Browns QB Watson only talks football after NFL suspension
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has refused to address non-football questions in his first comments since returning from an 11-game suspension over sexual misconduct allegations. Watson spoke to the media for the first time since Aug. 18 but declined to discuss his suspension or the reasons he had to sit out. He has been accused by more than two dozen women of sexual harassment and assault during massage therapy sessions. The 27-year-old will play his first game for the Browns on Sunday in Houston, where he starred for four seasons and where the alleged misconduct took place. Watson acknowledged he may have some rust from his long layoff.
Josh Allen throws for 2 TDs, Bills beat Patriots 24-10
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and the Buffalo Bills beat the New England Patriots 24-10 for their first AFC East victory of the season. Devin Singletary had a 1-yard touchdown run to help the Bills win their third straight and take a half-game lead in the division over Miami. Buffalo had been 0-2 against division foes. Allen became the first player in NFL history with three seasons of 25 passing TDs and five rushing scores. New England has lost two straight since posting a season-best, three-game win streak.
US coach Berhalter to draws on Dutch lessons at World Cup
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Gregg Berhalter went to the Netherlands 28 years ago to turn pro and will apply some of the early lessons he learned when he coaches the United States against the Dutch on Saturday for a berth in the World Cup’s quarterfinals. The U.S. was knocked out in the round of 16 in extra-time losses to Ghana in 2010 and Belgium in 2014 then failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament. The Americans have not reached the quarterfinals since 2002. The Netherlands is a three-time World Cup runner-up and finished third in 2014.
Messi, Argentina try to avoid World Cup upset vs. Australia
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Australia’s players speak in glowing and almost reverential terms about Lionel Messi. Mathew Leckie says Messi “does things that no one else can do.” Milos Degenek describes the Argentina star as “probably the best footballer ever to grace the game.” Imagine how they’ll be feeling Saturday when they share the same field as Messi and his Argentina team in the last 16 of the World Cup. These are pinch-yourself times for a group of unheralded players who were expected to be on their way home by this stage of the tournament. It looks to be a mismatch with Australia ranked No. 38 and Argentina starting to play like one of the favorites.
College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams in 2024 season
The College Football Playoff says it will expand to a 12-team event starting in 2024. The announcement came after the Rose Bowl agreed to amend its contract for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That was the last hurdle CFP officials needed cleared to expand the four-team format. The expansion is expected to produce about $450 million in additional gross revenue for the conferences and schools that participate. The plan to expand the playoff was unveiled publicly in June 2021 and it took 18 months of haggling and delays to finally complete.
EXPLAINER: How will College Football Playoff expansion work?
The College Football Playoff will include 12 teams, starting with the 2024 season. An expansion plan that was crafted for two years and haggled over for another 18 months finally cleared all the obstacles needed to go from idea to reality. The CFP announced Thursday that the current four-team system would be tripling in size. There are still a few more details to work out, like exact dates of some of the games, but college football is two years away from another dramatic change to its postseason. Here's how it will work.
LeBron: Media disparity between Jones photo, Irving comments
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has questions about the disparity of media scrutiny he believes is being applied to a 1957 photo of Jerry Jones and the recent controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving. The photo of Jones, captured by an Associated Press photographer, shows him standing among a group of white students at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas on Sept. 9, 1957. The group was blocking six Black students who were attempting to desegregate the school. James said that Black athletes get more scrutiny when “we do something wrong or something that people don't agree with” but that the Jones picture “seems like it’s just been buried under.”
Germany out of World Cup despite 4-2 win over Costa Rica
AL KHOR, Qatar (AP) — Germany was eliminated from the group stage of the World Cup for the second tournament in a row. The four-time champions beat Costa Rica 4-2 but it wasn’t enough to advance to the round of 16. Japan’s 2-1 victory over Spain allowed both of those teams to advance instead. The Japanese team finished at the top of the group. Germany also exited early while playing as defending champions at the last World Cup. Germany coach Hansi Flick says “I believe for the future of German football we need to do things differently in training.”
Japan beats Spain 2-1 as both teams advance at World Cup
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Japan scored twice early in the second half to come from behind to defeat Spain 2-1 in a result that put both teams into the last 16 of the World Cup. Ao Tanaka scored the winning goal from close range early in the second half. It took about two minutes for video review officials to confirm the ball hadn’t gone out of bounds before the goal. Álvaro Morata scored first for Spain in the 11th minute at Khalifa International Stadium. But Japan rallied after halftime. Ritsu Doan equalized in the 48th with a left-footed shot from outside the box. And Tanaka added the second one three minutes later. Germany was eliminated from the tournament even with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica in the other Group E match. A victory by Costa Rica would have eliminated Spain.
Gaylord Perry, two-time Cy Young winner, dies at 84
GAFFNEY, S.C. (AP) — Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry has died at the age of 84. Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Perry died at his home in Gaffney, South Carolina, at about 5 a.m. Thursday. The Perry family said that Perry died after a short illness. Perry pitched for eight major-league teams from 1962 until 1983. He won the Cy Young with Cleveland in 1972 and with San Diego in 1978 just after turning 40. Perry was a five-time All-Star who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.