AP National Sports

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka says he hasn’t discussed with center Enes Kanter the player’s criticism of the Chinese government that led to the team’s games being pulled off television there. Udoka said before the team’s home opener against the Toronto Raptors that he was aware

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Steven Alker shot a 9-under 63 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first of three PGA Tour Champions playoff events. Alker had a bogey-free round on The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course, making nine birdies in a 12-hole stretch from No.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — World No. 1-ranked Ash Barty won’t defend her season-ending WTA Finals title and is done for the year due to continuing COVID-19 travel and quarantine restrictions. Barty said in a statement that “I wanted to let everyone know that I won’t be competing in any further tournaments in 2021, including the

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns have released a statement regarding a potential media investigation into the workplace culture of the franchise, denying that the organization or owner Robert Sarver have a history of racism or sexism. The statement says the organization is aware that ESPN is working on

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Southern Mississippi has accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference. The decision is another blow to Conference USA, which already had six members announce their departures this week. Two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Southern Miss had agreed to leave

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny is hoping for a run of good health beginning this week. He was designated to return to practice from injured reserve with the expectation that he will be added to the active roster ahead of Monday’s matchup with New

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ben Simmons sat out the Philadelphia 76ers’ home opener for personal reasons and the franchise does not know when the three-time All-Star guard will return. Simmons was suspended for the first game of the season for conduct detrimental to the team after coach Doc Rivers threw

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo will start at quarterback Sunday for San Francisco but the 49ers could be missing left tackle Trent Williams. Garoppolo left a game against Seattle on Oct. 3 with a injured calf and missed the following game. But he was able to

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens have ruled out running back Latavius Murray and receiver Sammy Watkins for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati. Murray has an ankle injury from last weekend’s win over the Chargers. Watkins missed that game and still has a thigh issue. Center Bradley Bozeman, linebacker Patrick Queen and tackle Alejandro

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The first practice sessions at the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix sparked new tension between championship leaders Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen got mad at Hamilton and called him a “stupid idiot” when Hamilton refused to yield in rare wheel-to-wheel racing in a practice

PARIS (AP) — Mickael Nade scored an injury-time equalizer as Saint-Etienne came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home against Angers in a French league game that was delayed after the host’s angry fans threw flares onto the field to protest the team’s poor results. The kickoff was pushed back by about one

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wizards guard Bradley Beal sat out the Washington Wizards’ home opener Friday night against Indiana because of hip problems. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Beal was sore and the team was going to be cautious. Unseld said he expects Beal to be available Monday night at Brooklyn. Beal, who missed five games

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — The Italian Olympic movement is outraged over the exclusion of sprinter Marcell Jacobs from the nominees list for male athlete of the year by World Athletics. The sport’s governing body announced a list of 10 nominees for the prestigious award but found no room for the

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A 90th-minute goal from far outside the area by Granada substitute Ángel Montoro has denied 10-man Osasuna the chance to move to the top of the Spanish league. Montoro’s long-range lob over the head of goalkeeper Sergio Herrera snatched a 1-1 draw for a Granada. Osasuna

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Qualifier Jenson Brooksby has locked up a berth in the Next Gen Finals for the top 21-and-under players on the ATP Tour by reaching the semifinals in Antwerp with a 7-5 6-0 victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Brooksby is a 20-year-old from California who is ranked 70th. He reached the final

LONDON (AP) — Arsenal delivered its best performance of the season to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the Premier League on Friday. Arsenal was completely dominant for most of the game and built a 3-0 lead before Jacob Ramsey pulled a late goal back for Villa, which then pressured for the last 10 minutes without

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers are eager to embrace a repeat of the storyline from last year’s NL Championship Series. The Atlanta Braves insist they won’t follow the same path as they prepare to host Game 6. Just like last year’s NL Championship Series, the Braves have

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — The expansion Seattle Kraken play their first home game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Most fans probably won’t care that the team went 1-3-1 on its opening five-game road trip. The home opener will be a celebration, no matter the record. The return of

ROME (AP) — Torino held off a late comeback from Genoa in a 3-2 victory in Serie A for its first win in more than a month. Antonio Sanabria and Tommaso Pobega gave Torino a 2-0 advantage at the break before Mattia Destro pulled one back for Genoa. Josip Brekalo then restored Torino’s two-goal advantage