AP National Sports

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have signed inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski to a one-year contract. Kwiatkoski has played in 77 career games with 34 starts in six seasons with the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders. He appeared in eight games for the Raiders in 2021, totaling 21 tackles with one tackle

LONDON (AP) — The Queen’s and Eastbourne tournaments have been spared punishment from the ATP for banning Russian and Belarussian players. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the British Lawn Tennis Association and the All England Club which hosts Wimbledon to bar Russian and Belarusian players from the British grass-court season. The ATP and WTA objected

TORONTO (AP) — The Seattle Mariners put Drew Steckenrider on the restricted list before a three-game series at the Toronto Blue Jays, a move that could cost the right-hander $51,099 of his $3.1 million salary. To enter the country, the Canadian government requires a person to have received a second COVID-19 vaccine dose — or

By The Associated Press The Queen’s and Eastbourne tournaments have been spared punishment from the ATP for banning Russian and Belarussian players. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the British Lawn Tennis Association and the All England Club which hosts Wimbledon to bar Russian and Belarusian players from the British grass-court season. The ATP and WTA

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have hired Demitrius Washington as vice president of football operations. This is a new position under new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah designed to take the front office deeper into data-based decision-making. Washington was the manager of football research and development for the past two years with the San

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Bills Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas tells The Associated Press he and several former teammates are coming together in Buffalo this week to help support families of the shooting victims. Among those players expected to make the trip are Hall of Famers defensive end Bruce Smith and receiver Andre

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer Virginia Tech’s baseball program has reached unprecedented heights and is looking for more with one week left in the regular season. The Hokies are coming off their first series win over Louisville and are as high as No. 3 in this week’s polls. D1Baseball.com lists Virginia Tech as the

GENEVA (AP) — Two-time French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem is still without a win in an injury-affected season after another first-round exit. Thiem was beaten by No. 134 Marco Cecchinato 6-3, 6-4 at the Geneva Open. The loss dropped Thiem’s record to 0-5 in 2022 with all on clay courts. The former world number three

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin founded 23XI Racing with a vision that extended far beyond the race track. The Hall of Fame basketball player and the three-time Daytona 500 champion looked around the sport a couple of years ago and realized that it needed

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time Elena Delle Donne played a full season was 2019. She won her second MVP award and led the Washington Mystics to a WNBA championship. Back problems and coronavirus concerns then limited her to only three games over the past two years. Washington is

By The Associated Press Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and the late Greg Knapp have been selected as the Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award winners by the Professional Football Writers of America. Frazier and Knapp are the 19th and 20th recipients of the Dr. Z Award, which was instituted by the PFWA in 2014.

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are at a crossroads following a fourth straight quick playoff exit. The Penguins blew a 3-1 series lead and fell to the New York Rangers in the first round. Longtime stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will be free agents over the summer.

DETROIT (AP) — A man walking on a footbridge to a Detroit Tigers game says he fell 15 feet to the ground when part of the concrete collapsed. Ely Hydes said the incident occurred May 9, but the bridge still was open until The Detroit News reached out to the state Transportation Department on Sunday.

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals fired hitting coach Terry Bradshaw and promoted Alex Zumwalt to fill his role Monday in a shakeup of the coaching staff that they hope will wake up one of the worst offenses in the majors this season. The Royals have

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will meet with NFL officials in Texas. Watson, who is facing 22 civil lawsuits from massage therapists accusing him of sexual misconduct, plans to meet with the league representatives this

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The woman known to British tabloid readers as Wagatha Christie has testified about the sleuthing techniques that led to her nickname. The celebrity said she posted fake news about herself on social media as a ruse to discover who was leaking stories about her family to the

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Clint Demspey says he thinks American goalkeepers Zack Steffen and Matt Turner should consider going on loans to get sharp ahead of the World Cup if they are not going to be playing regularly for their Premier League clubs. Dempsey spoke during a news conference

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights have fired coach Peter DeBoer after they missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. General manager Kelly McCrimmon says the front office believes a new coach would put the team in the best position to succeed next season. Vegas failed to qualify for the

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer A person familiar with the situation says Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander has agreed to terms on a four-year, $84 million contract extension with a $30 million signing bonus. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the extension hasn’t been announced. ESPN first reported the deal.