AP National Sports

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — There’s no sense downplaying how important this season is for the Green Bay Packers. MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ uncertain future with the franchise puts more pressure on the Packers as they pursue their first Super Bowl berth since their 2010 championship season. The Packers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville claimed receiver Tyron Johnson off waivers from the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday. It was the only move the Jaguars made despite having first dibs on every player waived in final roster cuts. Johnson spent time with Houston, Buffalo, Carolina and the Chargers during his rookie year in 2019. He

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys see health as the starting point for any discussion about rebounding from the difficult 2020 season. Dak Prescott’s severe ankle injury was the worst of several on offense as Dallas went 6-10 in coach Mike McCarthy’s debut. Now the star quarterback

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns finally tasted success in 2020, They want more this season. With rookie coach Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland ended its long playoff drought last season and beat rival Pittsburgh in the wild-card round. The Browns then took AFC champion Kansas City to the final minutes before

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — Rookie right-hander Logan Gilbert and four relievers combined to shut out Houston for the second straight day and J.P. Crawford scored the lone run on a sacrifice fly to give the Seattle Mariners a 1-0 win over the Astros. Seattle took two of three in the

By The Associated Press Mets acting general manager Zack Scott is due in court two days after he was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated following a fundraiser at team owner Steve Cohen’s house. Scott was arrested on a DUI charge around 4:15 a.m. Tuesday in suburban White Plains, New York. Police found him

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants used free agency and the draft to fill holes in the lineup and to give Joe Judge a better chance in his second season as coach. They gobbled up playmaking receiver Kenny Golladay, veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph and cornerback

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer The improvement the Las Vegas Raiders showed offensively in year three under Jon Gruden was negated by the lack of progress on defense. The end result was another season without a winning record or playoff berth. That prompted an offseason of change for the Raiders, who brought in

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu has tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the league’s reserve list Wednesday, though he could be back with the team soon and available for Week 1 against Cleveland. Mathieu is fully vaccinated, a person familiar with the situation

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Brendan Rodgers’ two-run double put Colorado ahead during a five-run ninth inning, and the Rockies rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to beat the Texas Rangers 9-5. Rodgers doubled to the gap in left-center off Joe Barlow, the sixth of seven Texas relievers. The Rockies scored three more runs aided by

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer DENVER (AP) — First-year general manager George Paton brought both a fresh approach and a throwback doctrine to the Denver Broncos in his first crack at roster building following a two-decade apprenticeship in scouting and personnel. Paton refurbished Denver’s defense, starting with the secondary, and beefed up the

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Josh VanMeter homered in a six-run third inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks knocked out Yu Darvish on the way to an 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. Luke Weaver made his first start in 3 1/2 months and took a shutout into the sixth inning. Pavin

By LES BOWEN Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zach Ertz still wants to finish his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. The three-time Pro Bowl tight end said Wednesday that after more than a year of acrimony with the front office, he was “here to just kind of put it in the past.” Ertz’s return to

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Teams one year removed from a Super Bowl appearance rarely find themselves in position to select a quarterback near the top of the draft. Teams with a roster capable of contending for a Super Bowl rarely put the team in the hands of

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — The members of the Major League Baseball’s first all-minority lineup say they didn’t set out to make history. The Pittsburgh Pirates started nine Black or Latin players on Sept. 1, 1971, in a 10-7 win over Philadelphia. The surviving members of the team say they didn’t

By MARK LONG AP Pro Football Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Urban Meyer’s first NFL season is also his first taste of real football since the end of the 2018 season. It’s what he knows. It’s what he loves. It’s what he does best. And he’s running the Jacksonville Jaguars much like he did his

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray and coach Kliff Kingsbury had a two-year honeymoon to adjust to life in the NFL. There were some good moments, some bad moments and that inconsistency was reflected in an 8-8 record one season ago. Now it’s time for the Cardinals

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Rookie quarterback Trey Lance’s injured finger is showing signs of healing, and the San Francisco 49ers are hopeful he will be able to return to practice next week. Lance hurt his finger when he was hit on his right hand by the helmet

By PATRICK DONNELLY Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda had season-ending Tommy John surgery Wednesday in Dallas, the team said. The 33-year-old right-hander was placed on the 10-day IL on Aug. 24 with right forearm tightness. Texas Rangers orthopedic surgeon Keith Meister performed the surgery on Wednesday. Meister added an internal

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that Washington Nationals Vice President Bob Boone has informed the club he’s resigning rather than comply with the organization’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Boone has been with Washington since 2004 and served as VP and senior