AP National Sports

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DOHA, Qatar (AP) — America’s top diplomat is in Qatar to hold talks as regional tensions remain high. Iran’s nuclear program has rapidly advanced in the past months and nationwide protests are shaking the Islamic Republic. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a soccer fan and player himself, watched America

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA’s threat of on-field punishment for players forced World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar’s human rights record. Just hours before the first players wearing

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scottish club Rangers has fired manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst after a year in charge, saying the team’s recent run of form has “not met expectations.” The Dutch coach was appointed as Steven Gerrard’s successor a year ago and led the club to the Europa League final and a first Scottish Cup

By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer Seven players rushed for at least 200 yards in the Football Bowl Subdivision over the weekend, and three of them did it in the same game. Mississippi’s Quinshon Judkins ran 24 times for 214 yards and teammate Zach Evans ran 17 times for 208 in a 42-27 loss

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo is unfazed by the drama created by his explosive pre-World Cup interview on British TV and maintains the atmosphere in Portugal’s squad is “excellent” heading into the tournament. The Manchester United striker has given an impromptu news conference Monday at Portugal’s training base

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Defender Dani Carvajal hasn’t practiced because of the flu two days before Spain’s debut at the World Cup. The Spanish soccer federation didn’t provide more details Monday about the condition of the right back. His absence comes as regular starting striker Álvaro Morata returned to practice after his own bout with

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA’s threat of on-field punishment for players forced World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon an anti-discrimination campaign aimed at host nation Qatar. The captains of seven European nations won’t wear armbands supporting the “One Love” campaign in games after FIFA said the

By ISABEL DEBRE and STEPHEN WADE Associated Press DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The fan zone set up in central Doha has turned into a chaotic scene on the opening day of the World Cup as tens of thousands of fans are pushing and shoving against police lines to enter the venue. Fans were trying to

By The Associated Press UCLA look to bounce back from consecutive losses when the Bruins visit rival California in the regular season finale. Last week’s close defeat against USC cost UCLA a chance at the Pac-12 title but the Bruins are still hoping to win their final two games and tie a school record with

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Derwin James allowed his first touchdown to Travis Kelce at the worst possible time. Kelce’s 17-yard TD reception came with 31 seconds remaining as the Chiefs rallied for a 30-27 victory over their AFC West rivals. It was the third straight year the Chargers had

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (AP) — Led by Justin Harmon’s 18 points, the Utah Valley Wolverines defeated the Green Bay Phoenix 79-56 in a consolation game at the Jamaica Classic. The Wolverines are now 3-3 on the season, while the Phoenix moved to 0-5.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Led by Jalen Benjamin’s 18 points, the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs 73-68. The Mountaineers improved to 2-3 with the victory and the Mustangs fell to 1-3.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Australia winger Martin Boyle has been ruled out of the World Cup because of a knee injury. The team announced that Marco Tilio will take his place on the Socceroos’ 26-player roster. Boyle, who plays for Scottish league team Hibernian, was injured some three weeks ago and was unable to train

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich sat out San Antonio’s game against the Lakers with an illness. The 73-year-old Popovich apparently felt fine during his pregame media availability, but then fell ill shortly before tipoff in Los Angeles. Assistant coach Brett Brown ran the Spurs’ bench

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds as No. 20 Michigan, startled by a wild buzzer-beater at the end of regulation, beat Ohio 70-66 in overtime. Down 63-61 with 2.1 seconds left in the second half, Ohio threw a length-of-the-court inbounds pass that hit the rim. After a

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Canisius Golden Griffins defeated the SUNY-Fredonia Blue Devils 98-52 led by Siem Uijtendaal’s 30 points. The Golden Griffins improved to 2-2 with the victory.

By STEVE MIMS Associated Press EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Senior point guard Marcus Sasser scored 16 points to lead third-ranked Houston to a 66-56 win over Oregon. Freshman Terrance Arceneaux scored a career-high 15 points while Jamal Shead added 13 for Houston, which made 11-of-22 3-pointers. Jarace Walker scored 10 as the Cougars improved to

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis had 30 points and 18 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-92 to win three straight games for the first time since the first week of January. While LeBron James missed his fourth straight game with a left

SEATTLE (AP) — Hilary Knight had two goals and an assist, Nicole Hensley stopped 22 shots, and the United States beat Canada for the third straight time, 4-2 in the Rivalry Series. Abby Roque and Savannah Harmon also scored for the U.S., which won 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday and 2-1 on Thursday7 to