AP National Sports

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Three wins from the title that has eluded the Netherlands, Louis van Gaal has filled his World Cup with hugs, kisses and dancing. Leading his nation for the third time at age 71, he is the tournament’s oldest coach. He also may be the most

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer The racial gap in graduation rates for this year’s bowl teams in college football has declined again, this time to the smallest difference in the history of a study examining the data. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida reported Wednesday that the overall

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs could have two important parts of their offense back with guard Joe Thuney and wide receiver Kadarius Toney returning to practice Wednesday ahead of their trip to Denver. Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that everyone would practice in their first

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The Los Angeles Rams can make history when Week 14 kicks off Thursday night. A loss to the Las Vegas Raiders would give the Rams 10 this season, tying the 1999 Denver Broncos for most by a defending Super Bowl champion. With plenty of games remaining, the Rams

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — 2 Chainz wants to capitalize off the NFL’s huge “Thursday Night Football” platform to feature some of the world’s most popular musical performers on Amazon Music’s new live concert series. The Grammy winner is the host of “Amazon Music Live,” a weekly concert show

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer The adage in the NHL used to be that teams wanted to be in playoff position by U.S. Thanksgiving. More than 76% of teams in that position have made the playoffs since the start of the salary cap era in 2005-06. But it may be too early this year

By The Associated Press The Las Vegas Raiders will try for their fourth straight win when they visit the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. After starting out 2-7 under new coach Josh McDaniels, the Raiders are now on the fringes of playoff contention following a 27-20 victory over the Chargers. The Rams are assured of

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The United States men’s soccer team recedes into the background of American sports for the next 3 1/2 years. The team’s four World Cup matches averaged 12.2 million viewers on Fox but its 27 games on rated English-language networks from the start of 2020 through

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Kylian Mbappe is living up to his reputation at the World Cup as the man best-placed to succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer’s biggest star. Spare a thought then for Kyle Walker. The Manchester City right back is set to mark the France

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — A person familiar with the deal says veteran closer Kenley Jansen has agreed to a $32 million, two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the agreement was pending a physical. The 35-year-old

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets rookie offensive tackle Max Mitchell was placed on the non-football injury list and will miss the rest of the season. Coach Robert Saleh declined to provide details on Mitchell’s situation Wednesday as the Jets began practice preparations for their

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — The German soccer federation is maintaining its trust in Hansi Flick as national team coach despite the team’s disappointing World Cup performance. Federation president Bernd Neuendorf says the body has “full confidence” in Flick to lead the team through the 2024 European Championship. Germany is scheduled

By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville is finalizing a deal to hire Purdue’s Jeff Brohm as its head coach, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement and an announcement from the schools had

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Brazil forward Vinícius Júnior has praised Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti for his success at the World Cup. Vinícius Júnior arrived in Qatar without knowing if he was going to get a chance to start for Brazil. But no one questions his spot in the

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills’ top pass-rusher Von Miller will miss the remainder of the season after having surgery to repair an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Coach Sean McDermott says the ligament damage was discovered during a previously scheduled exploratory

LONDON (AP) — The Lawn Tennis Association was fined $1 million by the ATP men’s professional tour for banning players from Russia and Belarus from its grass-court events this summer. The governing body of British tennis banned the players from five Wimbledon warm-up tournaments following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ATP oversees men’s tennis outside

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans will return to Davis Mills at quarterback against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, two weeks after he was benched for Kyle Allen. Coach Lovie Smith announced the move Wednesday, saying “we don’t give out lifetime jobs. The switch comes after Allen was picked

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Kylian Mbappé will be ready to face England at the World Cup on Saturday. France teammate Ibrahima Konaté delivered that reassuring message a day after Mbappé missed a team training session. That was news that perhaps England fans did not want to hear three days

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — No. 5 Notre Dame and Lafayette have postponed a women’s basketball game scheduled for Thursday because of health and safety protocols. No other details were immediately available. The game was supposed to be played at Lafayette in Easton, Pennsylvania. The schools say they are looking at whether the game can

By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is The Associated Press Big Ten offensive player of the year, Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell is defensive player of the year and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh is coach of the year. Stroud and Campbell are among five unanimous picks to the All-Big Ten first