Sports

MILTON KEYNES, England (AP) — Red Bull has terminated the contract of Formula One test and reserve driver Jüri Vips on Tuesday for using a racial slur during an online gaming stream. The 21-year-old Estonian was suspended by Red Bull last week pending an investigation into the language he used. Vips had apologized for his

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges has been placed on the 7-day injured list with a concussion. That forced the team to acquire veteran Sandy León in a trade with Cincinnati. Cleveland made the deal and several other roster moves before a day-night doubleheader against Minnesota. Hedges took a foul tip off his

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer A person with direct knowledge of the decision says Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook is exercising his option to play for $47.1 million next season. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither Westbrook nor the Lakers revealed the decision publicly. ESPN first

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference is going forward with a plan to change its football scheduling model, with the biggest change being the elimination of divisions. The new plan, adopted by the league’s athletic directors and faculty athletic representatives on Tuesday, will be what the league calls a 3-5-5 model and goes

MONACO (AP) — French league club Monaco has signed attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino on a four-year deal from Liverpool. The 27-year-old Japan international scored 14 goals in 55 games overall for Liverpool after joining from Red Bull Salzburg. Minamino won three trophies at Liverpool including the Premier League title in 2020 and both domestic cups

By CHRIS LEHOURITES AP Sports Writer WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Top-seeded Iga Swiatek has won her opening match on Centre Court at Wimbledon. She beat Croatian qualifier Jana Fett 6-0, 6-3. The victory was Swiatek’s 36th in row and included all seven matches she played at this year’s French Open in winning her second title

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer The Saudi-backed LIV Golf wants to get Official World Golf Ranking points for its series. There could be a few hurdles when it applies to join the system. Assuming the application is received in the next two weeks, the OWGR governing board and the technical committee will be meeting

By CHRIS LEHOURITES AP Sports Writer WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Top-seeded Iga Swiatek has won her opening match on Centre Court at Wimbledon. She beat Croatian qualifier Jana Fett 6-0, 6-3. The victory was Swiatek’s 36th in row and included all seven matches she played at this year’s French Open in winning her second title

MADRID (AP) — Mexican-based holding company Orlegi has acquired a majority stake of second-division Spanish club Sporting Gijón. The Mexican group is taking over from the Fernández family. The family had been in control of Sporting Gijón for the last three decades. The financial details of the purchase were not immediately disclosed. Orlegi already owns

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer PARIS (AP) — Formula One great Lewis Hamilton says “archaic mindsets” have to change after retired champion Nelson Piquet champion reportedly used a racial slur against him. Hamilton’s comments came after F1 and FIA condemned racist language. Hamilton says “these are archaic mindsets need to change and have

PARIS (AP) — Formula One has condemned racist language after a slur reportedly directed at Lewis Hamilton by retired champion Nelson Piquet. Piquet was discussing a crash between Hamilton and Max Verstappen during last year’s British Grand Prix when he referenced the color of Hamilton’s skin with a discriminatory term during a podcast in November.

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini has pulled out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. The All England Club announced Berrettini’s withdrawal and he wrote about it on Instagram. The eighth-seeded Italian was supposed to play Cristian Garín in the first

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Swiss sprinter Alex Wilson has been banned for four years after an anti-doping tribunal judged he intentionally used an anabolic steroid. Wilson’s case flared at the Tokyo Olympics last July. Court of Arbitration for Sport judges reinstated Wilson’s provisional suspension days before he was due to compete in the men’s 100

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The daughter of a Vatican employee will represent “the pope’s team” by competing in the half marathon at the Mediterranean Games in Algeria on Friday. It will mark the biggest event yet for Vatican Athletics representing the Holy See’s longstanding promotion of sport as an instrument of dialogue, peace and solidarity.