All Blacks' Whitelock could become Rugby World Cup's first three-time champ

The Philadelphia 76ers went to Milwaukee without James Harden and the NBA wants to know why. They league, which strengthened its rules about resting healthy players this summer, is investigating the reasons behind Harden’s absence from the 76ers’ nationally televised season opener against the Bucks. Harden wants to be traded and was away from the Sixers recently until returning this week. Coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that the point guard wouldn’t travel with the team so he could work on rebuilding his conditioning with team staff members at the 76ers’ training facility. The player participation policy requires teams to demonstrate an approved reason for a star player to miss national TV games.

Saquon Barkley has played once against the New York Jets in a regular-season game and the Giants running back recalled the experience was fun. He said there was a lot of juice to the game in 2019 and fan excitement in the contest the Jets won 34-27. The Giants (2-5) and Jets (3-3) will renew that experience Sunday when they meet at MetLife Stadium in what will be a home game for Barkley and company. The one thing Barkley recalls from the 2019 game was his rushing total. He gained 1 yard on 13 carries, his worst game as a pro.

LOS ANGELES — Kelly Stafford doesn't want her young daughters to see "a lot of butts" while watching their father play football for the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Adolis García has gone from being twice designated for assignment to becoming a record-setting AL Championship Series MVP who is now in the World Series. And all that came after the 30-year-old slugger defected from Cuba in hopes of playing in the big leagues. He is in the World Series with the Texas Rangers, the second team that dropped him from their roster. García says it's been a long journey, and was a touch decision at the time, but definitely worth it. He's in his third season with Texas, which hosts Game 1 of the World Series against Arizona on Friday night.

Tyson Bagent generated plenty of headlines in leading the Chicago Bears to a victory in his first NFL start. The undrafted rookie gets a chance on a prime-time stage to show he is more than a one-game wonder. Bagent and the Bears travel to Southern California to face the reeling Los Angeles Chargers Sunday night. Chicago has won two of three since a 14-game losing streak while Los Angeles has dropped two straight. Bagent gets the start again with Justin Fields sidelined due to a dislocated thumb. He will face a Chargers defense ranked last against the pass at 310 yards per game.

Frank Clark didn’t question whether he’d be ready to play this Sunday just days after making his return to the Seattle Seahawks. He wants to wear the throwback uniforms the Seahawks will debut this week against Cleveland. Clark can also be of help to a group of defensive ends that took a hit this week when Uchenna Nwosu was lost to a pectoral injury. Nwosu's injury cleared the way for Clark to return to the team where he got his start in the NFL. Clark was a second-round pick by Seattle in 2015 and spent four seasons with the Seahawks before being traded to Kansas City in 2019.

Here’s a look back at Week 7’s action, and fantasy advice for the week ahead:

Atlanta coach Arthur Smith acknowledged returning to coach against the Tennessee Titans after 10 years with the franchise will be weird. This also is an alumni weekend for former Houston Oilers and Titans. That means Smith will see even more familiar faces Sunday than usual not counting the former Titans now working for the Falcons. Smith says it's easy to pretend this game doesn't mean more even as it obviously does. His Falcons sit atop the NFC South. The Titans have lost two straight and 11 of 13. They've also become sellers before the NFL trade deadline with Derrick Henry possibly next.

Despite the Ravens scoring 38 points and racking up more than 500 yards of offense in their 38-6 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL analyst Kurt Warner saw a lot of room for improvement.

Dalvin Cook expected more opportunities with the New York Jets. Carl Lawson envisioned being a bigger part of the defense. Both are frustrated with their reduced roles and their names have been mentioned in recent trade rumors. Cook signed a 1-year, $7 million contract with the Jets during training camp and has been used only sparingly through the Jets’ first six games. Lawson dealt with a back injury in training camp that lingered and he has just three total tackles, two quarterback pressures and no sacks in limited snaps.

Right-hander Merrill Kelly will start Game 2 of the World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks and rookie Brandon Pfaadt will start Game 3 when the championship moves to Phoenix. Zac Gallen starts Friday night’s opener for Arizona and Nathan Eovaldi will be on the mound for Texas. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he will wait until Friday to announce his Game 2 pitcher.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The first commandment of sports journalism is quite simple, “Thou Shalt Not Cheer In The Press Box.”

Overlooked by oddsmakers and angered by analysts, the Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves in a Surprise Series against the also unexpected Texas Rangers. But the mindsets couldn’t be more different ahead of Friday night’s opener in Major League Baseball’s third all-wild card title matchup. The Diamondbacks listen to all the slights and keep track of them. The Rangers say they ignore all the outside chatter. Zac Gallen starts the opener for the Diamondbacks and Nathan Eovaldi will be on the mound for the Rangers.

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has defended teammate Alejandro Garnacho after the winger used gorilla emojis in a social media post about him. The 19-year-old Argentina international posted a photo of players congratulating Onana for stopping a penalty in United’s 1-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League. Garnacho used two gorilla emojis above the photo in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. It was then deleted. Onana, who is Black, wrote on his Instagram Story that he understood what Garnacho meant, saying it was about “power & strength.” He says the matter "should go no further.”

The Denver Broncos are out to snap a pair of ignominious streaks Sunday when they host the Chiefs just 17 days after losing for the 16th consecutive time to Kansas City. The Broncos are seeking their first victory over the Chiefs since Week 2 of the 2015 season. If they lose to them again Sunday, that will tie the Rams' 17-game skid against the 49ers 1990s, which is the second-longest ever. The record is 20 consecutive losses by the Bills to the Dolphins in the 1970s. Another streak the Broncos would like to end is their 0-11 mark against Patrick Mahomes.

Alvin Kamara and Jonathan Taylor have been two of the most successful and versatile running backs in the NFL. On Sunday, they will be on opposite sidelines for the first time when the New Orleans Saints visit Indianapolis. Both missed the first part of the season, but seem to be rounding into midseason form. The Saints are trying to snap a two-game losing streak against a foe it has beaten four straight times. The Colts also have lost two straight since quarterback Gardner Minshew replaced injured rookie Anthony Richardson as the starter.

A brief history of Rugby World Cup matches between New Zealand and South Africa before they meet again on Saturday in the final at Stade de France.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting defensive tackle Vita Vea was inactive against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night because of a groin injury. Buccaneers starting quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver Chris Godwin were active after being listed as questionable to play. Starting guard Matt Feiler had already been ruled out due to a knee injury. For Buffalo, starting defensive tackle Ed Oliver was set to return after missing one game with a toe injury. Cornerback Josh Norman was set to make his season debut after the Bills elevated the 12th-year player from their practice squad earlier in the day.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Throughout the Dolphins’ injury waves of 2022 and ’23, there’s been one major constant — wide receiver Tyreek Hill. He’s one of the few players, and definitely the best player, to play in all 25 games of the Mike McDaniel era.

The Dolphins entered the season with expectations — internally and externally — of featuring a dominant defense alongside their explosive offense.

The San Francisco 49ers showed they could win lopsided games when they raced out to a 5-0 start and were barely challenged in the second half in any of those games. Pulling it out down the stretch in a tight game has been a different issue. A few key mistakes have doomed San Francisco in tight losses against Cleveland and Minnesota. The Niners will look to find that formula for winning even when everything isn’t going as planned when they host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. They may have to do it without quarterback Brock Purdy, who's in the concussion protocol. Sam Darnold is his backup.

There will be more at stake than bragging rights when the Jets and Giants meet at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The Giants are 2-5 and are coming off a 14-7 win over the Washington Commanders. The Jets are 3-3 and had a bye last weekend. They've won two straight games, including a 20-14 decision over the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams are playing excellent defense while their offenses have struggled. The status of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is uncertain because of a neck injury that has sidelined him for two games.

Nathaniel Hackett studied what his New York Jets offense did in the team’s first six games and he was blunt with his assessment. The offensive coordinator said his group has been bad in both situations and his criticism is valid. The Jets rank last in the NFL in scoring touchdowns in the red zone at 29.4%, going 5 for 17 inside their opponents’ 20. New York is also last in third down conversion rate at 25%. Penalties, poorly executed plays and blown assignments have put the Jets in second- and third-and-long scenarios often through six games.

When it was announced that Memorial Coliseum renovations would shift (most) Kentucky women’s basketball home games to Rupp Arena for 2023-24, the happiest person on Earth might have been UK guard Maddie Scherr.

Amid growing environmental concerns surrounding the sport, the Alpine skiing World Cup season starts on a glacier in Austria this weekend. The schedule goes to March and there are more races than ever before: 90, evenly divided between women and men. American star Mikaela Shiffrin and Swiss standout Marco Odermatt are regarded strong favorites to defend their overall titles from last year. A lot of pre-season talk has been about the season start in October, deemed by many as too early since the course had to be built from snow preserved from last spring, and artificial snow.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Cracks are growing and questions are mounting. Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal just got another burst of accusations, as a weird mystery grows more ominous.

Northwestern State has canceled the remainder of its football season. University President Marcus Jones says the decision stems from its need to attend to the mental health of its players in the wake of the shooting death of safety Ronnie Caldwell. Coach Brad Laird also has resigned. Laird says Caldwell was like a son to him and he doesn't feel like he can give his all to the program at this time. Caldwell was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds by Natchitoches police officers who responded shortly after 1 a.m. on Oct. 12 to a report of a shooting at an apartment complex near campus. Police say the case remains under investigation and no arrests have been made.

A pair of 4-2 teams will meet on Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks host the Cleveland Browns. The Browns will start P.J. Walker at quarterback with Deshaun Watson out because of a shoulder injury. Walker came on in relief last week against Indianapolis and directed a late touchdown drive for a 39-38 win over the Colts. Seattle knocked off Arizona at home last week behind a defense that continues to improve. But the challenge this week for Seattle will be getting an offense going against the No. 1 defense in the league. The Seahawks will also be dipping into the past wearing throwback uniforms for the first time.

FRISCO, Texas — Micah Parsons is part of the NFL’s new player empowerment. Instead of using the local media to express views on various topics, players just do their own thing. NBA players have been doing it for years, particularly retired players via podcasts.

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are riding a 10-game home winning streak as they get set to play five of the next seven games at AT&T Stadium. Matthew Stafford is visiting his hometown team for the first time since joining the Los Angeles Rams — and becoming a Super Bowl champion. More immediate concerns will be the focus Sunday. Dallas is still trying to bury the bad memory of a blowout loss at San Francisco. Stafford’s Rams are trying to capitalize on the stumble by the Niners in the NFC West race since then.

The city of Laredo, Texas, has its first Olympian. Boxer Jennifer Laredo qualified for next year’s Paris Olympics on Thursday by reaching the final of the women’s 50 kilograms competition at the Pan American Games. The 20-year-old Lozano was dominant in the semifinal against Canada’s Mckenzie Wright in Santiago, winning 5-0. She will face Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira, a silver medalist in Tokyo, for the gold medal. Laredo has about 230,000 residents and sits on the U.S. border with Mexico.

NEW YORK — Before Kyrie Irving faces the Nets on Friday for the first time since his blockbuster trade to Dallas, the mercurial guard took a moment to reflect on the past.

Every week of Darnell Wright’s rookie season, there has been social media examination of how the Chicago Bears first-round pick is faring — clips of him plowing a path in the run game with his athleticism, holding his own to allow quarterback Justin Fields time and, yes, getting beat by vete…

Major League Baseball will soon crown a new champion.

LOS ANGELES — USC players crowded the sideline, craning their necks to see the drive that could decide the Trojans' playoff fate. Some stood on top of the bench as Utah drove 54 yards into field goal range. Others climbed on top of crates used to transfer equipment to see the final play.

Banged-up quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Washington Commanders looking to improve to 7-1 this season. Hurts is expected to play through a left knee injury. The Eagles beat the Commanders 34-31 in overtime in their first matchup this season. Washington has lost four of five since a 2-0 start. Sam Howell has been sacked a league-high 40 times. The Eagles have the second-most sacks in the league.