DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 7, 2021--

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Linebacker Matt Judon praised the Patriots offense while taking a playful swipe at rookie quarterback Mac Jones.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing t o protest Chinese human rights abuses, the White House confirmed Monday, a move that China has vowed to greet with “firm countermeasures.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud were announced Monday as finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

Medina Spirit, a 3-year-old colt whose Kentucky Derby victory in May came under scrutiny because of a positive drug test, collapsed and died after a workout Monday at Santa Anita in Southern California.

Buck O'Neil never uttered a single word of bitterness or regret about not being elected to the baseball Hall of Fame. Till the end, he urged those who loved and rooted for him to do the same.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — As college football's postseason evolved from disconnected bowls to the BCS to the current four-team playoff, it never truly embraced the underdog the way the NCAA basketball tournament does.

NEWRY, Maine (AP) — Santa is back to “sleighing” it on the ski slope.

Alabama will head into the postseason the same way it started the regular season: No. 1 in the nation.

BERLIN (AP) — Three skiers have been killed and two injured in an avalanche in central Austria, authorities said Sunday. The victims included a rising young motorbike racer.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — They practiced in secret and struggled to get to an international tournament in Europe. Now, members of the Afghan national boxing team are seeking refuge in the West, hoping to continue both their careers and their lives without danger or fear.

ATLANTA (AP) — Underdog is an unusual role for Alabama.

Over the past 100 years, around 110 people have owned controlling portions of NFL teams. Of that select group, all but two have been white.

Aaron Rodgers flaunts the NFL/NFLPA coronavirus protocols and gets a fine that barely shows up in his paycheck.

DALLAS (AP) — Greg Sankey recalls a toast former Southeastern Conference Commissioner Roy Kramer gave at a gathering in 2015 to commemorate the tenure of Mike Slive, who was retiring after deftly leading the SEC for 13 years.

VISOKO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Sara Becarevic was born without a lower left arm in Bosnia, a poor Balkan country notorious for the large-scale social and economic exclusion of people with disabilities. Still, it never occurred to her that that could stop her from pursuing her dream of bec…

LONDON (AP) — Aggression by England fans at the European Championship final exposed an “embarrassing" part of the national culture that endangered lives and should lead to fans being barred from stadiums if they are chanting abuse and under the influence of drugs or alcohol, an investigation…

WTA President and CEO Steve Simon did not set out to lead the way for how sports should confront China when he announced that the women’s tennis tour would suspend tournaments there because of concerns about former Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai's well-being.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Hours into Major League Baseball's first work stoppage in 26 years, Commissioner Rob Manfred and union head Tony Clark presented diametrically opposed views of each side's negotiating positions that point to a lengthy lockout.

The suspension of all WTA tournaments in China because of concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official there of sexual assault, could result in cancellations of those events beyond 2022, the head of the women's professional t…

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Major League Baseball plunged into its first work stoppage in a quarter-century when the sport’s collective bargaining agreement expired Wednesday night and owners immediately locked out players in a move that threatens spring training and opening day.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Clark was a minor league prospect in the Detroit Tigers’ system and Rob Manfred a junior lawyer on Major League Baseball management’s legal team during the sport's last work stoppage.

NEW YORK (AP) — People magazine has named Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, actor Sandra Oh, country icon Dolly Parton and the nation's teachers as its “2021 People of the Year.”

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — They don’t call Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue “The Monster” for nothing.

LSU is hiring Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame, a stunning move by one of the most accomplished coaches in college football jumping from the sport's most storied program to a Southeastern Conference powerhouse.

Lee Elder played through the scourge of racism. He broke down enormous barriers. He carved a path for Tiger Woods and others to follow.

NEW YORK (AP) — Eight-time All-Star Max Scherzer is nearing a $130 million, three-year contract with the New York Mets, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Michigan jumped to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday and Oklahoma State joined the top five for the first time since 2015.

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is changing his name to “Enes Kanter Freedom” to celebrate becoming a United States citizen.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Pushed to the limits, Alabama delivered plays to celebrate in a stadium that has produced a few devastating ones.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh got the win he wanted perhaps as desperately as any coach in sports.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Golf, cricket and rugby became the first major sports to be affected by the new COVID-19 variant on Friday, prompting fears of renewed travel restrictions and disrupted events just as they were returning to normal nearly two years into the pandemic.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee for more than two decades, was sentenced to 30 years and 11 months in jail for buying votes for Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympics.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders got the third-down help they needed from Dallas cornerback Anthony Brown.

BOSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant grew up in the Washington, D.C., area looking up to Allen Iverson as he led Georgetown to back-to-back trips to the NCAA Sweet 16.

There is still so much to be decided heading into this week's Thanksgiving college football feast.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The NFL and Rams owner Stan Kroenke will pay $790 million to settle a lawsuit filed by St. Louis interests over the team's relocation to Los Angeles, a joint statement from St. Louis city and county said Wednesday.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Huang Xueqin, who publicly supported a woman when she accused a professor of sexual assault, was arrested in September. Wang Jianbing, who helped women report sexual harassment, was detained along with her. Neither has been heard from since. Meanwhile, several other wom…