Sports

LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — Elisa Balsamo has upset the Dutch favorites in a sprint finish to claim the world championship title in the women’s road race. Track specialist Balsamo launched the sprint with hot favorite Marianne Vos in her wheel. Triple world champion Vos pushed hard to catch Balsamo but could not match her speed

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid’s attack stalled and the team’s five-match winning streak came to an end with a 0-0 draw against Villarreal at home in the Spanish league. It was the first time this season Madrid was held scoreless after outscoring opponents 22-8 in its first seven matches

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has missed an injury-time penalty as teammate Cristiano Ronaldo looked on in a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Villa defender Kortney Hause was the hero for the visitors after he flicked a header into the net off a corner in the 88th minute

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — Manchester City broke its run of losses to Chelsea by handing its Premier League title rival a first defeat of the season thanks to Gabriel Jesus’ deflected goal in a 1-0 win. In the latest match to highlight City’s need for a striker, Pep Guardiola’s team

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AP) — There will be a first-time title winner at the Astana Open after two players who had never reached a tour final won their semifinal matches. James Duckworth of Australia will play South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo for the title Sunday in the capital of Kazakhstan. Duckworth won 6-3, 7-6(4) against eighth-seeded Ilya

PERTH, Australia (AP) — The Melbourne Demons have kicked 12 straight goals in the third and fourth quarters to beat the Western Bulldogs by 74 points and end a 57-year title drought in Australian rules football. The Demons beat the Bulldogs 21.14 (140) to 10.6 (66) in the Australian Football League championship match played in

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — French official Luc Tardif has been elected president of the International Ice Hockey Federation ahead of the return of NHL players to the Olympics in February. Tardif has beaten German candidate Franz Reindl by 67 votes to 39 in the fourth round of the election. Tardif has been president of

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Lando Norris has taken pole position for the first time in a rain-hit qualifying session for the Russian Grand Prix after timing his final fast lap to perfection on a drying track. The McLaren driver set the pace with a time of 1 minute, 41.993 seconds in the dying seconds of

By The Associated Press The surging Cardinals will try for a franchise-record 15th consecutive win in a game at Wrigley Field. St. Louis swept a doubleheader against the Cubs on Friday, equaling a 14-game run set in July 1935. The winning streak has rocketed the Cardinals into control of the second NL wild card, leading

By JIM LITKE AP Sports Writer SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Ryder Cup squad zoomed out to its biggest opening-day lead since 1975, pummeling defending champion Europe in both the foursomes and fourball matches to build a 6-2 cushion. Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffle won two matches and all six rookies on captain Steve

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ty France homered, Jake Fraley scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error and the streaking Seattle Mariners held off the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 to keep pace in the AL wild-card chase. Clinging to a one-run lead in the ninth inning, the Mariners made

By JOSH DUBOW AP Sports Writer FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Jake Haener threw four of his five touchdown passes in the second half to help No. 22 Fresno State rally from a 12-point deficit and beat winless UNLV 38-30. The Bulldogs started slow in their return to the AP poll for the first time since

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Frankie Montas pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and became the first Oakland pitcher in 20 years to reach 200 strikeouts in a season, helping the Athletics pound the Houston Astros 14-2 to support their slim playoff hopes. Starling Marte had four hits and four RBIs

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — AJ Pollock hit a two-run homer, Chris Taylor robbed a pair of potential extra-base hits on defense in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers kept pace in the NL West race by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2. The Dodgers are still one game back

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Rookie Christian Eckes held off teammate Ben Rhodes and crossed the finish line under a caution flag for his first career win in the NASCAR Trucks Series at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In addition to Eckes and Rhodes, their Thorsport Racing teammates Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter finished third and

CINCINNATI (AP) — Aristides Aquino drove in TJ Friedl from second base with a game-ending single off the glove of second baseman Luis Garcia, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals 8-7 in 11 innings. Despite the victory, the Reds fell further behind St. Louis in the race for the second NL wild card

By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Sam Hartman threw three touchdown passes and Wake Forest scored on its first seven possessions in a 37-17 victory against Virginia. The Demon Deacons won their fifth in a row against the Cavaliers as Hartman connected on scoring throws of 39 yards to Taylor

By RICH ROVITO Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers hit three home runs and Eric Lauer turned in a much-needed strong outing in a 5-1 win over the New York Mets. Kolten Wong, Willy Adames and Christian Yelich all homered for the Brewers, who reduced their magic number to two for wrapping up