SAN JOSE >> The San Jose Sharks appear to be on track to continue to play their home games at SAP Center — the same arena they’ve called home since 1993 — for at least another quarter-century.

The Sharks and the City of San Jose announced Saturday at a State of the City event at Arena Green Park that they are nearing a new lease agreement to keep the NHL franchise at the municipally owned downtown building for another 25 years.

If finalized, any new lease agreement for SAP Center would still have to be approved by the city council.

Financial details were unavailable, but San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told Bay Area News Group the city will invest significantly in the 32-year-old facility as part of the proposed lease agreement. Mahan said he expects the deal to be approved by council next month.

Golf

Scheffler storms into a 3-shot lead >> A PGA Championship missing star power got the best in golf when Scottie Scheffler delivered a clinic over the closing stretch at Quail Hollow for a 6-under 65 and a three-shot lead going into the final round.

Scheffler started his big run with a 3-wood to just inside 3 feet on the reachable par-4 14th for an eagle, causing so much hysteria that Bryson DeChambeau had to back off his putt across the lake at the 17th.

It ended with an 8-iron from the seam of a divot to just inside 10 feet for birdie on the 18th, creating even more space between Scheffler and Alex Noren, who had a 66 and gets his first shot in a final group along the No. 1 player in the world.

Motor sports

Palou, Penske set pace in 1st stage of Indy 500 qualifying >> Three familiar faces were at the top of the Indianapolis 500 qualifying board after the first round of time trials, with two-time defending IndyCar series champion Alex Palou holding the provisional pole.

Palou, winner of four of the first five races this season, qualified at 233.043 mph in a Honda-powered entry to top the Team Penske drivers of Scott McLaughlin and two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden.

McLaughlin went 233.013 and Newgarden was third at 233.004 in Chevrolets. A year ago, all three Penske cars swept the front row at the Indianapolis 500 and Newgarden used a last-lap pass to put himself in position to become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three consecutive years in next Sunday’s race.

Promoter’s Caution could add random layer of chaos >> The fate of the NASCAR All-Star Race largely rests on the whims of Marcus Smith, who is giving few hints about how he’ll deploy a new “Promoter’s Caution.”

It’s the latest goofy gimmick in an event defined by annual format changes designed to goose the competition in the name of fender-banging fireworks. At a randomly selected point Sunday night during the first 220 of 250 laps at North Wilkesboro Speedway, a yellow flag will fly and possibly wipe out a big lead while bunching the field for a race-altering restart.

The decision on when to throw the yellow rests solely with Smith, the president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, which owns the 0.625-mile track in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

It’s an attempt to restore some luster to the All-Star Race, which has lost touch with its no-holds-barred origins. The past two events at North Wilkesboro produced runaway victories for Kyle Larson and Joey Logano, who led 199 of 200 laps in 2024.

Tennis

Paolini beats Gauff to win Italian Open >> Jasmine Paolini took advantage of the crowd’s support and beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 to become the first home player to win the Italian Open in 40 years.

With top-ranked Jannik Sinner to play Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s final on Sunday, Italy could earn its first sweep of the Rome singles titles.

The last Italian woman to win the open was Raffaella Reggi in 1985 in Taranto. The last local man to raise the trophy was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

Baseball

Orioles fire Hyde >> Baltimore fired manager Brandon Hyde after a dismal start to the season by a team coming off two consecutive playoff appearances.

The Orioles are 15-28 and in last place in the AL East following a loss to Washington on Friday night. Hyde guided the team through an extensive rebuild and won manager of the year honors in 2023, but Baltimore’s performance slipped noticeably during the second half of last year, and the Orioles have put themselves in a significant hole so far in 2025.

Third base coach Tony Mansolino will serve as interim manager. The Orioles also fired major league field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins.

College football

ACC revenues and payouts climbed in 2023-24 >> The Atlantic Coast Conference set league records for revenue and member payouts, according to the league’s most recent tax filing.

The 990 tax form covering the 2023-24 season reported the league’s revenue increased to about $711.4 million, up slightly from $706.6 million a year earlier. That allowed the ACC to pay an average of nearly $45 million to its 14 football-playing members — Louisville ($46.4 million) and FSU ($46.3 million) had the highest hauls — while Notre Dame made $20.7 million for its partial share as a football independent.

Those figures don’t reflect the arrivals of Cal, Stanford and SMU as new members to push the league to 18 schools for the 2024-25 season.

Pro basketball

Nuggets’ Gordon remains questionable >> Denver went through a walkthrough practice session with Aaron Gordon. They went over the game plan as if Gordon was an integral part of it.

Now, they wait.

The high-flying forward will be a game-time decision due to a strained left hamstring as the Nuggets prepare to face the top-seeded Thunder in Oklahoma City on Sunday in Game 7.