ATLANTA (AP) — Bryce Elder's clutch pitching kept Atlanta in the game. Strong situational at-bats in the ninth produced a much-needed win. Ozzie Albies' sacrifice fly drove in Austin Riley in the bottom of the ninth and the Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Ethan O'Donnell went 3 for 5, including a three-run home run, and No. 2 seed Virginia rode an eight-run fifth inning to a 15-1 seven-inning victory over No. 11 seed Georgia Tech on Wednesday in pool play at the ACC Tournament.

ATLANTA (AP) — Bobby Miller took a while to get spiffed up after his big league debut. His Los Angeles Dodgers teammates celebrated Miller's winning performance with an impromptu beer shower that expanded to include some other clubhouse condiments.

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The NFL has pushed the kickoff return further toward irrelevance with a priority on player safety. The existence of the kickoff itself remains under careful review.

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Will Tippett went 3 for 4, including a three-run triple in the seventh inning, and South Carolina beat Georgia 9-0 on Tuesday in the opening game of the SEC Tournament. The sixth-seeded Gamecocks (39-17) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket against No. 3 seed LSU (42-13) on Wednesday. The Gamecocks and Tigers split the regular-season series before Game 3 was cancelled due to rain. Georgia (29-27) has been eliminated.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Wearing shorts and his familiar No. 3 blue practice jersey, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin began easing his way back into football during the team’s voluntary minicamp on Tuesday, some five months after having a near-death experience on the field. The only thing missing was his helmet.

ATLANTA (AP) — A matchup of teams with the National League's best records was also a comparison of depleted rotations. Thanks to Freddie Freeman and J.D. Martinez, the Dodgers had more offensive support for their shaky starting pitching. Freeman's three-run homer in the fifth inning gave Los Angeles the lead, Martinez had four hits, including two homers, and the NL West leaders rallied past the Atlanta Braves 8-6 on Monday night.

ATLANTA (AP) — Jared Shuster kept his emotions in check on the mound and during his postgame interviews following his first major league win. Then the rookie was presented with the lineup card at his locker as a souvenir. Finally, Shuster broke out a big grin as he admired the keepsake on his day to remember — and possibly an important day for Atlanta's rotation.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, an unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s, has died. He was 87. A spokeswoman for Brown’s family said he passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Eddie Rosario hit an early home run for Atlanta that quickly put an end to the longest scoreless streak in the majors this season, and Ronald Acuña Jr. went deep in in his fourth consecutive game. That all helped set up Orlando Arcia for the deciding blow. Arcia hit a tiebreaking solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning and the NL East-leading Braves avoided consecutive series losses for the first time this season with a 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García keeps driving in runs for the Texas Rangers, and the two guys filling in for the AL West leaders' injured stars keep contributing as well. Dane Dunning was solid again while pitching in the rotation spot of injured ace Jacob deGrom, and fill-in shortstop Ezequiel Duran homered — after García extended his MLB-best RBI total to 44 with a two-run shot — as the Rangers beat the Atlanta Braves 7-4 in a matchup of division leaders Tuesday night.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kevin Pillar and Ronald Acuña Jr. each hit a two-run homer in the second inning, spoiling Cody Bradford’s big league debut as the Atlanta Braves routed the Texas Rangers 12-0 on Monday night in an interleague matchup of division leaders.

ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Ryan has joined CBS as an analyst, though he's not giving up on landing with another team as a quarterback. CBS announced Monday that Ryan, a four-time Pro Bowler and the 2016 NFL MVP with the Atlanta Falcons, will serve as a studio and game analyst across multiple platforms for the upcoming season.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — In an empty gym on a small campus deserted for spring break, one of the NBA’s top future prospects receives shooting guidance from coaches on Stephen Curry’s training team. Scoot Henderson goes through some of the same drills as the Golden State superstar himself — one-footed free throws, catch-and-shoots from around the perimeter, two dribbles between the legs then let it fly from the top of the 3-point arc.

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 51 points – the most in a Game 7 in NBA history — and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-88 on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. One game after missing 14 of his first 15 shots only to awaken in the fourth quarter in time to save their season, Tatum got off to the fast start the Celtics needed. He scored 25 in the back-and-forth first half and 17 more in Boston’s 33-10 third quarter that turned a three-point lead into a runaway.

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona won its first Spanish league title after the departure of Lionel Messi with a 4-2 victory against Espanyol on Sunday. Robert Lewandowski scored twice to lead the Catalan club to its first league title since 2019. The title was secured with four rounds remaining and two years after Messi left amid the club’s financial struggles.

TORONTO (AP) — Danny Jansen hit a two-run single in the ninth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep. George Springer hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays, who are 12-3 at home this season. “This team’s resilient,” Jansen said. “We’re looking to win every game, and we believe that we can with the bats and the staff we have.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Kenley Jansen became the seventh player in major league history to earn 400 saves, pinch-hitter Raimel Tapia hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Wednesday night. Jansen, who had 41 saves last year in his only season with the Braves, faced four batters for his ninth save in 10 chances.

ATLANTA (AP) — A strong start by Charlie Morton provided a boost to an Atlanta rotation that has lost ace Max Fried for possibly a few weeks. A quick start by the Braves' bats also helped. Matt Olson crushed a two-run homer in Atlanta’s four-run first inning and the Braves overwhelmed Nick Pivetta and the Boston Red Sox 9-3 on Tuesday night.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia's national championship football team is declining an invitation to visit the White House. According to a statement released by the Georgia athletic association on Tuesday, the Bulldogs will not be able to attend a June 12 event with other college teams at the White House. The event is described by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden as “College Athlete Day.” The statement from Georgia says the team's schedule interferes with the suggested date which was provided in an invitation received earlier this month.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves' rotation was dealt another major blow on Tuesday when ace left-hander Max Fried was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained forearm. The loss of Fried comes with right-hander Kyle Wright, the majors' only 20-game winner last season, already on the IL with shoulder soreness. Fried was Atlanta's opening-day starter.

NEW YORK (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin will use the $10 million given to online fundraising campaigns by well-wishers after his on-field collapse to fund his own nonprofit, the Chasing M's Foundation. The decision begins the 25-year-old's plan for the unprecedented outpouring of support that he received after his heart stopped following a tackle during a "Monday Night Football" game in January.

ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Harris II couldn't wait to get into the batter's box after the Baltimore Orioles chose to intentionally walk Marcell Ozuna and pitch to him. “I was having some good at-bats all game," Harris said. "So to see them walk Ozuna and want to have to face me, it kind of put a fire in my you-know-what. I got up there first pitch and tried to hit something hard and I did.”

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears signed four of their 10 draft picks to four-year contracts Thursday. The Bears agreed to deals with Kennesaw State defensive tackle Travis Bell, Minnesota cornerback Terell Smith, Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell,  and Stanford safety Kendall Williamson.

MIAMI (AP) — Marcell Ozuna homered for the third time in two games, Ronald Acuña Jr. stole his league-leading 15th base, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 6-3 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep. Acuña went down in the sixth after fouling a ball off his left knee. He remained on the ground and grabbed at his leg for several minutes, but finished the at-bat and returned to right field in the bottom of the frame. He was eventually removed as a precaution.