Sports

By The Associated Press Illinois can start 3-1 for the first time since 2015 and is fresh off a bye week and a 24-3 win over Virginia. Chattanooga has outscored its first three opponents 110-34 and is ranked No. 9 in the FCS coaches poll as it visits Champaign for the first Thursday night game

By The Associated Press Two former Big East rivals with a long and tense rivalry will square off at Lane Stadium when West Virginia plays at Virginia Tech. The Mountaineers enter with one of the nation’s most potent offenses and will face one of the stingiest defenses and a highly charged crowd. The Hokies are

By BRANDON GDULA numberFire How likely are you to bench Green Bay’s Aaron Jones after a two-touchdown game? Not very. We can say that we need to scale back expectations against a tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive front, but let’s contextualize it for this week. Tampa Bay ranks well overall against the rush, but is

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentina’s government has entered the squabble between shop owners and the local manufacturers of popular but scarce World Cup sticker albums. Soccer fans in the South American nation have struggled to find the collectible stickers two months before the tournament kicks off in Qatar. Argentina’s trade department convened a meeting Tuesday

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer Training camps open around the NHL this week less than 90 days since Colorado won the Stanley Cup. Players are used to the short summers by now after the pandemic squeezed the past two offseasons. But this is the return to the normal calendar of meaningful hockey from October

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — This year’s World Cup apparently won’t be the end for Cristiano Ronaldo. The 37-year-old Portugal star says he is not considering retiring from international soccer in December after the tournament in Qatar. He says plans to play at the 2024 European Championship. Ronaldo says he is “still motivated” and that his

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer Robert Sarver says he has started the process of selling the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, a move that came barely a week after he was suspended by the NBA over workplace misconduct that included racist speech and hostile behavior toward employees. The decision was quickly applauded by many

JERUSALEM (AP) — The head of the International Olympic Committee has apologized for the organization’s longtime failure to commemorate 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian militants at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Thomas Bach spoke at a ceremony in Tel Aviv on Wednesday marking the 50th anniversary of the deadly attack. Bach said the Palestinian attack

By TRAVIS JOHNSON Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Through three games, freshman running back Nick Singleton has been the flashiest Penn State player on the field. Behind an offensive line that is playing more physical each week, the speedy Singleton has broken tackles and outrun defenders to give the No. 14 Nittany Lions

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk has been skating with the Florida Panthers for a few weeks. He’s already set for the season. The new forward starts his first training camp with the Panthers on Thursday. It’s also the start of the Paul Maurice era as coach in

The Browns aren’t communicating on defense. The Steelers aren’t connecting on offense. On Thursday night, the longtime rivals meet with each of them struggling early this season. Cleveland’s coming off an epic meltdown Sunday, when a collection of mistakes led to the Browns blowing a 13-point lead in the final two minutes in losing to

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Portuguese soccer federation says veteran central defender Pepe will not play for Portugal in the Nations League because of an injury. The federation says the decision was made after doctors evaluated Pepe following his arrival at the team’s training camp this week. It did not say what his injury was.

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — Munich’s beer-swilling Oktoberfest is in full swing but Germany’s most successful soccer club is in no mood to party. Bayern Munich is in crisis after four consecutive Bundesliga games without a win. Doubt, uncertainty, disbelief and anger have all been evident at the club since Bavarian

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany will be without captain Manual Neuer and midfielder Leon Goretzka against Hungary and England due to positive coronavirus tests. The German soccer federation says both Bayern Munich players were isolated after the positive results and have since left the team hotel in Gravenbruch, near Frankfurt. They will miss the Nations

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer SYDNEY (AP) — Brittney Griner’s absence is weighing on the minds of her USA Basketball teammates, who are trying to fill the void created by her absence as they prepare for the FIBA World Cup that begins Thursday in Australia. The Americans are expected to win without the 6-foot-8

PARIS (AP) — Paris Olympic organizers have appointed prize-winning French stage director Thomas Jolly to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2024 Games and the Paralympics. The 40-year-old Jolly will be tasked with bringing to life Paris’ ambitious plan to hold the opening ceremony in the French capital’s city center. Organizers hope to

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Koke Resurrección and his Atlético Madrid teammates are feeling right at home in Spain’s setup. Koke, Marcos Llorente and Álvaro Morata are used to not thinking too far ahead as Atlético coach Diego Simeone is an avid proponent of the match-by-match attitude. Spain coach Luis Enrique