Sports

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer Two familiar faces from St. Louis’ run to the NL Central title last season aren’t around anymore as the Cardinals attempt to become the division’s first repeat champion in six years. The retirements of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols leave the Cardinals having to replace two likely Hall of

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — The National League East made a strong argument as the majors’ toughest division in 2022 and lines up as perhaps even better this season. The NL East boasted two 101-win teams — the Atlanta Braves, who won their fifth consecutive division title, and the New York

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer This could be the last time for Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout to play together with a chance to lead the Los Angeles Angels back to the playoffs. Ohtani has made it clear he wants to play for a winner. He is going into his sixth and final season

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer The Guardians were a surprising AL Central champion a year ago when one of the youngest clubs in baseball overtook the slumping Twins down the stretch. Now, they’ve added Josh Bell and Mike Zunino to a team that returns largely intact, and that makes them the favorites to win

By NOAH TRISTER AP Baseball Writer The days when the AL East was so easy to predict are long gone. From 1998-2003, the five AL East teams finished in the exact same order every season. The New York Yankees were dominant back then. The Boston Red Sox were contenders. Everyone else was left chasing those

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer There was a time earlier in her soccer career when Carson Pickett didn’t want to draw attention to her left arm or even talk about it. She just wanted to be like all the other players. Pickett has since become more comfortable with what makes her both unique

MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich has hired Thomas Tuchel as coach to replace Julian Nagelsmann after losing the lead of the German league. Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn blames “big fluctuations in performance” and said the squad wasn’t showing its true potential under Nagelsmann. Tuchel will take over training from Monday with a contract until

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer The NFL will consider significant changes to the kicking game, with the competition committee proposing that the league adopt the college rule that allows touchbacks on fair catches of kickoffs and moving the touchback spot on punts to the 25-yard line. NFL executive Troy Vincent says the competition

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — The Trevor Bauer era in Japan began Friday at an introductory news conference with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The 2020 Cy Young Award winner is in Japan on a one-year deal that could let him prove himself and return to Major League Baseball. He was

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine is out two to four weeks after straining a triceps muscle in practice. His absence is yet another blow to the NHL’s last-place team. The Blue Jackets have 454 man-games lost to injury. That’s one of the highest numbers in the league. Laine already missed

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Jurgen Klinsmann’s first game as coach of South Korea ended in a 2-2 draw with Colombia with Son Heung-min scoring two goals. It was South Korea’s first match since losing to Brazil in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar and Klinsmann’s first game since coaching the

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis de la Fuente will get his first test as Spain’s new coach when it hosts Norway in Malaga on Saturday to start their campaign to qualify for the 2024 European Championship. De la Fuente was promoted from Spain’s Under-21 team to replace Luis Enrique in

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Hideki Matsuyama has pulled out of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. That means Max Homa gets the day off and will advance as the winner of his group. Matsuyama is citing a neck injury for conceding the match against Homa. He was warming up on the range for about 20 minutes

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina leading scorer Gregory “GG” Jackson II says he’s entering the NBA draft after one season in college. The 6-foot-9 freshman started 29 of 32 games this season and averaged 15.4 points per contest. He also led the team with 26 blocks and 24 steals. The 18-year-old is projected to

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Kaori Sakamoto has fended off a challenge from South Korea’s Lee Hae-in to become the first Japanese woman to defend her title at the figure skating world championships. Sakamoto led after the short program and made only one mistake in the free skate at Saitama Super Arena when she singled a

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland coach Steve Clarke has extended his contract through the 2026 World Cup. The deal should make him the Tartan Army’s longest-serving coach in more than 20 years. The Scottish Football Association announced the deal ahead of European Championship qualifying games against Cyprus and Spain. Clarke led Scotland to Euro 2020

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich has praised Julian Nagelsmann as an “outstanding” coach amid reports he is set to be fired and replaced by Thomas Tuchel. Both Kicker magazine and German tabloid Bild reported Thursday that Bayern was ending Nagelsmann’s spell in charge following the team’s 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has renewed its push to keep Russian athletes out of the Olympics ahead of an International Olympic Committee board meeting next week which is expected to lay out the framework for their return to many international sports events. Ukraine’s sports minister Vadym Guttsait is sharply critical of the IOC’s push