AP National Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 17 points, Sylvia Fowles had 15 points and 17 rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 66-57. Minnesota closed on a 17-4 run, highlighted by a long 3-poiner by Aerial Powers with 3:11 left for a five-point lead. Los Angeles was held to four points in

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Grayson McCall threw for 262 yards and a touchdown and No. 22 Coastal Carolina scored on its first seven possessions in a season-opening 52-14 victory over The Citadel on Thursday night. McCall was the Sun Belt Conference offensive player of year in 2020 and kept

STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP) — Bret Edwards threw three touchdown passes, two to Brian Espanet, and New Hampshire held off Stony Brook for a 27-21 victory in a season and Colonial Athletic Association opener. Edwards sandwiched two short first-half TD passes to Kyle Lepkowski and Espanet around a 4-yard rushing score by Sean Coyne. Edwards

NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Marlins leadoff batter Miguel Rojas and New York Mets counterpart Jonathan Villar each homered on the first pitch they saw Thursday night, the first time that’s happened in a major league game since at least 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Statisticians at Elias were unable to go back

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Nine U.S. starters were set to make their World Cup qualifying debuts against El Salvador, matching the most since 1996. Matt Turner was in goal, with DeAndre Yedlin at right back, Miles Robinson and Tim Ream in central defense and Sergiño Dest at left back. Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie,

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani says he’s “sad and upset” for missing the next three rounds of World Cup qualifiers. He and other South American players in the Premier League were pressured by their clubs not to travel to the region due to COVID-19 protocols imposed by the British government. Premier League

By The Associated Press The Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for first in the NL West heading into their weekend series in San Francisco. The rivals split their first 16 games this year, with each team scoring 68 times. The New York Mets hit the road without acting general manager Zack Scott, who

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have switched specialists again right before the regular season. They signed former Pittsburgh punter Jordan Berry and released punter Britton Colquitt. The Vikings also signed quarterback Sean Mannion to the practice squad for another backup option to Kirk Cousins. Mannion was released by Seattle this week. He was

By SCOTT ORGERA Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Looking to bolster their bullpen for a late-season playoff push, the New York Mets have claimed reliever Brad Hand off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. A three-time All-Star with 126 career saves, Hand struggled badly with the Blue Jays after arriving from Washington in a

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees broadcaster John Sterling was helped out of his flooding car by Spanish radio play-by-play man Rickie Ricardo on Wednesday night after Sterling got stuck trying to drive home after a game. Sterling and Ricardo both called New York’s game at the Los Angeles Angels from Yankee Stadium because the radio

By The Associated Press Notre Dame is retuning to being an independent and the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish look to show they have found a transfer quarterback — Jack Coan from Wisconsin — and a cohesive offensive line that can lead the team back to the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, in Year 2 for Mike Norvell

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Patrick Cantlay met his goal at the Tour Championship and it had nothing to do with the score on his card or the size of his lead. He shot a 67 at East Lake. And he still leads by two. Cantlay started at 10-under par and

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have signed running back Wayne Gallman, a former Clemson star who was cut this week by the San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons released running back Qadree Ollison to make room for Gallman on the 53-man roster. The 26-year-old Gallman is a native of the Atlanta suburb of

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Striker Robbie Robinson left Chile’s national team hours before its World Cup qualifying match against Brazil because of uncertainty over whether the 22-year-old should instead play for the United States. The Inter Miami player has dual nationality. His father is American and his mother is Chilean. Robinson did not show up

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — African champion Algeria has pummeled Djibouti 8-0 to open its World Cup qualifying campaign in ferocious form. Islam Slimani scored four to help the 2019 African Cup winner extend its unbeaten run to 28 games. Riyad Mahrez was also on the scoresheet. Burkina

By The Associated Press After playing just four games and missing out on the Pac-12 championship game a season ago, No. 20 Washington gets a season of high expectations started and welcomes back fans to Husky Stadium against FCS powerhouse Montana. It’s a warmup for the Huskies ahead of next week’s showdown at Michigan, one

By The Associated Press Texas opens the Steve Sarkisian era when the No. 21 Longhorns host No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette. And he’s already made one big decision is picking Hudson Card as his starting quarterback over the more experiences Casey Thompson. This season opener won’t be an easy one for Texas. The Ragin’ Cajuns return 20

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer England players being targeted with racist chants by Hungary fans will have been as no surprise to soccer authorities. Hungary had already been ordered by UEFA to play its next two matches in empty stadiums after the racist abuse and homophobia by their supporters marred games in Budapest

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer A person familiar with the deal says the Las Vegas Raiders have added another proven veteran to bolster their banged-up linebacker group by agreeing to a one-year contract with K.J. Wright. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract can’t be signed until after Wright passes

By The Associated Press No. 17 Indiana visits 18th-ranked Iowa on Saturday in one of the top Big Ten openers. Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will be making his return after missing the last two games in 2020 with a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Penix was a All-Big Ten