AP Sports

Brian Harman starts his British Open title defense by returning the claret jug

TROON, Scotland (AP) — Brian Harman had to say goodbye to an old friend. The start of the British Open includes a ceremony where the champion officially hands back the claret jug. Harman says it was a little sad to return the oldest trophy in golf. The hard part is trying to get it back. Only five players have won the British Open back to back since 1960. All of them are in the Hall of Fame. Now it’s Harman’s turn to see if he can join them at Royal Troon. Harman hasn’t won since last year. He’s waiting for his putting to come around.

Simone Biles has moved past Tokyo. If critics can’t, she says that’s their problem, not hers

Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles is ready to step into the Olympic spotlight once again. The American headlines a U.S. team heavily favored to win gold in Paris. The 27-year-old Biles says she’s in a different place now than she was in Tokyo in 2021, when she removed herself from multiple finals to focus on her mental health. Biles understands that are critics who are still fixated on what happened in Japan. She says she knows she can never silence them, so she has no plans to even try as she prepares for what could be her final competition.

US wastes most of big lead, holds on to beat Australia 98-92 in tuneup for Paris Olympics

Anthony Davis scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton came up with a pair of late 3-pointers that helped stop a freefall by the Americans, and the U.S. beat Australia 98-92 on Monday to improve to 2-0 in its five-game slate of exhibitions leading into the Paris Olympics. Devin Booker scored 16 for the U.S., which saw a 24-point second-half lead cut to four in the final moments. Jock Landale scored 20 for Australia, which got 17 from Josh Giddey and 14 from Dyson Daniels.

Who is carrying the Olympic torch through Paris? A BTS star, a garbage collector and more

PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of people have carried the Olympic torch through the French capital for two days of celebrations before the Summer Games kick off at the end of the month. They included BTS star Jin, a runner from Central African Republic, former World Cup and Olympic medal winners and people known for their volunteer or community work. About 10,000 people were chosen to carry the flame across France to the Games’ opening ceremony on July 26. One onlooker says the relay is “a bit of joy after the disastrous weeks we’ve had” around the chaotic recent elections in France.

MLB batting average near half-century low and velocity at all-time high

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Baseball can’t run away from its lack of runs. Batting averages are near half-century lows. Velocity is at an all-time high. The major league batting average was .240 through April and .239 in May, the lowest since the bottom of .237 in 1968’s Year of the Pitcher. It’s risen slightly along with the temperature as spring turned to summer: .246 in June and .250 in July, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Still, the season average of .243 heading into the All-Star break was just ahead of 2022 and 1968 as the lowest since the dead-ball era ended in 1920.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey: ‘Time to update your expectations for what college athletics can be’

DALLAS (AP) — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey unofficially opened the league’s first football season as 16-team league in North Texas. It was a setting for SEC Media Days at a time when everything about college sports seems to be in flux. He said it was time to update expectations for what college athletics can be. The 59-year-old commissioner stressed that college sports must find solutions from within. He also said that while he is paying attention litigation in the Atlantic Coast Conference involving Florida State and Clemson, the SEC is focused on its 16 schools and he is not a recruiter.

Carlos Alcaraz wants a seat at the adult table after his second Wimbledon and fourth Slam trophy

LONDON (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz is achieving all sorts of things Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic didn’t by his age. The 21-year-old Spaniard already owns two Wimbledon titles and four Grand Slam trophies in all. His straight-set victory over Djokovic in the Wimbledon final on Sunday was only Alcaraz’s latest impressive triumph. But he is hardly satisfied. He wants to keep going, keep improving and keep winning. He says he won’t place any limits on what he can accomplish and has no idea whether he can collect as major championships as the so-called Big Three of men’s tennis did.

Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes to start against Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes in All-Star Game

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes will start for the American League in the All-Star Game against Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes. A 29-year-old right-hander, Burnes is 9-4 with a 2.93 ERA in his first season with the Orioles, who acquired him from Milwaukee just before spring training. Skenes, who made his major league debut on May 11, is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 89 and walking 13 in 66 1/3 innings. The 21-year-old right-hander will become the fifth rookie starter after Dave Stenhouse, Mark Fidrych, Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo.

NFL training camps get underway as rookies start reporting this week

The short summer vacation is over for NFL players. It’s time to begin the journey to Super Bowl 59. Coming off a disappointing finish in the AFC championship game, the Baltimore Ravens became the first team to open training camp when they welcomed rookies on Saturday. Nineteen more teams get underway this week and all 32 clubs will open doors by July 24. Everyone is 0-0 but expectations aren’t the same. Some teams are legitimate contenders. A few are rebuilding. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are aiming to become the first team to three-peat since the 1965-67 Green Bay Packers won three consecutive NFL championships.

Once Yamal and Williams helped Spain out of its ‘tiki-taka’ rut, no rival could resist at Euro 2024

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain arrived in Germany with no huge stars and no real expectations. Six weeks later, Luis de la Fuente’s team heads home with a European Championship title to celebrate and reason to believe in a bright future. The youthful spark of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams combined perfectly with the veteran poise of Rodri and other mainstays who had yet to win a major trophy as Spain completed its superb Euro 2024 with a 2-1 win over England on Sunday. The key was making Spain a more dynamic and versatile attacking team to end a decade of “tiki-taka” misfires.