KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals hired Mike Matheny on Thursday, bringing in a manager who took the cross-state Cardinals to the World Series six years ago before a three-season swoon cost him his job. The 49-year-old Matheny went 591-474 with the Cardinals from 2012-18 and was ...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo is back at practice after being taken off the commissioner's exempt list. The league made the move on Thursday, one day after misdemeanor chargers were withdrawn against Chickillo stemming from an incident with his girlfriend ...

By Ben Walker AP Baseball Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Almost out of contention in May, champs in October. Howie Kendrick, Anthony Rendon and the Washington Nationals completed their amazing comeback journey — fittingly with one final, late rally on the road. In Game 7 of the World Series, ...

By Tom Withers AP Sports Writer BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Baker Mayfield's frustration finally boiled over. The losing is beating him. Annoyed with a reporter's line of questioning about a drive at the end of the first half in last week's loss at New England, the Browns' fiery quarterback ...

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have confirmed the hiring of Chaim Bloom as their chief baseball officer. The former Tampa Bay Rays executive says in a statement it is an honor to run Boston's baseball operations department. The hiring was first reported ...

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer For coaches and other leaders in college basketball, the approach of the upcoming season has been nothing like business as usual. Not in Indianapolis, where lawyers at the NCAA are busy trying to circumvent a newly passed law that threatens the foundation of ...

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The highlight film of this year's World Series could be a double feature with all those Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movies: "On the Road." For just the third time in Series history, the visiting team has won the first five games. "We play the ...

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer Big news: The Patriots defense allowed a touchdown. Not big news: The Patriots defense scored one, too. Impressive as the entire New England operation has looked in reaching the halfway point of the NFL season at 8-0, the defense is playing at a level rarely ...

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer One of the tightest votes in Top 25 history seems to come down to three philosophies: Like the team with the best resume, based on the number of victories against high-level competition? LSU is for you. Like the team that has been the most ...

By Dave Skretta AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It was supposed to be a Sunday night celebration of two of the NFL’s storied franchises, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, teams that played in the first Super Bowl and each led these days by transcendent ...

By The Associated Press Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid makes his return Sunday to San Francisco, where he and Colin Kaepernick were teammates and made headlines while kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial and social injustices in America. Reid said he isn’t bitter about ...

By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference produces more NFL talent than any other league. It's not even close. The football powerhouse had a record 64 players drafted in 2019, and dozens more made rosters and practice squads as undrafted ...

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has sent an email to parents of players on his team, refuting a report saying representatives are working on his departure from his alma mater. "I am reaching out to let you know that the recent claims that I ...

By JOHN KEKIS AP Sports Writer SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has seen it all in his long career, so retooling the lineup is old hat as he gears up for his 44th season at his alma mater. "It's the same every year. You're starting new," said Boeheim, who got a head start on ...

By JOEDY McCREARY AP Sports Writer DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Mike Krzyzewski describes his latest Duke team as old-fashioned — with an emphasis on old. Sure, the Blue Devils will be heavy on freshmen again after replacing one batch of one-and-done players with another. But surrounding them will ...

By BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals quickly derailed the Cole Express. A 20-year-old prodigy with a passion for the big moment, Soto homered onto the train tracks high above the left field wall and hit a two-run double as the Nationals ...

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer HOUSTON (AP) — What a relief for Houston Astros pitcher Joe Smith that manager AJ Hinch was only joking about his team's makeup for the World Series. "I would bring (him) in my office and pretend like he's not going to make the roster, just to get a ...

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer Cassius Winston had a long list of accomplishments at Michigan State. He led the Spartans to Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles and into the Final Four. He was the Big Ten player of the year, an Associated Press All-American, one of the nation's ...

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer The NFL threw yellow flags on Rams linebacker Clay Matthews, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and Lions safety Tracy Walker, fining each $12,500 for criticizing officials. Matthews was disciplined for a tweet he posted after the Lions lost to his ...

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Tom Brady set the tone and the New England Patriots' blitz-happy defense took over from there. Bill Belichick's bunch is still undefeated after another absolutely dominant performance. Brady threw a TD pass to Phillip ...