AP National Sports

VERONA, Italy (AP) — Former Italian and Russian league center back Salvatore Bocchetti has been handed his first senior-level head coaching job by Hellas Verona in Serie A. Bocchetti replaces Gabriele Cioffi after Cioffi was fired on Tuesday after four straight losses left the club in the relegation zone. Verona has just one win and

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A group of Manchester United supporters have complained to a local government in London after more than 600 fans had their tickets canceled for the upcoming Premier League match against Chelsea because of policing concerns. Fans learned last week of the decision to reduce the

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus says Argentina winger Ángel Di María will be out for “around 20 days” with an injured right hamstring which raises hope he can return in time for the World Cup. Juventus says tests revealed “a low-grade lesion to the hamstring of the right thigh.” The club adds “it will take

REIMS, France (AP) — French club Reims has fired coach Oscar Garcia. The club says the Spaniard failed to live up to expectations. Reims has earned only eight points from its opening 10 league games yet managed to hold leader Paris Saint-Germain to a goalless draw last week. Reims says Garcia was fired “in view

By The Associated Press The Seattle Mariners need a new plan for locking down October-tested Astros star Yordan Alvarez, because what they tried in Game 1 certainly didn’t work. Maybe ace Luis Castillo is the answer. They’ll find out when the teams play Game 2 of their AL Division Series on Thursday in Houston, with

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer A look at Week 7 n the Southeastern Conference: GAME OF THE WEEK No. 3 Alabama (6-3, 3-0 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (5-0, 2-0) Tennessee is looking to end a 15-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide and upend the SEC and national championship picture. The Vols lead

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer The College Football Playoff field of contenders could get smaller with top 20 matchups ahead in the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 and Southeastern conferences this weekend. In the Big Ten, No. 5 Michigan travels to No. 10 Penn State with both undefeateds hoping to keep pace with

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A goose on the loose caused a brief delay during the National League playoff game between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. The bird flew into Dodger Stadium and landed in shallow right field with two outs in the eighth inning Wednesday night.

By DENNIS PASSA AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A Melbourne-based immigration lawyer says Novak Djokovic will likely be successful if he applies for a visa to enter Australia for the season-opening tennis major next year despite his high-profile deportation in January. Djokovic has won nine Australian Open championships among his 21 major titles.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid had three goals and an assist and the Edmonton Oilers overcame an early 3-0 deficit to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Wednesday night. Leon Draisaitl added a goal and two assists and Darnell Nurse also scored for the Oilers in the opener for both teams. Jack Campbell made

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Max Duggan has certainly surprised new TCU coach Sonny Dykes, who has even gotten emotional talking about the fourth-year quarterback who went from losing his job to being one of nation’s most efficient passers. The coach’s feelings aren’t really about the impressive numbers Duggan

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints tight end Taysom Hill says he isn’t wondering whether he should get more plays at quarterback after running for three touchdowns and throwing for another in a victory over Seattle last weekend. Hill says he trusts the coaches to know when giving him the

By The Associated Press No. 7 Southern California faces one of its biggest tests of the season this weekend at No. 20 Utah. Lincoln Riley is the first USC coach to start his first season 6-0 since 1951, but the Utes have won 11 straight home games and have one of the Pac-12’s best defenses.

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Troy Terry scored his second goal 55 seconds into overtime and the Anaheim Ducks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Seattle Kraken 5-4 in the season opener for both teams. John Gibson made 44 saves and assisted on Terry’s winner. Ryan Strome had a

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Machado homered early and added an RBI double off Clayton Kershaw, and Jurickson Profar singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 to even their NL Division Series at a game apiece.

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin each scored two power-play goals, Mikko Rantanen had four assists and the fast-skating Colorado Avalanche began their Stanley Cup title defense with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Shortly after raising their newest banner to the rafters, the Avalanche went

By GEORGE HENRY AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — One night after scoring seven runs on 12 hits, the Philadelphia Phillies and their big bats went quiet in a 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves that evened their best-of-five NL Division Series at a game apiece. Kyle Schwarber, who led the National League with 46

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Ben Wooldridge threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns in his first start, and Louisiana-Lafayette scored 20 unanswered second-half points in beating Marshall 23-13, spoiling the Herd’s inaugural Sun Belt home contest. Michael Jefferson broke a pair of tackles over the middle and raced for a 32-yard touchdown to give ULL

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Offensive tackle and former five-star recruit Logan Brown has said via Twitter that he’s entering the transfer portal and leaving Wisconsin. Brown issued a tweet Wednesday thanking Wisconsin for the opportunity and saying, “I will be entering the transfer portal and will be continuing my academic and football career elsewhere.” Brown