AP National Sports

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s sports betting industry has become the first in the United States to take in more than a billion dollars’ worth of bets in a single month. Figures released Monday show Atlantic City’s nine casinos and the three racetracks around the state that take

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury he suffered late in the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions’ overtime win over the Washington Capitals last Saturday. Kucherov missed all of the 2020-21 regular season after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason. He returned in the

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Former T20 World Cup champion Sri Lanka survives an early batting collapse to beat Namibia by seven wickets in their first group game in Abu Dhabi. In the same Group A, Curtis Campher became the third bowler to grab four wickets in four balls in a Twenty20 as

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns running back Kareem Hunt will likely miss more than a month with a “significant” calf injury sustained in Sunday’s loss to Arizona, one of numerous injuries to key players on Cleveland’s roster. The Browns were already missing star running back Nick Chubb with a calf

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer Danielle Scott has become the sixth NBA female referee. The daughter of college basketball officials was promoted Monday to the full-time NBA staff referee roster. She joins Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Simone Jelks, Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder. That’s the most female refs the NBA has ever had on

ATLANTA (AP) — A startup basketball league with goals of giving high school players another option besides the college route has added Gatorade as its first brand sponsor. Overtime Elite is scheduled to tip off its inaugural season in Atlanta on Oct. 29 with a full slate of games scheduled to showcase the talents of

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — FIFA and Qatari organizers of next year’s World Cup have teamed up with the World Health Organization to use soccer’s marquee event for promoting public health. The partnership follows years of scrutiny on Qatar and criticism of conditions for migrant workers. The World Cup was moved

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Gonzaga is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. The Bulldogs held the No. 1 ranking all last season and reached the national championship game. They earned 55 of 63 first-place votes. UCLA is No. 2 and received the other eight first-place

By The Associated Press Cam Newton says he has been vaccinated against contracting COVID-19 and is ready to return to the NFL. The quarterback who was cut by New England just before the season began published a video on his YouTube channel saying it’s time to get back into pro football. He is a free

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Virgil van Dijk has been spared Champions League duty so far this season as Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has taken care not to overload his star defender after a serious knee injury. However, it looks like it’s time for the Dutchman to make his return. Van Dijk is set

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is poised to become the latest and most populous state to tighten restrictions on transgender athletes in public high school sports. State lawmakers on Sunday approved a measure that requires athletes to play on teams that align with the gender listed on their original birth certificate instead of their current

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Bob Baffert can enter horses in the Breeders’ Cup next month at Del Mar but the event’s all-time money-leading trainer has to meet certain conditions, including stricter out-of-competition testing of his horses and greater security at his barn. The conditions are the result of a review by the Breeders’ Cup board

By The Associated Press Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton broke the color barrier in the NBA as the league’s first Black players during the 1950-51 season. Clifton was the first Black player to have his contract purchased when the New York Knicks bought his deal from the Harlem Globetrotters. As part of

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA has ordered England to play one men’s national team game in an empty stadium. It’s punishment for chaotic disorder around Wembley Stadium at the European Championship final in July. The stadium closure will apply for a Nations League fixture in June. A second empty-stadium game was deferred for a two-year

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer The NBA, known today as a leader when it comes to culture and racial issues, was anything but during the 1950s when segregation divided the country. It was a powerless, fledgling league trying to find its footings. Franchises were folding and few paid much attention to the NBA. When

LONDON (AP) — England will enter the November rugby internationals without four of its biggest names after an improvement in club form failed to earn Mako and Billy Vunipola, Jamie George and George Ford recalls to the squad. The four players were left out of Eddie Jones’ extended training squad last month ahead of test

By The Associated Press Timeline of the National Basketball Association from its founding as the Basketball Association of America through the 1950s. The timeline includes milestone moments in the league’s history as the NBA celebrates its 75th season.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Curtis Campher became the third bowler to grab four wickets in four balls in a Twenty20 international as Ireland crushed the Netherlands by seven wickets in a World Cup Group A game. Campher’s outstanding feat helped him take 4-26 as Netherlands was bowled out for 106 after captain

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Kevin De Bruyne really wants to play in a second Champions League final because he barely remembers his first. The Manchester City midfielder sustained a fractured nose and eye socket during the 1-0 loss to Chelsea in Porto in May after colliding with Antonio Rudiger. A dazed De Bruyne

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — A second soccer legal case is heading to the European Court of Justice. A case involving UEFA-backed rules on quotas of homegrown players is heading to Luxembourg after the referral of the Super League clubs’ dispute with UEFA. A judge in Brussels has asked the European