AP National Sports

LAVARONE, Italy (AP) — Race favorite Richard Carapaz has maintained his slim overall lead of the Giro d’Italia after a tough 17th stage that was won by Santiago Buitrago for his first grand tour victory. Carapaz remains three seconds ahead of 2020 runner-up Jai Hindley after both crossed the line together at the end of

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Two American women are among a total of 11 candidates running for president of weightlifting’s troubled governing body, looking to lead it out of crisis. The sport risks being dropped from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics because of IOC skepticism about the International Weightlifting Federation’s integrity and doping issues. IOC president

MILAN (AP) — AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimović has undergone surgery on his left knee and faces seven to eight months on the sidelines. That is if he decides to continue his playing career. The 40-year-old Swede missed large portions of Milan’s title-winning campaign with injury. Ibrahimović has said he will only continue playing if

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara could be fit for the Champions League final against Real Madrid on Saturday despite missing training because of injury. The Spain international came off with an Achilles tendon injury in the 3-1 win over Wolverhampton on Sunday but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says the problem “was not

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Conference League tournament was designed to give smaller teams a chance to play continental soccer deeper into the European season. It worked for much of the inaugural competition but the bigger teams took over by the semifinals. The first final will be between Dutch club

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL and NFL Players Association are partnering with Mythical Games for the first blockchain-enabled NFL video game. The game — which will be called NFL Rivals — is slated to launch early next year. Players will run a team as a general manager and compete against others with their rosters

SYDNEY (AP) — Barcelona’s first-ever match in Australia ended in a 3-2 victory over an A-League All-Star team with substitute Ansu Fati scoring the winning goal. The match was played before 70,174 spectators at the Olympic Stadium. Barcelona led 1-0 at halftime after Ousmane Dembele scored in the bottom right corner in the 34th minute.

PARIS (AP) — U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu is out of the French Open in the second round. The 19-year-old Raducanu lost to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. Sasnovich recorded her 16th career victory over a top-20 player. The 12th-seeded Raducanu failed to convert on five break-point chances at 1-1 in the third

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer Brittney Griner’s wife, Cherelle, wants President Joe Biden to secure her partner’s release, doing whatever is necessary to get the WNBA star home from Russia where she has been detained for more than three months. “I just keep hearing that, you know, he has the power. She’s a political

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Carlo Ancelotti is the only coach to win titles in the top five European soccer leagues and is a victory away from a record-fourth Champions League trophy. But not even Ancelotti is immune to pressure. Especially ahead of a Champions League final. The Real Madrid coach

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian police say dozens of soccer fans have been deported back to Italy following violent clashes in Tirana ahead of Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final. Italian club Roma will face Dutch team Feyenoord in the match at the 20,000-capacity National Arena. Two separate groups of Dutch

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Revenge is on Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s mind heading into the Champions League final against Real Madrid on Saturday. Salah hasn’t forgotten what happened in the 2018 title match against Madrid when he tussled with Sergio Ramos and dislocated his left shoulder by landing heavily on the ground. Salah

By The Associated Press Healthy for much of this season, the AL-leading Yankees are suddenly dealing with injuries to several key players. All-Star infielder DJ LeMahieu was a late scratch from the lineup Tuesday with left wrist discomfort, closer Aroldis Chapman was added to the injured list with left Achilles tendinitis and slugger Giancarlo Stanton

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership of Chelsea is ending after the British government approved the sale of the Premier League club by the sanctioned Russian oligarch to a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly. The government had to be sure that Abramovich, who

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Joc Pederson homered three times and drove in a career-high eight runs, including a tying single with two outs in the ninth inning, and the San Francisco Giants outslugged the New York Mets 13-12 in one of the wildest games imaginable. Brandon Crawford hit a game-winning

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer Vanderbilt’s Enrique Bradfield Jr. is widely regarded as the most exciting player in college baseball because of his ability to steal bases. He’s 42 for 42 stealing bases this season and has swiped 47 in a row since he was caught trying to steal third against Arkansas last May

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Von Miller’s presence was apparent while making his practice debut with his new team, the Buffalo Bills. Miller looked at home after previously acknowledging he was torn in leaving the Super Bowl champion Rams and the bright lights of Los Angeles for Buffalo. Miller

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — An enlarged spleen, a blood clot and a steady dose of blood thinners kept Vinny Curry off the football field last season. The defensive end was diagnosed by New York Jets team doctors with a rare blood disorder that required the removal