AP Sports

IOC awards 2034 Winter Games to Utah and pushes state officials to help end FBI investigation

PARIS (AP) — As expected, Salt Lake City will be an Olympics host again after the IOC formally awarded the 2034 Winter Games to the United States bid. The capital city of Utah was the only candidate after the International Olympic Committee gave Salt Lake City exclusive negotiating rights last year in a fast-track contest for 2034. Salt Lake City’s final approval was in a vote Wednesday by IOC members. The IOC also made an unusual demand, pushing local officials to pledge to help end an FBI investigation into actions taken by the World Anti-Doping Agency regarding Chinese swimmers who were allowed to compete at the last Olympics despite positive drug tests.

Uzbekistan loses the match but wins over crowd as soccer competition kicks off Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — Uzbekistan lost the match but won over the crowd as competition at the Paris Olympics officially began with soccer matches in Paris and Saint-Etienne. Uzbekistan fans chanted and danced throughout a 2-1 loss to Spain to the rhythm of a furiously fast drum beat at Parc des Princes in western Paris. It was once the home of Kylian Mbappé when he played for Paris Saint-Germain. There was frustration for Morocco as Argentina equalized deep into stoppage time in Saint-Étienne at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium, known as Le Chaudron (The Cauldron) for its fervent atmosphere. Elsewhere the rugby sevens got underway at Stade de France.

Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill lands the No. 1 spot in AP’s NFL top 5 wide receiver rankings

Five-time All-Pro Tyreek Hill was voted the NFL’s No. 1 wide receiver by The Associated Press in a preseason survey. A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at wide receiver, basing selections on current status entering the 2024 season. Hill received four first-place votes and four second-place selections, edging Justin Jefferson, who got the other four first-place votes but was left off one ballot. Hill has 238 catches for 3,509 yards and 20 touchdowns in two seasons catching passes from Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. After Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb finished third, Ja’Marr Chase was fourth and Amon-Ra St. Brown came in fifth.

Jets’ Sauce Gardner voted No. 1 cornerback in the AP’s top 5 NFL cornerback rankings

Two-time All-Pro Sauce Gardner was voted the NFL’s No. 1 cornerback by The Associated Press in a preseason survey. A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at cornerback, basing selections on current status entering the 2024 season. Gardner, who was selected No. 4 overall by the New York Jets in the 2022 draft, received five first-place votes. Patrick Surtain II got two first-place votes and L’Jarius Sneed received the other one. Trent McDuffie finished third followed by Charvarius Ward and Sneed.

Russian man is among those arrested in plots targeting Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — French authorities say they have foiled several plots to disrupt the 2024 Olympics. France has been on high alert over the past few weeks as preparations to host the Olympics in Paris hit the final stretch. French authorities said Wednesday that they have detained a Russian-born man on suspicion of planning to “destabilize the Olympic Games.” He was charged with “conducting intelligence work on behest of a foreign power” with an aim to “provoke hostilities in France.” Earlier Wednesday, the interior minister said a young man was arrested in a region in the southwest of France on suspicion of “planning a violent action against the Olympic Games.”

Biles, Richardson, Osaka comebacks ‘bigger than them.’ They highlight issues facing Black women

PARIS (AP) — Naomi Osaka will join gymnastics icon Simone Biles and track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson on the Olympic stage. These Black women athletes at the height of their careers have been vocal about mental health, public critique and other personal struggles. Osaka and Biles needed time away from their respective sports to prioritize mental health. Richardson returned to competition after a highly scrutinized ban from track and field. They’ve all bounced back to the world’s biggest stage while displaying different levels of vulnerability. Their stories, different yet similar, give viewers a unique image of Black women.

Rays SS Taylor Walls says gesture wasn’t meant as Trump endorsement and he likely won’t do it again

TORONTO (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said Tuesday that his Donald Trump-inspired celebration of a hit Sunday was not intended as an endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate and added he was unlikely to do it again. Walls pumped his fist and shouted “Fight! Fight! Fight!” after hitting a double against the New York Yankees on Sunday, mimicking Trump’s reaction after a bullet hit his ear during a campaign event in Pennsylvania on July 13. The fifth-inning double off right-hander Marcus Stroman was Walls’ first hit since the shooting.

Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is the focus of Washington Commanders training camp

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — All eyes are on Jayden Daniels as the Washington Commanders open their first training camp of a new era. The rookie quarterback and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU instantly became the face of the franchise when he was picked second in the NFL draft this past spring. New coach Dan Quinn has not named Daniels the starter in an intentional move aimed at not rushing the 23-year-old into the already bright spotlight. But it would take injury or something unforeseen from Daniels becoming the eighth different QB to get the Week 1 nod for Washington in as many seasons.

NFL’s expansion to an 18-game regular season seems inevitable: Analysis

An 18-game NFL season seems inevitable. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has already stated he favors expanding the regular season by another game. Now, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell says the players’ union is open to an agreement before the current labor deal expires after the 2030 season. It’s going to take a lot of convincing to get most of the league’s players on board with another game. But the NFL usually gets what the NFL wants. The league persuaded the union to allow a 17th game in the last round of CBA discussions and the schedule was expanded in 2021.

Patrick Mahomes is a unanimous choice for the top spot in the AP’s quarterback rankings

Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes was a unanimous choice by The Associated Press for No. 1 quarterback in the NFL in a preseason survey. A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at QB, basing selections on current status entering the 2024 season. Despite a subpar regular season — by his lofty standards — Mahomes had another exceptional postseason, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a repeat Super Bowl victory and their third title in five seasons. Josh Allen, reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy each received second-place votes.