Already qualified Spain wins at Cyprus to stay 1st in its Euro 2024 qualifying group
University of Virginia officials are further delaying the public release of the findings of an investigation into the events surrounding a 2022 campus shooting that killed three student-athletes and wounded two other students. Citing concern about the impact the findings could have on the suspect's pending trial, UVA said in a news release Friday that it would not make a “redacted” version of the final report public available until “after the criminal proceedings.” The suspect is charged with aggravated murder, aggravated malicious wounding and firearms-related counts. Court records show his next court hearing is in February.
At the inaugural Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, music and entertainment has taken a front seat. It began with a star-studded Open Ceremony on Wednesday, featuring single-song performances from Thirty Seconds to Mars, Keith Urban, Andra Day, Bishop Briggs, Journey, Steve Aoki, J Balvin, Tiësto and John Legend. On Thursday, a loose water valve cover canceled the first F1 practice session and delayed the second one to well after 2 a.m., but the concerts continued without a hitch. J Balvin, who's performing twice during this week's festivities, tells The Associated Press that Formula One translates to every language and culture, and that — and the fast cars — appeal to him.
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor has agreed to a contract extension through the 2029-30 season that includes a salary of $925,000. Taylor also will receive $250,000 in retention bonuses after each of the next four years and $500,000 at the conclusion of the following three. Taylor was responsible for hiring Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman, who is coming off a Big 12 championship and has the No. 23 Wildcats heading into Saturday’s game against rival Kansas still in the hunt to defend the title. Taylor also hired basketball coach Jerome Tang, who led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in his debut this past season.
No. 2 Michigan has fired linebackers coach Chris Partridge a day before the Wolverines play at Maryland. Athletic director Warde Manuel says Rick Minter has been promoted to lead the linebackers. He did not say why Partridge was let go. Earlier this week, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh agreed to serve the remainder of a three-game suspension. In exchange, the Big Ten will drop its investigation into a sign-stealing scandal that is under NCAA investigation. The Wolverines close the regular season at home next week against rival Ohio State. After that, Harbaugh is eligible to return to the sideline.
The Cleveland Guardians traded starter Cal Quantrill to the Colorado Rockies for minor league catcher Kody Huff. Quantrill had an injury-plagued 2023 season for Cleveland, a year after he won 15 games and helped the Guardians win the AL Central. The team designated the 28-year-old pitcher for assignment earlier this week. Quantrill went 4-7 with a 5.24 ERA in 19 games this season while also twice going on the injured list for lengthy stints with shoulder problems. He was acquired by Cleveland in 2020 at the trade deadline from San Diego. Cleveland has an abundance of young pitchers, making Quantrill expendable.
The former president of the Spanish soccer federation has been ruled unfit to work in the sport in Spain for three years after he kissed a player on the lips without her consent at the Women’s World Cup final. Luis Rubiales had already been forced to resign from his post after he initially tried to stay in office despite a global uproar over Rubiales kissing forward Jenni Hermoso at the trophy ceremony following the Aug. 20 final in Australia. Friday’s ruling by the legal panel that oversees sports in Spain comes after world soccer governing body FIFA had already banned Rubiales for three years.
Inka Grings has lost her job as Switzerland coach following three recent losses to Women’s World Cup champion Spain by a combined score of 17-2. Grings says in a statement from the national soccer federation that the decision to leave was taken “with a heavy heart" and "to lift the pressure off the team.” Switzerland will host the women’s Euro 2025 tournament but has won only one of 14 games this year. The losses included a Women’s World Cup exit in the round of 16 in August to eventual champion Spain 5-1. Spain then won both of their games in a UEFA Women’s Nations League group.
Jamaican runner Christopher Taylor has been banned for 2½ years for avoiding a doping test and will miss next year’s Paris Olympics. The Athletics Integrity Unit says Taylor was banned for “evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection” in Jamaica in November 2022. His ban expires in May 2025. He will be 25. Taylor placed sixth for Jamaica in both the individual 400 meters and the men’s 4x400 relay at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He helped Jamaica take silver in the 4x400 at the 2022 worlds in Oregon.
The Tennessee Titans will be moving to a new stadium for the 2027 season. They will be taking the name Nissan Stadium with them under a 20-year naming rights deal announced Friday with Nissan North America. Financial terms were not disclosed. Nissan Stadium has been the name of the team’s current stadium since 2015. The new enclosed stadium is scheduled to open for the 2027 NFL season and will be built in the parking lot between Interstate 24 and the current stadium. Nashville already has a group working to land events like a Super Bowl, a Final Four and a College Football Playoff game for the $2.1 billion building.
A person familiar with the visit tells the AP that former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco is working out for the Cleveland Browns, who are still sorting through their changing quarterback situation. The 38-year-old Flacco could be an option for the Browns, who lost Deshaun Watson for the season earlier this week with a broken bone in his shoulder. Flacco is the only QB being worked out Friday, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team does not publicly disclose player workouts. A 15-year veteran, Flacco rallied the New York Jets to an improbable comeback win over the Browns last season.
Carlos Alcaraz set up a semifinal match against top-ranked Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals after beating Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4. The second-ranked Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. He is making his debut at the season-ending event for the year’s top eight players after missing last year’s tournament because of an abdominal injury. Alcaraz leaned back and yelled in celebration after Medvedev hit a backhand long on match point. Medvedev has also qualified for the semifinals and will next play Jannik Sinner. Two-time champion Alexander Zverev will face Andrey Rublev in a late match. Neither player can advance.
Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor has launched an investigation into the country’s soccer management. The focus is on the actions of federation president Borislav Mihaylov. The move follows the mass protests that gripped Bulgaria’s capital on Thursday as several thousand soccer fans took to the streets to demand the resignation of Mihaylov. Their fury was fueled by the federation’s decision to play a European Championship qualifying match against Hungary in an empty stadium. The protests eventually turned violent and dozens of fans and policemen were injured. Police detained nearly 40 people.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed former international fast bowler Wahab Riaz as the head of selection committee. Riaz’s first assignment will be to select the test squad for next month’s three-match series in Australia. That will be followed by five T20s in New Zealand. Riaz will replace Inzamam-ul-Haq. A number of changes have been made in the Pakistan team since it failed to progress beyond the league stage at the Cricket World Cup and finished fifth in the 10-team event. Captain Babar Azam resigned from all formats and the PCB handed the test captaincy to Shan Masood. Shaheen Afridi will be the new T20 skipper.
Paul-Henri Mathieu has been named France’s Davis Cup captain and he’ll also lead the men’s national tennis team at next year’s Olympics in Paris. The Frenchman replaces countryman Sébastien Grosjean, who was in charge for four years but left his position in order to coach 19-year-old French player Arthur Fils. The 41-year-old Mathieu says “I’m proud and honored to have this position.” The Paris Games will run from July 26 to Aug. 11 and Mathieu says "I hope we will get a medal.” As a player he lost the deciding rubber in the 2002 Davis Cup final against Russia in Paris.
Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood are among the marquee players moving into contention at the season-ending World Tour Championship. Rory McIlroy isn’t among them after a day when he said he was “stuck in neutral." McIlroy shot an even-par 72 in the second round and was languishing in 34th place in the 50-man field. Rahm, Hovland and Fleetwood all had 66s on the Earth Course to be in a good position heading into the weekend. Nicolai Hojgaard had a back nine of 30 containing four birdies and an eagle to shoot 66 and lead on 11-under par. Hojgaard is two shots clear of a five-man group including Hovland and Fleetwood.
Kao Miura took the lead in the short program ahead of Japanese teammate Shun Sato at the Grand Prix Espoo as he tries to earn a spot at figure skating’s Grand Prix Finals. Miura landed a clean quadruple salchow-triple toeloop combination, triple axel and quad toeloop for 93.54 points. Sato scored 90.41 points with a quad toeloop-triple toeloop combination, quad flip and triple axel. Jimmy Ma of the United States was 10 points further back in third with 80.19 after some small errors. He put a hand down on the landing of his triple axel. Koshiro Shimada of Japan was fourth.
Everton has been deducted 10 points by the Premier League for breaching the competition’s financial rules. The club reported three-year losses totaling nearly 372 million pounds ($454 million) last season. The league’s profit and financial sustainability rules allow clubs to lose a maximum of 105 million pounds ($128 million) over a three-year period or face sanctions. Everton has 14 points after 12 games. The penalty drops the team to four points, which is the same as last-place Burnley. The club says it was “shocked and disappointed” by the ruling and will be appealing against it.
Real Madrid says midfielder Eduardo Camavinga has torn a ligament in his right knee while practicing with the French national team. Madrid issued its medical report two days after Camavinga hurt his leg while practicing with France for European Championship qualifying matches. The 21-year-old Camavinga has become a versatile player for Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian coach has used Camavinga as a defensive midfielder and a left back.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland might have aggravated a left ankle injury while playing for Norway in a friendly match. Haaland came on as a halftime substitute in a 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands on Thursday and sustained an injury late in the game though he played on until the final whistle. Norway team doctor Ola Sand says the injury was a “little twist in his ankle" and that it was “little bit vulnerable.” Haaland came off with an ankle injury in the 6-1 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on Nov. 4. He started City’s next game three days later.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night is expected to set Formula One and motor sports wagering records at Caesars Entertainment and BetMGM. This is the first of a 10-year contract between Formula One and Las Vegas. The first practice took place Thursday night. Qualifying is at midnight PST Saturday, and the race at 10 that night local time. Las Vegas is attracting more of the casual or cross-over gambler. Three-time champion Max Verstappen is the heavy favorite.
Joe Burrow shook his head, screamed and jogged to the locker room because the pain in his right wrist wouldn’t allow him to throw a football on the sideline. Another week in the NFL. Another injured quarterback. Burrow is no ordinary QB, however. He’s the franchise for Cincinnati. With him, the Bengals were Super Bowl contenders. They’ve won consecutive division titles and an AFC crown. Without him, they have no chance. Aaron Rodgers. Kirk Cousins. Anthony Richardson. Daniel Jones. Deshaun Watson. Now Burrow. Burrow exited Thursday night’s game in the second quarter, a devastating blow for the Bengals who went from leading the Baltimore Ravens 10-7 with their star player to losing 34-20.
PITTSBURGH — Like most teams, the Steelers generally do well against backup quarterbacks.
CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell wanted to take things slowly after a whirlwind chain of events since his initial Nov. 1 meeting with President Jed Hoyer.
CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy can’t bring himself to watch the video of former NHL player Adam Johnson’s fatal neck injury during an English league hockey game last month.
UNDATED (AP) — Oregon State and Washington State are moving toward keeping the Pac-12 alive as a two-team conference for as much as two years, while also entering a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The people spoke to The A…
The New York Rangers visit the New Jersey Devils after the Rangers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in a shootout.
The Anaheim Ducks and the Florida Panthers square off in a non-conference matchup.
The LSU Tigers take on the North Texas Mean Green at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina. The teams match up Friday for the first time this season.
The Nicholls State Colonels take on the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars at Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama. The teams square off Friday for the first time this season.
The Kent State Golden Flashes take on the Hampton Pirates at Virgin Islands Sport & Fitness Center in Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands. The teams match up Friday for the first time this season.
Columbia plays the Temple Owls after Zine Eddine Bedri scored 20 points in Columbia's 105-60 win against the SUNY-Delhi Broncos. The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season.
Oklahoma looks to prolong its three-game home win streak with a victory over UT Rio Grande Valley. The teams square off Friday for the first time this season.
Ball State takes on the Evansville Purple Aces after Jalin Anderson scored 20 points in Ball State's 92-51 victory over the Oakland City Mighty Oaks. Saturday's matchup is the first of the season between the squads.
The Utah Utes take on the No. 6 Houston Cougars at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina. The teams play Friday for the first time this season.
Bucknell faces the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils after Jack Forrest scored 27 points in Bucknell's 69-57 loss to the La Salle Explorers. Friday's matchup is the first this season for the two teams.
