AP Sports Summary for February 5th, 2924.
2026 World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey
The 2026 World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19. FIFA made the announcement Sunday, allocating the opener of the 39-day tournament to Mexico City's Estadio Azteca on June 11 and the finale to the home of the NFL's New York Jets and Giants. The U.S. team will play its opener at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on June 12, then travel to Seattle's Lumen Field and finish the group stage at SoFi. Semifinals will be played on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the following day at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The third-place game will be at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Mahomes' father arrested on DWI suspicion in Texas as Chiefs prepare to face 49ers in the Super Bowl
TYLER, Texas (AP) — The father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been arrested on at least his third charge of driving while intoxicated, according to Smith County, Texas, records. Patrick Mahomes Sr.'s bond was set at $10,000 and he was released Sunday, according to the records. Mahomes' arrest occurred just more than a week before his son leads his team into the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49er. The teams meet next Sunday in Las Vegas.
Wyndham Clark declared Pebble Beach winner when final round wiped out by weather
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Wyndham Clark is the winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The PGA Tour has canceled the final round because of wicked weather conditions that would linger into the next day and cause safety concerns. Clark's final stroke was to tap in for birdie Saturday. That gave him a course record 12-under 60 and a one-shot lead over Ludvig Aberg. He never had to hit another shot. Overnight rain saturated Pebble Beach, and raging wind that followed led the PGA Tour to postpone the final round with hopes of playing on Monday. Clark picked up the $3.6 million payoff.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid set for procedure to fix lateral meniscus in left knee
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will undergo an unspecified procedure this week to correct the injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee. The 76ers did not say how much time Embiid was expected to miss on Sunday night. The 76ers have a three-game homestand this week that opens Monday against Dallas. Embiid hurt his left knee Tuesday night in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. He underwent an MRI that revealed the injury.
Trade deadline, MVP race and more outdoor hockey are on tap for the 2nd half of the NHL season
TORONTO (AP) — Two significant trades happened during the NHL's All-Star break. Many more are expected in the four-plus weeks before the March 8 trade deadline. That flurry of moves is just one thing to watch down the stretch of the NHL season. MetLife Stadium will host two outdoor games in as many days, Connor McDavid is shooting for another MVP honor and his Oilers are racing their way up the Western Conference standings. All that still needs to unfold before the playoffs and the chase for the Stanley Cup begin on April 22.
The Chiefs Industry: Kansas City's sustained success has boosted small business bottom lines
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Anthony Oropeza was trying to build a side business around his artwork when he started doing acrylic and mixed-media pieces centered on the Kansas City Chiefs. They sold like wildfire, and now his Chiefs-related work makes up the bulk of what he does to supplement his income. He's an example of small businesses in Kansas City and elsewhere that have been able to take advantage of the Chiefs' success to help their bottom line. The Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday in Las Vegas in their fourth Super Bowl in five years. And that has proven to be a boon for small apparel companies, bakeries and, yes, local artists as well.
Bill Belichick takes out newspaper ad to thank New England fans for their support
Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick took out a full-page newspaper ad to thank Boston fans for their support during his time on the New England sideline. The ad that ran in Sunday's Boston Globe and includes an image of Belichick overlooking a large crowd. Belichick coached the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships and 17 AFC East titles in a 19-year span. But the team struggled after quarterback Tom Brady left, with three losing seasons in four years and a 4-13 record in 2023 that led to Belichick's departure. Belichick thanked the fans for their passion and even poked fun at his reputation as a slovenly grouch.
Lionel Messi's global tour with Inter Miami has been very messy and a PR nightmare
TOKYO (AP) — It's all been very messy. We're talking about Lionel Messi and Inter Miami's global tour of exhibition games where the main show has been Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning captain. The matches are about promotion and marketing, hoping to build a new brand by using stars like Messi and Uruguayan Luis Suarez. Instead, the tour is getting mostly bad PR, and results that have not been much better. Through five games, Inter Miami has been outscored 12-7 and won only once. And that was Sunday in Hong Kong, where a 4-1 victory over the local team was overshadowed by angry fans holding up signs demanding a refund and booing since neither Messi nor Suarez played — both apparently out injured.
Joaquin Niemann outlasts Sergio Garcia on 4th extra hole in LIV Golf Mayakoba
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Joaquin Niemann outlasted Sergio Garcia well after sunset Sunday in the season-opening LIV Golf Mayakoba, making a 12-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the fourth hole of a playoff with the green lit by a large video screen. Niemann won his first LIV Golf title two days after opening with a 12-under 59 — and after having two penalty strokes tacked onto his second-round score Sunday morning for taking incorrect relief on a drop from a cart path on No. 13. That left the 25-year-old Chilean two shots ahead entering the final round. He closed with a 70, parring the final two holes to match Garcia at 12-under 201 at El Camaleon. Garcia parred the final three holes of regulation in a 66.
Fans unhappy at not seeing injured Messi play as Inter Miami cruises past Hong Kong XI 4-1
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong soccer fans and government have expressed their disappointment as Lionel Messi stayed on the bench for the full 90 minutes while Inter Miami defeated a Hong Kong XI 4-1 in the latest stop on the MLS team's preseason Asian tour. The Argentine has a hamstring strain and did not play as fans, who snapped up more than 38,000 tickets within an hour of them going on sale in December, could be heard booing in the late stages of the game and at the final whistle. Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino defended the decision. He said the eight-time Ballon D'Or winner could not be risked. Miami finishes its Asian tour in Japan on Wednesday when it plays Vissel Kobe.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Orlando 111 Detroit 99
Final Phoenix 140 Washington 112
Final Boston 131 Memphis 91
Final Indiana 115 Charlotte 99
Final L.A. Clippers 103 Miami 95
Final Minnesota 111 Houston 90
Final 2OT Oklahoma City 135 Toronto 127
Final Utah 123 Milwaukee 108
Final Denver 112 Portland 103
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Purdue 75 (6)Wisconsin 69
Final (11)Arizona 82 Stanford 71
Final (14)Illinois 87 Nebraska 84
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Dallas at Philadelphia 7 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Charlotte 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Cleveland 7 p.m.
Golden State at Brooklyn 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
Toronto at New Orleans 8 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Colorado at N-Y Rangers 7 p.m.
N-Y Islanders at Toronto 7 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(8)Kansas at Kansas St. 9 p.m.
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