand to daze Holloway, Topuria (16-0) followed up moments later with a powerful left hook...

McLaren loses appeal over Norris penalty as F1 title fight with Verstappen moves to Mexico City

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Amid an unexpectedly tight championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, their teams brought the fight to the Mexico City Grand Prix over an officiating dispute in last week's race. McLaren lodged a complaint into the penalty Norris received last...

Pittsburgh's police chief puts down his badge for a referee's whistle

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh's police chief retired Friday, just a week after announcing he would add refereeing college basketball games to his calendar — a move that raised concerns among some city leaders. Chief Larry Scirotto, who had worked as a referee before becoming...

Darnold, O'Connell not blaming missed face mask call as reason why Vikings lost to Rams

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold didn't blame the officials for a missed face mask call when he was sacked for a safety late in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Instead, Darnold lamented the situation that pinned...

Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling announces decision to retire as NBA referee, citing knee issues

The toughest call Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling made as an NBA referee was the last one she made in her career. That is, the one where she decided to retire. Holtkamp-Sterling, who was just the third female full-time official in NBA history when she was promoted to the...

Palestinian officials say an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza has killed 16 people

Coaches will never stop disputing penalties they don't like even if that L is going to stand

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has disagreed with scores of penalties over his 17 seasons in charge. Complained about them, too. Never once did he expect to change the outcome of a game. It's a part of a college football team's week, just as much as Tuesday film...