Sports

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

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Sevilla, Villarreal and Valencia are demanding an apology from the president of the Spanish soccer federation after he allegedly said in leaked text messages that those clubs are his least favorite. The alleged messages sent by Luis Rubiales were revealed Tuesday by the newspaper El Confidencial.

The Associated Press Hockey Canada has ousted CEO Scott Smith. Its board of directors has also resigned over a series of scandals that have rocked the sport’s national federation to its core. Smith spent nearly three decades climbing the ladder at Hockey Canada and lasted just three months at the top. The organization is dealing

By The Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies reliever David Robertson will miss the NL Division Series after injuring his right calf jumping to celebrate Bryce Harper’s home run in their clinching wild-card victory at St. Louis. The Phillies left Robertson off the roster for their NLDS opener at Atlanta on Tuesday. The defending

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Former batting champion DJ LeMahieu was left off the New York Yankees’ American League Division Series roster against Cleveland. He was unable to overcome a toe injury that slowed him late in the season. Reliever Scott Effross, rookie infielder Oswald Peraza and outfielder Andrew Benintendi

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams could face a possible suspension or fine for shoving a photographer to the ground as he ran off the field following a loss at Kansas City. A person familiar with the process tells The Associated Press that the NFL is reviewing Adams’

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Barcelona needs to switch back into high gear. The Catalan club got off to a strong start this season but has begun to struggle just before crucial matches against Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday and Real Madrid in the Spanish league on Sunday.

AUXERRE, France (AP) — Auxerre coach Jean-Marc Furlan says he has been fired by the French league club after he gave opposing fans the middle finger during a match. Furlan has told local newspaper L’Yonne Républicaine, the club has suspended him for 10 days. But he adds officials are using his inappropriate gesture as a

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The NFL did not give officials a directive to emphasize roughing-the-passer penalties following Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion, but the topic will be discussed next week when NFL owners meet in New York, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press. The person, speaking

BREST, France (AP) — French league club Brest has fired its coach following another defeat. Michel Der Zakarian was sacked for leading last-placed Brest to just one win and six points in 10 rounds. Brest says Der Zakarian’s deputies have also been suspende. Der Zakarian was appointed as coach in June 2021 after he left