MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Venus Williams and Coco Vandeweghe (VAN’-deh-way) have advanced to the Australian Open semifinals with straight-sets victories. The 36-year-old Williams is the oldest woman of the Open era to advance to the Australian Open semis after knocking out No. 24 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (pav-luh-CHEHN’-koh-vah), 6-4, 7-6. Vandeweghe followed her win over top-ranked Angelique Kerber with a 6-4, 6-0 rout of No. 7 Garbine Muguruza (gahr-BEEN’ moo-gah-ROO’-thuh).
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR is dramatically changing its format for the upcoming season by cutting every race into three stages that reward points in hopes of making every lap matter. The top 10 drivers in the first two stages will be awarded points before the traditional point scoring will be applied for the third stage, with 40 points going to the race winner. All bonus points accumulated through the 26-race regular season can be used in the 10-race playoff, which was previously called “The Chase.”
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have signed pitcher Shawn Tolleson to a one-year, $1 million contract and sent Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers for right-hander Jose De Leon. The 29-year-old Tolleson was 2-2 with 11 saves and a 7.68 ERA in 37 games for the Rays last year. Forsythe hit .264 with a career-high 20 home runs and 52 RBIs in 127 games last season.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — James Loney is being given a chance to become the Texas Rangers’ starting first baseman. A person familiar with the agreement says Loney has accepted a minor league contract with the club after hitting .265 in 100 games for the New York Mets last season. The Rangers have sought another first baseman since Mitch Moreland signed a free-agent deal with Boston.
UNDATED (AP) — Villanova and Kansas remain 1-2 in the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll, with Gonzaga moving up one spot to third after remaining the only unbeaten team in Division I. The Wildcats picked up 35 of 65 first-place votes, seven more than the Jayhawks. Kentucky and Baylor round out the top five and are followed by Florida State, Arizona, UCLA, North Carolina and Oregon.
