Chris Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died Sunday morning. He was 72.

ESPN confirmed Mortensen’s death on Sunday. There was no immediate word on the cause or place of death.

“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hardworking teammate,” ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said. “He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones.”

Mortensen announced in 2016 that he he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Even while undergoing treatment, he was the first to confirm the retirement of hall of fame quarterback Peyton Manning.

“We lost a true legend,” Manning said in a social media post. “Mort was the best in the business and I cherished our friendship. I trusted him with my announcement to sign with the Broncos and with the news of my retiement. I will miss him dearly and my thoughts and prayers are with Micki & his family. Rest in peace, Mort.”

Mortensen announced his retirement after the NFL draft last year so that he could “focus on my health, family and faith.”

Mortensen joined ESPN in 1991, and for years helped shape the network’s coverage as the NFL exploded into year-round coverage. Besides appearing on a myriad of network shows, he also wrote for ESPN.com.

soccer

U.S. women bounce back, reach Gold Cup semis

Jenna Nighswonger and Jaedyn Shaw scored in the first half, and the United States rebounded from its loss to Mexico with a 3-0 victory over Colombia on Sunday night in Los Angeles to advance to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup.

Lindsey Horan also converted a penalty in the opening minutes for the Americans, who shook off the embarrassment of their 2-0 loss to Mexico last Monday in the final game of group play.

The U.S. will face Canada in the Gold Cup semifinals in San Diego on Wednesday. Mexico takes on Brazil in the other semifinal.

Golf

Eckroat leads as rain delays Cognizant finish

Austin Eckroat had a one-shot lead in the rain-soaked Cognizant Classic through seven holes when it was too dark to continue in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., forcing a Monday finish at PGA National for the first time since 2015.

Thunderstorms brought nearly 2 inches of rain in a hurry Sunday afternoon and forced everyone off the course for 3 1/2 hours.

Former Gophers golfer Erik van Rooyen started with six straight birdies and shot 8-under 63. He finished at 14-under 270 and will have to wait to see if it’s enough.

Jake Knapp, the UCLA rookie coming off his first win last week in the Mexico Open, was 5 under through 15 holes and two shots behind Eckroat.

Niemann triumphs again on LIV Tour

Joaquin Niemann won his second LIV Golf title in three starts, closing with a 4-under 66 at LIV Golf Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for a four-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.

Niemann now has three wins in the last three months, starting with the Australian Open victory in December that allowed him to rejoin the European tour.

No one got closer than two shots of Niemann in the final round at Royal Greens. Oosthuizen was the last challenger until a bogey on the 16th hole.

Green wins LPGA tournament in Singapore

Hannah Green birdied her final three holes, the last one a 30-foot putt that gave her a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory over Celine Boutier in the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Signapore.

Green finished at 13-under 275 in capturing her fourth LPGA Tour title.

Boutier (67), who had said Saturday she was attending Taylor Swift’s Singapore concert on the eve of the final round, seemed destined to win as she pulled two strokes clear in the final stages only for Green to produce some magic of her own to win.

Tennis

Nadal looks mended in exhibition loss to Alcarez

There has been plenty of mystery around Rafael Nadal and his health because he has played just 12 official matches since the 2022 U.S. Open.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner played an unofficial event in Las Vegas, losing to fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 3-6, 6-4 (14-12) in The Netflix Slam before a sellout crowd of 9,489. The 37-year-old Nadal showed no apparent sign of any issues related to his hip.

Nadal said during a courtside interview with Netflix while up 5-2 in the first set that his performance at that point was “much better than expected.”

The match was also a bit of a physical test for Alcaraz, who injured his right ankle Feb. 20 in the Rio Open. Like Nadal, he didn’t show any noticeable signs of being physically limited.

BRIEFLY

NHL >> Longtime Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov cleared waivers Sunday after not being claimed by any of the NHL’s other 31 teams and has been assigned to Hershey of the American Hockey League.

track and field >> Bahamas runner Devynne Charlton broke her own 60-meter hurdles world record at the world athletics indoor championships in Glascow, Scotland. Charlton won in 7.65 seconds in Glasgow and took 0.02 off the record she set in New York on Feb. 11,

Skiing >> Federica Brignone won a stop-start women’s World Cup super-G disrupted by fog in Kvitfjell, Norway, but Lara Gut-Behrami extended her lead in the discipline and overall standings.

Skiing >> Loic Meillard of Switzerland capped a podium-filled weekend in Aspen by winning a World Cup slalom in Aspen, Colo. After taking second in back-to-back giant slalom races in the glitzy resort town, Meillard overcame a first-run deficit to win Sunday with a combined time of 1 minute, 42.73 seconds.

— From news services