AP National Sports

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana college basketball is in the midst of a revival. On the men’s side, Purdue is ranked No. 1 and Indiana is in the top 15. On the women’s side, Indiana and Notre Dame are both in the top five. The Purdue women, Notre Dame and

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Morningside quarterback Joe Dolincheck and four of his teammates on the offensive side of the ball were selected to The Associated Press NAIA All-America team announced Friday. Dolincheck, a repeat first-team All-American, led the NAIA with 353 yards passing per game and 37 touchdown passes. He was

By The Associated Press Florida plays No. 17 Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday. The Beavers are 10 1/2-point favorites. A victory would give them their third 10-win season. Florida hopes to avoid a second consecutive losing season. The teams are meeting for the first time. Arkansas in 2000 is the only

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer Brittney Griner said she’s “grateful” to be back in the United States and plans on playing basketball again next season for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Her comments came a week after she was released from a Russian prison, freed in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange. “It feels so good

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson will start at quarterback for the New York Jets on Sunday against the Detroit Lions after Mike White was not cleared by doctors to play. White is dealing with a rib injury that twice knocked him out of the Jets’

LONDON (AP) — Chinese tennis player Baoluo Zheng has been banned for nine months after admitting that he attempted to fix a match. The International Tennis Integrity Agency says the 21-year-old player “approached an opponent and offered money in return for deliberately losing a match at a tournament in Egypt in October 2022.” Baoluo was

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konaté are among five France players who missed training two days before the World Cup final against Argentina. The two center backs have reportedly become the latest members of the France squad to be affected by a virus. Dayot Upamecano, Adrien Rabiot and Kingsley Coman were struck

GRAND BAIE, Mauritius (AP) — Antoine Rozner and Alfredo Garcia-Heredia have moved into a tie for the lead with Sami Valimaki at the Mauritius Open. Rozner shot an 8-under 64 to join Garcia-Heredia and Valimaki in a one-stroke lead after two rounds at Mont Choisy Le Golf on the Indian Ocean island. They are at

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies finalized their deal with Taijuan Walker, agreeing to a $72 million, four-year contract with the right-hander. The 30-year-old Walker went 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts this season for the New York Mets, one of Philadelphia’s biggest NL East rivals. He slots into a rotation fronted by

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino has shared his wish list to create and revamp games and events under the soccer body’s control. They include a 32-team men’s Club World Cup in 2025, a new version of the tournament for women and national teams from different continents

By The Associated Press Musical artist Kelly Clarkson will host the 12th annual NFL Honors awards show Feb. 9 in Phoenix, recognizing the league’s best players, performances and plays from the 2022 season. A spokesperson said Friday that the Emmy and Grammy-award winning artist Clarkson will be the first woman to host the show. The

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — Former soccer player and coach Siniša Mihajlović has died at 53 after a long battle with leukemia. Mihajlović’s family announced Friday that he died in a Rome hospital. The Serbian had most recently coached Serie A club Bologna for 3 ½ years. He became a sentimental

By HELENA ALVES and LUJAIN JO Associated Press DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Coming from Brazil for the World Cup in Qatar, Daniela Crawford had been worried about conservative dress codes. But like many women attending the tournament, she said she found no problems. “In Brazil people are used to it, but we came here and

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies finalized their deal with Taijuan Walker, agreeing to a $72 million, four-year contract with the right-hander. The 30-year-old Walker went 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts this season for the New York Mets, one of Philadelphia’s biggest NL East rivals. He slots into a rotation fronted by

By ERIC TUCKER and DOUG FEINBERG Associated Press Writers The return of Brittney Griner to the United States in a dramatic prisoner swap with Russia marked the culmination of a 10-month ordeal that captivated world attention, a saga that landed at the intersection of sports, politics, race and gender identity — and wartime diplomacy. Griner

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain midfielder and World Cup winner Sergio Busquets is retiring from international soccer. Spain’s national team announced that Busquets is retiring after 143 appearances. The 34-year-old Busquets captained Spain at the World Cup in Qatar. He was one of three Spain players to miss a penalty

MADRID (AP) — The head of the proposed Super League says the project is still going forward even though the scheme to form a breakaway European soccer competition was dealt a legal blow by the European Union’s legal adviser. Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of the company sponsoring and assisting the creation of the Super

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Qatar’s World Cup is ending on Sunday, but the climate pledges that were central to the gas-rich Gulf nation’s successful bid to host the event are staying in the world of mega sporting events. Scientists, environmental advocates and other experts say that sporting events such as the

By DANIEL POLITI Associated Press ROSARIO, Argentina (AP) — Fernanda Quiroga still remembers how Lionel Messi played soccer in what were then dirt roads around their working class neighborhood in Rosario, Argentina’s third-largest city. “(Messi) was always kicking something, a ball, a bottle cap,” said Quiroga, who at 35 is the same age as the