AP National Sports

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged world leaders to call for a ceasefire in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the World Cup that starts later this week. It came after he asked World Cup teams this month to avoid political and human rights issues swirling around

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Americans will bet $1.8 billion on the World Cup this year, according to the casino industry’s national trade group. The American Gaming Association estimates that 20.5 million American adults plan to bet on the biggest soccer tournament in the world, legally or otherwise. The survey

By HANK KURZ Jr. and BEN FINLEY Associated Press CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Three University of Virginia football players killed in an on-campus shooting are being remembered by head football coach Tony Elliott as “incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures.” Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were returning from

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A University of Virginia spokesperson has confirmed that a student who went on a field trip to see a play with classmates is the one suspected of opening fire inside the bus they were riding in when the group returned to campus. Spokesperson Brian Coy says

LONDON (AP) — The Netherlands will host the Solheim Cup for the first time after being chosen to stage the biggest team event in women’s golf in 2026. Organizers say Bernardus Golf will host the event. The course is in Cromvoirt, a village in southern Netherlands close to the historic cathedral city of Den Bosch.

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Rafael Nadal’s error-strewn performance has badly damaged his chances of adding the ATP Finals trophy to his glittering list of titles. The top-seeded Nadal lost 6-3, 6-4 to tournament debutant Felix Auger-Aliassime to leave him with two straight defeats in Turin. The 36-year-old Nadal has now lost four straight matches for

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen has become the latest Bundesliga club to criticize the World Cup in Qatar by describing the decision to award the tournament to the country as “scandalous.” Leverkusen says “Football culture does not exist in Qatar.” Leverkusen referred to widely reported issues of homophobia, the lack of freedom of expression

By The Associated Press The LPGA Tour and European tour wrap up their seasons. Only one of them takes an extended break. The LPGA Tour has the CME Group Tour Championship with a $7 million purse and a record $2 million going to the winner. The field is the leading 60 players available from the

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian shops in Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar and elsewhere across the country closed their doors Tuesday amid protests gripping the nation, as two prominent soccer stars also announced they would not be attending the upcoming World Cup over the demonstrations. The shop closures came

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) — Clubs from soccer’s richest continent Europe are providing 73% of players called up for the World Cup. That’s despite Europe providing just 40% of the World Cup teams. It has 13 teams in the 32-nation lineup in Qatar. Research by European soccer consultants LTT Sports

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer Cristiano Ronaldo knows a thing or two about World Cups. He has played in four of them and is about to make it to a record-tying fifth this month in Qatar. Ronaldo also knows when he sees something promising and he believes this time there is reason to feel

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea has hired another member of Brighton’s technical staff to continue the overhaul under its new ownership. Two months ago Chelsea hired manager Graham Potter from Brighton and now has gone back to its Premier League rival to entice the person who built a strong reputation at the south-coast club for finding

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer MUNICH (AP) — The NFL wants to keep its European tour going now that Germany has joined Britain in hosting games. Spain and France are atop the league’s wish list as it continues to look internationally for revenue growth. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-16 on

By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH Associated Press MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — George Weah never got to play at the World Cup despite being one of soccer’s greats. He’s making sure he doesn’t miss his son’s opportunity. Weah is now the president of Liberia and is planning to be at the World Cup in Qatar to hopefully watch

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic is set to be granted a visa to play in next year’s Australian Open despite his high-profile deportation in January. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday said it had confirmed newspaper reports that the immigration minister had overturned a potential three-year exclusion period for Djokovic. The Australian Border Force

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Hosting the World Cup marks a pinnacle in Qatar’s efforts to rise out of the shadow of its larger neighbors in the wider Middle East, where its politics and its upstart ambitions have brought both international attention and regional ire. The road to the

TORONTO (AP) — Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Canucks teammate Roberto Luongo, former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, Finnish women’s national team player Riikka Sallinen and Herb Carnegie were welcomed into the Hockey Hall of Fame as the class of 2022 on Monday. The Sedin twins and Luongo were elected in their first years of eligibility

HONOLULU (AP) — Matt Knowling scored 18 points, Isaiah Kelly had a go-ahead dunk in overtime and August Mahoney made four free throws in the final 33 seconds to help Yale hold off Hawaii 62-59. Knowling sank 8 of 17 shots for the Bulldogs (4-0). Mahoney finished with 14 points, while Kelly and E.J. Jarvis

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press For decades, Doha has flung open its doors to Taliban warlords, Islamist dissidents, African rebel commanders and exiles of every stripe. Now, the tiny emirate is receiving extra scrutiny as it welcomes over a million soccer fans from around the world for the 2022 World Cup. Qatar’s quest for global