Month: August 2021

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican soccer officials say the world soccer body has agreed to reduce Mexico’s punishment for anti-gay chants heard during the Olympic qualifying matches in March. The Mexican soccer federation said Wednesday that it had been notified by FIFA that Mexico’s men team will have to play only one game without fans,

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality drew the No. 2 post position Wednesday for the 152nd running of the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The champion 2-year-old will have regular rider Luis Saez aboard and is the 4-5 morning-line favorite among the field of seven 3-year-olds Saturday in the $1.25

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Coach Kyle Shanahan is pretty sure who will start at quarterback to open the season for the San Francisco 49ers even if he’s in no rush to let everyone else know whether it’s Jimmy Garoppolo or Trey Lance. Shanahan has said he will

By BRIAN DULIK Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Olympic doubles champion Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic reached the quarterfinals at Tennis in the Land with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Nagi Hanatani of Japan. No. 53 Siniakova only surrendered four points in her six service games and limited Hanatani to 14 total points in

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Star running back Saquon Barkley needs to be in live contact drills to play in the New York Giants’ season opener in less than three weeks, coach Joe Judge said. Barkley, who had a major knee injury last season, has not practiced at full speed since training camp opened late last

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Sheriff has become the first team from Moldova ever to qualify for the Champions League group stage. Sheriff advanced easily Wednesday with a 0-0 draw at Dinamo Zagreb after winning 3-0 in the first leg of their playoff. The club from the breakaway region of Transnistria

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky will host Southern this season in men’s basketball, tipping off a five-year Unity Series in which the Wildcats will play teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The league is comprised of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). There will be week of activities leading up to the Wildcats’ Dec. 7

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman had two hits and an RBI in his first action in more than two months, and he scored the winning run in the 10th inning on a groundout by Jake Meyers to lift the Houston Astros to a 6-5 win over the Kansas City

ATlANTA (AP) — Nick Van Exel has returned to the Atlanta Hawks, joining Nate McMillan’s staff as an assistant coach. Van Exel spent the last two years as a Dallas Mavericks scout. He previously worked in Atlanta as a player development instructor from 2010-12. McMillan is counting on Van Exel to help develop a young

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Josh Palmer is making the most of his time during Los Angeles Chargers training camp to build a rapport with Justin Herbert. The rookie receiver has been spending at least 15 minutes after practice catching passes from Herbert. Since Herbert isn’t playing in the

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Some pro-ams get Jordan Spieth’s attention more than others. Such was the case Wednesday at Caves Valley in the BMW Championship. Spieth said it was a lot of pressure to show up for the pro-am. One of his amateur partners was Kevin Plank, the

By JAKE SEINER AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Buster Posey was out of the lineup for the San Francisco Giants a night after leaving a game with left knee discomfort, while Brandon Crawford was set to play shortstop after experiencing lower back tightness. Manager Gabe Kapler said both players were encouraged by how

PARIS (AP) — Nice’s home match with Bordeaux will be played without supporters on Saturday, following fan violence in the team’s previous league game against Marseille. The LFP said in a statement that no fans will be allowed to attend the league game. The punishment comes after last Sunday’s heated encounter. It was abandoned with

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Irv Smith Jr. has become the top tight end for the Minnesota Vikings. He brings his enviable blend of speed and strength to what promises to be a more prominent role in his third season. Smith has bigger goals for his burgeoning career, too,

LONDON (AP) — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat trick as Arsenal routed West Bromwich Albion 6-0 to advance in the League Cup. It was Arsenal’s first win of the season after losing both Premier League games so far. It wasn’t the biggest win of the night as Southampton beat fourth-tier side Newport 8-0 to register

By DAVID SOLOMON Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina’s 19th season will be his last. The 39-year-old made the announcement a day after agreeing to a $10 million deal for 2022 that represents a $1 million raise. The 10-time All Star has spent his entire career in the Cardinals

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he’d like to coach a national team after his contract with the English club ends in 2023. Speaking to Brazilian investors, the 50-year-old Spaniard said he plans to see out his contract with City but could go into international

By ADAM BABETSKI Associated Press SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Players at the Little League World Series this year may not be playing live in front of crowds of thousands, but they have some major league fans. Ties between MLB and the Little League tournament go back decades and this year is no exception when

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee linebacker Harold Landry has become the fifth person and first starter affected by the Titans’ latest virus outbreak placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Coach Mike Vrabel announced Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 a day after the Titans beat Tampa Bay 34-3. Vrabel later received monoclonal antibodies treatment.

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Spectators will not be required to wear masks or show proof of their vaccination status to attend matches at the U.S. Open when the tennis tournament returns at full capacity next week. A year ago, all fans were banned from the event because of the coronavirus pandemic. A member

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — ESPN is canceling Rachel Nichols’ show “The Jump” and pulling her off NBA programming. ESPN will have a new daily NBA show that will premiere sometime before the regular season begins in October. The network will also revamp and find a host for the “NBA

By DAVID SOLOMON Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and scored the game-ending run on Lars Nootbaar’s single in the 10th inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2. Goldschmidt was intentionally walked to open the 10th and executed a one-out double steal with automatic runner Tommy Edman.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Indians right-handed pitcher Triston McKenzie has been placed on the 10-day injured list because of shoulder fatigue. The 24-year-old rookie dominated in his last two starts. He allowed one run and three hits while striking out 19 in 15 innings in wins over Detroit and the Los Angeles Angels. He retired

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Tight end Luke Willson said he’s stepping away from football one day after re-signing with the Seattle Seahawks. In a lengthy statement on social media, Willson says he realized it was time to move on after being back in the building and participating in practice with the Seahawks. Willson said he

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks will induct former quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and coach Mike Holmgren into the team’s Ring of Honor during the upcoming season. Hasselbeck will be inducted during halftime of Seattle’s game on Oct. 25 against New Orleans. Holmgren will be inducted six days later during halftime of Seattle’s matchup with

By MATT CARLSON Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan McMahon lofted a two-run homer in the 10th inning, Brendan Rodgers followed with a two-run double that gave him five RBIs for the game, and the Colorado Rockies rallied to beat the Chicago Cubs 13-10 and split a doubleheader. The Cubs won the opener 5-2 in

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Browns safety John Johnson III enjoys talking so much on the field that he doesn’t wear a mouthpiece. One of the new members of Cleveland’s revamped defense, Johnson has quickly established himself as a leader on and off the field. The Browns signed him to

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer WESTFIELD, Ind. (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts opened training camp without their coach or their All-Pro linebacker. Then they lost quarterback Carson Wentz, center Ryan Kelly and All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson. They’re hoping the medical concerns are behind them. All four key players and Frank Reich were back on

By JAKE SEINER AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Mets ace Jacob deGrom played catch at Citi Field on Wednesday after an MRI showed improvement with the right forearm tightness that has sidelined him since July 7. Meanwhile, Noah Syndergaard will begin a minor league rehab assignment with High-A Brooklyn on Thursday. It was

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers wide receiver Devin Funchess has gone on injured reserve after hurting his hamstring in a joint practice with the New York Jets last week. The move ends the season for Funchess. He hasn’t played a regular-season game since September 2019. Funchess caught a total of 21 touchdown

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer Auburn coach Bryan Harsin expects to be out of COVID-19 quarantine by game week, but says the Tigers’ vaccination rate hasn’t reached the 85% threshold required by the Southeastern Conference to avoid regular testing. Harsin, who has declined to say if he’s vaccinated, has been in quarantine since he

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer Alex Palou spent Wednesday in a simulator trying to learn as much as possible about Portland International Raceway, the next track on the IndyCar schedule. The second-year driver lost the points lead last weekend after back-to-back bad breaks knocked him out of a pair of races. The season

By JOHN FINERAN Associated Press SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — No. 9 Notre Dame is eager to increase its scoring. The Fighting Irish averaged 33.4 points per game last season and made another trip to the College Football Playoff. The problem s that the last three national champions have averaged more than 44 points per