AP National Sports

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer New quarterbacks are leading last year’s College Football Playoff teams. They range from Alabama’s prized recruit Bryce Young to Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei, who was a super sub for No. 1 NFL draft pick Trevor Lawrence last season. Second-year freshman C.J. Stroud won the starting job for Ohio State. Wisconsin

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The last-place Pittsburgh Pirates have fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein. The Pirates have struggled to produce offense all season. Pittsburgh is dead last in the majors in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging. The Pirates are also 27th in the majors in batting average and are on their

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Forward Tim Weah is hurt and will miss the United States’ opening three World Cup qualifiers. Weah was injured during training with Lille in France on Saturday. The U.S. Soccer Federation said Weah will not report to Nashville, Tennessee, ahead on Thursday’s opener at El Salvador. Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic started training

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Newly-crowned European champion Italy is looking to start again where it left off as it chases a long-standing record. Italy plays Bulgaria on Thursday in the first of three World Cup qualifiers in quick succession, its first match since beating England in the Euro 2020 final in July. If the Azzurri

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Empoli midfielder Nedim Bajrami has won the right to switch national teams from Switzerland to Albania in a win over FIFA at sport’s highest court. The Court of Arbitration for Sport says its panel upheld an appeal by Bajrami and the Albania soccer federation. They challenged a FIFA judge’s decision rejecting

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Portugal defender Ruben Semedo has been arrested following an alleged sexual assault of a minor. The 27-year-old Semedo also plays for Greek soccer champion Olympiakos. He was arrested following a complaint made to the police by a 17-year-old woman who told authorities the assault had taken place at the player’s home

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian soccer federation says Thierry Henry has committed to a permanent role with the coaching staff of its national team until after the 2022 World Cup. The former France striker returned to Belgium’s coaching staff in May after he was assistant coach from 2016-18. He was also with the squad for

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The trial has opened of an influential Olympic official accused of forgery in an alleged plot that implicated political rivals in Kuwait in a coup attempt. Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah has been publicly sidelined as an IOC member and president of the global group of national

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer Paul Tagliabue left his job as commissioner of the NFL in 2006 and didn’t get selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame until last year. If that seems odd for a man who guided the NFL for 17 years and oversaw labor peace, expansion, new stadiums, huge

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — The Ivy League is returning to the playing fields this fall with plans for a full football season even as the delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread. Coaches and league officials say they will continue to follow protocols to keep the pandemic under control.

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Patrick Cantlay is proving his mettle. He might not have as many victories as other elite players. But they’re big either because of how he wins or who he beats. His victory in the BMW Championship was a little of both. It’s one thing

By NOAH TRISTER AP Baseball Writer Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez has been on an extended tear since the All-Star break. He now has 38 home runs on the season, just three behind major league leader Shohei Ohtani. Perez is on track to set an American League record for most homers by someone who played

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer Oksana Masters credits resiliency and determination for being a nine-time Paralympic medalist, including gold in her classification of a hand-cycle time trials event in Tokyo. Masters persevered through years in Ukrainian orphanages and with birth defects believed to be the aftermath of Chernobyl, the world’s worst nuclear accident. She

By The Associated Press Javier Báez and his New York Mets teammates get a day to cool off after the derogatory gestures they directed toward frustrated fans at Citi Field angered club management. Booed at home during a rough August, Báez said Mets players have been turning double thumbs down on the crowd in reponse.

By DENNIS PASSA AP Sports Writer SUNSHINE BEACH, Australia (AP) — Evonne Goolagong Cawley has returned to her tennis past while hoping to inspire Australia’s future in the sport. Long before the now-70-year-old Goolagong Cawley won the first of her seven Grand Slam singles titles, she used to practice by hitting tennis balls against a

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — Sebastian Blanco scored his second goal of the season off a sloppy turnover early in the second half, Felipe Mora scored late in second-half stoppage time, and the Portland Timbers held off Seattle’s second-half barrage of shots for a 2-0 win over the Sounders. The Timbers

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Ryan Gauld had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat Real Salt Lake 4-1 on Sunday night to give Vanni Sartini a victory over fellow interim coach Pablo Mastroeni in their debuts. Sartini, Vancouver’s director of methodology, took over as coach Friday after Marc Dos Santos was

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Baker Mayfield led a pair of impressive drives in his lone appearance of the preseason, throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to KhaDarel Hodge to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 19-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Mayfield was 6 of 10 for 113 yards before calling

By BEN ROSS Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tony Kemp lined a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Chad Green in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Yankees once again, stopping New York 3-1. On Saturday, Oakland ended the Yankees’ 13-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory — that also snapped the Athletics’

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ricardo Pepi and Jesús Ferreira each scored two first-half goals to help FC Dallas beat Austin FC 5-3 on Sunday night. The 18-year-old Pepi, a dual national born in El Paso, Texas, has 11 goals this season — the most by an American in MLS. He was named to the U.S.