Sports

By GAVIN GOOD Associated Press Bret Bielema suddenly has No. 24 Illinois looking like a Big Ten West contender in his second year since replacing Lovie Smith as the Illini’s coach. They’re ranked for the first time since 2011. They beat Iowa and Wisconsin in the same season for the first time since 1989, and

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota coach Lindsay Whalen recently asked her players to raise their hand if they played last season with a teammate next to them. Nobody did. That’s because the Gophers only have three players back from 2021-22. The good news in Whalen’s fifth year running the program

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to practice Wednesday in a limited capacity. He will not play Sunday against the Vikings. Tagovailoa has been in the concussion protocol since Sept. 29 when he took a hit against the Cincinnati Bengals and had to be

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Quarterback Daniel Jones isn’t thinking about asking the New York Giants for a new contract despite having a good start to the season in what is a make-or-break year for him. The Giants didn’t pick up the fifth-year option on Jones’ rookie contract earlier

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott appeared at ease in addressing questions about the team’s most recent visit to Kansas City to play the Chiefs. It was an outcome dubbed as ’13 Seconds,’ representing how much time was left in regulation when Buffalo squandered a

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Keenan Allen returned to the Los Angeles Chargers’ practice field on Wednesday, raising optimism that the wide receiver might be able to return for Monday night’s game against the Denver Broncos. Allen has missed the past four games because of a hamstring injury he

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Iowa has had a first team All-American in three consecutive seasons, two for Luka Garza and one for Keegan Murray, raising the natural question about who the next star will be for the Hawkeyes and how quickly he can emerge. Kris Murray, predictably, has everyone who

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer Defensive players around the NFL are frustrated about roughing-the-passer penalties, questioning what constitutes a legal hit and wondering how far referees will go to protect quarterbacks. Two disputed calls in Week 5 — one involving Tom Brady — sparked outrage among players, coaches and fans, prompting many to

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Club Brugge has held Atlético Madrid to a 0-0 draw on the road to become only the second Belgian club to reach the round of 16 of the Champions League. The setback leaves Atlético in a difficult position to advance from Group B. Club Brugge moved

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Second-seeded Matteo Berrettini crashed out of the Firenze Open in the second round. Berrettini seemed on the verge of victory when the Italian went up 5-2 in the third set but Roberto Carballes Baena reeled off five games in a row to win 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-5 and silence the passionate

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tony Stewart says he isn’t talking about NASCAR while his team is still appealing $200,000 in fines and allegations that Stewart-Haas manipulated the finish of the last playoff race. Stewart-Haas did drop its appeal of earlier penalties against Kevin Harvick and his crew chief

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Barcelona was saved from Champions League elimination by Robert Lewandowski’s late goals. It was an instant classic at Camp Nou as Barcelona drew 3-3 with Inter Milan which is still favored to advance to the round of 16. Atlético Madrid is also on the brink of

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund says a 17-year-old player was racially abused by the opposition in two consecutive UEFA Youth League games against Sevilla. Dortmund says Guinean midfielder Abdoulaye Kamara faced racist abuse in a game in Spain last week and was then subjected to monkey chants on Tuesday in the return fixture in

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Alex Bowman will miss the next three NASCAR races with a concussion he suffered last month in a crash in NASCAR’s new Next Gen car. Bowman has already missed the past two races. He will miss this weekend at Las Vegas, then sit out at

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark described recent discussions with television partners ESPN and Fox as “meaningful” as the conference looks into the possibility of striking a media rights deal almost two years before the current contract expires. “So (the conference) is not a

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference is counting on a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament to set to the stage for the upcoming season. The league had just five teams make the tournament field, its lowest total since expanding to a 15-team league in 2013-14. But

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Robert Lewandowski has scored in stoppage time to keep Barcelona barely alive in the Champions League. Lewandowski’s last-gasp header helped the Catalan club salvage a 3-3 draw with Inter Milan after the visitors had taken the lead through Robin Gosens in the 89th. A loss would have meant elimination for Barcelona

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguin stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are ready to join some elite company. The trio will begin their 17th season as teammates when Pittsburgh opens play against Arizona. That will tie them with former New York Yankee stars Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera

PLZEŇ, Czech Republic (AP) — Leon Goretzka has scored twice as Bayern Munich clinched its spot in the Champions League knockout stage with a. 4-2 win at Czech champion Viktoria Plzeň. Sadio Mané and Thomas Müller also scored as Bayern wrapped up the result in the first half to ensure it will finish among the

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Two goals for Mehdi Taremi from the penalty spot and superb goalkeeping from Diogo Costa lifted Porto to a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. That strengthened the Portuguese team’s bid to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage and left Leverkusen last in Group B. It was Xabi Alonso’s first game