AP National Sports

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Struggling South Carolina and Vanderbilt will face off to see who’s worst in the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks and Commodores meet Saturday with both looking to end long, league losing streaks. South Carolina has lost nine straight SEC games. Vanderbilt is riding a 15-game losing

SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) — Jon Rahm’s struggles at home continued with a 7-over 78 that matched his second worst round ever and left him 11 shots off the lead at the Andalucía Masters. He also shot 78 in the second round at the British Open in 2018. His worst score was an 82 in the

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says midfielder Pedri González has agreed to a new contract with the team through 2026. It will include a release cause of 1 billion euros. The 18-year-old Pedri is coming  off a breakout season. He lead Barcelona with 53 appearances and also became a key player for Spain. The playmaker

PARIS (AP) — Next year’s Tour de France will see the return of the Paris-Roubaix cobblestones and take the peloton to the summit of the famed Alpe d’Huez mountain. The route features two individual time trials and six mountain stages with five summit finishes and seems designed for complete riders such as two-time champion Tadej

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says the government will help fund 5,000 local facilities to allow more people to practice sports, especially in the country’s poorest areas, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Thursday’s announcement came hours before Macron was scheduled to play in a charity soccer match. The government will provide more

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Grand Slam title winners Ana Ivanovic, Flavia Pennetta, Carlos Moya and Cara Black are the new nominees on the International Tennis Hall of Fame ballot for the Class of 2022. They join holdovers Lisa Raymond and Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Rhode Island-based Hall has announced the candidates. The half-dozen nominees all

PARIS (AP) — The 2022 Tour de France will see the return of the Paris-Roubaix cobblestones and take the peloton to the summit of the legendary Alpe d’Huez mountain. Designed for complete riders such as two-time champion Tadej Pogacar, the route features two individual time trials and six mountain stages with five summit finishes. The

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian soccer federation has deplored the violent behavior of fans and blamed Polish supporters for provoking them during a World Cup qualifier this week. Albania lost to Poland 1-0 in Tirana on Tuesday. The game was suspended for about 20 minutes after Poland had just

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona hosts Valencia on Sunday to start a three-game home stint that Ronald Koeman has said must mark a turnaround for his beleaguered team. Koeman has had a two-week international break to regroup after a tumultuous stretch for Barcelona. Club president Joan Laporta publicly supported Koeman

PARIS (AP) — Lens coach Franck Haise is gaining respect from his peers in the French league. Haise led the Northern club to a seventh-place finish last season and the 50-year-old coach has guided his players near the top of the standings this season. The “Sang et Or” have established themselves as PSG’s closest rival

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen will be aiming to maintain its Bundesliga challenge longer than it did the last time it hosted Bayern Munich. The teams are level on points at the top of the league going into Sunday’s match. Leverkusen’s start to the season is giving grounds for

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gabe Kapler absolutely gets butterflies, he says, and he considers it a good thing. He’s found a way to channel those into winning in San Francisco — a lot of winning. Now, the season comes down to a winner-take-all Game 5 for his Giants in

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates says challenging China on its human rights record as Beijing prepares to host the 2022 Winter Games is “not in our remit.” There has been widespread criticism of China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the northwest region of Xinjiang as well as its crackdown

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer International big men have risen to prominence in the NBA. Proof came in last season’s MVP voting, when three of the top four finishers were big men from other countries. Denver’s Nikola Jokic of Serbia was the MVP winner. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid from Cameroon was the runner-up. Milwaukee’s Giannis

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer The last two unbeaten teams in the Southeastern Conference square off this week when No. 1 Georgia hosts No. 11 Kentucky on Saturday. The Bulldogs rose to the top of the rankings last week when Alabama was upset at Texas A&M 41-38. Kentucky is off to its first 6-0

By BARRY WILNER AP Sports Writer In elite figure skating, makeup can be as important a tool as a boot and blade. It also can sideline an Olympic contender. Jessica Calalang, a U.S. pairs skater and potential member of the team for next February’s Winter Games in Beijing, recently had a suspension from the sport

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Kyle Turris scored the shootout winner and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams. Jesse Puljujarvi and Zach Hyman scored in regulation for the Oilers, who squandered a late lead. Edmonton also got a pair of assists from Connor McDavid.

By MICHAEL KELLY Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Bowen Byram scored his first NHL goal and added an assist to lead the short-handed Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist for Colorado, which played without star center Nathan MacKinnon and

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mason McTavish became the youngest player in Anaheim history to score a goal as the Ducks opened the season with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The 18-year-old McTavish — the third overall pick in this year’s NHL draft — put in a loose

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving says he doesn’tt want to lose salary or a chance to compete for a championship with the Brooklyn Nets, but was doing “what’s best for me” by refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Nets decided Tuesday that Irving wouldn’t be with the