Florida players enter the portal

Denzel Aberdeen and Sam Alexis have entered the transfer portal, planning to leave Florida after helping the school win the men’s basketball national championship.

Aberdeen and Alexis announced their moves on Friday, joining Gators guard Kajus Kublickas in the portal.

The 6-foot-5 Aberdeen appeared to be in line to start in the backcourt next season, but is looking to play elsewhere after former Princeton guard Xaivian Lee recently committed to transfer to Florida.

Michigan State, meanwhile, added a well-traveled player from the portal.

Trey Fort, a 24-year-old guard, averaged 14.6 points last season at Samford. He started his career at UT Martin in 2020, then played at two junior colleges, and moved onto Mississippi State and Samford.

NHL attendance record set again

NEW YORK — The NHL has set another attendance record and surpassed 23 million fans for the first time.

The league on Friday reported an attendance figure of 23,014,458 over the 1,312-game regular season. That represents 96.9% capacity over 32 teams with the Montreal Canadiens making up the biggest share thanks to 41 home sellouts with crowds of more than 21,000.

It’s the third consecutive time the 108-year-old NHL has broken attendance records after 22.4 million fans in 2022-23 and 22.9 million last season. That does not include the successful return of international competition: the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and Boston, which drew an average of more than 19,000 fans a game.

Saints tackle Ramczyk retires

NEW ORLEANS — Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, a 2017 first-round draft choice and former All-Pro who sat out all of last season because of a lingering knee injury, has announced his retirement from pro football.

“What an incredible journey it’s been,” the 6-foot-3, 314-pound Ramczyk wrote in a social media post Thursday night, referring in part to his brief pursuit of a career in welding after high school.

The Wisconsin-native ultimately decided to give football another try, starting his college career on the Division III level at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He transferred in 2016 to Wisconsin, where he became an AP All-America selection. The Saints made him the second of their two first-round draft choices in 2017, at 32nd overall.

“My path to the NFL wasn’t a straight line, it wasn’t the story most people expect,” Ramczyk wrote. “There were moments when people doubted me, moments when I doubted myself. It’s funny how life works out. Sometimes the road less traveled leads to places you never expected, but it ends up being exactly where you were meant to be.”

Zverev pulls off comeback win

MUNICH — Top-seeded Alexander Zverev has a 7-2 record against Tallon Griekspoor that doesn’t reflect the nature of their rivalry.

It’s always a scrap between them.

“It’s always entertaining, we always go the distance,” Zverev said after winning their latest matchup in the BMW Open quarterfinals on Friday.

Zverev fought back from the brink of defeat to win 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 6-4 after more than three hours.

The third-ranked Zverev will face 77th-ranked Fabian Marozsan of Hungary.

Marozsan reached his maiden ATP semifinals after beating Zizou Bergs of Belgium 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Ben Shelton advanced to his second clay-court semifinals by beating Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-3.

Second-seeded Shelton next faces Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the final.

Elsewhere in tennis:

n Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz earned his season-best eighth straight win after beating Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3 in the Barcelona Open quarterfinals on Friday. Alcaraz’s next obstacle to a third Barcelona title is Arthur Fils.

The Associated Press