Sports

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer No. 24 Mississippi State is promoting defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to head coach to replace Mike Leach, who died suddenly of a heart condition earlier this week. Mississippi State was working to finalize a four-year contract with the 36-year-old Arnett, a person with knowledge of the decision

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has hired Chip Lindsey from Central Florida as its new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The school announced the hiring Thursday. That comes a week after Phil Longo said he would leave the Tar Heels to join the staff at Wisconsin along with offensive line coach Jack Bicknell

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — World Cup history is beckoning for France, star player Kylian Mbappé and coach Didier Deschamps. When France walks on the field Sunday for the tournament final against Argentina and Lionel Messi, soccer lore is waiting to be written for the team. Les Bleus could be

By The Associated Press No. 23 Troy and No. 22 UTSA help kick off the college bowl season, meeting in the Cure Bowl — the lone FBS postseason matchup featuring teams that won conference championships this year. The Trojans and Roadrunners have both rattled off 10 consecutive wins after losing two of three games to

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will be the next president of the NCAA, stepping in to lead an organization with diminished power amid sweeping change across college sports. The NCAA announced Thursday that Baker will replace Mark Emmert as the head of the largest college sports governing body

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eight-time All-Star and two-time MVP Stephen Curry is expected to undergo an MRI on Thursday after injuring his left shoulder in a 125-119 loss at Indiana. Coach Steve Kerr said trainers informed him midway through the fourth quarter that Curry couldn’t return to the game. Curry

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid has reached a deal to sign young Brazilian sensation Endrick from Palmeiras. The 16-year-old forward will join Madrid when he turns 18. Endrick will continue with Brazilian club Palmeiras until then. Financial details were not immediately released but Brazilian media say the deal is worth nearly 60 million euros. Endrick

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The burly, bearded men belting out holiday classics have made the night before Christmas more than just a time this year to watch the Philadelphia Eagles try and slay the competition. Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce and Jordan Mailata — with a little assist from some melodic

LONDON (AP) — German tennis legend Boris Becker has returned to Germany after serving eight months in prison in Britain, his lawyer said Thursday. The 55-year-old German, who has lived in Britain since 2012, was released on Thursday morning and traveled back to Germany shortly thereafter. Becker “has thus served his sentence and is not

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has awarded through its Inspire Change social justice initiative five new national grants to organizations focused on police and community relations. The recipients were announced Thursday as the league will highlight its commitment to social justice over the next two weeks with each team participating in game-day stadium activations

PARIS (AP) — French authorities say a suspect driving a car in the southern French city of Montpellier “violently hit” and killed a teenage boy as crowds celebrated France’s victory in the World Cup semifinal. The vehicle was found nearby but the driver fled the scene. Police are trying to locate the suspect and have

LONDON (AP) — German tennis legend Boris Becker has been freed from prison after serving eight months of his sentence and now faces deportation from the U.K. The 55-year-old German, who has lived in Britain since 2012, was released on Thursday morning ahead of his deportation, the British news agency Press Association reported, without citing

LONDON (AP) — Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal have been honored by the International Tennis Federation as its 2022 ITF World Champions after each claimed two Grand Slam titles this season. The ITF determines its awards based on criteria that include all tournaments and give special weight to the four major championships and two team

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — A cold virus has run through the France squad though coach Didier Deschamps expects all his players to be healthy for the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday. Defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot were isolated this week and rested for the 2-0 win over Morocco in the semifinals.

SELVA DI VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) — A double world champion two seasons ago. The winner in Wengen last winter. Now Vincent Kriechmayr has added victory in the classic Val Gardena downhill to his growing list of career accomplishments. The Austrian edged defending overall World Cup champion Marco Odermatt by 0.11 seconds on a shortened

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Morocco made history, but couldn’t make it past Kylian Mbappé and France. The first African country to reach the semifinals of the World Cup was eventually beaten by defending champions France, losing 2-0 at Al Bayt Stadium. There is still the chance to win the