Professional sports

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Merritt Norvell Jr., the first Black athletic director at Michigan State, has died. He was 79. A spokesman at the University of Nevada confirmed Wednesday that football coach Jay Norvell, who is Merritt Norvell's son, took some time away from the team because of his father's death. He left Reno on Monday to go to Michigan and was expected back either Wednesday night or Thursday morning...

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers takes issue with the notion that a lopsided loss at Tampa Bay indicates opponents have caught on to adjustments their offense has made in coach Matt LaFleur's second season. "One out of five," Rodgers said in response at the start of his Zoom session with reporters Wednesday...

ATLANTA (AP) -- Raheem Morris would prefer that everyone stay away from the "I" word. Sure, he's officially the interim head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, a caretaker role handed to him by a team that fired Dan Quinn after losing its first five games...

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Latest on Game 2 of the World Series (all times local): 5:20 p.m. The Los Angeles Dodgers have certainly settled into the new ballpark deep in the heart of Texas. Game 2 of the World Series will be the Dodgers' 15th game at the $1.2 billion Globe Life Field. That is already half as many as the 30 games the Texas Rangers have played in their new home, which opened during the pandemic-shortened season...

MILAN (AP) -- Romelu Lukaku scored a late equalizer with his second goal of the game to give a coronavirus-affected Inter Milan a 2-2 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach in their Champions League opener on Wednesday. Ramy Bensebaini converted a penalty for Gladbach and Jonas Hofmann also scored for the German side before Lukaku's last-minute equalizer...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- A'Shawn Robinson has been designated to return to practice with the Rams this week, moving the new defensive tackle closer to his debut for Los Angeles. The Rams (4-2) announced the decision Wednesday. Robinson can be activated at any point in the next 21 days, or the Rams can place him on season-ending injured reserve...

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Lacking its typical fluency going forward, Manchester City relied on moments of individual brilliance to get its Champions League campaign off to a winning start on Wednesday. City recovered from conceding an early goal to beat Porto 3-1 in their Group C opener, with a curling free kick from Ilkay Gundogan and an impressive individual strike by substitute Ferran Torres completing the second-half comeback at an empty Etihad Stadium...

Penn State's Pat Chambers has resigned following an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct by the Nittany Lions' basketball coach. Chambers, 49, had been at the school for nine years and was coming off the team's best season under his directions...

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) -- It would have been just another Saturday night until Faridd Sierra got a phone call from his brother: come over. A fellow Honduran American is fighting for a unified boxing lightweight championship. The 39-year-old from Dallas hadn't heard of Brooklyn-born boxer Teofimo Lopez until that phone call...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Veteran defensive end/linebacker Aaron Lynch has unretired and been reinstated to Jacksonville's roster. Lynch walked away in August, just a few days into training camp. It was another blow to a position group that had two opt-outs, two season-ending injuries and another setback when defensive tackle Rodney Gunter was forced to step away from football because of an enlarged heart...

HERNING, Denmark (AP) -- Alejandro "Papu" Gomez scored a stunning goal as Atalanta routed FC Midtjylland 4-0 in their Champions League opener on Wednesday. Duvan Zapata set up that goal and the Colombia forward also scored -- and had a hand in his side's third goal -- as Atalanta got its second season in the Champions League off to a great start...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tyronn Lue is stepping into his new job as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers fully aware of the pressure to bring the first NBA championship to the long-suffering franchise. As if Lue needed a reminder, owner Steve Ballmer proclaimed, "My personality is all about winning."...

With the Summer Olympics in Tokyo delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic, not much attention has been paid to the Winter Games scheduled for February 2022 in Beijing. Except for by those who participate in the sports that compete on the ice and snow -- in particular figure skating, for which the competitive season that begins this week at a watered-down Skate America in Las Vegas is critical...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Sherwood Country Club again is hosting some of the world's best players, some of whom return to memories of clutch shots, free money and a happy time of the year with the holidays right around the corner. Just not very many of them...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- An avid sports fan, Villanova coach Jay Wright watched with interest how Major League Baseball muddled through its season to get to the World Series and college football and the NFL have been challenged to piecemeal schedules to complete a season...

When Bryan Harsin was trying to figure out how to keep his team engaged throughout the uncertainty surrounding whether Boise State would play this season or not, there was one voice he turned to for advice. "I only need to talk to Mack Brown because he talks to everybody else," Harsin said. "I'll just say this because every other college coach in America goes to Mack Brown, they all talk to him. So I can go to him and I got a relationship with him and he is the best."...

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Liverpool's makeshift defense held firm and a fortunate goal earned Jurgen Klopp's team a 1-0 victory over Ajax on Wednesday in their Champions League opener at the empty Johan Cruyff Area. Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico turned a mishit shot by Sadio Mane into his own net in the 35th minute for the only goal of the match...

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) -- Top-seeded Alexander Zverev overcame Australia's John Millman 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the Cologne Championship quarterfinals on Wednesday. Zverev hit 10 double-faults but held his nerve to win his fifth straight match in Cologne after winning last week's Cologne Indoors...

PIRAEUS, Greece (AP) -- Ahmed Hassan came off the bench to score an injury-time goal for Olympiakos in a 1-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Egyptian delivered a powerful header to beat goalkeeper Steve Mandanda after Mathieu Valbuena's cross...

The Las Vegas Raiders sent all five starting offensive linemen home as part of coronavirus contact tracing after right tackle Trent Brown was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list with a positive test. The Raiders held practice on Wednesday without their starting five as they prepare for Sunday's home game against Tampa Bay. Safety Johnathan Abram also was held out because of contract tracing...

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold practiced for the first time since spraining his throwing shoulder and could have a chance to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Darnold was listed as a limited participant Wednesday, which is a positive development for the young quarterback...

Say this about Army coach Jeff Monken -- he's a master of improvisation. Faced with the loss of his top three quarterbacks to injuries as he prepared the Black Knights to face UTSA on the road last Saturday, he decided to rotate two quarterbacks who had just one snap under center combined...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A person with direct knowledge of the deal say the New York Jets have traded outside linebacker Jordan Willis to the San Francisco 49ers. The Jets are also sending a 2021 seventh-round draft pick to the 49ers for a sixth-round selection in 2022, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the teams hadn't announced the trade...

For two weeks, BYU sophomore Masen Wake kept his tribute to his mother covered up, waiting for just the right moment to unveil it. That time arrived last Friday when the walk-on fullback/tight end scored the go-ahead touchdown at Houston. He lifted his jersey to reveal a T-shirt that read in bold, blue lettering: REST IN HEAVEN MOM...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Joe Burrow threw the ball 61 times in the Bengals' first game against the Browns five weeks ago. He doesn't expect it to get that "weird" in the rematch this week. Burrow believes the Bengals (1-4-1) are better now than when they lost 35-30 at Cleveland in Week 2 when an ineffective running game forced Cincinnati to get pass happy. ...

MUNICH (AP) -- Bayern Munich picked up where it left off in the Champions League, starting its title defense with a 4-0 rout of Atletico Madrid on Wednesday after overcoming the club's first coronavirus case. Kingsley Coman netted twice as Bayern took its winning streak to 12 straight games in Europe's premier competition, with Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso also scoring...

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Austin Meadows is leading off as the designated hitter for Tampa Bay and first baseman Ji-Man Choi is in the cleanup spot for the Rays in Game 2 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. With rookie right-hander Tony Gonsolin on the mound for the Dodgers on Wednesday night, the left-handed hitters Meadows and Choi were in the lineup after not starting the series opener against lefty Clayton Kershaw. The Rays had five left-handers in the batting order...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- LSU has self-imposed penalties for NCAA rules violations by the football program that include a reduction of scholarships and a two-year ban from its athletic facilities for Cleveland Browns star and former Tigers receiver Odell Beckham Jr., according to a report by Sports Illustrated...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Following a promising start, the Patriots offense is trudging through its first rough patch of 2020 under quarterback Cam Newton. The Patriots had their worst offensive performance of the season during last week's 18-12 loss to Denver, producing a season-low 288 yards...

DeVonta Smith could be tearing up the NFL instead of the Southeastern Conference. The Alabama standout has 38 receptions for 483 yards and four touchdowns in four games, including consecutive performances in which he topped 160 yards while helping the second-ranked Crimson Tide score a combined 104 points...

Stan Van Gundy is headed to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he'll take over a promising team that includes 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson and reigning Most Improved Player Brandon Ingram. Van Gundy agreed to a four-year contract, said a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms had not been revealed publicly...

MADRID (AP) -- The celebrations by Shakhtar Donetsk players echoed loudly around the empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium. Some yelled, others raised their arms and a few hugged each other after the final whistle was blown in Madrid. It wasn't just another victory for the Ukrainian side...

Wisconsin's rushing attack will look quite a bit different this season without Jonathan Taylor in the backfield. The Badgers hope it won't necessarily be that much less potent. Wisconsin begins adjusting to life without Taylor on Friday night when the 14th-ranked Badgers host Illinois in their pandemic-delayed season opener. ...

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- The Big West Conference will play 20 league games in men's and women's basketball under a modified format that will reduce travel during the coming season because of the coronavirus. The league announced its schedules on Wednesday...

A few things have changed for Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell since his team's first national ranking. There have been many well-wishers and increased media obligations this week, so "I went and got a haircut," he joked Wednesday. "So that's a benefit as well."...