AP National Sports

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Now that spread offenses are commonplace in the Southeastern Conference, one might think that running the football isn’t as important as it used to be to the league’s coaches. Think again. Sure, the formations look different, fullbacks get fewer snaps and the type of

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer Tiger Woods is returning to competition next month in the Bahamas. He announced his decision on Twitter and it was not a big surprise. Woods is tournament host of the Hero World Challenge. He’ll be part of a 20-man field that features 18 of the top 21 players in

ROME (AP) — Roma striker and World Cup hopeful Tammy Abraham scored his first Serie A goal since September in a 1-1 draw at Sassuolo. Abraham leaped amid three defenders to head in a cross from Gianluca Mancini in the 80th minute but Sassuolo equalized on a swift counterattack five minutes later. It was another

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Wales head coach Robert Page has dismissed concerns about Gareth Bale’s fitness after including the former Real Madrid forward in his World Cup squad. Bale will captain his country in Qatar which is the first time it has qualified for the tournament since 1958. Bale

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer MEXICO CITY (AP) — The number of exuberant fans in the Mexico City paddock two weeks ago has teams and drivers asking Formula One to set some guidelines on access. And with F1 headed this weekend to Brazil, the fan adoration there is expected to be equally passionate

By ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A subsidiary of French construction company Vinci was handed preliminary charges Wednesday of forced labor and other alleged violations of the rights of migrant workers hired to build infrastructure in Qatar around the World Cup. The company denies the charges and is appealing them, and accused magistrates

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The American Athletic Conference will not use divisions and play an eight-game league football schedule when it expands to 14 teams next season. As it does now, the AAC will match the top two teams from the regular-season standings in its championship game. The scheduling model was approved for use the

HOUSTON (AP) — Ben Olsen has been hired as coach of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, two years after he left D.C. United. Olsen replaced Paulo Nagamura, who was fired on Aug. 8 and replaced by Dynamo 2 coach Kenny Bundy as senior team interim coach for the rest of the season. The Dynamo missed

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The attorney general for the District of Columbia is set to hold a news conference related to the NFL’s Washington Commanders. The office of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine says he will make a major announcement Thursday. No details were provided. His office launched an investigation

By The Associated Press The Panthers will meet the Falcons for the second time in 12 days on Thursday night, a rematch of a game on Oct. 30 in which the Falcons won 37-34 in overtime after several costly Carolina mistakes. Panthers running back D’Onta Foreman ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns and D.J.

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer The Eagles, Jets, Giants and Seahawks are among the biggest surprise success stories at the midway point of the NFL season. Within that group, only the Eagles had a winning record and made the playoffs last season. Philadelphia has stunned the league with its undefeated start. Seatte and the

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Clemson’s loss at Notre Dame was a severe blow to the ACC’s hopes of landing a team in the College Football Playoff. Last weekend’s 35-14 setback at three-loss Notre Dame dropped Clemson (8-1, 6-0) from the list of the nation’s unbeaten teams. The Tigers moved from

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Inflation? High gas prices? American gamblers are shrugging them off — and losing money at casinos at a record pace. Figures released Wednesday show the U.S. commercial casino industry had its best quarter ever, winning over $15 billion from gamblers in the third quarter of

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — For years, as Dusty Baker chased his first World Series title as a manager, the former big league outfielder would always say if he won one he’d like to win two. Baker will get a chance to do just that after he agreed to a one-year

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals acquired minor league infielder Jose Fermin from the Cleveland Guardians for cash considerations Wednesday and added him to their 40-man roster. The Cardinals also reinstated pitchers Alex Reyes and Drew VerHagen from the injured list. The 23-year-old Fermin hit .215 with six homers and 31 RBIs in

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have made Jacque Vaughn their head coach, promoting Steve Nash’s replacement instead of hiring suspended Boston coach Ime Udoka. Vaughn has gone 2-2 as acting coach since the Nets and Nash parted ways on Nov. 1. After moving on from Nash, the

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The worst division in the NFL gets a prime-time matchup when the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons meet for the second time in less than two weeks on Thursday night. Despite a losing record, the Falcons are in the mix for first place with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Guardians All-Star third baseman José Ramírez underwent thumb surgery to repair a ligament that he tore in June. Ramírez will need up to two months to recover from the surgery before he can resume baseball activities. The team expects him to be ready for the