AP National Sports

LONDON, Ontario (AP) — The London Knights and the Ontario Hockey League say center Abakar Kazbekov has died at the age of 18. No other details were immediately provided. Kazbekov, who was from Russia, played in a 5-2 home victory over the Owen Sound Attack on Friday. The Moscow native had been a member of

By CHRIS LEHOURITES AP Sports Writer AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — Josko Gvardiol made a play to be Croatia’s next go-to guy in what may have been Luka Modric’s final World Cup match. Modric has been the key player for Croatia for more than a decade but he is now 37. Modric was again central

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — Luka Modric led Croatia to third place in what was likely the midfield great’s last appearance at the World Cup. The runners-up from four years ago secured another medal by beating Morocco 2-1 in the third-place match. Mislav Orsic scored the decisive goal shortly

LONDON (AP) — Jockey great Frankie Dettori plans to retire from the saddle at the end of next year. The 52-year-old Italian tells ITV Racing that “2023 will be my final professional year as a jockey.” Dettori is a two-time Epsom Derby winner. He famously went through the card with seven winners in seven races

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish league has joined in the criticism of FIFA’s plan for a bigger Club World Cup. A day after FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented his vision of a 32-team Club World Cup for 2025 the Spanish league said “new international tournaments irreversibly damage the entire football ecosystem.” The World Leagues Forum

By GLEN ROSALES Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Fielding questions about his father is nothing new for New Mexico coach Richard Pitino. “It’s been 40 years of answering dumb questions about my dad, so you guys get a free pass,” Pitino recently told a group of journalists ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Iona, coached

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Argentina’s gamble has paid off. Criticism came quickly when Lionel Scaloni was hired as the somewhat accidental coach of Argentina’s national team in 2018. The nay-sayers wondered how someone with no club experience and no senior coaching experience at all could be expected to lead

SELVA DI VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) — Norwegian skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has returned to the top of a men’s World Cup downhill podium. He finished fifth in a shortened race at the same resort two days ago but dominated the full version of the classic race on Saturday on the challenging Saslong. It was

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer Sports fans who view their favorite players as role models might think twice before taking their financial advice, too. The bankruptcy of FTX and the arrest of its founder and former CEO are raising new questions about the role celebrity athletes such as Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Naomi Osaka

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Italian skier Sofia Goggia has dominated the fourth women’s World Cup downhill of the season despite undergoing surgery on two broken fingers the day before. Goggia beat runner-up Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia by 0.43 seconds. Goggia had her left hand bandaged and the glove attached to her ski pole with

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — France coach Didier Deschamps says he knows most neutral fans want Argentina to win the World Cup final to give Lionel Messi the perfect send-off from soccer’s biggest tournament. Deschamps appreciates that some people in France hope that happens as well because of Messi’s popularity

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An A-League soccer match between rivals Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory was abandoned Saturday after fans invaded the field and attacked City goalkeeper Tom Glover. Video on social media shows a fan throwing a metal bucket with a white substance at Glover, who was taken off the field dazed and bleeding.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An A-League soccer match between rivals Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory has been suspended after fans invaded the field and attacked City goalkeeper Tom Glover. Video on social media shows a fan throwing a metal bucket with a white substance at Glover, who was taken off the field dazed and bleeding.

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer Argentina arguably has the World Cup’s most fervent fans. They are known for their rhythmical singing, incessant drumming and trance-like ferocity. The country’s history of success at the World Cup is rivaled by few. Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986 and lost in the final three

By JACK MAGRUDER Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Travis Boyd knocked in his own rebound early in the third period to break a tie and Clayton Keller added his second goal of the game late as the Arizona Coyotes held on to beat the New York Islanders 5-4. Shayne Gostisbehere and Nick Bjugstad also

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Steven Verplancken Jr. scored 15 points and Junior Ballard added 14 points off the bench as Weber State routed Cal Poly, 74-45. Bryan Penn-Johnson dunked more than seven minutes into the game to pull the Mustangs even at 11-11, but Weber State responded with 18 unanswered points and never

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Dominique Ford scored 31 points to lead Idaho to a 125-51 victory over Northwest Indian College. Ford sank 12 of 21 shots with seven 3-pointers for the Vandals (5-6). He added seven rebounds. Isaac Jones scored 20 points in 11 minutes, sinking 9 of 11 shots. Michael Hanshaw had a double-double