Sports

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer The Washington Commanders started slow and heated up in the third season with Ron Rivera in charge of the team’s football operations. It’s a familiar script for the veteran NFL coach. The Commanders are 7-5-1 at their bye week and very much in the mix for a playoff spot.

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer Longtime sports executive Tracy Marek will take over as the head of U.S. Figure Skating in January, becoming the first female chief executive in the 101-year history of the national governing body. The organization announced Marek’s hiring in a statement Thursday, the same day that one of the strongest

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams is The Associated Press college football player of the year, becoming the school’s first winner of the award since 2005 with his stellar debut season for the Trojans. Williams received 32 of the 46 first-place votes and 117 total points

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer IndyCar has landed its own “Drive to Survive” type docudrama that will showcase the buildup to next year’s Indianapolis 500. The six-part “100 Days to Indy” will air on The CW Network next spring and chronicle the 100-day window ahead of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on May

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A University of Virginia student accused of fatally shooting three UVA football players and wounding two other students has made his first in-person appearance in court. Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was led into a hearing wearing handcuffs, leg irons and a striped jail jumpsuit on Thursday. He sat quietly as his

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trea Turner’s $300 million, 11-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies was finalized after the All-Star shortstop passed his physical. Turner gets salaries of $27,272,727 in each of the next 10 seasons and $27,272,730 in 2033. Turner joins a Philadelphia team that made it to the World

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Western Michigan has hired Louisville offensive coordinator Lance Taylor to lead its football program. Athletic director Dan Bartholomae made the announcement Thursday. The 41-year-old Taylor coached running backs for three seasons each at Notre Dame and Stanford. He was also an assistant at Appalachian State and with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers

By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida quarterback Jack Miller will make his first collegiate start when the Gators play 17th-ranked Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Miller transferred from Ohio State last December. Coach Billy Napier’s quarterback shuffle comes three days after standout Anthony Richardson left the school early

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Louis van Gaal is revitalized at the World Cup and might not be ready to call time on his coaching career just yet. The 71-year-old Van Gaal came out of retirement last year to take charge of the Netherlands for a third time and has

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee senior center Tamari Key will miss the rest of this season because of blood clots in her lungs. Coach Kellie Harper said Thursday that doctors found the issue during testing. Key missed the first game of her career in a win Tuesday night over Chattanooga. She is expected to make

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar is investigating the death of a migrant worker who reportedly was killed while doing repairs at a resort that had served as the Saudi team’s training base during the World Cup. Nasser Al Khater, the head of Qatar’s organizing committee for the World Cup, expressed his condolences to the family

By ERIC TUCKER, MATTHEW LEE and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a high-profile prisoner exchange as the U.S. released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. But the U.S. failed to win freedom for another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Luis Enrique has been replaced by Luis de la Fuente as Spain’s coach after the national team was eliminated in the round of 16 at the World Cup. The announcement on Thursday comes two days after Spain lost to Morocco 3-0 in a penalty shootout