AP National Sports

By EMILY DOZIER Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Olympic champion Canada has been held to a 0-0 draw by Nigeria in its Women’s World Cup opener after Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie made several key saves, including one on a penalty from Christine Sinclair. It was a crucial miss for the Canadian veteran, who is

SEATTLE (AP) — A’ja Wilson had her 15th double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 79-63 Thursday night to match the WNBA record for the best start to a season. The Aces improved to 20-2 and matched the 1998 Houston Comets and 2016 Los Angeles Sparks

PHOENIX (AP) — Reserve Shey Peddy hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Chicago Sky 80-62 Thursday night and won consecutive games for the first time this season. Brittney Griner had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Megan Gustafson added 12 points and fellow reserve Shug Sutton scored

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Rookie J.P. France struck out five while pitching into the eighth inning for the first time this season to win his third straight decision, Kyle Tucker hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth, and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1. Alex Bregman

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — S.Y. Noh eagled all three par-5 holes and scored a tournament-record 23 points Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club. Co-sanctioned by the European tour, the tournament uses the Modified Stableford scoring system, with Noh breaking the event round mark of 18 points. Five

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Annette O’Malley helped her husband Peter O’Malley promote baseball globally during his family’s ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team says she has died in Los Angeles. The couple married in 1971 in Annette’s hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark. She made many trips aboard with

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Colton Cowser hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, and the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in the opener of a four-game series between the American League’s top teams. Baltimore started the day in first place for the first

MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Paula Reto and Amelia Lewis shot a 9-under 61 in better-ball play Thursday at rainy Midland Country Club to take the second-round lead in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA Tour’s lone team event. Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Emma Talley were a stroke back with first-round leaders Matilda Castren

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay. Maxen spoke about his sexual orientation in an interview published Thursday by Outsports. “I don’t want to feel like I have to think about

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer The U.S. Center for SafeSport says it is willing to work with the U.S. Soccer Athletes Council to address concerns about the organization tasked with protecting athletes from abuse. The U.S. Soccer Athletes Council sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week signed

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Soccer Writer AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — With the 1-0 victory over Group A favorites Norway secured, New Zealand is in good position to advance to the knockout stage. That’s a big deal for the tournament co-hosts, who had never won a match at the World Cup before Thursday night.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Men’s and women’s basketball teams in the expanded Big 12 will still play 18 conference games each during the 2023-24 season. The conference will have 14 schools for the upcoming season before the departures of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC next summer. Each team will play five Big 12 opponents

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips says he never “condoned or tolerated inappropriate conduct” against athletes as Northwestern’s athletics director in the wake of that school’s hazing scandal. The scandal has led to at least three lawsuits and the firing of football coach Pat Fitzgerald. Phillips has been named

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) — Top-seeded Daria Kasatkina has eased into the quarterfinals of the Palermo Open with a comfortable victory over Russian compatriot Tatiana Prozorova. It was only Prozorova’s third WTA tour main-draw match and Kasatkina prevailed 6-3, 6-1. Kasatkina will likely face a sterner test against fifth-seeded Jasmine Paolini, who she meets in the

By BEN NUCKOLS AP Sports Writer Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder sexually harassed a team employee and oversaw team executives who deliberately withheld millions of dollars in revenue from other clubs, and he has agreed to pay a $60 million fine, the league announced Thursday. The NFL released a 23-page report detailing the findings of

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — The few times George Kirby has stumbled through a subpar start this season, his rebound efforts have been superb. Chalk it up to Kirby’s talent and his belief. “I think it’s just hard to get me twice,” Kirby said. “I’m always going to come stay on

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons running back Caleb Huntley, still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered late last season, has been placed on the physically unable to perform list. Huntley won’t be ready for next week’s start of training camp. Huntley was a surprise contributor to Atlanta’s running game in 2022, rushing