BASKETBALL

NEW YORK (AP)Unable to get a new contract, Kyrie Irving has asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade, a person with knowledge of the details said Friday.

The request comes less than a week before the trade deadline and possibly signals an end to the star guard’s tenure with the team, either then or after the season.

Irving made the request after talks about a new contract did not go to his liking, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because talks were to remain private. It was first reported by ESPN and The Athletic.

Irving is eligible for a contract extension, but the Nets refused to give him one last summer. Irving’s agent and stepmother, Shetellia Irving, told Bleacher Report last week that she had reached out to the Nets regarding a new deal. Kyrie Irving – whose current deal with the Nets expires after this season – is eligible for a four-year contract worth as much as $200 million.

NEW YORK (AP) – Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks was suspended one game without pay by the NBA and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell fined $20,000 for their roles in an on-court incident Thursday night.

Brooks struck Mitchell in the groin area during the third quarter after the Grizzlies guard had fallen to the floor. Mitchell retaliated by throwing the ball at Brooks and then shoving him. Both players were ejected in Cleveland’s 128-113 win.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) – Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats has agreed to a six-year, $30 million contract amid the program’s best regular season in decades.

Oats will average $5 million plus incentives over the deal running through the 2028-29 season under a deal approved by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees Compensation Committee.

Fourth-ranked Alabama (19-3, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) has its best ranking this deep into a season since 1976-77.

FOOTBALL

CINCINNATI (AP) – Bengals running back Joe Mixon no longer faces a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing over allegations that he threatened and pointed a gun at a woman in Cincinnati.

An order dismissing the case in Hamilton County Municipal Court said only that the city prosecutor’s office requested the dismissal ”in the interest of justice.”

A warrant for Mixon was issued Thursday. A police officer’s accompanying affidavit alleged that the 26-year-old pointed a firearm and told the victim: ”You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you, the police (can’t) get me.”

It said the altercation happened a few blocks from the Bengals’ stadium on Jan. 21 – the day before Cincinnati beat the Buffalo Bills in a divisional-round playoff game – but included no other details about the circumstances.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner is joining the Las Vegas Raiders’ staff, likely helping oversee the passing game.

The 40-year-old Turner was the Commanders’ offensive coordinator the last three seasons before he was fired Jan. 10. Washington ranked 20th in total offense, 21st in passing and 24th in scoring this season.

Turner, the son of longtime former NFL offensive coordinator and head coach Norv, oversaw eight quarterbacks during his time with the Commanders.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) – Alabama is hiring Notre Dame assistant coach Tommy Rees to be its offensive coordinator, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was being finalized and still needed university approval. The South Bend Tribune was first to report Rees was leaving his alma mater to join coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide.

The 30-year-old Rees is replacing Bill O’Brien, who left to take the offensive coordinator position with the New England Patriots.

OLYMPICS

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – With the 2024 Paris Olympics on the horizon and Russia’s invasion looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join.

Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Huttsait, who also heads its national Olympic committee, cited attacks on his country, the deaths of its athletes and the destruction of its sports facilities.

No nation has declared it will boycott the 2024 Summer Games. But Ukraine won support from Poland, the Baltic nations and Denmark, who pushed back against an International Olympic Committee plan to allow delegations from Russia and ally Belarus to compete in Paris as ”neutral athletes,” without flags or anthems.

Paris will be the final Olympics under outgoing IOC head Thomas Bach, who is looking to his legacy after a tenure marked by disputes over Russia’s status – first over widespread doping scandals and now over the war in Ukraine.

GOLF

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) – Kurt Kitayama is starting to feel more comfortable each time he gets in contention on the PGA Tour, and the Californian can only hope that’s the case going into the weekend at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Kitayama opened with 10 straight pars before getting on track and finished birdie-par on two of the tougher holes at Pebble Beach for a 2-under 70 that gave him a one-shot lead Friday. Kitayama was at 9-under 134 and led by one over Keith Mitchell, Brandon Wu, Joseph Bramlett and Hank Lebioda.

Katayama’s last shot at his first PGA Tour win was in the fall in the CJ Cup of South Carolina at Congaree. He was tied for the lead going into the weekend with Jon Rahm, and he was in the final group and one shot behind Rory McIlroy going to the final round. He also finished runner-up to Rahm in Mexico last year, and to Xander Schauffele in the Scottish Open.

Starting times for Saturday were moved up one hour because of strong wind, and it doesn’t take much in these parts for it to be a problem.

KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia (AP) – Abraham Ancer of Mexico shot a 4-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over PGA Tour rookie of the year Cameron Young in the Saudi International.

The Asian Tour event had a majority of Saudi-funded LIV Golf players, including Ancer. Young, who had a second straight 65, was among players who received a release from the PGA Tour to play. Ancer was at 11-under 129.

British Open champion Cameron Smith, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau all missed the cut. Also missing the cut was Bubba Watson, who is playing for the first time since the PGA Championship last May.

RAS AL KHAIMAH, United Arab Emirates (AP) – David Law shot an 8-under 64 – making an eagle and three birdies on the final five holes – for a share of the lead with Adrian Meronk and Rasmus Hojgaard in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship

Law, from Scotland, matched Meronk and Hojgaard at 11 under at Al Hamra Golf Club. Meronk, from Poland, shot a 65. Hojgaard, from Denmark, had a 67. His tiwn brother, Nicolai, is the defending champion in the European tour event.

HOCKEY

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Sidney Crosby got dunked into a tank of water, Nick Suzuki holed a golf ball with a hockey stick and the NHL made hockey an outdoor sport for its skills showcase in South Florida.

Two new events outside in the sun highlighted the league’s annual skills competition at All-Star Weekend, with a handful of players taking turns hitting golf and hockey shots on a par-4 course and others shooting pucks at foam surfboards to dunk opponents with the beach in the background.

Inside the Florida Panthers’ home arena Friday night, Connor McDavid reminded fans and the other top players in the world why he leads the NHL in goals and is on pace to score more than 60. McDavid went 8 for 8 in the accuracy shooting competition, which was won by Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders.

One of the biggest stars of the night was Alex Ovechkin’s 4-year-old son, Sergei, who joined his father and dad’s longtime rival Crosby to score in the breakaway challenge against Hall of Fame goaltender Roberto Luongo, the only player to have his number retired by the Panthers.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – The Washington Capitals signed forward Dylan Strome to a five-year extension worth $25 million.

The team announced the contract during NHL All-Star Weekend, which is taking place in South Florida – the place Strome was drafted third in 2015.

BASEBALL

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Pitcher Max Fried went to salary arbitration with the Atlanta Braves for the second straight year, asking for $15 million instead of the team’s $13.5 million offer.

The 29-year-old left-hander went 14-7 for the second straight season and lowered his ERA to 2.48 from 3.04 in 2021. Fried was a first-time All-Star last season, was second to Miami’s Sandy Alcantara in Cy Young Award voting and was third in the National League in ERA.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals finalized Zack Greinke’s $8.5 million contract for the upcoming season, bringing back a well-known and veteran arm to their otherwise young starting rotation.

The deal for the 39-year-old right-hander includes up to $7.5 million in performance bonuses. He made $13 million with the Royals last season, when he went 3-9 with a 3.68 ERA while allowing two runs or fewer in 17 of 26 starts.

AUTO RACING

Formula One’s booming popularity in the United States has lured another American brand to the series as Ford said it would return to the globe-trotting series as the engine provider for Red Bull Racing.

The partnership begins with immediate technical support this season, but Ford engines in 2026 when F1 adopts new hybrid regulations that lured Ford back after a 24-year absence.

Red Bull powertrains and Ford will partner on the development of a hybrid power unit that will supply engines to both Red Bull and AlphaTauri when new F1 regulations begin in 2026. The partnership – which is for at least eight years – was announced in New York as Red Bull unveiled the car design it will use in 2023. Red Bull won the constructors title last season, and Max Verstappen is the two-time defending world champion.

HORSE RACING

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Churchill Downs never gave advance notice nor reached out to explain its two-year suspension, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said in federal court, and reiterated that the penalty has caused irreparable harm to his business and reputation.

Baffert has sued the historic track and is seeking a temporary injunction to stop his suspension following a failed drug test by the now-deceased Medina Spirit after the colt came in first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

The suspension for a series of failed tests by his horses runs through the end of the upcoming spring meet and could exclude Baffert from the Derby for a second consecutive spring.

SNOWBOARD

Olympic bronze medalist Rosey Fletcher has filed a lawsuit accusing former snowboard coach Peter Foley of sexually assaulting, harassing and intimidating members of his team for years, while the organizations overseeing the team did nothing to stop it.

Fletcher is a plaintiff in one of two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday. One names Foley, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard team and its former CEO, Tiger Shaw, as defendants. Another, filed by a former employee of USSS, names Foley, Shaw and the ski federation as defendants.

One of the lawsuits, which also accuse the defendants of sex trafficking, harassment, and covering up repeated acts of sexual assault and misconduct, allege Foley snuck into bed and sexually assaulted Fletcher, then shortly after she won her bronze medal at the 2006 Olympics, approached her ”and said he still remembered `how she was breathing,’ referring to the first time he assaulted her.”

The lawsuits describe Foley as fostering a depraved travel squad of snowboarders, in which male coaches shared beds with female athletes, crude jokes about sexual conquests were frequently shared and coaches frequently commented to the female athletes about their weight and body types.

TENNIS

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) – Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul and Mackenzie McDonald, who beat Rafael Nadal at Melbourne Park, gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Uzbekistan in Davis Cup qualifying.

Paul beat Khumoyun Sultanov 6-1, 7-6 (6) after McDonald topped Sergey Fomin 6-4, 6-1 on an indoor hard court. The best-of-five match will conclude Saturday with a doubles match and two singles matches.