AP National Sports

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for fourth time in the past six seasons. The Crimson Tide are the defending national champions. Alabama received 47 of 63 first-place votes from sports writers and broadcasters who vote in the poll

PRAGUE (AP) — Sparta Prague says it will host its opening group-stage game in the Europa League behind closed doors due to racial abuse of a player by fans. The punishment has been issued by UEFA. The incidents took place during the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round match at home to

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Skating Union has detailed eligibility criteria for transgender athletes looking to take part in its events. It follows recommendations set out by the International Olympic Committee in 2015. Athletes transitioning from male to female will be unable to change their declaration for at least four years and will have

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — United States teenager Gio Reyna is poised to become one of German soccer giant Borussia Dortmund’s brightest stars after being rewarded for his remarkable development with the prestigious No. 7 jersey. Reyna says he feels ready to take on a bigger role to help Dortmund challenge

LONDON (AP) — India skittled out England for 120 in less than two sessions on a highly charged Day 5 at Lord’s to win the second test by 151 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. With about a half-hour left of a fractious day featuring regular verbal clashes between players at

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Nine of the teams who were part of the ill-fated launch of a breakaway Super League have been welcomed back into the decision-making organization overseeing the European club game. Six English clubs — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham — will be

NEW YORK (AP) — Megan Rapinoe is such a fan of #MeToo pioneer Tarana Burke that the soccer star chose Burke’s upcoming memoir, “Unbound,” for her new online book club before she had even read it. Rapinoe says she’s sure whatever Burke is writing will be worth reading. Rapinoe has made several choices for her

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Barcelona’s president has presented a grim picture of the club’s financial situation. Joan Laporta says its debt has risen to $1.6 billion. He blamed the previous administration of Josep Bartomeu for the club’s “dramatic” situation that ultimately led to Lionel Messi’s departure. Laporta accused Bartomeu of

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — All fans will be barred from the Paralympics because of the coronavirus pandemic just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics. The Paralympics open on Aug. 24 with about 4,400 athletes. That is a far smaller event than the Olympics with 11,000 athletes. But the

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer Payton Pritchard arrived at the NBA Summer League looking to show he deserves major minutes this upcoming season with the Boston Celtics. Mission accomplished. The second-year point guard has been one of the biggest stars in Las Vegas, averaging 20.3 points, 8.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in three games

By NOAH TRISTER AP Baseball Writer The San Francisco Giants haven’t had a winning season since 2016, and they were certainly overshadowed by the Dodgers and Padres entering this one. But it’s been clear for a while that San Francisco needs to be taken seriously. The Giants have won 15 of their last 20 games.

By EDWARD ELSTON Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Raul Ruidiaz scored the go-ahead goal directly off a free kick and the Seattle Sounders went on to beat the rival Portland Timbers 6-2 in a Cascadia Cup match Sunday night. Ruidiaz and Fredy Montero each scored twice. The Sounders moved into second in the Western

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike had 12 points in her return from a knee injury to help Los Angeles beat the Indiana Fever 75-70 on Sunday night in the Sparks’ first game at Staples Center since September 2019. Sidelined 2 1/2 months by a sprained knee, Ogwumike also had seven rebounds and two blocks

By JERRY BEACH Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Max Muncy hit a pair of two-run homers and Max Scherzer threw six solid innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the New York Mets 14-4 and completed a sweep of the three-game series. The Dodgers, who have gone 10-4 since acquiring Scherzer and Trea Turner

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Swimming Australia has scrapped its national short-course titles and won’t be sending a full team to the world short-course championships in December because of travel difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia’s elite swimmers have recently returned from the Tokyo Olympics and are undergoing mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine as part of

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Vancouver Whitecaps said Sunday that three of Major League Soccer team’s academy players were assaulted at an outdoor gathering Saturday night and that the attack is believed to be racially motivated. The Whitecaps said one of the players — none of which the team identified — was taken to

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer Joe Walton, the former New York Jets coach who built Robert Morris University’s football program from the ground up, has died. He was 85. Robert Morris announced in an obituary posted on its website that Walton died Sunday. No cause of death was provided. Walton coached the

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — C.J. Sapong and Alex Muyl each scored two goals and Nashville beat D.C. United 5-2. Hany Mukhtar also scored for Nashville. Frédéric Brillant and Ola Kamara had a goal apiece for D.C. United. Kamara has scored in seven consecutive games and has eight goals in that span.

By JEFF WALLNER Associated Press MASON, Ohio (AP) — Despite losing some big-name stars, the main draw of the Western & Southern Open got underway Sunday night, with the tournament returning to the Lindner Family Tennis Center after a one-year absence, and at full crowd capacity. The U.S. Open tune-up event was held in New