Sports

By The Associated Press Top-ranked Georgia has blown out its first three opponents, and more of the same is expected Saturday when the Bulldogs host Kent State. The Golden Flashes are 44 1/2-point underdogs as they prepare to face a ranked team for the third time in their first four games. They already lost to

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former director of Mississippi’s welfare agency pleaded guilty Thursday to federal and state charges in a conspiracy to misspend tens of millions of dollars that were intended to help needy families in one of the poorest states in the U.S. — part of the

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers have been through exactly one day of practice. Preseason games start next week. Though the grind is just beginning, new coach Paul Maurice is in playoff mode. He set expectations of winning a Stanley Cup. Thursday’s practice was his official debut,

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers are looking for their first takeaway and first win Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. History suggests quarterback Jameis Winston could help them solve both issues. Winston has struggled mightily throughout his career versus the Panthers. He’s 4-6 in 10 appearances vs.

Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Colorado Rockies infielder Brendan Rodgers has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The team called up infielder Ezequiel Tovar from Triple-A Albuquerque. The move with Rodgers was retroactive to Monday. He left Sunday’s game at the Chicago Cubs early due to tightness in the

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Cruzeiro has made it back into the country’s top soccer league less than year after former Brazil great Ronaldo got involved with the club. The Brazilian team clinched a top-four spot in the second division on Wednesday by beating Vasco da Gama 3-0 at the

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska athletic department has set the stage for a massive renovation of Memorial Stadium that it said will make the venue more fan friendly for decades to come. University leaders also announced a new multimedia rights deal that would bring in more than $300

LONDON (AP) — A former professional tennis player-turned-coach from Chile has received a lifetime ban from the sport for a record-high number of match-fixing offenses. The International Tennis Integrity Agency says Sebastián Rivera was found guilty of 64 match-fixing offenses. It says that is “the highest number ever detected for a player by the ITIA.”

By The Associated Press BYU and Wyoming are meeting for the first time since the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl. The Cougars are looking to bounce back from a tough 41-20 loss at Oregon. The Cowboys come to Provo with a three-game winning streak after edging Air Force 17-14 to open Mountain West Conference play. BYU and

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators have brought back former goaltender Pekka Rinne in a new role as a special alumni advisor. General manager David Poile announced the move. Rinne is the only player in franchise history whose number has been retired. He was Finland’s goaltending coach on its run to the 2022 World

By The Associated Press Gregg Berhalter’s U.S. roster as the World Cup approaches is as notable for its absences as for those set to play in Friday’s warmup against Japan at Düsseldorf, Germany. Tim Weah, Yunus Musah, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Zack Steffen are out with injuries for both the Japan game and Tuesday’s

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — All the Stanley Cup parties and parades are over for the Colorado Avalanche. Training camp has arrived. Winning consecutive titles is difficult. In the salary cap era that began in 2005, the only teams to repeat have been Tampa Bay (’20, ’21) and Pittsburgh (’16, ’17).

By The Associated Press Ranked for the first time this season, No. 18 Washington closes out a four-game homestand against Stanford on Saturday. It’s the Pac-12 opener for the Huskies, who have seen their expectations change drastically after last week’s impressive 39-28 win over Michigan State. Washington is now expected to be a contender in

By The Associated Press Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers meet for only the fifth time as starting quarterbacks when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. It’s the first matchup between the premier quarterbacks since the Bucs beat the Packers in the NFC championship game on the way to winning the

By The Associated Press Tulsa (2-1) at No. 16 Ole Miss (3-0), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (SEC Network) Line: Ole Miss by 21 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Series record: Tulsa leads 3-0. WHAT’S AT STAKE? Ole Miss is trying to keep its considerable momentum before heading into the Southeastern Conference opener with No. 8

By The Associated Press Two of the best teams in the Pac-12 open the conference season against each other Saturday. No. 15 Oregon, which beat No. 12 BYU last weekend, is looking to continue its surge after an opening loss at No. 1 Georgia. Undefeated Washington State (3-0) looks to knock off a second ranked

By The Associated Press The Ravens fell apart late in a loss to Miami last week, spoiling another big day by quarterback Lamar Jackson. Baltimore will look to bounce back with a trip to New England, where the Patriots have won three of the past four meetings. New England has a 9-2 overall edge in

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amazon Prime Video’s first regular-season game as the exclusive home of “Thursday Night Football” averaged 15.3 million viewers across all platforms according to Nielsen and Amazon’s first party measurement. Kansas City’s 27-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers last Thursday averaged 13.0 million using only

By The Associated Press The Utah Utes and Arizona State Sun Devils both enter conference play in vastly different situations. Utah is coming off two lopsided wins and is expected to be among the Pac-12′s elite this season. Arizona State is coming off an embarrassing loss to Eastern Michigan and fired head coach Herm Edwards

By The Associated Press Lovie Smith makes another return to Soldier Field, and the Houston Texans try to pick up their first win when they visit the Chicago Bears. Smith led the Bears to an 81-63 record and a Super Bowl appearance from 2004-12. He is 0-2 against Chicago, with losses coaching Tampa Bay in