World Rugby to appeal against controversial decision to overturn England captain Farrell's red card

Kansas State returns quarterback Will Howard, its entire offensive line and plenty of playmakers on defense from a team that won the Big 12 title last season. The No. 16 Wildcats probably won't sneak up on anybody after they were picked to finish second to Texas. They have to replace to All-American Deuce Vaughn in the backfield and first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah on defense. A few transfers should help fill the voids. The big one is Florida State transfer Treshaun Ward, who could join returning DJ Giddens to form one of the league's best running back tandems.

Colorado Mines quarterback John Matocha is one of the top small-college players to watch in 2023 after he won the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II's top player last season. Matocha passed for a nation-leading 4,778 yards and 52 touchdowns and led the Orediggers to 13 straight wins and the national championship game following an 0-2 start last year. Other top small-college players entering the season are Dakota Wesleyan safety Adam DeJong, Wisconsin-River Falls cornerback Michael Brown, North Central receiver DeAngelo Hardy, Endicott defensive lineman Hector Johnson and Marian offensive lineman Zach Sibila.

Kansas had a breakthrough season a year ago, winning at least six regular-season games and going to a bowl game for the first time since 2008. Now, the pressure is on Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold to not only replicate the effort but improve upon it. It should help that dynamic quarterback Jalon Daniels is back and healthy after missing four games last season. He was voted the Big 12's preseason offensive player of the year. But making things difficult will be an unforgiving schedule that includes a non-conference game against Illinois and league games against Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas State.

Texas’ last go-around in the Big 12 could be dubbed the Longhorns’ “Embrace the Hate” tour. That’s what coach Steve Sarkisian suggested of a season where Texas is expected to finally contend once again for an elusive league championship before leaving for the Southeastern Conference in 2024. Every road trip from Waco to Ames, Iowa should bring some extra spice for Texas from the home crowd. Texas returns 10 starters on offense and key transfers on both sides of the ball. Quinn Ewers starts at quarterback and linebacker Jaylan Ford anchors the defense. Texas hosts Rice on Sept. 2.

West Virginia coach Neal Brown was allowed to keep his job after another lackluster season. Now it’s time for the fifth-year coach to show some improvement. The task won’t be easy. Several key players transferred from last year and the Mountaineers are picked to finish at the bottom of the expanded Big 12. West Virginia has yet to be ranked under Brown and has failed to become bowl eligible in two of his four seasons. The Mountaineers have a brutal early schedule, including the Sept. 2 opener at No. 7 Penn State.

Chase Elliott’s best shot at making the NASCAR playoffs appears to be this weekend at Watkins Glen. The 2020 Cup Series champion has two wins at the 14-turn road course in upstate New York. He also has seven career victories on NASCAR’s winding tracks. Thirteen drivers already have clinched berths in the 16-driver postseason field. Elliott has to win either Sunday or next week at always-unpredictable Daytona International Speedway to get in.

Expectations are down for Oklahoma in its final season in the Big 12 before heading to the Southeastern Conference. The Sooners were voted third in the 14-team conference’s preseason poll. That's just the fourth time in the past 13 years they weren’t picked to win the league. Coach Brent Venables says the Sooners fell well below expectations and standards last season but grew as a team. He says his first season was about laying groundwork, and he expects much better results. Oklahoma opens at home against Arkansas State on Sept. 2.

Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk will play its home Champions League games in Germany this season at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. The club has been unable to host European games in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion. Shakhtar’s home games were held in the Polish capital Warsaw last season. The Ukrainian champion said Friday that UEFA has agreed the team can play in Hamburg where it’s likely to attract the support of Ukrainians who have been displaced during the war and are living in Germany and other countries. The Volksparkstadion is home to Hamburger SV, which has been a second-division team since 2018.

Chelsea has completed the signing of 19-year-old defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton after agreeing to a reported transfer fee of $74 million. The Belgium international signed a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge after reportedly rejecting a proposed move to Liverpool. Lavia's arrival comes just days after Chelsea signed Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a reported $146 million. The highly rated Lavia has played only 29 times in the Premier League. Lavia says "I can’t wait to meet all my new teammates and build a chemistry together to achieve great things together.”

SANTA CLARA. Calif. — One of the longest held beliefs among NFL coaches is that the biggest leap in a player’s development comes between Year 1 and Year 2.

MINNEAPOLIS — The depth chart distributed by the Vikings lists their defense as a 3-4 alignment, which is a loose interpretation based on what onlookers witnessed in a joint practice Wednesday against the Tennessee Titans.

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. — He awakens at 4:30 a.m. to start compiling notes on the Tigers' upcoming opponent. By mid-morning, he's in the midst of a one-hour workout. By early afternoon, he's on his way to Lansing for a charity golf outing. Kirk Gibson's body fights him with every movement, frustra…

CHICAGO — Hope is a funny thing. Sometimes it defies logic. It can require you to look past wrongs, faults and glaring issues. It means putting your faith in the unknown and waiting for everything to turn out all right.

FORT WORTH, Texas — When two TCU players transferred to SMU this offseason, the consensus was they left not for playing time, or that they were unhappy, but rather cash.

PHILADELPHIA — After fleeing the war in Ukraine, Sergei Zherdev arrived in Philadelphia in mid-January and discovered a city clad in midnight green.

SAN DIEGO — The California Interscholastic Federation-San Diego Section added girls flag football as a fall sport in April.

Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has retired from soccer at age 34 after an 18-year career. Walcott scored 129 goals in 560 games for Southampton, Arsenal and Everton. He made 47 appearances for England. Walcott began and ended his career with Southampton, breaking into the first team at age 16 in 2005 and returning to St. Mary’s in 2020. At age 17 Walcott was surprisingly named in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s squad for the 2006 World Cup and holds the record of being the country’s youngest-ever player. He scored eight goals for England.

UNDATED (AP) — Stanford has not given up on getting an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference as its fellow Pac-4 members wait and hope to rebuild their plundered league. Leaders from Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State spoke Thursday and Stanford told its colle…

The Arizona Diamondbacks will look to keep a three-game win streak alive when they play the San Diego Padres.

The Cleveland Guardians host the Detroit Tigers to begin a four-game series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Miami Marlins to start a three-game series.

The Seattle Mariners take on the Houston Astros after Julio Rodríguez had five hits against the Royals on Thursday.

The Oakland Athletics play the Baltimore Orioles after Zack Gelof's four-hit game on Wednesday.

The Washington Nationals open a three-game series at home against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

The Cincinnati Reds host the Toronto Blue Jays to start a three-game series.

The Los Angeles Angels start a three-game series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

The Kansas City Royals look to stop their three-game skid with a victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The Minnesota Twins take on the Pittsburgh Pirates after Edouard Julien's four-hit game on Wednesday.

The New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox to open a three-game series.

The New York Mets lead 1-0 in a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Colorado Rockies host the Chicago White Sox to begin a three-game series.

The Milwaukee Brewers enter the matchup with the Texas Rangers after losing three in a row.

The Atlanta Braves, on a five-game home winning streak, host the San Francisco Giants.

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Approximately 1,000 former Northwestern University athletes have sent a letter condemning hazing while defending the school’s culture. The Associated Press obtained the letter Thursday. The athletes say allegations of abuse within the football program and other men’s an…

UNDATED (AP) — Stanford has not given up on getting an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference as its fellow Pac-4 members wait and hope to rebuild their plundered league. Leaders from Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State spoke Thursday and Stanford told its colle…

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Transfer Payton Thorne has won Auburn’s starting quarterback job. Coach Hugh Freeze says the Michigan State transfer is set to start for the Tigers in their opener Sept. 2 against Massachusetts. Thorne signed with Auburn in May. He has been competing with returning starte…

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The excitement of Deion Sanders taking over at Colorado is making the Buffaloes an unlikely favorite of bettors for this college football season. Colorado has a win total of 3 1/2 at FanDuel Sportsbook and other books for its final Pac-12 Conference season. The Buffaloes are…

Los Angeles faces the Las Vegas Aces after Jordin Canada scored 20 points in the Sparks' 85-74 victory over the Atlanta Dream. Saturday's meeting will be the fourth of the season between the two teams. Las Vegas is 15-1 against the Western Conference, and Los Angeles is 6-10 against conference opponents.

Phoenix hosts the New York Liberty after Sophie Cunningham scored 25 points in the Phoenix Mercury's 81-71 loss to the Seattle Storm. The teams meet Friday for the third time this season. Phoenix is 8-7 at home, and New York is 12-3 on the road.