AP National Sports

By HANK KURZ Jr, AP Sports Writer RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are the favorites as they battle for position to make NASCAR’s playoffs. In a season when there have already been 15 race winners, they are far from the lone contenders. Blaney is second in points, just 19 points

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Matt Ryan’s pass attempts were much like his Indianapolis Colts’ preseason debut. They were relatively short and efficient in a 27-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Tyler Bass hit a 46-yard field goal as time expired as Buffalo scored on three consecutive possessions in

By JEFF WALLNER Associated Press MASON, Ohio (AP) — Serena Williams plays Monday night at the Western & Southern Open in what is expected to be one of her final matches. It’s a big deal, even for a U.S. Open tuneup accustomed to hosting the world’s best players. Tournament CEO Katie Haas calls Williams “a

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — J.J. Spaun has a one-shot lead over Sepp Straka in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Will Zalatoris is two shots behind as he looks for his first PGA Tour title to match his No. 14 world ranking. But the name getting plenty of attention is

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin says he reached out to suspended All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. in a phone call. Melvin says Tatis told him he “feels remorseful.” Melvin did not reveal anything else about what he termed a “private conversation” with Tatis. The dynamic

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Teoscar Hernández hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning, Matt Chapman also connected and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Cleveland 2-1, halting the Guardians’ season-high winning streak at six. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his career-best hitting streak to 22 games with a double in the

MONTREAL (AP) — Eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland beat fourth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday in the National Bank Open semifinals. Hurkacz will face Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, a 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-2 winner over Britain’s Daniel Evans in the night semifinal. The 6-foot-5 Hurkacz had 18 aces and came

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Wyatt Kaiser and Carter Mazur each scored twice and the United States beat winless Austria 7-0 on Saturday to improve to 3-0 in group play in the world junior championship. Matt Coronato, Red Savage and Sasha Pastujov also scored for the defending champion Americans. Andrew Oke stopped 11 shots in the

TORONTO (AP) — Two-time champion Simona Halep of Romania advanced to the National Bank Open’s final, beating Jessica Pegula of the United States 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday. Halep will face Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, 6-4, 7-6 (7) winner over 14th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the night semifinal. The 15th-seeded Halep won

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Robert Lewandowski has endured a frustrating debut for Barcelona after Rayo Vallecano earned a scoreless draw at Camp Nou in their Spanish league opener. Lewandowski and his new teammates were kept well in check by Rayo. The modest Madrid-based club also proved dangerous on the break

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Jacoby Brissett has jumped ahead of Deshaun Watson on Cleveland’s depth chart. Maybe for a while. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Brissett will take the majority of snaps with Cleveland’s first-team offense starting Sunday. It’s a move necessitated by Watson’s pending suspension for violating the NFL’s

PARIS (AP) — Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain’s high-powered attack have put on another impressive display in a 5-2 win over Montpellier in the French league. Kylian Mbappe also opened his account but missed a penalty in his return from a groin injury. Neymar netted twice to take his tally to three goals in two league

MIAMI (AP) — Chadwick Tromp doubled twice, singled and drove in three runs in his first major league action of the season, leading the Atlanta Braves over the Miami Marlins 5-2 in the opening game of a doubleheader. Matt Olson homered and Ronald Acuña Jr. and Robbie Grossman had two hits each as the Braves

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier expects to be ready for opening day next year following season-ending left hip surgery. But what team the three-time Gold Glover will be with is yet to be determined. The 32-year-old Kiermaier is in the final season of

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 60 yards and a touchdown on Kansas City’s first possession, then watched as the Chiefs lost to the Chicago Bears 19-14 in the preseason opener. The game Saturday was the first for Chicago’s Matt Eberflus as a head coach. It also marked

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass during the Carolina Panthers’ 23-21 preseason-opening victory at the Washington Commanders to give him a highlight in the quarterback competition against Baker Mayfield. Darnold completed two of three passes for 16 yards. Mayfield was solid aside from a fumbled