AP Sports SummaryBrief at 2:44 p.m. EST

Carolina Panthers hire Frank Reich as new head coach

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have hired Frank Reich as their new head coach following an extensive search. The team announced Thursday it has agreed to terms with Reich. The 61-year-old Reich joins the Panthers after spending the past four-plus seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, where he went 40-33-1 as head coach before being fired on Nov. 7 after a 3-5-1 start. The Colts went to the playoffs twice as a wild-card team under Reich, going 1-2 in the postseason. For Reich, the hire represents a return to Carolina where he spent one season as the team’s quarterback and started the franchise’s inaugural game in 1995.

Jets hire former Broncos coach Hackett to run offense

The New York Jets have hired former Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator. The team announced the hiring Thursday of the 43-year-old Hackett, who replaces Mike LaFleur. Hackett went 4-11 in less than one season as head coach of the Broncos. Hackett’s arrival will fuel some speculation about whether the Jets could pursue Aaron Rodgers, whose playing future is uncertain. Hackett served as the Packers’ offensive coordinator from 2019-21 with Rodgers as the quarterback. The Jets also announced that Keith Carter was hired as the team’s offensive line coach/run game coordinator.

Rybakina, Sabalenka to meet in Australian Open women’s final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has reached her second final in the past three Grand Slam tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the Australian Open. Azarenka was the champion at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013. She joins a list of players eliminated by Rybakina over the past two weeks that includes No. 1 Iga Swiatek, No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko and 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins. Rybakina will take on No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in Saturday’s final. Sabalenka reached her first Grand Slam title match by defeating unseeded Magda Linette 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the semifinals.

Tommy Paul’s Australian run helps make US men relevant again

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tommy Paul’s run to the semifinals at the Australian Open is the latest in a series of signs that men from the United States are relevant again in tennis. The last Grand Slam singles title for an American man came when Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open. Paul will try to take the next step toward ending that drought when he faces 21-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the final four on Friday. The other men’s semifinal is Stefanos Tsitsipas against Karen Khachanov. Paul’s breakthrough comes a few months after countryman Frances Tiafoe reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open. There are projected to be 10 men from the U.S. in the ATP top 50 when the rankings are released Monday. That is the most since 1995.

Stewart, McBride exit US Soccer, leaving Berhalter in limbo

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart is leaving to join PSV Eindhoven following the departure of American general manager Brian McBride. The management shakeup leaves men’s coach Gregg Berhalter in uncertainty. Berhalter and McBride were hired by Stewart, and the coach’s contract expired Dec. 31. Three days later, the USSF announced Berhalter was under investigation for a 1991 domestic violence incident. Anthony Hudson was then appointed interim coach. USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone said Berhalter remained a contender to stay on for the next World Cup cycle.

Russia’s path to 2024 Olympics takes shape, Ukraine objects

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russia’s path to sending a team to the Paris Olympics next year has become clearer amid fierce objections from Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee indicated on Wednesday it favors officially neutral teams from Russia and its ally Belarus at the 2024 Olympics despite a plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to exclude them entirely. Russia and Belarus have been invited to compete at the Asian Games. That is a key qualifying event in several sports. Russia is broadly welcoming the IOC-backed plan and Ukraine is seeking to rally support against it.

Dummy of Vinícius Júnior hanged off bridge ahead of derby

MADRID (AP) — A dummy of Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior has been hanged from a highway bridge hours before the team’s match against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey. The perpetrators used a black figure with Vinícius Júnior’s name on it, tied a rope around its neck and hanged it from an overpass in Madrid along with a banner with the words “Madrid hates Real.” The banner and the figure apparently were attached to the bridge while still dark early in the morning. The message on the banner is often used by one of Atletico Madrid’s ultra fans groups. Vinícius is Black and has been subjected to racist taunts more than once in Spain.

A’s running out of time to find home in Oakland, Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have spent many years trying to get a new stadium. Time is running out on their efforts. They have watched Bay Area neighbors the Giants, Warriors, 49ers and Raiders successfully move into state-of-the-art venues. The A’s have been negotiating for a stadium in Oakland or Las Vegas. Oakland officials want to keep the A’s, but they have been careful about spending public money. Las Vegas officials aren’t likely to provide public funding. The A’s also could explore other cities.

Scattered by war, Ukrainian preteens head to hockey tourney

MONTREAL (AP) — Sean Bérubé said he thought it was a joke when he was first asked to help assemble a team of Ukrainian preteen refugees, displaced by war and spread out across Europe, to play in a renowned Quebec City hockey tournament. Bérubé was having a beer in Bucharest last March with Evgheniy Pysarenko, whom he played hockey with in Ukraine as a teenager. Pysarenko requested a favor from Bérubé. That favor morphed into a mission, culminating with a group of 11- and 12-year-olds from Ukraine playing in the Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament.

Wide receivers Brown, Smith form ‘Dynamic Duo’ for Eagles

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles are heading to the NFC championship game on the strength of wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Brown had 88 catches for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He topped Mike Quick’s 1,409 yards in 1983 for most in a season in team history. Smith finished his second NFL season with 95 catches, which are the most by a wide receiver in team history. He trailed only tight end Zach Ertz’s 116 catches in 2018 for the most in a season by an Eagles player. Smith and Brown’s performances are one reason quarterback Jalen Hurts has become an MVP finalist.