AP Sports

Argentina tops FIFA men’s rankings as government hits back at critics of team’s racist France song

Argentina is confirmed as the world’s No. 1 team in the FIFA men’s rankings. FIFA published them after the national government in Argentina doubled down on defending the players who celebrated winning the Copa America by singing a racist song targeting No. 2-ranked France. The song mocked the African heritage of some France players and was filmed on Sunday by midfielder Enzo Fernandez. A sports official in Argentina’s government who urged Lionel Messi to apologize was fired. The vice president in Argentina’s far-right government hit back at critics as hypocrites. FIFA and Fernandez’s club Chelsea are looking into the incident.

Caitlin Clark breaks WNBA’s game assists record with 19 in Fever’s loss to Wings

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Indiana rookie Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA record for assists in a game Wednesday night, finishing with 19 in the Fever’s 101-93 loss to the Dallas Wings. The previous record was 18 by Courtney Vandersloot for Chicago on Aug. 31, 2020. Vandersloot also had 18 in a playoff game on Sept. 28, 2021. And the league’s previous record for assists by a rookie was 16, set by Ticha Penicheiro for Sacramento on July 29, 1998. The record-breaker for Clark came on a play where she set Kelsey Mitchell up for a 3-pointer with 2:22 remaining. That tied it at 93, but Dallas closed with an 8-0 run. Clark entered the game as the WNBA’s assists-per-game leader this season. She added 24 points on 10-for-19 shooting.

McIlroy gets last chance to recover from another major letdown as British Open starts at Troon

TROON, Scotland (AP) — Rory McIlroy takes his first big step toward moving past a major championship collapse. It comes in the last major of the year. McIlroy is among the early starters at Royal Troon as the 152nd British Open gets under way. This is the 10th time at Royal Troon. McIlroy last month was poised to end a decade without a major until missing a pair of 3-foot putts in the U.S. Open to finish one behind Bryson DeChambeau. McIlroy is optimistic about the state of his game. Now he has to handle the wind and bunkers of Royal Troon.

Paris police are sealing off the Seine River ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony

PARIS (AP) — A special kind of iron curtain has come down across central Paris. Police have set up the beginning of an anti-terrorism perimeter along the banks of the Seine River before it hosts the Olympics opening ceremony next week. Parisians and tourists can only pass through if they apply in advance for a pass. Those with the precious QR code passed smoothly past police checkpoints at gaps in the barriers taller than most people. Those without got mostly turned away. The perimeter went into effect early Thursday morning, and will last through the ceremony. As an exception, Paris has decided to hold the opening ceremony on the river rather than in a stadium.

Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan is the youngest ever in MLS. He’s just 14 years old

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan became the youngest player in Major League Soccer history when he made his debut against the New England Revolution. At 14 years and 293 days old, Sullivan is about two weeks younger than Freddy Adu was when he made his MLS debut in 2004. Sullivan is also younger than any player who has appeared in any of the four major North American sports since at least 1970. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that mark is held by Andrew Bynum. He debuted for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2005 at the age of 18 years, 6 days.

Bronny James bounces back with 12 points, Lakers top Hawks 87-86 at Summer League

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bronny James got some shots to fall Wednesday night in perhaps his best performance yet out of his five games with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer. The son of NBA career scoring leader LeBron James finished with 12 points in the Lakers’ 87-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Summer League in Las Vegas. Bronny James made four of his first five shots, including his first 3-pointer of the summer on his 17th attempt. He finished 5 for 11 from the field, 2 for 5 from 3-point range.

Magic co-founder Pat Williams, who helped bring team to Orlando, dies at 84

Pat Williams, a co-founder of the Orlando Magic and someone who spent more than a half-century working within the NBA, has died from complications related to viral pneumonia. The team announced the death Wednesday. Williams was 84. He started his NBA career as business manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968, then had stints as general manager of the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks and the 76ers — helping that franchise win a title in 1983. Williams was later involved in starting the process of bringing an NBA team to Orlando. The league’s board of governors granted an expansion franchise in 1987, and the team began play in 1989.

Nick Saban is back at SEC Media Days, 6 months after retiring and asking the questions now

DALLAS (AP) — Nick Saban is at SEC Media Days again, six months after retiring as Alabama coach. This time he’s asking the questions as part of ESPN’s SEC Network coverage of the four-day event. Saban retired after 17 seasons with the Tide and three decades as a head coach. The seven-time national champion will work for ESPN this season on its “College GameDay” Saturday pregame show. He said he strives to be objective as a broadcaster and steer away from being controversial. Though he already made a headline by picking Georgia and Texas, and not Alabama, to play for the SEC title.

Jon Jones fights charges stemming from alleged hostility during a drug test at his home

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has pleaded not guilty to a pair of misdemeanor charges stemming from a drug test at his home in which he was accused of being hostile. He appeared with his attorney Wednesday for a virtual court hearing. Jones has said on social media that the allegations were baseless and that he never threatened anyone. A woman who worked for a company that conducts drug tests on professional athletes initially filed a report with police in April. She accused Jones of threatening her and cursing at her when she and a colleague visited Jones’ home for a test in March.

MLB All-Star Game viewers up 6% to 7.44 million after falling to record low last year

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Skenes, Shohei Ohtani, Jarren Duran and the rest of this year’s All-Stars drew 7,443,000 viewers on Fox, up 6% from the 2023 game but the second lowest for the event. The American League’s 5-3 victory at Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday night saw an increase from the 7,006,000 viewers for the National League’s 3-2 win last year at Seattle. The 2022 game is Los Angeles was watched by 7.51 million. An additional 116,000 viewers watched Spanish-language coverage on Fox Deportes, up 36% from 85,000 last year.