AP National Sports

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer J.R. Smith has gone from the NBA to attending classes and playing golf at North Carolina A&T. The 16-year NBA veteran skipped college basketball in 2004. He went on to win two world championships and make millions. Now he’s a freshman walk-on for the Aggies. Smith says he was

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants are heading into their final preseason game with the status of star running back Saquon Barkley uncertain. Coach Joe Judge had plans to meet with team doctors Monday to discuss what the 24-year-old will be able to do during joint

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns kicker Cody Parkey is being placed on injured reserve, meaning Chase McLaughlin will likely begin the season as Cleveland’s starter. Parkey, who had a solid season for the Browns in 2020 and is best known for his “double doink” miss for Chicago in the 2018

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings are bringing back defensive end Everson Griffen. The signing represents another attempt to revive the defense from a dismal 2020 season. The 33-year-old was at the team facility for a tryout last week. He is a four-time Pro Bowl pick with 80

LYON, France (AP) — Switzerland playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri has ended his three-year spell at Liverpool by joining Lyon for a reported fee of $13 million. Shaqiri scored eight goals in 63 appearances for Liverpool, with whom he won the Premier League and Champions League. Shaqiri helped Switzerland reach the quarterfinals at Euro 2020. He failed

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Striker Paulo Dybala was called up to the Argentina squad for the first time in almost two years after an impressive start to the season with Juventus. Dybala was included in the squad for three upcoming World Cup qualifiers in September, with veteran Sergio Aguero out injured. Coach Lionel Scaloni included

MILTON, Mass. (AP) — The Boston College hockey star and former NHL player Jimmy Hayes has died. A law enforcement official says medics on Monday were called to the Hayes home in the Boston suburbs, where he was pronounced dead. No other details were disclosed. Hayes won a national championship at Boston College and went

By ANDREW DESTIN Associated Press SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Little League World Series games have only featured a few hundred family and friends in the stands this year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Turns out they were the ones making a lot of the noise in the first place. Because all the players

By DON BABWIN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The parents of two teenage boys have filed a lawsuit alleging their sons were sexually assaulted in a high school football team hazing ritual at a suburban Chicago high school. The parents contend that the three football coaches at Plainfield Central High School were not present during

By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer CINCINNATI (AP) — Joey Votto is crashing home runs again and keeping the Cincinnati Reds in playoff contention. The 37-year-old Reds first baseman is enjoying a career resurgence while hitting the ball harder than ever. He recently got his 2,000 hit, making him only the second player in major

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer Supporters of Nice had waited two years to be allowed back into the stadium to see their team take on Marseille in one of France’s footballing rivalries. Now their violent conduct could see the turnstiles locked again. The game between Nice and Marseille was abandoned Sunday after a

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer The slumping San Diego Padres have fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild. The 67-year-old Rothschild has been with the Padres for the past two seasons. San Diego has lost nine of its past 11 games and is now in third place in the NL West, 13 games behind the first

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs released veteran defensive end Taco Charlton, offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann and defensive back Will Parks on Monday as they made the next round of roster cuts ahead of their preseason finale. The Chiefs also waived linebacker Riley Cole and quarterback

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Pro Football Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Titans coach Mike Vrabel anticipated further testing would confirm he has COVID-19. He was right. So the Tennessee Titans practiced without their head coach Monday with Vrabel quarantined at home after testing positive Sunday morning. Special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman helped run practice.

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer The two singles champions at this year’s U.S. Open will earn 35% less than in 2019. That was the last time the Grand Slam tennis tournament allowed spectators. Payouts for qualifying and the first three rounds will rise. The U.S. Tennis Association announced Monday that it will have an

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The International Ice Hockey Federation is expected to add a women’s world hockey championship next summer. That will put it in the same calendar year as the Beijing Winter Olympics. The men play a world championship in an Olympic year but the women currently don’t. A world championship in August 2022

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — The Fiesta Bowl Organization has announced a multi-year partnership with Caesars Entertainment. It will pair one of the biggest postseason college football games with legal sports gambling in Arizona. It’s also the first partnership between a college bowl game and a sports betting company. Caesars will

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer NEW YORK (AP) — New York Jets linebacker Jarrad Davis will be sidelined through the first several weeks of the regular season with an ankle injury. Jets coach Robert Saleh said Monday that Davis’ injury will sideline him into the season, and the team will evaluate whether

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Notre Dame and Iowa State each had three players selected to The Associated Press preseason All-America team, led by Fighting Irish defensive back Kyle Hamilton and Cyclones running back Breece Hall. The preseason All-America team presented by Regions Bank was released Monday, five days before the first

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Wrtier FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots say quarterback Cam Newton will miss at least three days of practice this week after traveling to a team-approved, out of town medical appointment over the weekend. The team said in a statement that Newton went to the appointment on Saturday and tested