AP Sports SummaryBrief at 6:32 p.m. EDT (2024)

Ukraine back on track after comeback win over Slovakia at Euro 2024

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Roman Yaremchuk has scored for Ukraine to clinch a 2-1 win over Slovakia in Duesseldorf and restore its hopes of reaching the European Championship knockout stages. Slovakia took the lead in the 17th minute with a header from Ivan Schranz. Oleksandr Zinchenko crossed low for Mykola Shaparenko to score Ukraine’s first goal of the tournament in the 54th. Yaremchuk then met a long ball from Shaparenko to beat goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the 80th. To advance, Ukraine likely needs at least a draw against Belgium on Wednesday. Slovakia, after its surprising win over Belgium, faces Romania next.

Cue the duck boats: Boston salutes Celtics' record 18th NBA championship with parade

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics have celebrated their 18th NBA championship with the customary duck boat parade through the city. The amphibious vehicles are normally ridden by sightseeing tourists but have been used by all four of Boston's major professional sports franchises to celebrate championships in recent years. The Celtics broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most league titles when they beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. On Friday, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and his family carried the Larry O'Brien Trophy past a sea of fans on foot as they made their way to TD Garden.

Florida Panthers get 3rd chance to win the Stanley Cup in Game 6 at Edmonton before sellout crowd

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Stanley Cup will be in the building once again Friday night with the Florida Panthers getting their third chance to win the first championship in franchise history in Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers led the series 3-0 before losing back-to-back games as Connor McDavid made some history. The Oilers captain became the first player to have consecutive four-point games in the final. To close out the series and finally be atop the NHL, Florida will have to deal with McDavid cruising to playoff MVP honors and a raucous sellout crowd of over 18,000 fans hoping to see their team force a Game 7 back in South Florida.

Sarah Schmelzel takes a 2-shot lead midway through the second round of the Women's PGA Championship

SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) — Sarah Schmelzel birdied her final two holes for a 5-under 67 to take a two-shot lead midway through the second round of the the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The 30-year-old Schmelzel is winless in six seasons on the LPGA Tour. She led at 6-under 138 after making six birdies and one bogey in her morning round at tree-lined Sahalee. Three former major champions were two shots back: first-round leader Lexi Thompson, Jin Young Ko and Hinako Shibuno. Top-ranked Nelly Korda was playing in the afternoon after shooting a 3-under 69 in the first round. Korda bogeyed each of her first four holes to fall to 1 over.

US Olympic and other teams will bring their own AC units to Paris, undercutting environmental plan

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers’ plans to cut carbon emissions. U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland says while the U.S. appreciates efforts aimed at sustainability, the federation would be supplying AC units for what is typically the largest contingent of athletes at the Summer Games. Hirshland says athletes said AC units were a high priority and something they felt was critical to their performance at the upcoming Olympics. Average temperatures in Paris hover at around 80 degrees in the summer.

Athletics to move to 1st week of 2028 Olympics, swimming to 2nd week, plus some venues changed

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics announced changes to its venue plan that it says will create an estimated $156 million in combined savings and revenue increases. Swimming will be held at 38,000-seat SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, basketball will be played at Intuit Dome in Inglewood and gymnastics will be at Crypto.com Arena. To accommodate the opening and closing ceremonies at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium, the traditional schedules for athletics and swimming will be adjusted. Athletics will move to the first week of the games, while swimming will be held the second week. The Los Angeles Olympics will be held from July 14-30, 2028.

Conor McGregor says a broken toe forced him to withdraw from UFC 303

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Conor McGregor posted on Instagram on Friday that a broken toe was the reason he had to pull out of his headline UFC 303 bout against Michael Chandler after previously not specifying the injury. Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will face top-ranked challenger Jiri Prochazka in the June 29 main event in Las Vegas in place of the McGregor-Chandler match. McGregor said he would return to the octagon “Chandler or not.”

CONCACAF to investigate after Canada's Bombito was targeted on social media with racist messages

ATLANTA (AP) — CONCACAF says it will investigate racist messages directed at Canadian soccer player Moïse Bombito on social media after he made a tackle on Lionel Messi during a 2-0 Copa America loss to Argentina on Thursday. The Canadian Soccer Association issued a statement on social media late Thursday night about the messages without mentioning Bombito by name. CONCACAF said it stood with Canada Soccer “in condemning the disgraceful social media posts." Bombito, a 24-year-old from Montreal who plays for the Colorado Rapids in MLS, made an Instagram story post that didn’t reference anything specifically but said, “My beautiful Canada. No room for that bs.”

Energized Austria wins and makes Lewandowski's Poland the first team to go out at Euro 2024

BERLIN (AP) — Austria has picked up its first win at Euro 2024 by defeating Poland 3-1 in its second group match in Berlin. Gernot Trauner, Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic scored for Austria while Krzysztof Piatek had Poland’s only goal. Poland’s slim chance of surviving the group stage ends when the Netherlands and France draw 0-0. That ensures the Poles will finish last in Group D with one match remaining. Robert Lewandowski, who missed Poland’s first match against the Netherlands due to an injury, comes on in the second half but fails to make an impact.

String of injuries can't stop Texas A&M on its run to College World Series finals against Tennessee

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Texas A&M has weathered a run of injuries to reach the College World Series finals. The Aggies will open the best-of-three finals against No. 1 national seed Tennessee on Saturday night. They've made their run without star outfielder Braden Montgomery and No. 2 starting pitcher Shane Sadao. A number of other players also are playing through injuries. Texas A&M will send Ryan Prager to the mound against Chris Stamos. Both teams are looking for their first national championships in baseball. Tennessee hopes to be the first No. 1 national seed to win the title since 1999.