OLYMPICS- DAY 5
Shaun White has become the first American male to win gold at three Winter Olympics.
White put together an epic final run to capture the halfpipe with a score of 97.75. The 31-year-old White trailed Japan's Ayumu Hirano going into the last of the three runs in the 12-man final. The Flying Tomato closed with a daring set that included consecutive 1440-degree spins.
Hirano finished second, followed by Scotty James.
American Mikaela Shiffrin's debut in the Pyeongchang Olympics has been put on hold once again because of high winds.
The women's slalom was postponed to Friday following a one-hour delay at the start. Shiffrin is the defending Olympic champion.
She already had her giant slalom race postponed to Thursday, when winds are expected to ease.
Strong winds have forced the closure of the Olympic Park in Gangneung
The local Olympic organizing committee announced the closure at about 5 p.m. UTC, though they were taking place well before that. Officials began evacuating the Olympic Park at about 3 p.m. UTC, with public-address announcements in Korean and English urging spectators to go indoors because of the wind.
As workers disassembled tents that were taking the brunt of the wind, volunteers with bullhorns walked around telling fans to go inside for their safety. Many spectators sought shelter in buildings near the Gangneung Hockey Centre. As of mid-afternoon, general admission to the park was no longer allowed.
Windy conditions in the mountains have already led to the postponement of several events, including Tuesday's women's slalom.
Also at Pyeongchang:
The Chinese figure pair of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong lead Russian skaters Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov by less than a point after the short program. Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada are third with 76.82 points.
NBA-SCHEDULE
The Toronto Raptors have added a half-game to their lead in the NBA's Eastern Conference by winning their sixth in a row.
DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Kyle Lowry added 22 as the Raptors got past the Heat, 115-112. Serge Ibaka had 14 points and 10 rebounds in helping Toronto improve its league-leading home record to 24-4.
The Raptors are 40-16 overall, giving them a one-game edge over Boston in both the East and Atlantic Division races.
Goran Dragic scored 28 points and James Johnson had 16 for the Heat, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Checking out Tuesday's other NBA action:
The Rockets earned their ninth consecutive win by getting 34 points, 12 assists and six rebounds from James Harden in a 126-108 trouncing of the Timberwolves. Ryan Anderson scored 21 points off the bench as Houston snapped Minnesota's 13-game home winning streak and pulled within a half-game of the Warriors for the league's best record.
LeBron James pumped in 37 points and J.R. Smith added 18 in the Cavaliers' 120-112 victory at Oklahoma City. James scored 14 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter as Cleveland won its fourth straight and improved to 2-0 since adding George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to the roster.
Nikola Jokic recorded his fourth triple-double of the season and the Nuggets won for the fifth time in six games by downing the Spurs, 117-109. Jokic provided 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, while teammate Will Barton had 20 points.
Khris Middleton scored 21 points and the Bucks improved to 9-2 under interim coach Joe Prunty by outlasting the Hawks, 97-92. Giannis Antetokounmpo hit two key buckets in the final three-plus minutes and ended up with 15 points and 15 boards.
Zach Randolph scored 22 points and the Kings jumped out to a 65-44 halftime lead before completing a 114-109 win at Dallas. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 points for Sacramento, which has won four of five in Dallas since dropping 22 straight there.
NBA-KNICKS-PORZINGIS
The Knicks say All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis has undergone successful surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for much of next season.
Porzingis was hurt Feb. 6 when he landed after a dunk and crashed to the court against Milwaukee. The 7-foot-3 Latvian was averaging 22.7 points and an NBA-leading 2.4 blocked shots. He had been chosen for his first All-Star Game.
TOP 25 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Virginia had a very tough matchup in its first game since being elevated to the top of The Associated Press men's basketball poll on Monday.
The Cavaliers past the test as they held Miami to 38 percent shooting in a 59-50 win at Coral Gables. Virginia's De'Andre Hunter scored 22 points, including a four-point play with three minutes to play. Kyle Guy had 13 points for the Cavs, who bounced back from Saturday's loss to Virginia Tech and improved to 24-2 overall, 13-1 in the ACC.
Second-ranked Michigan State had a much easier time winning on the road as Jaren Jackson scored a career-high 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting in an 87-57 pounding of Minnesota. Nick Ward had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Spartans, who hit their first six 3-point attempts and finished 14-for-22 from beyond the arc in their ninth straight win.
In other top-25 finals:
Keenan Evans went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 26 points to lead seventh-ranked Texas Tech to an 88-78 victory against No. 23 Oklahoma. NCAA scoring leader Trae Young scored 19 points but was just 4-for-15 from the field and 0-for-9 from 3-point range as the Sooners dropped their fourth in a row.
Udoka Azubuike scored 19 points and 13th-ranked Kansas bounced back from Saturday's blowout loss at Baylor by topping Iowa State, 83-77. Malik Newman had 17 points and Lagerald Vick chipped in 16 for the Jayhawks, who shot 48 percent and committed just seven turnovers.
Jared Terrell had 17 points and 16th-ranked Rhode Island extended its winning streak to 16 games with an 85-67 victory over Richmond. Cyril Langevine added 15 points and six rebounds off the bench as the Rams moved to 13-0 in the Atlantic 10.
Grant Williams scored 22 points and made a big basket in the closing seconds as No. 18 Tennessee edged South Carolina 70-67. The Vols scored 10 straight points midway through the second half to go ahead by 13 in their seventh victory in eight games.
Kassius Robertson scored 16 points and Jordan Barnett added 15 as Missouri won its fifth in a row, 62-58 over No. 21 Texas A&M.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Buffalo Sabres did the Tampa Bay Lightning a favor by beating the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The Sabres turned the tables on the Lightning on Tuesday while allowing the Bruins to move two points closer to the NHL's Atlantic Division lead.
Sam Reinhart scored twice and Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and two assists as the Sabres beat the Lightning, 5-3. Scott Wilson provided the go-ahead goal and backup Chad Johnson stopped 26 shots to help the Sabres beat Tampa Bay for the first time in their last seven meetings in Buffalo.
The Sabres still have the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 17-30-10, but they've knocked off the two best teams in the conference over a four-day span.
The outcome cuts Tampa Bay's division lead to one point over the Boston Bruins, who have two games in hand.
Boston won for the sixth time in seven games as Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash each scored twice to carry the Bruins past the Flames, 5-2. Nash tallied 28 seconds into the game and David Backes had two assists for the B's.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
The Golden Knights scored four unanswered goals in the third period and handed the Blackhawks their seventh consecutive loss, 5-2. The Hawks led 2-1 until Brad Hunt, Reilly Smith and David Perron scored in the first five minutes of the final period.
Vegas now leads the Pacific Division by 10 points over San Jose after Alex Goligoski scored in his third straight game to break a 1-1 tie midway through the Coyotes' 2-1 victory at San Jose. The Sharks outshot Arizona 41-28 but were 0 for 5 on power plays as Scott Wedgewood and Antti Raanta combined to stop 41 shots.
The Predators wiped out a 3-0 deficit in the third period before Filip Forsberg scored on a penalty shot at 1:19 of overtime to complete Nashville's 4-3 win over the Blues. Austin Watson provided the last two goals of regulation as Nashville kept its two-point lead over Winnipeg in the Central Division.
The Jets topped the Capitals 4-3 on Tyler Myers' goal 3:35 into overtime. Mark Schiefele capped his two-goal performance by netting a short-handed tally, tying the game with 15 seconds left in regulation.
The Penguins doubled up the Senators 6-3 as Zach Aston-Reese notched his first two NHL goals and Jake Guentzel scored twice. Evgeni Malkin added his 31st goal and Sidney Crosby had three assists in Pittsburgh's seventh win in nine games.
Taylor Hall collected a pair of goals in regulation and Drew Stafford provided the only shootout scoring as the Devils outlasted the Flyers, 5-4 to end a four-game losing streak. Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves and stopped each of Philadelphia's three shootout attempts.
Eric Staal, Zach Parise and Marcus Foligno all scored in the first 6:17 before the Wild held off the Rangers, 3-2. Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves and Minnesota ran its home point streak to 13 games, going 10-0-3 during the run.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored power-play goals and Zach Werenski had three assists as the Blue Jackets whipped the Islanders, 4-1. Columbus fired 51 shots on net and put the game out of reach on goals by Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson 43 seconds apart early in the third period.
Justin Faulk had his first career hat trick and Jeff Skinner scored twice in the Hurricanes' 7-3 rout of the Kings. Faulk's three goals came in a span of 12:21 as Carolina raced out to a 5-0 lead and completed a 5-2-1 homestand.
Jimmy Howard turned back 32 shots and Detroit picked up its second straight win by downing the Ducks, 2-1. Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen put the Red Wings ahead, and Howard blanked Anaheim until Adam Henrique scored with 3:54 remaining.
NHL-NEWS
The Philadelphia Flyers won't have their No. 1 goaltender in the nets until late-March.
Flyers GM Ron Hextall says Brian Elliott will be out five to six weeks following abdominal surgery. Elliott initially missed four games with the injury and aggravated the abdomen during Saturday's 4-3 shootout win at Arizona.
Elliott is 21-11-7 with a 2.72 goals-against average for the Flyers this season.
Michael Neuvirth is expected to get the bulk of the action in goal during Elliott's absence until Hextall acquires another netminder before the Feb. 26 trade deadline.
In other NHL news:
— A person with direct knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press the group looking to bring professional hockey to Seattle has formally filed its expansion application with the NHL. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan also tweeted that Oak View Group had submitted the filing with the NHL. The Oak View Group and its prospective NHL ownership group has submitted the $10 million filing fee and is led by billionaire David Bonderman and filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer.
NFL-NEWS
Frank Reich has been introduced as the Indianapolis Colts' new head coach.
The former Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator accepted the job Monday and signed his contract at the home of team owner Jim Irsay later that night.
Wednesday's announcement came exactly one week after the Colts had agreed to a deal with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Eight hours later, McDaniels backed out of the deal and decided to remain with the Pats in the same job.
In other NFL news:
Derrick Johnson's tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs is coming to an end. The franchise's career tackles leader and a four-time Pro Bowl selection will become a free agent when his contract officially expires March 14. He intends to keep playing, it just won't be in the familiar red, yellow and white of the Chiefs.
MLB-CUBS-DARVISH
Yu Darvish and the Chicago Cubs have finalized their six-year, $126 million contract, by far the largest deal in a slow-moving free agent market.
Darvish joins a rotation that includes Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood, who agreed to a three-year, $38 million package in December.
The 31-year-old Darvish finished last season with the Dodgers, helping them knock out the defending champion Cubs in the playoffs to reach the World Series. The four-time All-Star is expected to take the rotation spot of Jake Arrieta, who became a free agent.
In other MLB news:
Free agent reliever Sergio Romo has finalized a one-year, $2.5 million contract to remain with the Rays. Romo was 3-1 with 3.56 ERA in 55 games with the Rays and Dodgers last season, including 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA in 25 games after being acquired by Tampa last July.
Chase Utley appears headed back to the Dodgers. The free-agent infielder's gloves and cleats were in the Dodgers clubhouse and mail addressed to him was in a dressing stall.
The Padres have placed reliever Jose Torres on the restricted list and say he won't report for spring training with the team in Arizona because of a pending court case stemming from his arrest in Phoenix in December. The Padres said in a statement that the team is aware of the allegations against Torres, takes "this matter very seriously" and is cooperating with an investigation being conducted by Commissioner Rob Manfred's office.
The Orioles avoided an arbitration hearing with pitcher Kevin Gausman, agreeing to a $5.6 million, one-year contract. Gausman went 11-12 with a 4.68 ERA last season, making a career-high 34 starts with a personal-best 179 strikeouts.
Pitcher Collin McHugh has gone to salary arbitration with the Houston Astros. McHugh asking for a raise from $3.85 million to $5 million, while the Astros countered with $4.55 million.
White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia also went to a hearing as he seeks $6.7 million. Chicago countered with $5.85 million after he was second in the AL batting race and set career bests with a .330 average, 18 homers and 80 RBIs.
Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell says he won't kneel for the national anthem as he did last season as a rookie. He became the first major leaguer to kneel following the lead of many NFL players.
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