Brees, Fitzgerald headline HOF

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald headlined the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class featuring five players but not six-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Belichick.

Brees and Fitzgerald both made it in their first year of eligibility in results announced at NFL Honors on Thursday night after prolific careers. Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri made it in their second seasons of eligibility, while Roger Craig was the lone pick among seniors, coaches and contributors.

But the class is also noteworthy for Belichick’s absence as at least 11 of the 50 voters opted against giving him a vote despite a career with 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs and the most Super Bowl titles of any head coach. A report last week that Belichick fell short in his first year of eligibility was met with widespread criticism of both the voters and the process for choosing Hall of Famers.

The man who hired Belichick in New England to set the stage for the Patriots dynasty also fell short, with owner Robert Kraft failing to get enough votes.

This is the second straight year with a smaller class after only four people made it last year as new rule changes have made it harder to get into the Hall. There had been at least seven people inducted in the previous 12 classes before last year.

That contributed to the snub for Belichick and Kraft, who were grouped with Craig and two other players — Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood — who have been retired for at least 25 seasons. The voters picked three of the five candidates with the highest vote-getter and anyone else above 80% getting the honor.

made it to the final seven in the modern-era category and will automatically be finalists again next year.

Urquidy to sign with Pirates

Pitcher Jose Urquidy and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed Thursday to a $1.5 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.

A 30-year-old right-hander, Urquidy adds depth to the Pirates staff headed by NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and gives the team roster flexibility because he can be optioned to the minor leagues.

Urquidy had Tommy John surgery on June 5, 2024, while with Houston, signed a $1 million, one-year deal with Detroit last March and returned to the major leagues on Sept. 14. He made two big league relief appearances last year and had a 7.71 ERA over 2 1/3 innings.

A six-year major league veteran, Urquidy is 27-16 with a 4.00 ERA in 70 starts and 11 relief appearances for the Astros (2019-23) and Tigers. He was on the injured list with a forearm strain in 2024 before having surgery.

Urquidy has a 4.08 ERA in 15 postseason appearances, including eight starts.

Mount starts flag football

ALLIANCE — The University of Mount Union is getting another football team.

The Purple Raiders are adding varsity women’s flag football as its 26th intercollegiate sport, beginning in the spring of 2027.

Mount Union’s addition of flag football builds off its established tradition as one of the most decorated football programs in Division III.

“We are very excited to be part of flag football’s continued growth across the country,” Mount Union athletic director Mike Parnell said. “With only seven other institutions in Ohio announcing varsity-level competition, adding flag football further positions Mount Union as one of Ohio’s best universities for student-athletes.”

Mount Union will soon begin a coaching search to recruit student-athletes for the fall 2026 academic year.

USA opens with win

MILAN (AP) — Of all the elite players making up the U.S. women’s national team’s roster, coach John Wroblewski insisted the one he couldn’t do without at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games was Hayley Scamurra.

It’s a decision Wroblewski made upon taking over the team four years ago. and one immediately validated in the Americans’ 5-1 Olympic tournament-opening win over Czechia. Scamurra — regarded as the team’s 13th “Jill-of-all-trades” forward — scored twice while logging just 6:45 minutes of ice time over 11 shifts.

“I was adamant with it. We weren’t going to Milan without her at the start of this quad. She carries so much spirit to your team,” Wroblewski said. “I’m not gonna speak for every other federation, but I just can’t image there’s anyone that works harder and wants it more than she does. It’s inspiring, frankly.”

The 31-year-old from Buffalo, New York, is the daughter of former NHL defenseman Peter Scamurra. And though she built a reputation of being a top defensive forward during her four-year college career at Northeastern, Scamurra went mostly overlooked by USA Hockey until making the national team in 2019.

And now she’s doubled her goal total in making her second Olympic appearance after winning silver in 2022.

“I just do my best to bring that energy in every shift that I have. It feels a little extra special to be able to help on the scoreboard and physically, too,” Scamurra said before addressing her journey.

“Honestly I think it just shows it’s never too late to keep chasing your dreams,” she said. “So I think, it just shows with hard work that anything is possible for sure.”

Alex Carpenter had a goal and assist, and captain Hilary Knight and Joy Dunne also scored for the Americans, who improved to 8-0 over the Czechs in international play. Aerin Frankel, making her Olympic debut in net, stopped 13 shots.

Laila Edwards had an assist while becoming the first Black female to represent America in hockey at the Olympics.

Barbora Jurickova scored Czechia’s lone goal. She was set up on a breakaway as she exited the penalty box to cut the Americans lead to 3-1 midway through the second period. Klara Peslarova finished with 37 saves in an outing Czechia was out-shot 31-9 through two periods.

The day’s only other scheduled Group A game between defending Olympic champion Canada and Finland was postponed to Feb. 12. The Finns’ roster was down to eight skaters and two goalies, with the remaining 13 players dealing with a stomach virus that hit the team on Tuesday.

The Americans were greeted a loud cheer and a “U-S-A!” chant began at puck drop.

Among those on hand in a nearly packed 5,000-plus seat Rho Ice Hockey Arena, were U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived about 12 minutes in, and departed with just over six minutes remaining. The large delegation that included USA Hockey officials and a security detail, filled a section of seats directly behind the penalty box and immediately opposite the U.S. bench.

Carpenter opened the scoring with a power-play goal with 4:05 left in the first period. The tournament-favored Americans then blew the game open with three goals in the second period in building a 4-1 lead.

Scamurra’s first goal put the U.S. up 3-1 and came when she dug the puck out of a scrum to the right of the net, and got a low shot off to beat Peslarova through the legs. She then closed the scoring in the third period, by one-timing in a pass from Kelly Pannek.

“Honestly, it’s inspiring,” Knight said of Scamurra. “You can put her anywhere. … I was hoping she’d get a third to be honest.”

The Czechs are making their second Olympic appearance after debuting in 2022, and have quickly risen to become a power in the four years under coach Carla MacLeod. Czechia has won two bronze medals and finished fourth twice over the past four world championships.

MacLeod called the outing a foundation her players can build on.

“You’re not worried, sort of, about the outcome at this point. You’re just are we generating chances? Are we playing our way? Are believing in what we’re doing?” she said. ” And I saw all that. And for me, that’s a great thing for us, as we continue to build and get better.”

Next up for the U.S. is facing Finland on Saturday, and the uncertainty of how many Finns will be healthy enough to play.

“I hope that they’re OK, let’s just leave it at that. That’s the most important part,” Wroblewski said.

In an earlier Group B game, Lina Ljungblom scored twice in Sweden’s 4-1 comeback win over Germany. The win already puts the Swedes in the driver’s seat to win their pool and secure a better seeding for the quarterfinals.

Host team Italy defeated France 4-1 to post its first victory in making its second Olympic appearance. France is making its Olympic debut. The game was the played at the main rink, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which faced scrutiny over construction delays.

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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth contributed to this story.

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics