AP Sports

Update on the latest sports

NFL-BROWNS-CHUBB BACK
Browns RB Chubb back from COVID list, cleared to play
BEREA, Ohio (AP) – Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb has been activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list, giving the team one of its best players for a critical stretch of the season.
Chubb, who is third in the NFL with 721 yards rushing despite missing three games, was cleared to return Friday after spending 10 days away from the team. He tested positive on Nov. 9 along with rookie punt returner/running back Demetric Felton, who has also been activated. Chubb and Felton sat out last week’s 45-7 loss at New England.
It’s not yet known if Chubb will play Sunday against the winless Detroit Lions. Cleveland’s offense isn’t the same without the 25-year-old, who rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns against Cincinnati on Nov. 11.
The 5-5 Browns also have been without Kareem Hunt. He’ll miss his fifth straight game Sunday with a calf injury.
Chubb missed two games earlier this season with a calf injury.

MLB-METS-GM
Eppler gets 4-year deal to become Mets general manager
NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Mets have finally found a general manager. They completed a drawn-out search by hiring Billy Eppler.
Eppler was fired as GM of the Los Angeles Angels a little more than a year ago after five unsuccessful seasons. But he landed the same position with the Mets following a recruiting process that became the butt of jokes while dragging on for more than six weeks.
Eppler gets a four-year contract to become the 16th general manager in Mets history and their fifth head of baseball operations in 13 tumultuous months. He will be introduced by the team Friday via Zoom.

NASCAR-PRACTICE & QUALIFYING
NASCAR to resume practice and qualifying in 2022
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – NASCAR will return both practice and qualifying to its weekend schedule for all three national series in 2022. The on-track activity had been mostly scrapped the last two seasons during the pandemic.
NASCAR traditionally hosted three-day weekends for its races but dropped all qualifying and practice when competition resumed in May 2020 following a 10-week shutdown due to the pandemic. Some practice sessions returned this year, and championship weekend this month at Phoenix was the closest yet to a pre-pandemic schedule.
NASCAR will use a knockout-style format for qualifying in 2022 that will vary depending on both track type and series.
The Daytona 500 field will be set the same way as always, with the front determined by Feb. 16 time trials. The rest of the starting lineup will be set by the two qualifying races. The other three superspeedway events, two at Talladega and the August race at Daytona, will not have practice. But the cars will qualify before the race.

GAISF-SHUTDOWN
Global sports organizer tells members it wants to shut down
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) – An organization of more than 100 Olympic and non-Olympic sports bodies has told members it is preparing to shut itself down within months.
The Global Association of International Sports Federations also organizes multi-sport events including the World Urban Games and World Combat Games. Those are outside the formal control of the International Olympic Committee. IOC president Bach cautioned in April 2020 that a “proliferation of sports events” should be addressed, citing climate change and “financial pressure on all the stakeholders”
The future of GAISF’s sports events is unclear.