By KYLE HIGHTOWER, AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England tight end Rob Gronkowski said the Patriots would take the night to enjoy it. Safety Devin McCourty said it would be closer to just a few hours of celebration. However long the Patriots players planned to relax after ...

By BRETT MARTEL, AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Coach Sean Payton the New Orleans Saints are anything but risk averse. After all, Payton's Saints won a Super Bowl with the help of a surprise onside kick nine years ago, and now New Orleans is one home victory away from its first Super ...

By JOHN PYE, AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rafael Nadal has missed a lot of tennis since last September. He hasn't missed a beat. The No. 2-seeded Nadal had a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win over Australian wild-card entry James Duckworth on Monday in the first round of the Australian ...

By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Every racing series in the world is full of wealthy enthusiasts with ideas that sound too good to be true. Expensive promises to fund life-changing opportunities are usually broken before cars even make it to the track. Jackie ...

By DAN GREENSPAN, Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wins have been hard to come by for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, so coach Larry Drew has been focused on the incremental signs of progress. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, Drew saw those little things help put the Cavaliers into ...

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — As if the pressure of playing for the Los Angeles Rams' first playoff victory in 14 years wasn't enough, Todd Gurley carries an extra imperative into the Coliseum on Saturday night. "Basically, everybody I know hates the Cowboys," the ...

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Given the postseason history involving Indianapolis and Kansas City over the years, Andrew Luck and the Colts have every reason to feel confident heading to Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday. The Chiefs have every reason to believe ...

By JOHN COON, Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Jazz played without point guards Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and Raul Neto because of injuries, and it was no big deal. Not with Donovan Mitchell showing off his ball-handling skills. Mitchell had 33 points and a career-high nine ...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Simona Halep was trying on her new shoes when she got the news direct from the draw about her tough section containing both Serena and Venus Williams at the Australian Open. Even before she contemplates possible back-to-back matches in the third and fourth round ...

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Columnist Maori Davenport had to go to court just to get back on the court. How ridiculous it's come to that for the Alabama prep basketball star. Thankfully, a cruel and unjust ruling by the state's governing body was put on hold Friday by a local judge, mere ...

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ever since the Ducks won 4-2 in Pittsburgh on Dec. 17, the Penguins have been almost unbeatable and Anaheim hasn't been able to win again anywhere. When the Penguins got a rematch in Orange County on Friday night, Jake Guentzel and ...

By AARON BEARD, AP Basketball Writer A look at the upcoming week around the Atlantic Coast Conference: GAME OF THE WEEKEND No. 1 Duke at No. 13 Florida State. The Blue Devils (13-1, 2-0 ACC) took their high-flying act on the road for the first time Tuesday and had little trouble at Wake ...

KOENIGSSEE, Germany (AP) — Heavy snow forced the cancellation of Friday's scheduled men's and women's World Cup skeleton races in Germany. There was no immediate decision on when or how to reschedule the races. Snow has been falling in Koenigssee for several days, and also had an adverse ...

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Tennis Writer Andy Roddick knows a thing or two about playing a tennis match that just won't seem to end. The Hall of Famer once won an Australian Open quarterfinal that ended 21-19 in the fifth set. He also lost a Wimbledon final against Roger Federer that went to ...

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Tennis Writer When Serena Williams was at her best, there was never much doubt that she'd be the favorite at pretty much any tournament she entered. While she was off the tour becoming a mom, women's tennis was as wide open as ever. Could the Australian Open, where play ...

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ, Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Spurs started hotter than ever from 3-point range Thursday night. When that wasn't enough to put away the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio got the extra push it needed from its big man in the middle. LaMarcus Aldridge scored a ...

HOUSTON (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and grabbed a season-high 21 rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks withstand a 42-point performance from James Harden and get a 116-109 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. In a matchup of the two early front-runners for MVP, ...

By Joe Reedy AP Sports Writer COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers have already played in most of the toughest road environments in the NFL this season. So a trip to New England for Sunday's AFC divisional-round game isn't anything out of the ...

By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP College Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Dabo Swinney kissed the championship trophy and proclaimed this Clemson team the greatest of all time. He's got a case. With stunning ease — and a freshman quarterback — Clemson toppled college football's greatest ...

By PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Clemson needed a big performance to unseat defending champion Alabama. The Tigers got plenty of them from start to finish. From freshman Justyn Ross and Trevor Lawrence on offense to an experienced defensive front and turnover ...