NHL players who want to complete their college degrees will have a smoother pathway thanks to an agreement announced Wednesday between their union and Boston College.

The deal would ease the way for current and former players to graduate from BC's Woods College of Advancing Studies, an arm of the university that offers flexible routes to certificates and degrees for non-traditional students. Among the alums: NHL Players Association executive director Marty Walsh.

"It allowed me the opportunity to get a college degree," the former Boston mayor and U.S. secretary of labor said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I went to school with people that were undergrads, that went to school at BC, taking class at night. And I was [also] in class with people in their 70s. Which is amazing."

David Goodman, the dean of Woods College, said the agreement is "the next evolution of a relationship that was already there," by removing "some of the friction" that might have prevented players from going back to school. It will make it easier for potential students to transfer previously earned credits, as one example, he said.

Josh Jooris, who played three years at Union College before earning his first NHL contract with the Calgary Flames, is currently enrolled. Brooks Orpik, who played three years for the Eagles before an NHL career in which he won two Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins, returned to school after he retired and earned his degree in 2022.

"I had promised a lot of people, including my parents and former BC hockey coach Jerry York, that I would finish college at some point," Orpik said. "The feeling of pride I had was just so different than anything, athletically, I have accomplished."

Goodman said the students can study online, on-campus or hybrid. The new agreement doesn't have a limit on the number of players it can accept, but Goodman said he expects "a couple of dozen"; if there are more, the school would add sections to accommodate them, he said.

The NHLPA agreement with BC comes the same week as the Major League Baseball Players Association announced a similar deal with Syracuse. Walsh said he hadn't talked to his baseball counterparts about it.

"We all have programs," said NHLPA head, who needed more than 10 years, taking one or two classes per semester, to get his degree while he was working full-time, including as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

"We're a union that represents our workers on the on the ice and through to collective bargaining," he said. "But we also want to make sure that we're preparing these players, that when their careers are over, that they're set up for success going forward, too."

The NHL says more than a third of its players played college hockey in the U.S. or Canada, with the majority of those leaving school before getting their degrees. Both Woods and Walsh noted that even players who go on to a successful NHL career would likely retire in their 30s, leaving a long worklife ahead of them.

"These players are typically scooped up in their first two years," Woods said. "When they come back after having been successful, coming back to one's education is not necessarily a sexy move. But it's finishing something they once started."

LOS ANGELES -- Drew Doughty is day to day because of a lower-body injury that kept the defenseman out of the Los Angeles Kings' 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

Doughty missed the first 47 games after breaking his left ankle in a preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 25. He made his season debut on Jan. 29, returning in time to be a late addition to join Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Doughty, 35, has one goal and three assists in eight games this season. He is averaging 25:55 of ice time and had played at least 21 minutes in every game.

While Doughty sat out of the nationally televised contest, the Canucks got star defenseman Quinn Hughes back after missing six games because of an undisclosed injury.

Hughes went through a strenuous morning skate to see if he was ready to play for the first time since Jan. 31. He was back on the ice for pregame warmups but did not take line rushes and stayed on the ice after the horn. After initially being listed on the roster report as out, Hughes was the last player to take the ice, with the Canucks dressing seven defensemen.

Hughes made an impact, too, assisting on the winning goal and having nearly 22 minutes of ice time.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Pep Guardiola has admitted fans will never see "the old Manchester City" again this season but vowed they will be back to their best after beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Wednesday.

Erling Haaland's 20th Premier League goal of the season on 12 minutes was enough to secure a win which takes City up into fourth place.

The defending champions were superb in the opening half and should have extended their advantage as Tottenham struggled to cope with Haaland, supported by Jérémy Doku and Savinho on the flanks with Omar Marmoush in behind.

Spurs rallied after the break and, after Haaland had a stoppage-time goal disallowed for handball, substitute Pape Matar Sarr missed a glorious chance to equalise in the dying seconds when heading over the crossbar from close range.

Asked whether their fine first-half performance was more like his old, all-conquering side after a difficult spell, Guardiola shook his head and said: "Never will be this season, the old City. The old City was too good. But we'll be back.

"We have a young, young team. The three up front is the future. Nico [González], when Rodri comes back, will be the future. And of course, [Abdukodir] Khusanov you are seeing it today. Josko [Gvardiol] is young so yeah, there are certain areas. But, listen, Bernardo [Silva], [Ilkay] Gündogan, Kevin [De Bruyne] the other ones -- they are really important for us -- but of course it is a question of time.

"We have seen this season, the young players and the new acquisitions maybe the club will do in summertime -- in the next transfer window -- have to lead this club for the next few years."

Haaland voiced his frustration at his second goal being ruled out with referee Jarred Gillett deciding that he had touched the ball with his arm -- a call which stood after a lengthy VAR check.

"It's because he [Gillett] made the decision on the pitch, that it was a free kick," said Haaland.

"I don't think it is, it's clearly a big mistake, but we are humans, we make mistakes. It's a great goal and I don't think it's handball but what can we do, we won, I'm happy."

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has praised his team's mentality after they moved 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Wednesday.

Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring for the hosts inside 11 minutes at Anfield before Alexis Mac Allister added another to make sure of the victory in the second half.

A 0-0 draw for second-place Arsenal away to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night means Liverpool are now edging ever closer to the Premier League title, but Slot is confident that his players are showing no signs of complacency.

"I think what impressed me most was the mental strength in both games [against Newcastle and Manchester City] because after Everton and Wolves people start to question us a bit," Slot said after the match.

"But if you get a lot of compliments eight out of 10 people get a bit complacent. Only the ones who want to achieve something don't. And that mentality of these two against 10 we saw tonight.

"They just found an extra gear to work even harder. We weren't perfect. I think we lost more simple balls than we usually do, but the mentality was great again."

Asked how close he feels his team are to winning the Premier League, Slot said: "I don't know because I don't think that way. I think about Paris Saint-Germain [in the Champions League] already.

"I watched them against City, and I am impressed by the quality they have. I think they are on a similar run as we are.

"They've hardly lost a game for a long time. They're doing really well so my focus is on PSG. I forget the Premier League table for now until we play Southampton."

Real Madrid's Copa del Rey game at Real Sociedad was briefly suspended Wednesday, following chants from the crowd aimed at Madrid defender Raúl Asencio.

The cup semifinal first leg at the Reale Arena was paused just before halftime, when referee José María Sánchez Martínez was notified by Madrid captain Vinícius Júnior that the players had heard chants of "Asencio, die."

The official activated Spain's anti-hate protocol, which states that in the first instance, a message is displayed on the stadium's big screens and read over loudspeakers.

"No to racist, xenophobic or intolerant chants. Support the team, respecting the opponent," the message said.

Earlier this month, a court in the Canary Islands ruled that an investigation into Asencio's alleged role in the distribution of a sexually explicit video involving a minor will continue.

Asencio is alleged to have shared a sexual video recorded by three other former Madrid academy players of an encounter with two girls, one of whom was a minor, in June 2023.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti substituted Asencio -- who was playing out of position at right-back -- at halftime and replaced him with Lucas Vázquez.

"Vinícius spoke to the referee, the referee stopped the game and applied the protocol," Ancelotti said during his postmatch news conference.

"[The referee] did the right thing. After that, I took [Asencio] off. The player had two things: He was affected by [the chants], and he had a yellow card. So I took him off.

"Nobody likes a stadium to sing 'die' at them," Ancelotti added. "[Asencio] was affected in that sense. He wasn't exactly happy. So I preferred to take him off. His emotions might have affected him."

Centre-back Asencio made his first-team debut in November 2024, as the team suffered a defensive injury crisis.

"We condemn the insults," Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal told Movistar. "We don't like it. I think there are other ways of condemning what happened, or acts that may have been committed, but this isn't the right way to do it."

Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil added: "If that happened -- because I didn't hear it -- I condemn it. We don't like that happening in our stadium or any stadium. We condemn those chants, it can't happen."

The 22-year-old Asencio has become an important member of the team, starting both legs of Madrid's Champions League playoff with Manchester City this month.

Ruben Amorim said he will speak to Alejandro Garnacho after the Manchester United forward walked straight down the tunnel following his substitution during their 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.

Garnacho was recalled to the starting XI by Amorim, but was substituted before half-time in response to Patick Dorgu's red card.

The Argentina international was replaced by Noussair Mazraoui and after briefly acknowledging Amorim, he walked straight down the touchline towards the dressing rooms.

Amorim attempted to brush off the incident, but said after the game he would seek out the 20-year-old for talks.

"I'm going to talk, obviously, with Garnacho about that," said Amorim. "So I will talk about that if you want in the next press conference."

Garnacho was dropped by Amorim for the 2-1 win over Manchester City in December along with Marcus Rashford. Garnacho has fought his way back into favour, while Rashord departed after being loaned to Aston Villa during the January transfer window.

Pressed on Garnacho's decision to walk straight down the tunnel after the substitution, Amorim said: "You are making a connection with Rashford, right?

"It was cold and wet, maybe? The thinking was we'd play more in the 5-3-1. I know that is a risk because you are taking one -- maybe the only player who has one against one pace -- but I felt the team was OK in the controlling of the game, almost half-time, then you make the substitution.

"We have to choose someone to go out, we have to think about set pieces also, so it was Garanacho."