AP National Sports

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Women’s World Cup has an official song. It’s a collaboration between alt-pop artists from the two host countries, New Zealand’s BENEE and Australia’s Mallrat. The song is called “Do It Again” and the musicians will perform it at the tournament’s opening ceremony on July

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Internet gambling would be allowed to take place for at least five more years under the latest proposal by New Jersey lawmakers. On Wednesday evening, legislators abandoned a move they made just a day earlier to drastically cut the extension of internet casino gambling in

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona will not be with the team for a second straight game after being hospitalized when he became lightheaded before a series opener against the Kansas City Royals. Francona, who has had significant health issues in recent years, spent Tuesday night at The University of Kansas

By WES CROSBY Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ke’Bryan Hayes has been placed on the 10-day injured list by the Pittsburgh Pirates because of inflammation in his lower back. The move was made retroactive to June 25. The third baseman had missed two games after last playing in a 4-3 loss to Miami on Saturday.

By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks have selected Connor Bedard with the first pick in the NHL draft. The move should kick-start a hopeful new era for Chicago. Bedard is a highly skilled offensive forward who’s drawn comparisons to Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. Bedard is the second

By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes have identified a half-dozen potential sites for an arena in the Phoenix metropolitan area. President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez provided an update at the NHL draft less than six weeks after a referendum for a building in Tempe failed. Gutierrez said all

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — After pinch-hitter Cal Raleigh went down swinging for the final out, the boos quickly followed. Everyone associated with the Seattle Mariners — players, fans, management — seems fed up during a season that perhaps hit a new low point Wednesday. “We do have a momentum-driven team

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — For the second time in a week, Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez watched the end of a game on television back in the clubhouse. At least this time, Martinez watched a Nationals victory. Martinez was ejected in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Seattle

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls and center Nikola Vucevic have agreed to a $60 million, three-year extension, keeping the two-time All-Star off the free agent market. The move was hardly a surprise. Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and Vucevic had expressed a desire to

NEW YORK (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers have sent right-handed reliever Peter Strzelecki to Triple-A Nashville and promoted left-hander Thomas Pannone. Strzelecki had served as the Brewers’ main setup man earlier this season and allowed just one run over his first 13 2/3 innings of the year. But he has tailed off since. Strzelecki had

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer New Mexico State agreed to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit involving two basketball players who said they were sexually assaulted by teammates. Terms of the settlement were released on the state’s open-records site. Deuce Benjamin and his father, William, who was a co-defendant, will receive $4.125 million,

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer Two people familiar with the plan say the NFL is finalizing disciplinary action against more players for gambling violations, including Indianapolis Colts defensive back Isaiah Rodgers Sr. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because an official announcement won’t be made until later this week. Rodgers

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer DETROIT (AP) — Justin Thomas may have skipped the Rocket Mortgage Classic if this was just another usual year in his career. It hasn’t been. The 2022 PGA Championship winner with 15 PGA Tour titles has fallen out of the top 10 in the world ranking for the first

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Inter Miami confirmed the hiring of Gerardo “Tata” Martino as coach on Wednesday, setting the stage for him to be reunited with Lionel Messi next month. Martino coached Messi with both Barcelona and Argentina’s national team. Messi has announced that he is coming to Major League Soccer to play for

LONDON (AP) — Tottenham has completed the signing of England midfielder James Maddison from Leicester. Spurs entered advanced talks with the recently relegated Foxes earlier this week and secured Maddison in a deal worth 40 million pounds ($50 million) plus add-ons. Maddison has agreed a five-year deal with the club and becomes new boss Ange

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Mets owner Steven Cohen is threatening his underperforming team with the prospect of a trade deadline selloff unless New York gets back into contention for a playoff berth. Cohen said manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler will keep their jobs no matter that

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer The Vegas Golden Knights have traded forward Reilly Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins and re-signed Ivan Barbashev. The Stanley Cup champions signed Barbashev to a five-year contract worth $25 million. For Smith, they reacquired their own 2024 third-round pick they sent to Pittsburgh for forward Teddy Blueger prior to

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA released the full Collective Bargaining Agreement to its teams on Wednesday, two days before the start of free agency and three days before the new labor agreement between the league and its players takes effect. The 676-page agreement — now signed by both the NBA and National Basketball Players