AP National Sports

MIAMI (AP) — Robert Lewandowski has passed his medical and says he is ready to help put Barcelona back at the top in European soccer. The striker was set to sign his contract and be officially introduced by Barcelona in Miami on Tuesday ahead of the team’s U.S. tour. He says: “Barça is back. I

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Olympic 1,500-meter champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen followed in the footsteps of his older brothers straight into running. He would’ve followed fellow Norwegian middle-distance runners Henrik and Filip anywhere and often did. That included the soccer field and cross-country skiing. But it was running where he found

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina is hoping the addition of Northwestern transfer Pete Nance can replace some of the production lost from last year. The Tar Heels thrived with an outside-shooting big man in Brady Manek last year. That helped the Tar Heels create better floor spacing

NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime New York Mets Spanish broadcaster Juan Alicea has died. He was 85. The team said Alicea died Monday in his sleep at home in Florida. Alicea joined the Mets in April 1969, the season they won their first World Series championship, and worked in the scouting and community relations departments.

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to explain the impact of potential legislation stripping the sport’s antitrust exemption from covering the sport’s relationship with minor league players. Sens. Richard Durbin and Charles Grassley asked Manfred to respond by July

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — The Southeastern Conference is a leading player in the dramatic changes to the national football landscape. New Louisiana State coach Brian Kelly likens them to a game of musical chairs, and warns there’s not enough chairs for every school. “That’s the current state of college football,”

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Baseball’s youngest team, the Cleveland Guardians are growing up quickly. They hit the All-Star break at 46-44 and just two games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central. This was supposed to be a season of development. But the Guardians are contending despite a soggy first

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Hurdler Devon Allen did not jump before the starting gun. He got disqualified for a false start anyway. That sent parts of the track and field world into a frenzy. Allen’s DQ for a false start in the 110-meter hurdles put a slight damper on

By The Associated Press The former operator of the Cangrejeros de Santurce baseball team has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Puerto Rican winter league, alleging it colluded with Puerto Rico Mayor Miguel Romero to remove him from the franchise. Cangrejeros investor/operator Tom Axon was suspended for two years and fined $5,000 by the league

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels is doing things no other player has ever done. His roots are deep in northeastern Japan where he played high school baseball and got his start. High school baseball in Japan is highly competitive and is run in a

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson’s top men’s basketball scorer PJ Hall needs right knee surgery and the team says there’s no timetable for when he might return. An MRI on Friday revealed the 6-foot-10 Hall’s kneecap had slid out of place. Hall already was rehabbing from foot surgery during the offseason. He said said in

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will start for the National League on Tuesday night in the first All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium since 1980, and Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan will be on the mound for the American League. Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is calling out ESPN and its ESPY awards show for not inviting national player of the year Aliyah Boston to the ceremonies this week. Boston is the 6-foot-5 rising senior who helped the Gamecocks to their second national title in April. Boston won several

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Monaco has been handed a potentially tricky draw against Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in Champions League qualifying. Monaco and PSV are both bidding to reach the group stage for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Both teams lost in the final playoff round of qualifying last season. Europa League finalist

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer Scott Dixon remembers winning his first IndyCar race more than two decades ago, back when the only thing he cared about was keeping his job, and the thought of having his name someday mentioned in the same breath as A.J. Foyt, the Unser family and Mario Andretti seemed downright

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and the rest of major league pitchers are likely to be looking over their shoulders next season — at a pitch clock. Clocks have cut the length of minor league games by about a half-hour this year, and baseball officials appear

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Cameron Smith made eight birdies on the final day of the British Open. His 8-under 64 was the lowest closing round at St. Andrews by the champion golfer of the year. His name on the claret jug includes his score of 268, the best

By NOAH TRISTER AP Baseball Writer The trade deadline became a bit more suspenseful this past weekend when the Athletic reported that Washington outfielder Juan Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year contract offer to stay with the Nationals. Suddenly, social media was ablaze with talk of Soto possibly being traded, and what kind of

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The Americans had a spectacular day at the world championships by winning nine medals on home turf. It will go down as one of the most memorable days for the red, white and blue in their long, successful track and field history. This also was