AP National Sports

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott expressed frustration with his team’s relatively low vaccination rate while saying there’s little more he can do to convince his players to get the shot. The Bills are considered to be at the lower end of the NFL scale

LONDON (AP) — Leeds striker Patrick Bamford has been called up by England for the first time in the squad for a triple header of World Cup qualifiers. They face Hungary, Andorra and Poland in their first matches since losing the European Championship final in July. Bamford is the only player who has never played

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Valtteri Bottas and George Russell are still waiting to find out who will be driving alongside Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season. Bottas’ contract with the team hasn’t yet been renewed for 2022. The 23-year-old Russell drives for Williams but came

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo will have another chance to break the all-time men’s international scoring record when Portugal plays its upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Coach Fernando Santos has included Ronaldo in Portugal’s squad that will have many of the players who participated in the European Championship. Ronaldo scored his 109th goal with Portugal

PARIS (AP) — Coach Didier Deschamps has announced France’s squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers with four new players and no place for veteran striker Olivier Giroud. He is the France team’s second highest scorer with 46 goals. It is the first time he has been left out of the national team’s squad since 2011.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Australia’s home World Cup qualifying game against China on Sept. 2 will instead be played in Qatar. The Asian Football Confederation says the switch to a neutral site was made “in light of the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and China.” Arrivals into both countries face quarantine

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — The captain of Afghanistan’s wheelchair basketball team has found a new home and a new club in Spain’s Basque Country. Nilofar Bayat fled Afghanistan with the help of the Spanish government and will be living and playing in the city of Bilbao. The Bidaideak Bilbao club

LONDON (AP) — Former England cricket captain Ted Dexter has died. He was 86. The Marylebone Cricket Club says Dexter died in a hospice following a recent illness. The MCC called Dexter “one of England’s greatest ever cricketers.” He was a middle-order batsman who played 62 tests for England from 1958-68 and captained the team

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer FIFA’s leadership has faced further criticism with the French league opposing demands that players are released by clubs for World Cup qualifiers despite the logistical and health challenges posed by the pandemic. FIFA extended the international window next month to allow South American teams to play a third

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Spain coach Luis Enrique has announced his squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers with seven changes from the team that reached the semifinals of the European Championship. Among those missing were four players who also played with Spain at the Tokyo Olympics. They are Pedri González,

By The Associated Press The storied New York Yankees try for their longest winning streak in 60 years when they open a four-game series Thursday night in Oakland. New York has won 11 in a row for the first time since 1985. The Yankees haven’t won 12 straight since Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris powered

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — AJ Pollock led off the 16th inning with a two-run homer and the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers beat the struggling San Diego Padres 5-3 in by far the longest major league game since pandemic rules were implemented last year. No game had lasted longer than

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer Odicci Alexander will continue her incredible summer by making her debut in the Athletes Unlimited professional softball league on Saturday. Alexander took the sports world by storm at the Women’s College World Series in June when she pitched upstart James Madison to victories over No. 1 seed Oklahoma and

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer Paris Saint-Germain fans may never get to see the strike force they have been dreaming of for the past couple of weeks. Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is set for his eagerly awaited debut in Sunday’s French league game at Reims. It would reunite him with his former

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer Blind long jumper Lex Gillette is chasing after Paralympic gold in Tokyo after four straight silver medals. Gillette took a moment to reflect on his career on the eve of his fifth Paralympic Games appearance. He lost sight in both eyes by around 10 years old due to retinal

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — A brief return visit to Tokyo by IOC President Thomas Bach to view the Paralympic Games has been widely criticized in Japan but defended by organizers. Bach arrived the day before the opening ceremony and then departed about 24 hours later. He attended some events and

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — If ever there was a great time for Major League Soccer to be going into negotiations for its next television contract, it definitely is now. The league goes into the final two months of the regular season with ratings not only up significantly over last

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Five NFL teams are using a product called Guardian Caps to help cut down on the impact of blows to the head in practice. The 11-ounce soft-shell cover retrofits to the top of a player’s helmet and is designed to decrease blows to the head

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Max Verstappen has had a few weeks to ponder how his sizeable lead in the Formula One championship was eaten up by Lewis Hamilton in just two races. Now the Red Bull driver must focus his mind on checking the Mercedes star’s momentum. He

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — New England goalkeeper Matt Turner made two penalty kick saves and FC Dallas’ Ricardo Pepi scored off the underside of the crossbar to seal the MLS team’s victory over a team of Liga MX stars in the MLS All-Star Game. The MLS team won the