HIGH SCHOOLS

Brynn Wilkinson’s block completed a fourth-game comeback and top-ranked Biddeford held off No. 9 Deering in four sets (26-24, 20-25, 25-16, 26-24) in a Class A state volleyball quarterfinal on Monday night at Biddeford.

The Tigers (14-1) will host Bonny Eagle in a semifinal at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Clarice Cote had 30 assists for Biddeford, which fought off two set points before winning the opening game. Maeve Donovan added 16 kills and Wilkinson finished with five blocks and five kills. The Tigers were down 23-22 in the fourth set, but rallied.

The Rams (6-10) got 27 assists from Shea Fenton and 14 kills from Blake Gayle.

BASKETBALL

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NBA: Stephen Curry will miss at least the next two games for the Golden State Warriors nursing an injured ankle that he hurt in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.

Curry had an MRI exam after the game and it showed no structural damage and revealed a left peroneal strain. The team said he would be re-evaluated Friday.

Golden State plays consecutive home games Tuesday and Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Their next game after Curry is examined again is Saturday at Houston.

WNBA: Stephanie White and the Connecticut Sun have parted ways after she led the team to the WNBA semifinals both of her seasons as coach, the team announced.

The Sun finished third in the regular season with a 28-12 record, swept Indiana in the first round of the playoffs and lost a five-game semifinal series to Minnesota.

The Sun are the seventh WNBA team to make a coaching change, and the announcement came a day after the Indiana Fever fired Christie Sides.

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BASEBALL

MAJORS: Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has been named the winner of Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award for character, community involvement and philanthropy.

Perez and his family distribute bags of food and kitchen supplies to 2,000 homes each winter in the neediest parts of his hometown of Valencia, Venezuela, directly impacting more than 10,000 families over the past decade. He has a youth baseball league there, providing equipment for the kids and financial support for their families.

Perez, 34, has paid for dozens of surgeries for kids with cleft lips, given more than 1,000 toys to children’s hospitals and supported police officers. He regularly travels to Colombia to assist the Carlos Fortuna Foundation in helping adults be the best parents they can be, and he crossed the border on foot to get there when strict travel guidelines were in place during the COVID-19 shutdown.

In the United States, Perez has partnered with organizations fighting against Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and he works with Kansas-based Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer. Perez made a $1 million foundational donation to the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy, one of MLB’s 11 youth academies, matching the largest ever for the academy.

HOCKEY

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NHL: Star Connor McDavid was injured on his first shift against the Blue Jackets on Monday night.

Edmonton Coach Kris Knoblauch said after the 6-1 loss to Columbus that McDavid was returning to Edmonton where he would be evaluated. An update is expected Tuesday.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: With UCF mired in a five-game losing streak, Coach Gus Malzahn fired his defensive coordinator and also announced he’ll no longer call offensive plays for the Knights.

Ted Roof, in his first year with the program, was dismissed two days after a 37-24 loss to then-No. 11 BYU dropped UCF to 3-5, 1-4 in the Big 12. Malzahn replaced him with Addison Williams, who was defensive coordinator a year ago when the Knights went 6-7 in their first season in the expanded conference.

First-year offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. is taking over the play-calling duties that Malzahn initially relinquished to Darin Hinshaw in 2023 to give himself more time to manage all aspects of the program as the Knights made the transition to the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference.

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SOCCER

AWARDS: Spanish midfielders Rodri and Aitana Bonmatí won the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best soccer player.

The 28-year-old Rodri won the prestigious award for the first time after helping Manchester City win the Premier League and being a key player in Spain’s European Championship triumph. He succeeded eight-time winner Lionel Messi of Argentina.

The 26-year-old Bonmatí retained her award after helping Barcelona win the Spanish league, the Spanish cup and the Champions League. Bonmatí joined Barca teammate Alexia Putellas in winning two titles since the women’s trophy was first awarded in 2018. She beat her teammates Caroline Graham Hansen of Norway and Salma Paralluelo of Spain as Barcelona completed a 1-2-3.

MANCHESTER UNITED: Manchester United finally ran out of patience and fired Manager Erik ten Hag after a troubled start to the season which has left the 20-time English champions languishing in the Premier League amid a period of major upheaval at the club.

The Dutch coach won two domestic cups in his 2 1/2 years in charge but has paid the price for leading United to its worst start to a season, with the team in 14th place and having lost four of its opening nine league games.

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Among those linked with taking over at United are former England coach Gareth Southgate, former Chelsea manager Graham Potter and former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez.

MLS: Luciano Acosta picked up an assist on Yamin Asad’s first career postseason goal and Roman Celentano made it stand up as FC Cincinnati beat visiting New York City FC 1-0 in the opener of a best-of-three first-round series for the MLS Cup.

TENNIS

PARIS MASTERS: Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame an upset stomach to beat Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round and stay in contention for a spot at the season-ending ATP finals.

American Tommy Paul’s hopes of qualifying for Turin ended with a 6-3, 7-5 loss to French veteran Adrian Mannarino.

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