AP National Sports

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Dylan Alcott and Diede de Groot have a chance at tennis history Novak Djokovic can no longer make. Unlike Djokovic, the wheelchair stars both won gold medals in Tokyo. Having already won the three major titles this year on the tennis tour, they arrived at

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing wrist surgery. General manager Ron Hextall says the surgery was necessary to address a lingering issue. The team estimates Crosby will be out a minimum of six weeks. The Penguins begin

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — First, Teddy Bridgewater won over his teammates. Then he convinced his coaches. Now, he’s out to coax the Denver Broncos’ fans into his corner. “I think you win the fans over by winning football games,” Bridgewater said Wednesday. The eighth-year pro edged Drew Lock

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Pro Football Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ryan Tannehill only got vaccinated because of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols. Turns out the shots helped the Tennessee quarterback deal with only mild symptoms after testing positive in August. Tannehill said Wednesday he was able to bounce back after he wasn’t hit too

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — England has conceded in the second minute of stoppage time to draw 1-1 at Poland and drop points for the first time in qualifying for next year’s World Cup. Harry Kane’s goal from a powerful 30-meter shot in the 72nd minute looked like it would give England a sixth straight win

By TRAVIS JOHNSON Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State coach James Franklin says the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions played championship-caliber defense in their season-opening win over Wisconsin. If the defense can keep up that level of play, it will help an offense that is still developing. No FBS defense spent more time on

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Germany has taken another step toward World Cup qualification and showed signs of further progress under new coach Hansi Flick with a 4-0 win in Iceland. Serge Gnabry, Antonio Rüdiger, Leroy Sané and Timo Werner all scored. It gives Germany control of Group J and ensures Flick’s record is three wins

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The Calgary Flames signed defenseman Connor Mackey and forward Brad Richardson on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Mackey agreed to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $912,500. He made his NHL debut for the Flames last season, finishing with a goal and two assists in six games. After playing at

REGGIO EMILIA, Italy (AP) — Italy’s new-look attacking lineup has fired the Azzurri to a 5-0 win over Lithuania in World Cup qualifying and a first victory since winning the European Championship. Moise Kean scored twice and Giacomo Raspadori netted his first Italy goal and also forced an own goal in an impressive first half

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to provide commentary from ringside Saturday for an exhibition boxing card headlined by 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. Trump will be joined by his son, Donald Jr., in Hollywood, Florida, for the alternate feed for the four-bout card, which will be available

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Television viewers are ready for some football. Three college games from the opening weekend of the season were among the four most popular programs on TV last week, led by Georgia handing third-ranked Clemson a loss. Only NBCs “America’s Got Talent,” with the summer winding

By The Associated Press No. 17 Coastal Carolina will host to its first-ever Power Five opponent at home when it takes on Kansas on Friday night. The Chanticleers will look to go 3-0 alltime against the Jayhawks after winning twice in Lawrence, Kansas the past previous two seasons. Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall looked sharp

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer Spain has won 2-0 at Kosovo to regain control of its fate in World Cup qualifying in a match marked by protests by the home fans over Spain’s non-recognition of the country. Pablo Fornals and Ferran Torres scored to give Spain 13 points in Group B. It has four

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lofty expectations don’t faze Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The reigning Super Bowl champions open the 2021 season against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, confident they have everything it takes to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brady led

ZURICH (AP) — Olympic high jump champion Mariya Lasitskene has soared above her gold medal leap to clear a world-leading 2.05 meters at the Diamond League finals. Another stellar three-way contest was sealed by Lasitskene going one centimeter beyond her title-winning clearance from the Tokyo Olympics. Olympic bronze medalist Yaroslava Mahuchikh placed second at 2.03,

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Browns will start their 2021 season where 2020’s ended — in Kanas City. Cleveland will open a season with Super Bowl hopes at rowdy Arrowhead Stadium and against the AFC champion Chiefs, who edged the Browns in last year’s playoffs. The 22-17 loss stuck

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots went from being the NFL’s stingiest defense in 2019 to ranking in the middle of the pack this past season. That prompted coach Bill Belichick to spend big in the free-agent market this offseason to improve the unit. New England’s revamped defense will

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer Oregon freshman linebacker Justin Flowe had a breakout game against Fresno State, but he and the rest of the Ducks’ defense will be challenged Saturday at Ohio State. Flowe had 14 tackles and a forced fumble in his first career start and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray has established that he’s got the arm to be one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. But it’s his ability to run that often makes the Cardinals offense difficult to stop. Murray ran for 819 yards last season, which ranked second in the NFL

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino is determined to double the frequency of World Cups to every other year instead of every four years. AP Global Soccer Writer Rob Harris says Infantino seems to prioritize making money by introducing more and bigger competitions run by FIFA rather