Sports

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — There’s no contest between Brazil and Croatia in terms of pupulation. Brazil has 200 million and Croatia has 4 million. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić put it this way: “So we are pretty much like a suburb of a major city in Brazil.” But Croatia has

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Wilfried Nancy has been hired to coach Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, replacing Caleb Porter. Nancy was born in France and spent the last two seasons as coach of CF Montreal, which agreed to release Nancy and some of his assistants in exchange for compensation. Montreal had a team-best 20 wins,

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister has defended the controversial decision to pay high bonuses to the national soccer team for its World Cup performance amid high inflation and hardship in the country. Mateusz Morawieck said that the players should be rewarded for advancing from their group. It was Poland’s best result in 36

By The Associated Press The final PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament of the year is the QBE Shootout and it has players from three main tours in America. The 12 two-player teams include Steve Stricker from the PGA Tour Champions. Also playing are Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson from the LPGA Tour. The previous winners are Kevin

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer Kyrie Irving’s relationship with Nike is officially over. The announcement from the shoe and athletic apparel maker came a month after the company suspended the Brooklyn Nets guard as part of the fallout from him tweeting a link to a film containing antisemitic material. It was not a surprise

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — South Korea lost in the round of 16 of the World Cup and then lost its coach. The team was beaten by five-time champion Brazil 4-1 on Monday. South Korea coach Paulo Bento announced after the match that he was stepping down to end his

LONDON (AP) — The Hopman Cup tennis competition that pairs one woman and one man from each participating country will return next year and be played in Nice, France. The International Tennis Federation announced Tuesday that the matches will be held on July 19-23. The Nice Lawn Tennis Club will be the site for the

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are scheduled to play each other in an exhibition match in Las Vegas on March 5. Nadal owns a men’s-record 22 Grand Slam titles, including two in 2022 at the Australian Open in January and French Open in June. Alcaraz claimed his first major trophy at

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The joy and the dancing are back for five-time champion Brazil at the World Cup. Their big win Monday night over South Korea secured Brazil a place in the quarterfinals in Qatar. It also restored the team’s confidence after a tumultuous start in which it

LONDON (AP) — England coach Eddie Jones has been fired less than a year out from the Rugby World Cup. Jones took charge of England after 2015 World Cup. He led England to the final of the tournament in 2019 and won three Six Nations titles in his seven years in charge. But a poor

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Paulo Dybala posted a photo of himself on Instagram laughing along with his Argentina teammate Lionel Messi, with the accompanying words: “We carry on with a smile! Let’s go.” Argentina might be getting ever closer to a place in the World Cup final but, on

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Kevin Willard believed his new Maryland team would get off to a good start. But this has been a bit more than even Willard expected early in his tenure after a successful run at Seton Hall. “I didn’t envision this,” Willard said. “I’m not going to lie.” The Terrapins

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Cameroon soccer federation president and former star player Samuel Eto’o was filmed apparently kicking a man to the ground in an altercation outside a World Cup stadium early Tuesday. Eto’o had paused to pose for photos with fans near Stadium 974 after Brazil beat South

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Neymar scored a goal in his return from injury and Brazil beat South Korea 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Neymar converted a first-half penalty for his 76th goal with Brazil and move one shy of Pelé all-time scoring record with

By JOHN DUERDEN Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Saudi Arabia had plenty to celebrate just hours continental soccer rivals Japan and South Korea endured painful second-round exits from the World Cup in Qatar. The All India Football Federation’s decision to pull out of the race to host the 2027 Asian Cup left Saudi

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Elias Pettersson scored 13 seconds into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-6. Ilya Mikheyev scored two goals, Andrei Kuzmenko had a goal and an assist, and Conor Garland, Bo Horvat and Jack Studnicka also scored for the Canucks. Pettersson also had two assists. Spencer

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press TAMPA, Fla, (AP) — The New Orleans Saints were five minutes away from moving within one-half game of NFC South-leading Tampa Bay when the bottom fell out of the game, and most likely the season. Tom Brady threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final three minutes as the

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals television announcer Dan McLaughlin has been charged as a persistent offender of driving while intoxicated. He was charged Monday, a day after he was arrested in suburban St. Louis. Bond was set at $25,000, the Creve Coeur Police Department said. The 48-year-old McLaughlin has been a Cardinals broadcaster