AP National Sports

By The Associated Press Nationals star Stephen Strasburg is set to pitch in the majors for the first time since June 1, 2021, when he starts against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday night. Strasburg, who turns 34 next month, has been sidelined for most of the past two seasons. He underwent surgery for thoracic

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Geno Smith says he briefly considered leaving Seattle as a free agent this past offseason. But then Russell Wilson was traded to Denver and Smith was told he was be in the competition with Drew Lock to be the Seahawks starting quarterback. The competition remains

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday. Kupp is coming off a spectacular season in which he led the NFL in every major receiving category. The Rams announced the deal just two days

LONDON (AP) — British tennis player Tara Moore has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for banned substances under the sport’s anti-doping rules. The International Tennis Integrity Agency says the 29-year-old Moore tested positive for nandrolone metabolites and Boldenone during a WTA tournament in Colombia in April. She is ranked 83rd in doubles. Moore responded

MONTREAL (AP) — Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is putting his NFL career on hold — again. The 31-year-old Canadian offensive lineman told The Canadian Press on Wednesday that he will begin a residency program at a Montreal-area hospital next month. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has been an unrestricted NFL free agent since March after finishing last season with the

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus says the team had to cancel an offseason workout this week because they violated NFL rules by having live contact in a session last month. Eberflus said the contact that occurred was because of overzealous players and not the team’s practice structure. He said neither

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Rob Calabrese grew up rooting for the New York Jets, a fandom born somewhat out of necessity because it was everywhere he turned. He was from Boomer Esiason’s hometown and wanted to be like him. Fast forward nearly 30 years and Calabrese

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have reinstated shortstop Carlos Correa from the COVID-19 injured list. The move was made before their game against the New York Yankees on Wednesday. It was a small but significant step toward restoring their depleted roster to full strength. Correa missed eight games.

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Nick Bosa spent his offseason away from the San Francisco 49ers getting into even better shape than before rather than worrying about breaking the bank with his next contract. Bosa’s return to the Niners this week for mandatory minicamp was a welcome sight.

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Sammy Watkins was sitting on his couch and wondering whether his football career was over. Injuries had limited his effectiveness. He was coming off a season in which he had caught just 27 passes for 394 yards and one touchdown, career lows in all

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Matheny spent about 20 minutes in the dugout before his Kansas City Royals took the field against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday and tried to put what has been a miserable 20-game stretch into perspective. “There’s some things we can get better

By VIN A. CHERWOO AP Sports Writer The New York Rangers have been in  a similar position before in this postseason — looking to reverse the momentum back home after dropping two games on the road. They come back to New York tied 2-2 with two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has hired longtime basketball assistant coach K.T. Turner to round out head coach John Calipari’s staff. Turner fills the opening created when Jai Lucas left to become an assistant at Duke. The nearly 20-year veteran spent last season as associate head coach at Oklahoma under Porter Moser and helped the

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — In his second season removed from a major injury on his right knee, Saquon Barkley is showing signs that he might be able to regain the form that made him one of the NFL’s top running backs in his first two seasons with the

BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — Paul Casey has withdrawn from the U.S. Open. This is the third straight major he has missed this year because of a back injury. Casey last competed at the WGC-Match Play in March. He played two holes of his opening match when he conceded because of back spasms. He didn’t play

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A South African boxer who became disoriented during a fight and walked away from his opponent toward an empty corner of the ring while throwing punches has died of a brain injury. Boxing South Africa says that lightweight Simiso Buthelezi died on Tuesday

By GLEN FARLEY Associated Press FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — A year ago at this time, Matthew Judon was adjusting to football life in New England. After five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, the 6-foot-3, 261-pound linebacker signed with the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent on March 19, 2021. A two-time Pro Bowler with the

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Belgium’s players showed they do care about the Nations League. They came from behind to beat Poland 6-1 in an emphatic riposte to those questioning the team’s commitment to the competition at the end of a long season and after a 4-1 loss to the Netherlands on Friday. Belgium

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Miguel Cabrera hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers completed a two-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-1 victory. Harold Castro led off the eighth with a single against Wil Crowe and Jonathan Schoop followed with a bloop

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams have waived Travin Howard, the linebacker who made the game-clinching interception in their NFC championship game victory just over four months ago. The Rams announced the move after the final on-field workout of their offseason program. Howard was a seventh-round