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If a minor league player says an umpire is acting like a robot this year, he might be right. Computer umpires for ball and strikes are coming to a low-level minor league but are a while away from the big leagues. Major League Baseball plans to use Automated Ball-Strike technology in eight of nine ballparks at the Low-A Southeast League, which starts play May 4 as minor league baseball resumes after a one-year break caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association agreed to cooperate if the system is utilized by MLB.

The San Francisco 49ers have locked up their biggest potential free agent for the long term by agreeing to give star left tackle Trent Williams the richest contract ever for an offensive lineman. Williams’ agents at Elite Loyalty Sports say the deal will pay Williams $138.1 million over the next six years, surpassing the $138 million deal David Bakhtiari got from Green Bay during last season. Williams also will get the biggest signing bonus ever for an offensive lineman at $30.1 million, as well as $55.1 million guaranteed. Williams sat out the entire 2019 season in Washington over a dispute with the front office before reviving his career in San Francisco, earning his eighth Pro Bowl selection.

The U.S. Treasury Department says states can cut taxes without penalty from a federal pandemic relief law — so long as they use their own funds to offset those cuts. Republican governors, lawmakers and attorneys general in numerous states have expressed concern about the relief act signed by President Joe Biden. It prohibits states from using federal aid “to either directly or indirectly” offset a reduction in tax revenue. A treasury spokesperson tells The Associated Press the provision isn't meant as a blanket prohibition on tax cuts; states just can't use the relief funds to pay for them.

The growing calls for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign are testing President Joe Biden’s relentless effort to avoid the day-to-day distractions of the political world as he tries to navigate a historic confluence of crises. Biden’s team has been trying to sell its $1.9 trillion COVID relief package to the public. But Biden has in recent days been pulled into the debate over the fate of the governor who became the national face of his party’s pandemic response a year ago. The pressure on Biden grew last week when most of New York’s congressional delegation, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, called on Cuomo to step aside. 

Attorneys in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death are wrangling over not just the 12 jurors who will decide the verdict but also two alternates. Derek Chauvin’s trial is moving forward amid national attention around Floyd’s death, plus a pandemic that could potentially disrupt proceedings expected to last several weeks. That’s why the two alternates will play an important role, ready to sub in for other jurors who are unable to continue with the trial. The judge won’t reveal who the alternative jurors are until attorneys have finished making their cases.

The Buffalo Sabres have fired coach Ralph Krueger less than two years into his tenure and with the free-falling team in the midst of a 0-10-2 skid. The Sabres made the move the morning after a 3-2 loss at New Jersey against a Devils team that snapped an 11-game home skid. Assistant coach Don Granato takes over on an interim basis. General manager Kevyn Adams hasn't ruled out more changes by noting he's open to “anything and everything,” in advance of the NHL trade deadline on April 12.

The New York Rangers will be without coach David Quinn and his entire staff against Philadelphia because of NHL COVID protocol. The team says Quinn and assistants Jacques Martin, David Oliver and Greg Brown are unavailable. Martin is among the oldest coaches in hockey at age 68. Kris Knoblauch, who coaches the Rangers’ top minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League’s Hartford WolfPack, will serve as acting coach. Hartford assistant Gord Murphy and associate general manager Chris Drury will also be behind the bench. The Rangers will have defenseman Adam Fox and forward Pavel Buchnevich back from the protocol list.

The Biden administration is pushing forward with its plan to reopen schools, and as part of that, it's expanding coronavirus testing for teachers, staff and students. The administration is also convening a summit next week for educators to share “best practices” for getting children back into the classroom. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is telling states how much money they'll get from the COVID-19 relief bill. The states will share $122 billion, with allocations ranging from $285 million for Vermont schools to $15 billion for California. President Joe Biden's plan is to have most elementary and middle schools open by the end of his first 100 days in office. 

There are very limited options to get out and about for the hundreds of players in Indiana for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  They can head to a minor league ballpark to play around on the field. and get a breath of fresh air. Otherwise, they are largely limited to their hotels, the convention center for practices and meeting rooms to talk strategy. The players at Wisconsin are enjoying some pingpong and spikeball in their rooms.

Gonzaga has turned into an offensive juggernaut through a combination of roster continuity, discipline and adaptability. The Bulldogs are on pace to be one of the best offensive teams in college basketball history as they head into the NCAA Tournament undefeated. Gonzaga attacks quickly in transition and runs a motion-based half-court offense that forces opponents to make difficult choices. The Zags run few plays but have multiple options off each and players who know how to read and react to make the right decision.

After weeks spent swearing in Cabinet members, appearing alongside President Joe Biden and making stops in the Washington area, Vice President Kamala Harris was back on the road this week for her first big outing since taking office. She helped kick off the administration’s public relations blitz to help people understand how the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan can ease their financial suffering. She also wants them to know that Republican lawmakers opposed the plan. Politics and policy are both part of Harris' portfolio as she settles into her new role.

New York’s Assembly has hired the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP to lead its impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Wednesday that the top Manhattan firm gives the Assembly Judiciary Committee the experience needed to handle the investigation thoroughly and quickly. Leaders in the Democrat-controlled Assembly said last week they would investigate allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior by Cuomo. The Democratic governor has denied touching any women inappropriately and has said he will not resign. Two women accusing the governor quickly criticized the Assembly's choice of law firm.

A rare 15th century porcelain bowl made in China that somehow turned up at a Connecticut yard sale and sold for just $35 has been auctioned off for nearly $722,000. The small white bowl adorned with cobalt blue paintings of flowers and other designs was sold Wednesday at a Sotheby's auction. It's one of only seven such bowls known to exist in the world. The names of the seller and buyer were not disclosed. Sotheby’s had estimated its value at $300,000 to $500,000. Sotheby's says an antiques enthusiast came across the Ming Dynasty piece at a yard sale in the New Haven area last year.

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Smith didn’t initially think the 2019 college bribery scandal made for a good documentary subject. He was editing “Fyre,” the hit Netflix documentary about the music-festival fiasco, when his longtime collaborator, Jon Karmen, suggested another…

Nearly 30 teams out of the 68 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament had to pause their seasons because of positive tests for the coronavirus. Some had to shut down twice. Infectious disease experts say there could be a benefit to that. They say players and coaches from those teams should be carrying antibodies that could protect them from reinfection during March Madness. Dr. Dana Hawkinson at the University of Kansas Health System says there is hope that those who have been infected have less risk of getting it again or spreading it.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has used his first floor speech on Capitol Hill to blast a wave of Republican-backed measures that would make it harder to cast ballots in many states. Warnock is Georgia's first Black senator, and his election helped secure Democrats' Senate majority. In his speech Wednesday, he noted the country’s history of allowing voter suppression against minorities and the poor, and he warned that some Republican lawmakers are trying to reopen those chapters with “draconian” restrictions he cast as a reaction against Democratic victories like his. Warnock says, “We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights and voter access unlike anything we have seen since the Jim Crow era."

Zack Snyder never really believed that his cut of “Justice League” would see the light of day. It has technically existed since January 2017, but it wasn’t in any shape to be released. It was four hours, in black and…

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian Authority said Wednesday it will receive just over 60,000 coronavirus vaccine doses over the next 48 hours, the first shipment provided by a World Health Organization partnership aimed at helping poor countries. That's only enough…

Sports bars all over the country are again able to show March Madness after cities and states across the country have relaxed or totally done away with restrictions that were put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Fans like Alex Kedzie of Chicago say the experience of watching the games in a favorite watering hole provides a welcome return to some sort of normalcy. But some public health experts worry that crowded bars may lead to an increase in coronavirus cases and deaths. Only a limited number of fans will be allowed in the stands to watch the games in Indiana. As for those who choose to watch at bars or restaurants, their experiences will vary depending on their location.

With all the stops, starts and pauses across women’s basketball, this has been a season of survive and advance just to reach the NCAA Tournament. Each of the 64 teams in this year's tourney and the four on stand-by have been affected by COVID-19 in one way or another. The luckiest teams were merely inconvenienced by a game being canceled or rescheduled due to an opponent's positive test results or tracing issues. Duke, Virginia and Vanderbilt were among the teams that decided to end their seasons and stop trying to play through the pandemic. But the journey is not over, and teams recognize their dreams can still be derailed by the virus.

The political crisis engulfing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has triggered a flurry of comparisons to Virginia's Ralph Northam. Both high-profile Democrats have found themselves at odds with their party and faced widespread calls for their resignations. But Northam’s supporters and some outside political observers say that’s where the similarities end. Northam has effectively recovered two years after a scandal erupted over a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook. He has evolved from a one-time pariah to a leader whose endorsement is coveted in this year’s competitive statewide elections. The accusations against Cuomo deal with alleged behaviors during his term in office; those against Northam stem from a time decades before he entered politics.