AP National Sports

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Alejandro Villanueva has experienced the highs and lows of playing on the offensive line in his first two games this season. When his Baltimore Ravens lost at Las Vegas in their opener, he allowed two sacks and 10 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer Wayne Rooney says he’s up for the fight. The Manchester United great’s managerial career has been rocky. He barely avoided relegation with second-division Derby. This preseason, he injured a promising young midfielder with a hard challenge before having to publicly apologize after photos of him at a private party

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — To realize how challenging it was for P.J. Tucker to begin getting settled at a new home in Miami, consider that his enormous sneaker collection was scattered around the country this summer. Tucker is as well-traveled as those shoes. After helping the Milwaukee Bucks win last

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Warwickshire has won the English County Championship for the first time since 2012. The county from central England beat Lancashire to the title on the final day of the season by defeating Somerset in ruthless fashion. Lancashire’s players were watching on nervously from their Old Trafford ground after edging a nail-biter

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen and forward Mike Hardman have been held out of practice because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The announcement on the team’s second day of training camp doesn’t necessarily mean that either player tested positive. General manager Stan Bowman said Thursday that the team was 100% vaccinated.

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AP) — Defending champion John Millman has been upset by fellow Australian James Duckworth in the quarterfinals of the Astana Open. Alexander Bublik has also reached the semifinals. Duckworth beat fifth-seeded Millman in straight sets to reach the semifinals of a tour event for the second time in his career. Ilya Ivashka plays

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims referees have given fewer penalties to his team because of a complaint by Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp at the start of the year. Solskjaer is still aggrieved that United was denied two penalties in its 2-1 win over West Ham in the English Premier

LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — Rwanda has been picked to host cycling’s 2025 road world championships. It will be the first hosting by an African country for the 98th edition. International Cycling Union president David Lappartient says the capital city Kigali “will provide a magnificent backdrop” for the weeklong championships. It’s the latest sports project for

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL is adding Monday night to its Wild Card Weekend. The league says it will play one of its first six playoff games on Monday night, beginning with this season. The NFL added a third wild-card team in each conference last season, and then played three wild-card games on Saturday

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP National Writer The men’s professional tennis tour is surveying players on LGBTQ issues. ATP CEO Massimo Calvelli tells The Associated Press it is part of a “broader initiative” to create “an environment for players and staff that is inclusive, that is diverse and that is very safe and welcoming.” He calls

LONDON (AP) — Emma Raducanu has split from her coach less than two weeks after winning the U.S. Open as a qualifier. The 18-year-old Briton says she wants a more experienced coach now she will be playing in bigger events on the WTA Tour. She says, “I’m looking for someone who has been at that

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — German soccer clubs are pushing for more fans to be allowed at Bundesliga games despite discrepancies in their approaches to getting them there. Most clubs are asking for fans to show they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, recovered from COVID-19, or to produce a negative

LONDON (AP) — Oleksandr Usyk is giving up 19 pounds on world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for their fight on Saturday. Usyk tipped the scales at 221 pounds at the weigh-in in London. That’s heavier than the former cruiserweight was for his two fights since moving up to the heavyweight division in 2019. Joshua is

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Formula One leader Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid at the Russian Grand Prix after the team confirmed he will use a new engine and accept the resulting penalty. Verstappen had to go over his allocation of engines for the season because one was damaged when he

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — European clubs have joined forces to rebuke FIFA for trying to railroad through plans for biennial World Cups, warning of a destructive impact on world football. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has infuriated the European Club Association, which is accusing the global governing body of being

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Tyler Seguin says he is felling great and excited to be healthy again for the start of Dallas Stars training camp. Seguin missed all but three games last season while recovering from hip surgery. Goaltender Ben Bishop and top-line forward Alexander Radulov were also back

By The Associated Press Yankees ace Gerrit Cole starts the opener of a crucial three-game series at Fenway Park with the Red Sox two games ahead of New York for the top AL wild card. Boston has won seven straight to build a small cushion over the Yankees and Blue Jays. With New York closing

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — Racing at Arlington Park is on the brink of ending after a run of almost a century. The venerable thoroughbred horse racing track sits on a 326-acre plot of land outside Chicago that’s up for sale and expected to be redeveloped. Those with close

By JIM LITKE AP Sports Writer SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — No team in sports embraces the underdog label like Europe’s Ryder Cup squads. Their players are usually a few rungs lower in the world rankings, boast fewer major championships and they’re often giving up serious yardage to the longer-hitting Americans. Yet somehow that formula has

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — A few things have changed since the last time Europe and the United States gathered for the Ryder Cup. For one, Europe. In the post-Brexit world, seven of Europe’s 12 players aren’t technically from countries in the European Union anymore. But for decades now, this