DENVER (AP) — The Dallas Stars will be without center Roope Hintz for a second straight game because of an upper-body injury.

Hintz will miss Game 6 of their second-round series with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. The Stars can advance to the Western Conference Final for the second year in a row with a win.

The 27-year-old Hintz left Monday’s 5-1 victory at Colorado after blocking a shot in the first period. Earlier in the game, he went down hard when he was cross-checked by Nathan MacKinnon. Hintz has two goals and four assists in 11 games this postseason.

Colorado will be without center Yakov Trenin, who plays a big role on the penalty kill, because of an upper-body injury he suffered in a 5-3 win at Dallas on Wednesday.

Trenin’s classified as day-to-day, coach Jared Bednar said Friday after morning practice.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The proposed massive renovation of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium has been downsized for the time being, meaning the south end of the stadium won’t be torn down after the 2024 season as originally planned, athletic director Troy Dannen said in a statement Friday.

Former athletic director Trev Alberts in 2022 announced an estimated $450 million project to update the 100-year-old stadium. The first phase would have temporarily removed nearly 25,000 seats for the 2025 season while a new south-end section was built.

Dannen’s revised plan would address the east and west sides of the stadium, and work would begin no sooner than after the 2025 season. Bleacher seating would be replaced with chairbacks in some, if not all, sections and other amenities would be added. Renovations on the south end are in the long-range plan but there is no timetable.

“We are all aligned on the need to modernize our aging stadium,” Dannen said. “But as we have said, any work we do needs to follow our guiding principles. First, it needs to help us win. Second, it needs to advance our goals for acquisition and retention of talent. Third, and equally importantly, it must preserve our financial stability — one of the greatest assets of Husker Athletics.”

A comprehensive funding plan has not been announced, though Alberts said he expected private dollars would be used for a substantial portion of the project.

Athletic department budget projections are in a holding pattern with the NCAA and major college conferences considering a possible settlement of an antitrust lawsuit. The proposed settlement of House vs. the NCAA would require Power Five schools to spend $20 million per year on athlete compensation.

The Cornhuskers have played in Memorial Stadium since 1923 and incremental improvements have been made over the years, including luxury suites in 1999 and an expansion to more than 85,000 seats in 2013.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The University of St. Thomas will join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference for the 2026-27 season as the 10th member, the men’s hockey league announced Wednesday.

The NCHC will formally add Arizona State this summer for the 2024-25 season, joining defending NCAA champion Denver, Colorado College, Omaha, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State, Miami of Ohio and Western Michigan. The NCHC began play in the 2013-14 season amid a major shuffle of conference alignments in college sports and has accounted for six national titles in its 11 seasons.

St. Thomas, which is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, moved its entire athletic program from Division III to Division I in 2021 and has played its first three seasons in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Tommies will continue in the CCHA for two more years before moving to the NCHC. After going 3-32-1 in their Division I debut, they tied for second place in the CCHA in 2023-24 and went 15-20-2 overall.

St. Thomas is scheduled to open a new 4,000-seat arena on campus next year. The women’s team plays in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Former outfielder Nelson Cruz was hired by Major League Baseball on Friday as a special adviser for baseball operations.

The seven-time All-Star, who turns 44 on July 1, will focus mainly on Latin American topics that include the Dominican Republic and increasing player relations.

“Nelson Cruz is a respected voice in the game,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement, “Nelson is passionate about growing the game and improving issues for players and our sport as a whole. He will be a resource to many people across our game, especially in the Dominican Republic.”

Cruz hit .274 with 464 homers, 1,325 RBIs and an .856 OPS over 19 seasons with Milwaukee (2005), Texas (2006-13), Baltimore (2014), Seattle (2015-18), Tampa Bay (2021), Washington (2022) and San Diego (2023).

He won the 2021 Roberto Clemente Award for character, community involvement and philanthropy.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Alonso Martínez scored early and Hannes Wolf scored his first career goal late in the first half to spark New York City FC to a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday night, handing the Union a fourth straight loss at home for the first time in club history.

The Union (3-4-5), who were the last unbeaten team through seven matches this season, have surrendered the first goal in six of their last seven matches and yielded multiple goals in five straight.

New York City (6-5-2) jumped in front in the 2nd minute when Martínez, making just his fourth start and 11th appearance over the past two seasons, used assists from Santiago Rodríguez and Andrés Perea to score his third goal of the season. It was the third assist for Rodríguez, who has already matched his career high with five goals this season. Perea, who made one start and eight appearances for the Union last season, notched his first assist after scoring his first goal for NYCFC last week in a 3-2 victory over Toronto.

New York City took a 2-0 lead into halftime on a nifty goal by Wolf, who drilled a left-footed shot to the top left corner of the net off a free kick in the second minute of stoppage time.

Philadelphia quickly pulled within a goal in the second half when Julián Carranza scored in the 47th minute. Jack McGlynn picked up assist on Carranza’s fifth netter of the campaign and his first in the last five matches.

Matt Freese had four saves in goal for New York City. Rookie Oliver Semmle saved five shots in his eighth start for Philadelphia in place of the injured Andre Blake.

The match was interrupted in the first half after a raccoon made its way onto the field. The critter eluded the grounds crew for several minutes before being trapped with a garbage can and safely removed.

New York City returns home to play the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Philadelphia travels to play the New England Revolution on Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Drake Callender made three saves for his second clean sheet of the season and Inter Miami played Orlando to a scoreless draw on Wednesday night.

Miami (8-2-4), which has never defeated the Lions in MLS play in Orlando, had its five-game winning streak come to an end. Miami was looking to become the third team since 2019 to win six straight regular-season matches in the same season.

Orlando (3-5-4) is just 1-3-3 at home this season.

Lionel Messi did not play for Miami due to a left leg injury. Messi played the entire game on Saturday despite a first-half injury scare. He briefly left that game late in the first half after some sort of issue with his left knee after being fouled by defender George Campbell.

Luis Suarez, who scored a brace against Orlando earlier this season, had a good scoring opportunity in the opening three minutes but it was saved by Pedro Gallese.

Callender made a diving stop of Martin Ojeda’s shot in the 32nd minute to keep it scoreless.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Logan Webb pitched six scoreless innings and Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer as the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 on Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

Webb (4-4) limited Los Angeles to three hits, striking out five and walking three to help the Giants snap a six-game losing streak against their longtime rivals.

“I think we were kind of embarrassed about how we played the first two games,” Webb said. “I felt that. We all felt that. I just wanted to go out there and give it all I could. Luckily, it turned out the way it did.”

The right-hander got some help from his defense in the fourth when center fielder Luis Matos leaped and reached over the wall to rob Teoscar Hernández of a home run.

“I didn’t think he was going to catch it off the bat,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “Sometimes it’s tough to predict the wind here and whether a ball’s going to carry or not. That’s just got to be a perfect route, you throw your hand up at the end and hope it goes in your glove.”

Yastrzemski took Los Angeles starter Elieser Hernández deep to right in the third for his fourth home run of the season.

Heliot Ramos added an RBI double in the sixth to make it 3-0.

Hernández (0-1) permitted three runs and four hits in six innings, striking out three and walking one in his Dodgers debut. The right-hander had his contract selected from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier Wednesday.

“Elieser threw the ball really well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Yaz put a really good swing on a ball that was up and in with two strikes. Certainly the difference in the game.”

Max Muncy drove in the Dodgers’ run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Matos responded with an RBI single in the bottom half.

Camilo Doval allowed two runners to reach in the ninth but retired Freddie Freeman on a groundball to second for his seventh save.

The Dodgers left 11 runners on base.

“I thought tonight was a much-needed win,” Webb said. ”Hopefully, this just gets us going.”

Los Angeles extended a franchise record by allowing four runs or fewer in 22 straight games, winning 17 of them.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: OF Jason Heyward (lower back tightness) continued his rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City and could return in the next couple of days, according to Roberts. … RHP Evan Phillips (strained right hamstring) felt good after throwing off a mound. Roberts said Phillips will throw off a mound again in two or three days.

Giants: DH Jorge Soler (strained right shoulder) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento. Melvin said there’s a chance Soler could come off the injured list as soon as Friday. … RHP Keaton Winn had an MRI after exiting Tuesday’s start with a right forearm strain. “Initial reports are encouraging,” Melvin said, calling the injury “pretty mild.”

ROSTER MOVES

The Dodgers selected Elieser Hernández and recalled RHP Eduardo Salazar from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Los Angeles optioned RHP Gus Varland to the minor league affiliate and designated RHP Nabil Crismatt for assignment.

The Giants signed catcher Curt Casali to a one-year contract. Casali batted ninth and went 1 for 2 with a walk. San Francisco optioned catcher Jakson Reetz to Triple-A Sacramento and transferred catcher Tom Murphy (sprained left knee) to the 60-day injured list.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (6-1, 2.53 ERA) seeks his fourth straight win when he opens a four-game home series against the Reds on Thursday night. Cincinnati had not announced a starter.

Giants: LHP Kyle Harrison (3-1, 3.42 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night when San Francisco opens a three-game home series against the Rockies. Colorado counters with RHP Ryan Feltner (1-3, 5.20).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jonathan Rodriguez scored a pair of goals and the Portland Timbers snapped a nine-game winless streak with a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night.

The Timbers (3-6-4) also got goals from Felipe Mora and Evander to snap a three-game losing streak and move out of last place in the Western Conference.

The Earthquakes (3-8-1) have never won at Providence Park. San Jose had shown recent life, going undefeated in its last three matches, but fell to the bottom of the standings with the loss.

Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau punched away a header off a corner, but it went straight to Amahl Pellegrino, who scored to give San Jose the lead in the 31st.

Moments later, Hernan Lopez chipped a shot over Crepeau’s head and into the goal to make it 2-0. Lopez was acquired from Argentine club Godoy Cruz late last month for a club-record transfer fee.

Shortly after San Jose’s Bruno Wilson was sent off with a red card, Evander converted a penalty kick to avoid the shutout. Rodriguez scored in the 80th to erase the deficit.

A collision between Rodriguez and San Jose goalkeeper William Yarbrough was checked by video review, awarding Portland the penalty at the end of regulation. Mora scored for his sixth goal of the season.

Rodriguez added a second goal in stoppage time.

The Timbers were coming off a 2-1 loss at home on Sunday to rival Seattle, which dropped them to the bottom of the conference standings.

The Earthquakes erased an early two-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Rapids 3-2 on Saturday. It was the Quakes’ first road win of the season.

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This story has been updated to correct the final score in the first paragraph to 4-2 instead of 3-2.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

New York Knicks (50-32, second in the Eastern Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (47-35, sixth in the Eastern Conference)

Indianapolis; Friday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Pacers -5; over/under is 216

EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Knicks lead series 3-2

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks look to clinch the series over the Indiana Pacers in game six of the Eastern Conference second round. The Knicks defeated the Pacers 121-91 in the last matchup. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 44 points, and Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points.

The Pacers are 32-20 against Eastern Conference opponents. Indiana leads the Eastern Conference with 57.9 points in the paint led by Siakam averaging 13.1.

The Knicks are 35-17 against Eastern Conference opponents. New York is 22-26 against opponents over .500.

The Pacers make 50.7% of their shots from the field this season, which is 3.7 percentage points higher than the Knicks have allowed to their opponents (47.0%). The Knicks’ 46.5% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.1 percentage points lower than the Pacers have allowed to their opponents (49.6%).

TOP PERFORMERS: Siakam is averaging 21.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 19.5 points and 8.2 assists over the past 10 games.

Josh Hart is scoring 9.4 points per game and averaging 8.3 rebounds for the Knicks. Donte DiVincenzo is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pacers: 6-4, averaging 114.5 points, 40.2 rebounds, 30.3 assists, 5.7 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.9 points per game.

Knicks: 6-4, averaging 110.6 points, 43.9 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 5.7 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.6 points.

INJURIES: Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin: out for season (shoulder).

Knicks: OG Anunoby: day to day (hamstring), Julius Randle: out for season (shoulder), Mitchell Robinson: out (ankle), Bojan Bogdanovic: out for season (foot).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Aces, who are chasing a third consecutive championship, continue to be a hot ticket by selling out 15 of their 20 home games, the most in WNBA history.

Las Vegas in March became the first team to sell out its allotment of season tickets.

The only games where individual tickets remain at their usual home, Michelob Ultra Arena, are Tuesday against the Phoenix Mercury, Aug. 30 against the Atlanta Dream, Sept. 15 against the Connecticut Sun and Sept. 19 against the Dallas Wings. Tickets also remain for the Sept. 3 game against the Chicago Sky at T-Mobile Arena.

The Aces set a team attendance record at Michelob Ultra Arena when an announced sellout crowd of 10,419 came for Tuesday night’s 89-80 season-opening victory over the Mercury. Las Vegas held its ring ceremony before the game and lifted the championship banner, placing it next to the 2022 one.

All but two games are at Michelob Ultra Arena. In addition to the game against the Sky, T-Mobile Arena will be the location when the Indiana Fever visit July 2. The game originally was scheduled for Michelob Ultra Arena, but was moved to better accommodate the demand for when No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark and the Fever visit.

A franchise-record 17,406 fans showed up at T-Mobile last season when the Aces defeated the Mercury 100-85 to clinch the top seed in the WNBA playoffs.

The Aces host the Los Angeles Sparks before a sellout crowd on Saturday. ABC will broadcast the game nationally, the second part of a double header that includes the Fever and New York Liberty.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball