AP National Sports

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Sports Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The NHL coaching shuffle in Nashville is complete, with Andrew Brunette hired as the Predators coach a little more than 12 hours after the team announced that John Hynes was fired. The moves are the first being made by incoming general manager Barry Trotz

PARIS (AP) — Christopher Nkunku and Ousmane Dembélé have been recalled to France’s national team. The two forwards were included in coach Didier Deschamps’ squad for upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece. France tops the Group B standings in qualifying after back-to-back wins against the Netherlands and Ireland. The two-time world champions take

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Jack Grealish has emerged as the face of English soccer and is starting to add trophies to his growing list of endorsement deals that already include Gucci and Puma. The Manchester City midfielder has the skill and playfulness of Paul Gascoigne and the boyish charm and marketability of David

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The tradition of hockey’s playoff beard goes back to at least the mid-1980s, with the Detroit Red Wings widely credited with beginning the facial hair phenomenon. The playoff beard rub might have started last month by accident. Go back to April 26, when the Florida

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer Tom Walter is coach of the Wake Forest team that is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Baseball has often played a secondary role during his 27-year career even though he has won more than 800 games and taken three different schools to the national tournament.

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic refrained from any political messages at the French Open after a second-round victory that was a struggle for a set, hours after a government minister criticized the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s comments about clashes in Kosovo as “not appropriate.” Djokovic beat Marton Fucsovics 7-6

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press SANT JOAN DESPÍ, Spain (AP) — Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí learned when she was the only girl playing on her village’s soccer team that she would have to fight for the game she loved. She often got into scraps with her teammates who couldn’t accept that a girl could play

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer OYAMA, Japan (AP) — Eri Yoshida sat in the dugout of an all-dirt baseball field in rural Japan, surrounded by rice paddies, narrow roads, and traditional Japanese houses. The scene recalled instantly the 1989 film “Field of Dreams” — Asian style — and Yoshida certainly has her own. The

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Zac Gallen pitched six shutout innings, Ketel Marte and Evan Longoria homered in the first inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 5-1 on Tuesday night. Gallen (7-2) is 6-0 with a 0.66 ERA in six starts at Chase Field this season. He gave up

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Seth Brown scored on a fielding error by Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley in the ninth inning, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Braves 2-1 on Tuesday night, recording consecutive victories for the second time this season. Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias (1-2) walked three of the

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 19 games, capping a four-hit game with an eighth-inning homer, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals 9-3 on Tuesday night. J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three runs, and Jason Heyward also went deep. Los

By BEN ROSS Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Connor Joe homered against his former team and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat San Francisco 2-1 to snap a five-game losing streak against the Giants. The Pirates moved back to .500 (27-27) after falling under for the first time since they were 1-2. Pittsburgh has gone 7-19

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Andrew Vaughn drove in three runs, Romy González homered and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3. The White Sox looked as if they were headed toward their fourth straight loss after Los Angeles raced out to a 3-1 lead against Lucas Giolito.

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia (AP) — Michael Simpson stopped 26 shots, Tucker Robertson, J.R. Avon, Avery Hayes and Connor Lockhart scored and the Peterborough Petes avoided elimination in the Memorial Cup, beating the Quebec Remparts 4-2 on Tuesday night. The Ontario Hockey League champion Petes (1-2) will play Thursday night against the loser of the game

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle catcher Tom Murphy and manager Scott Servais were both ejected by plate umpire Brian Walsh in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game against the New York Yankees. Murphy was ejected after yelling toward first base umpire C.B. Bucknor following a check-swing that was called a strike. Walsh, calling balls and strikes