Sports

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — UEFA’s newest competition will give several teams their first chance to play in the group stage of a European tournament. Lincoln Red Imps, Flora Tallinn and Alashkert are among the smallest in the 32-team field for the Europa Conference League and they all managed to avoid the biggest teams in the

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Cristiano Ronaldo is headed back to Manchester United. The English club says it has reached an agreement with Juventus for the transfer of the Portugal forward subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical examination. Ronaldo told Juventus on Thursday that he no longer wanted to play for

LONDON (AP) — The twice-postponed finals of the Billie Jean King Cup will be played in Prague. The International Tennis Federation says the competition will take place Nov. 1-6. It was originally scheduled to take place in Hungary in April 2020 but was postponed for 12 months when the coronavirus pandemic was declared. It was

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Steven Bergwijn has been recalled to the Netherlands squad for three World Cup qualifiers following his strong start to the Premier League season with Tottenham. The squad includes Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk for the first time since his comeback from a long-term knee injury. Bergwijn has been a prominent

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Red Bull driver Max Verstappen led the second practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. He was .041 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas and .072 clear of Bottas’ Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time defending Formula One champion. With three minutes left Verstappen lost the

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo Paralympics medalist Marcin Polak of Poland has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for doping. The International Cycling Union says Polak tested positive for the banned endurance-booster EPO. His sample was taken in Poland three weeks before the Tokyo Paralympics opened. Polak could be stripped of the bronze medal he won

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — There are 4,403 Paralympic athletes competing in Tokyo and each one has unique differences that have to be classified. Lines have to be drawn to group similar impairments or impairments that yield similar results in the quest for fairness. It’s a confusing maze. The Paralympics are

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer What does your dream college football road trip look like? Would you travel the whole country or stick to one region? Do you want to see the traditional powers, or explore some of the sport’s lesser-known venues? The AP’s version of college football’s ultimate season-long trip comes with only

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Coastal Carolina has a new challenge ahead after its breakthrough season a year ago in staying just as focused as it did in going 11-1 and finishing No. 14 nationally. The Chanticleers were picked last in the Sun Belt East Division in 2020 before starting

By The Associated Press The White Sox open a three-game home series against the crosstown rival Cubs three weeks after sweeping a set at Wrigley Field. The AL Central-leading White Sox haven’t won a season series against the Cubs since going 3-1 in 2014 and haven’t swept the Windy City showdown since interleague play was

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer Kaillie Humphries is the reigning women’s bobsled world champion and would be the gold-medal favorite in two events at the Beijing Olympics this winter. But she is in serious jeopardy of not being able to compete at those games because her U.S. citizenship is not completed. She has asked

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans was in a good mood after practice, for good reason. The first-year play-caller has his two most dangerous edge rushers back on the field with Nick Bosa and Dee Ford taking part in team drills this

By CHRIS TALBOTT Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Salvador Perez hit his fourth career grand slam and the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4. Perez’s 35th home run fueled a five-run sixth inning during which the team batted around and helped the Royals snap the Mariners’ three-game winning streak. It was the catcher’s

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the ninth inning, Giancarlo Stanton homered for the third consecutive game and the New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 for their 12th straight victory and longest winning streak in nearly 60 years. Aroldis

NEW YORK (AP) — Noah Syndergaard threw 16 pitches Thursday night in a rehab start for High-A Brooklyn, the first outing in months for the New York Mets’ right-hander following a setback during his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Syndergaard gave up a leadoff homer, the only hit he allowed in one inning against the

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Max Scherzer pitched 7 2/3 dominant innings to win his eighth straight decision, Austin Barnes hit a two-run home run off Yu Darvish and the surging Los Angeles Dodgers beat the plunging San Diego Padres 4-0 for a three-game sweep. Scherzer allowed only two hits,

By JOHN DUERDEN Associated Press China may be one of soccer’s biggest underachievers but it’s national team is the envy of Asia in terms of preparation for the 2022 World Cup. Serious resources are being poured into qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Qatar. The squad is prepared to set up an international base