The heat's on Ireland at the Rugby World Cup. Time to get used to being a title favorite

The Los Angeles Angels look to break their seven-game home slide with a win against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Tampa Bay Rays host the Seattle Mariners to start a four-game series.

The Chicago Cubs open a four-game series at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

The Miami Marlins play the Los Angeles Dodgers looking to sweep their three-game series.

The St. Louis Cardinals seek to continue a three-game win streak with a victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The New York Yankees will try to sweep a three-game series with a win against the Detroit Tigers.

BOSTON (AP) — An overhaul on Atlantic Coast Conference coaching staffs this offseason has left some teams struggling to adapt to to new systems. There are eight new offensive coordinators in the ACC this season — more than half of the league. Some ACC teams made changes to shore up offenses …

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference was sort of a no-show in Week 1. The league with 13 of the last 17 national championships went 0-3 in marquee matchups. Florida, South Carolina and LSU each lost by double digits in primetime, non-conference games. The trio got dumped by a…

UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers is among three athletes from his school and two from Iowa who have pleaded guilty to underage gambling. The five were among more than a dozen from both schools facing criminal charges after an investigation of illegal sports wagering. All …

UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers is among three athletes from his school and two from Iowa who have pleaded guilty to underage gambling. The five were among more than a dozen from both schools facing criminal charges after an investigation of illegal sports wagering. All …

Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien park area has been placed on a “Heritage Alert” list by a conservancy body that assesses international monuments and historic sites. The body says the planned redevelopment will lead to “irreversible destruction of cultural heritage” with thousands of trees being felled. The plan approved earlier by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike would let developers build a pair of 200-meter (650-feet) skyscrapers in Jingu Gaien, add a smaller 80-meter (260-feet) tower, fell trees in one of Tokyo’s green areas, and raze and rebuild a historic rugby venue and an adjoining baseball stadium. The park area is renown for more than 100 ginkgo trees that line a long promenade.

In 'brutal' US Open heat, Daniil Medvedev warns during his win that a player is 'gonna die'

Kirsten Davis scored and Racing Louisville beat OL Reign 1-0 Wednesday night to advance to the National Women’s Soccer League’s Challenge Cup title game. Louisville will face the defending champion North Carolina Courage, a 1-0 winner over the Kansas City Current in the earlier semifinal. The title match is sent for Saturday at Cary’s WakeMed Soccer Park.

The Baltimore Orioles refuse to budge at the top of the American League East, getting four hits and four RBIs from Austin Hays in a 10-3 victory to finish off a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night. Hays and Anthony Santander hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, and Santander and Ramon Urias each finished with three hits. Right-hander Kyle Gibson (14-8) gave up three runs on six hits over six innings as the Orioles won their fifth straight Baltimore maintained a 3 1/2-game lead in the division over Tampa Bay with a visit to Boston up next for a three-game series starting Friday.

The University of South Florida is looking for some big changes when the Tampa school plans to open a new $340 million on-campus football stadium in 2026. The stadium is expected to seat about 35,000, far smaller than the 75,000 or so where the Bulls now play at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. USF has played there since 1998. School officials say the new stadium will give them control over such revenue streams as parking and concessions. They say it’ll be easier for students to access, become a focal point for alumni and school benefactors, improve football recruitment and possibly propel the Bulls into a major conference.

Carlos Alcaraz has defeated Alexander Zverev in straight sets to reach the U.S. Open semifinals. Alcaraz is trying to become the first man to win consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer claimed five in a row from 2004 to 2008. Alcaraz is a 20-year-old from Spain who has won 24 of his past 25 Grand Slam matches. That includes a trophy at Wimbledon in July. He will try to get back to the final in New York by beating 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev in Friday's semifinals. The other matchup in the men's final four is Novak Djokovic against unseeded American Ben Shelton.

NEW YORK — The Belmont Stakes could be moving upstate for the next two years, and “The Test of the Champion” wouldn’t be as long of a test if it does make that move from Long Island.

ARLINGTON Texas — The Rangers cannot afford to be distracted by the car wreck. Even if, at the moment, it’s their $238 million ride burning out by Six Flags.

LOS ANGELES — As Matthew Stafford prepares for his 15th season, the Rams quarterback is fielding questions about connections.

José Abreu hit a grand slam and a three-run homer as the Houston Astros completed a three-game sweep of the slumping Texas Rangers with a 12-3 victory. Those were among five more homers for the Astros, who hit 16 in the series. Abreu’s grand slam in the third inning was Houston’s third homer against Texas starter Max Scherzer. Fellow three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander settled in after giving up a long ball on his first pitch that was the only earned run he allowed over seven innings. Yordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley and Chas McCormick also went deep. Marcus Semien hit two solo homers for Texas, which lost for the 15th time in 19 games.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals found themselves in another close game against the Chicago White Sox.

Andrew Vaughn doubled, homered, drove in two runs and scored two as the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-4 to snap a five-game losing streak. Elvis Andrus had four hits, and Yoan Moncada and Oscar Colas also went deep for the White Sox. Chicago starter Touki Toussaint (3-7) gave up two runs and two hits with six strikeouts over six innings. Bryan Shaw got the last three outs for his second save of the season. Nelson Velazquez and Edward Olivares homered for Kansas City, which had won consecutive games for the first time since winning seven straight July 28 to Aug. 4. The Royals have lost 22 of their last 30.