Sports

By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For two teams that finished second fiddle in their divisions, the Padres and Mets bring an awful lot of star power into the playoffs. Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Yu Darvish on the San Diego side. Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor for New

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson’s season debut was far from perfect. When it counted most, he was as impressive as the New York Jets needed him to be. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said the resilience of Wilson and the offense in the fourth-quarter comeback last

NEW YORK (AP) — Fans have watched more than 11.5 billion minutes of game action on MLB.TV during the regular season, a record for the streaming package and a 9.8% increase over last year. The five most-watched games on the streaming platform were from this season, including the Red Sox-Yankees opener on April 8. Overall,

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer Major League Baseball wasn’t able to coax fans to ballparks at pre-pandemic levels this season, though attendance did jump substantially from the COVID-19 affected campaign in 2021. The 30 MLB teams drew 64.6 million fans for the regular season that ended Wednesday, which is up from the 45.3 million

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Cooper Rush just keeps on winning as Dak Prescott’s injury replacement at quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Rush shrugs off his penchant for victories, saying QB wins are team wins. Rush is 3-0 this season after Prescott fractured his right thumb and 4-0 for

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mark Kotsay made a point to stay the course with a positive spirit in his first season managing the Oakland Athletics, setting an example for his young club by keeping his cool even as the losses piled up month after month. Even before starting the

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots placed quarterback Brian Hoyer on injured reserve Thursday because of a concussion, the latest blow to New England’s depth. The veteran was knocked out in the second quarter of the Patriots’ 27-24 overtime loss to Green Bay last week following a blind side hit by Rashan Gary. Hoyer was

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Victor Wembanyama and his French team Metropolitans 92 have gotten a split of their two-game exhibition series against the G League Ignite. Wembanyama is the presumed front-runner to be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The 7-foot-3 phenom followed up his 37-point

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels are going straight from another disappointing regular season into another incredibly uncertain offseason, only for a different reason than usual this time. Owner Arte Moreno put a “For Sale” sign on his franchise six weeks ago, saying he is strongly thinking

HUNTINGTON, Ind. (AP) — A northeastern Indiana university has placed its women’s cross country head coach and an assistant on leave after two former runners claimed in a federal lawsuit they were doped and sexually assaulted. Huntington University, a private, Christian liberal arts university, said Thursday it placed head coach Lauren Johnson and assistant coach

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer Major League Baseball’s postseason has a little more heft this season. The playoffs are here, with the first games played on Friday. The postseason begins with a field of 12 teams — up from last year’s 10 — and includes a best-of-three format for the opening wild-card round. The

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Scoring points hasn’t been an issue for the Detroit Lions this season, but it hasn’t translated into many victories. The New England Patriots are reeling for a different reason and could use a victory just as bad as the teams prepare to match up this

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — There’s a whole lot riding on Alek Manoah’s first career playoff start, but the Toronto Blue Jays All-Star right-hander isn’t the least bit fazed about facing the Seattle Mariners in Friday’s wild-card opener. Manoah went 16-7 with a 2.44 ERA in his second big league season, anchoring

LONDON (AP) — Manchester United overcame an early deficit to beat Omonia Nicosia 3-2 in the Europa League and begin the healing process after a humiliating derby loss in the Premier League. A second-half double from Marcus Rashford and another goal by fellow substitute Anthony Martial saw United turn the game around. Arsenal earned a

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins started fast this spring by becoming the surprise landing spot for star shortstop Carlos Correa. Their momentum lasted deep into the summer with 108 of 182 days spent in first place. They tumbled hard and finished 14 games behind AL Central champion Cleveland.

NEW YORK (AP) — Use of Major League Baseball’s injured list declined by 13% this season and time lost fell by 4%. There were 854 placements on the injured list through the end of the regular season on Wednesday. That was down from 983 placements in 2021, the first full season following a schedule curtailed

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Giants went from winning 107 games and making the playoffs last season to finishing .500 and not getting in this year. Manager Gabe Kapler believes the team didn’t have enough energy and effort. The team also dealt with injuries to ace Logan Webb. Webb

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — An appeals panel has reinstated the 25 points William Byron was docked by NASCAR for deliberately spinning championship rival Denny Hamlin. The three-person panel found that Byron did break a NASCAR rule for spinning Hamlin under caution. But Hendrick Motorsports had appealed the NASCAR

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — General manager Mike Rizzo knew this was going to be a tough season for the Washington Nationals. So did manager Dave Martinez. The players, too. Compound the Nationals’ 107 losses with the departure of star slugger Juan Soto via trade, the “mystery” of Stephen Strasburg’s future,