AP National Sports

By TRAVIS JOHNSON Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford is feeling good ahead of tenth-ranked Penn State’s game against No. 4 Michigan this weekend. The Nittany Lions are coming off of a bye week, and Clifford was able to relax and prepared. The Wolverines currently have the country’s fifth-best

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says winger Luis Diaz will be out for up to two months and right back Trent Alexander-Arnold could be missing for two weeks. Both players were hurt in the first half of Liverpool’s 3-2 loss at Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. Diaz injured his left

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jack Nicklaus is curious to see how the rich, new PGA Tour schedule goes next year. Nicklaus has The Memorial. That’s one of the elevated events that will offer a $20 million purse. He also is involved as a charitable beneficiary at the Honda Classic.

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — No. 4 Clemson is finally getting healthy on defense. That should be a major problem for the Tigers’ opponents the second half of the season. Injured defensive end Xavier Thomas played for the first time this season last week and had two sacks and a

HAIFA, Israel (AP) — Juventus descended further into crisis and was left on the verge of elimination from the Champions League following a 2-0 loss at Maccabi Haifa that also included an injury to key winger Ángel Di María. Omer Atzili scored two first-half goals as Haifa earned its first Champions League win in two

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Manchester City juggernaut has ground to a halt in the unlikeliest of places. Danish struggler FC Copenhagen became the first team to stop City from scoring this season as a Champions League group match overshadowed by early video-review decisions ended in a 0-0 draw. One of those VAR calls resulted

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns acknowledged the trade of four-time All-Star closer Josh Hader affected the team more than he expected at the time he made the deal. The Brewers were 57-45 and owned a three-game lead in the NL Central on Aug.

PARIS (AP) — Less than six months after Kylian Mbappé extended his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, the French star is reportedly looking for a way out. Mbappé had been close to joining Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer but finally agreed to stay at PSG for two more years with an option for

HAIFA, Israel (AP) — Argentina has another injury concern ahead of the World Cup after Ángel Di María exited Juventus’ Champions League game at Maccabi Haifa. Di María was running for a ball in the first half when he pulled up grasping the back of his right thigh and wincing in pain. It comes days

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Veteran closer Craig Kimbrel has been left off the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster for their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. Kimbrel was demoted from his closer’s role two weeks ago after struggling all season as the replacement for veteran Kenley Jansen,

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Astros reliever Phil Maton says he broke his right pinkie when he punched a locker in frustration after Houston’s regular-season finale and will miss the postseason. Maton had surgery Monday to repair the fractured finger on his pitching hand. The Astros announced earlier Tuesday that Maton

By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer Second-year coach Bret Bielema and his Illinois football team are achieving at a rate not seen in the program in a long time. A very long time in some cases. The No. 24 Illini (5-1, 2-1) are ranked for the first time since 2011, out to their best

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Seattle’s Luis Castillo will oppose Houston’s Framber Valdez in Game 2 of the AL Division Series. It’ll be Castillo’s second start of the postseason. He won Game 1 of Seattle’s wild-card series against Toronto and allowed six hits and struck out five in 7 1/3 shutout

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets say All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball will have an MRI on his injured left ankle. Ball left the Hornets’ last game with what the team called a left ankle sprain after his foot was stepped on by Washington’s Anthony Gill as he

By JOHN COON Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Jazz front office has hit the reset button and dismantled the roster following another first-round exit from the NBA playoffs. Quin Snyder stepped down as head coach after eight seasons. Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Royce O’Neale were traded as Utah

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — From the outside looking in, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for a Houston Rockets team that finished with the NBA’s worst record for the past two seasons. But inside the organization optimism abounds as those last-place finishes have allowed

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An uptick in national prominence for programs at historically Black colleges and universities has caught the eyes of NFL evaluators. During the 1960s, the Kansas City Chiefs realized quicker than any team in the AFL or NFL that players coming out of HBCUs were

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Merritt Paulson has removed himself as chief operating officer of the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League. Paulson’s move comes in the wake of an investigation that found abusive behavior, misconduct and administrative failure

By The Associated Press Golf goes overseas this week except for two main tours. The PGA Tour returns to Japan for the Zozo Championship. LIV Golf heads to Saudi Arabia. The European tour is in Spain for another week. The two domestic events are the SAS Championship in North Carolina on the PGA Tour Champions.

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros have left veteran relievers Will Smith and Phil Maton off their roster for the American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners. Smith was a trade-deadline acquisition and had a 3.27 ERA in 24 appearances for Houston this season. Maton had a 3.84