Major League Baseball
FILE - In this March 12, 2020, file photo, fans sit in a mostly empty Greensboro Coliseum after the NCAA college basketball games were cancelled at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Scrubbing last year's March Madness due to coronavirus concerns cost the NCAA some $375 million, and another loss like that would have ripple effects throughout college sports. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
Lamentation for sports in 2020: A year of living virally

By Fred Lief Dec. 24, 2020 11:03 AM EST

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Oct. 14, 2020 12:56 PM EDT
Oct. 18 1924 — Harold “Red” Grange accounts for six touchdowns in Illinois’ 39-14 win over Michigan. Grange returns the opening kickoff 95...

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Sep. 24, 2020 12:55 PM EDT
Sept. 27 1894 — Aqueduct Race Track opens its doors. The building is torn down in 1955 and the new Aqueduct reopens on Sept. 14, 1959. ...

Oakland Athletics outfielders Mark Canha (20) and Ramon Laureano, second from right, wear masks as they greet teammates after they defeated the Seattle Mariners in the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, in Seattle. Both games were played in air smoky from wildfires in Oregon, Washington, and California. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Athletics at Mariners 9/14/2020

Sep. 18, 2020 02:39 PM EDT

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Sep. 17, 2020 02:15 PM EDT
Sept. 24 1950 — Philadelphia’s Russ Craft has four interceptions to lead the Eagles in a 45-7 rout of the Chicago Cardinals. Chicago...

US Soccer hires NASCAR's Leetzow as chief legal officer

Jul. 31, 2020 02:55 PM EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Soccer Federation has hired Karen Leetzow as Chief Legal Officer. Leetzow spent 20 years at NASCAR, where she most...

A ball carrier wears a face mask prior to the friendly soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Le Havre, in Le Havre, western France, Sunday, July 12, 2020. For the first time since the coronavirus shut down sports and chased away spectators, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and other soccer stars are going to play again in front of fans. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The Latest: Dodgers CF Pollock considered skipping season

By The Associated Press Jul. 17, 2020 12:49 PM EDT

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman, left, leaves the field after a bullpen session with catcher Gary Sanchez after a bullpen session during a baseball summer training camp workout Sunday, July 5, 2020, at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Latest: Pop keeping eye on Japan, and Olympic hopes

By The Associated Press Jul. 11, 2020 03:07 PM EDT

AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press Jul. 09, 2020 12:38 PM EDT
July 11 1914 — Babe Ruth makes his major league pitching debut for the Boston Red Sox against Cleveland, getting the 4-3 victory over the...

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2019, file photo, Jimmie Johnson (48) drives through the area of the course called "The Bus Stop" during a practice run for the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Watkins Glen International, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Three months after its opening day was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic, Watkins Glen International is hosting car clubs again as NASCAR weekend looms in mid-August. “Everybody is excited about getting back in the saddle. I know we are," track president Michael Printup said. (AP Photo/John Munson, File)
The Latest: D-Backs' Guerra returns after negative test

By The Associated Press Jul. 08, 2020 03:32 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 19, 2017, file photo, Washington Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman watches his grand slam off Atlanta Braves pitcher Ian Krol during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Atlanta. Zimmerman has been offering his thoughts, as told to AP in a diary of sorts, while waiting for baseball to return. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
Nationals at Braves 4/19/2017

Jun. 29, 2020 03:49 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 2, 2020, file photo, jockey Joel Rosario and Nadal cross the wire to win the second division of the Arkansas Derby horse race at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark. Nadal, who now won't have a shot after an ankle injury in training last week, could have been racing to become trainer Bob Baffert's third Triple Crown winner in six seasons, if not for the coronavirus pandemic. The Belmont Stakes usually wraps up a five-week span that includes the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. All have been pushed back, though the Belmont Stakes will now go first on June 20. (Richard Rasmussen/The Sentinel-Record via AP, File)
What Would Have Been: Triple Crown finale and French finals

By Stephen Hawkins Jun. 01, 2020 02:04 AM EDT

The gates of St. Edwards' Lewis-Chen Family Soccer Field are locked and marked closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Austin, Texas. In response to the economic impact of COVID-19, St. Edwards says they are cutting cut six sports programs including men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf and men's soccer. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Latest: West Indies cricket cutting pay by 50%

By The Associated Press May. 29, 2020 07:36 AM EDT

AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press May. 23, 2020 11:31 AM EDT
May 24 1905 — Harry Payne Whitney’s Tanya becomes the second filly to win the Belmont Stakes. Ruthless was the first filly to win the...

AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press May. 21, 2020 10:09 AM EDT
May 23 1876 — Joe Borden of Boston pitches the first no-hitter in NL history. 1884 — Knight of Ellersie, ridden by S....

A worker takes the temperature of a person arriving at Darlington Raceway before the Real Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, May 17, 2020, in Darlington, S.C. NASCAR, which has been idle since March 8 because of the coronavirus pandemic, makes its return at the track Sunday. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
No universal playbook for virus testing in pro sports

By Mark Long May. 19, 2020 03:57 PM EDT

FILE - This May 24, 2019, file photo shows Houston Astros' Aledmys Diaz (16) scoring as Boston Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon reaches to tag him at home plate during the second inning of a baseball game in Houston. The Astros were scheduled to play the Red Sox in the first of consecutive weekend series matching teams that fired World Series-winning managers in the aftermath of a sign-stealing scandal. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Red Sox at Astros 5/24/2019

May. 18, 2020 01:39 AM EDT

FILE - This May 26, 2019, file photo shows Simon Pagenaud, of France, celebrating after winning the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Indianapolis. The Indy 500 has been rescheduled for Aug. 23, 2020, and won't be run on Memorial Day weekend as scheduled for the first time since its return in 1946. Pagenaud passed Alexander Rossi on the penultimate lap to win last May. That gave Roger Penske his 18th win at Indy on the 50th anniversary of his arrival at the Brickyard and before he became the series and track owner. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
What Would Have Been: Indianapolis 500, MLB scandal series

By Stephen Hawkins May. 18, 2020 01:37 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 19, 2019, file photo, Rafael Nadal, of Spain, celebrates after his victory over Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, at the end of their final match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome. The Italian Open would have been the last significant clay-court tuneup ahead of the French Open, which has been postponed until September due to the coronavirus outbreak. Nadal won his ninth trophy in Italy a year ago, before going on to claim his record-extending 12th championship in Paris. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
What Would Have Been: Another PGA major, Triple Crown race

By Stephen Hawkins May. 11, 2020 02:12 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, file photo, Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts makes a leaping catch on a ball hit by New York Yankees' DJ LeMahieu during the eighth inning of a baseball game in New York. With the sports calendar still mostly on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press takes a look at some of the live sporting events that would have taken place the week of May 4-10, 2020, including the season's first meeting between the Red Sox and Yankees, in The Bronx. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
Red Sox at Yankees 8/4/2019

May. 04, 2020 02:04 AM EDT