When a 50-foot sperm whale washed ashore on a beach south of San Francisco, people stopped to look, snapped pictures of the massive mammal and even reached out and touched the creature that looks more like a dark ocean rock than the largest tooth predator on earth.

Biologists and veterinarians, however, had a different plan. They arrived early Wednesday morning at Mori Point on the south end of Sharp Park State Beach in Pacifica to begin the necropsy and the arduous process of cutting up the carcass for removal. The next steps remain murky.

A Houston hospital says a woman has delivered five girls in what it believes is the first set of all-female quintuplets born in the U.S.

The Woman's Hospital of Texas say Danielle Busby had her babies by cesarean section April 8. Doctors say the children, born premature at 28 weeks, were doing well on Wednesday.

New Orleans and Brooklyn are in the NBA playoffs. Indiana and Oklahoma City are out. And while San Antonio slipped to sixth in the loaded Western Conference, the defending champions are looking awfully dangerous again.

Forget the 82-game grind of the past six months. There are no more back-to-back sets, no more uneven schedules, no more excuses.

Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in a late-night shooting, sealing the downfall of an athlete who once had a $40 million contract and a standout career ahead of him.

Hernandez, 25, once starred for the New England Patriots, one of the National Football League's most dominant teams in recent years. His murder trial was yet another distraction for America's most popular professional sport, which has been beset by scandals over star players who committed physical abuse and the league's handling of players' concussions.

Manny Pacquiao intends to put on a show when he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2 1/2 weeks.

He really hopes Mayweather is also coming to fight, for the fans' sake — and maybe for his own strategic purposes as well.

Michael Phelps is aiming to compete in a fifth Olympics next year in Rio, although the 18-time Olympic champion won't swim in the world championships this summer.

Phelps confirmed his intention to make one last run at the Olympics on Wednesday.

Two goals from Ricardo Quaresma in the first 10 minutes helped FC Porto to a surprise 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Bayern, a five-time European champion but currently hit by injuries, paid for its defensive blunders as it struggled to dominate a Portuguese side which is unbeaten in the competition.

Lionel Messi set up Neymar's opener and Luis Suarez scored twice with fine solo runs to give Barcelona a 3-1 victory against a struggling Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday that left the four-time champion with one foot in the Champions League semifinals.

After Neymar slotted home in the 18th minute, Suarez ducked and weaved through the Paris defense, putting the ball through the legs of David Luiz, for his first goal in the 67th.

Though Hilary Duff is 27, when it comes to the music industry, she's first to admit she's trying to make up for lost time in the seven years since she last released an album.

"When I first started it was all about selling records and I was lucky to sell a lot," Duff said in a recent interview. "Now it's just different."

Royal fans are ready to welcome Prince William and Kate's second child — a younger brother or sister to Prince George, whose birth two years ago whipped up a worldwide media frenzy.

As in 2013, the royals are keeping everyone guessing by disclosing virtually nothing about the baby — including the due date and gender.