AP National Sports

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has tried to shield Cristiano Ronaldo from criticism after the forward left a preseason game early and insisted that the Portugal star remains part of his plans for this season. Ronaldo reportedly told United this offseason that he wanted to leave to play for a

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer The NCAA earned praise last year when it agreed to pay referees at its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments equally. The gesture only cost about $100,000, a tiny fraction of the roughly $900 million networks pay annually to broadcast March Madness. Now, as the NCAA examines various disparities across

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Cameroon has recruited Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo to play for the national team ahead of the World Cup. Mbeumo would follow Georges-Kévin Nkoudou and midfielder Olivier Ntcham as former France under-21 internationals to switch eligibility this year. FIFA must approve a request from Mbeumo which he can make because he has

By COURTNEY WALSH Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Five-time Paralympic gold medalist Ellie Simmonds says the Commonwealth Games running in tandem with its largest-ever para sport program has been a success and should be adopted at other major events. But the swimming great does not want the model to be used at the Olympics.

MONTREAL (AP) — Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the upcoming hard-court tournament in Montreal because of the abdominal injury that caused him to pull out of Wimbledon ahead of the semifinals. The Spaniard had been 19-0 in Grand Slam matches this year when he decided the injury was too much at Wimbledon. Nadal is a

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin said Friday that it’s open to talking about a possible prisoner exchange involving American basketball star Brittney Griner but strongly warned Washington against publicizing the issue. Griner, a two-time U.S. Olympic champion and an eight-time all-star with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has been detained in

SAN JOSE (AP) — Coco Gauff held off four-time major champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic. Gauff, the No. 6 seed, held all of her serves in the opening set and finished the 45-minute session with three aces. Osaka had the first

ZURICH (AP) — The United States women’s soccer team has extended its five-year reign atop the FIFA rankings. New European champion England moved up to No. 4. The U.S. won its regional championship for the third straight time in July. No. 2 Germany rose three spots despite losing the Euro 2022 final on Sunday. Sweden

By BRIAN HALL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a three-run homer, Teoscar Hernández homered for the second straight day and the Toronto Blue Jays cruised to a 9-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Whit Merrifield, who revealed earlier in the day that he’s now vaccinated against COVID-19 and cleared to play

By DAVID SOLOMON Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Newly acquired José Quintana won in his debut with St. Louis, Tyler O’Neill and Nolan Arenado homered and the Cardinals beat Chicago 7-2, completing a doubleheader sweep of the Cubs. The Cardinals won the opener 4-3 as Lars Nootbaar hit a tying sacrifice fly in the

SAN JOSE (AP) — Coco Gauff held off four-time major champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic. Gauff, the No. 6 seed, held all of her serves in the opening set and finished the 45-minute session with three aces. Osaka had the first

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Meibrys Viloria had a tiebreaking pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh inning and Texas beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2. The Rangers became the first team since 1986 to have two of its first-round picks make their big league debuts as starters in the same

By DAVID SMALE Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a line drive, three-run homer run to break open a close game and finished with four RBIs, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 7-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Perez’s blast in the seventh inning appeared to hit the wall

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Josh Jacobs and rookie Zamir White ran well on a rain-soaked field and the Raiders routed Jacksonville 27-11 in the Hall of Fame game Thursday night, spoiling coach Doug Pederson’s first game with the Jaguars. Derek Carr and Davante Adams warmed up but they

By AARON BRACY Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Noah Syndergaard won his Phillies debut despite giving up four runs, Alec Bohm hit a three-run home run and Philadelphia won a rain-shortened, five-inning game 5-4 over the Washington Nationals. Rhys Hoskins also went deep, helping secure a victory for Syndergaard two days after he was acquired

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The Calgary Flames and recently acquired forward Jonathan Huberdeau have agreed to an $84 million, eight-year contract extension. The 29-year-old Huberdeau came to Calgary from the Florida Panthers with defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, forward Cole Schwindt and a conditional 2025 first-round pick last month for star forward Matthew Tkachuk. Huberdeau finished last

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Devils avoided salary arbitration with Miles Wood, agreeing to a one-year, $3.2 million deal with the forward. General manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the signing Thursday night, two days before the two sides were scheduled to go to arbitration. Wood will be an unrestricted free agent at the end

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Following Brittney Griner’s sentencing in Russia to nine years in prison Thursday, WNBA players, coaches and fans locked arms and tried to send the American basketball star strength during a moment of silence. Before the Connecticut Sun beat the Phoenix Mercury 77-64, players from both teams met at midcourt and silently

By DAVE HOGG Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera says he may end his likely Hall of Fame career at the end of this season. The 39-year-old Detroit Tigers star mused on the subject Thursday amid a slump through the dog days of summer. Cabrera joined the 3,000-hit/500-homer club earlier in the season, and