AP Sports SummaryBrief at 6:58 a.m. EST
World Cup Viewer's Guide: Ronaldo and Neymar seek history
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Two of the best players in soccer start World Cup competition Thursday as Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar both seek history in Qatar. Ronaldo is attempting to become the first male soccer player to score in five different World Cups when he leads Portugal against Ghana. Neymar is the leader of a Brazil team seeking a record-extending sixth World Cup title. South Korea plays Uruguay and Switzerland faces Cameroon in other games. South Korea forward Son Heung-min will likely be wearing a Batman-style mask to protect the left eye socket he fractured earlier this month.
Embolo scores, Switzerland beat Cameroon 1-0 at World Cup
AL WAKRAH, Qatar (AP) — Breel Embolo's goal has lifted Switzerland to a 1-0 win over Cameroon at the World Cup. He kept his promise not to celebrate scoring against the country where he was born. The Swiss forward from Yaounde struck with a right-foot shot in the 48th minute Thursday. He was standing all alone eight meters (yards) out in the middle of the goalmouth to take Xherdan Shaqiri's low pass. Embolo raised his hands in a gesture of apology as teammates rushed to him near the penalty spot. The 25-year-old forward left Cameroon with his family when he was five.
Aaron Rodgers says he's been playing with broken thumb
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he's been playing with a broken thumb for the past six weeks. Rodgers hurt his thumb on Oct. 9 during a foiled Hail Mary attempt on the final play of the Packers' 27-22 loss to the New York Giants in London. The Packers have listed Rodgers with a thumb injury each week since. But the four-time MVP didn't acknowledge publicly until Wednesday that it was broken. Rodgers says he's played through worse injuries. And he says the thumb now feels the best it has since the Giants game.
Phillies' Harper to miss start of season after elbow surgery
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phillies slugger Bryce Harper will miss the start of the 2023 season after he had reconstructive right elbow surgery. The operation was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Harper is expected to return to Philadelphia's lineup as the designated hitter by the All-Star break. He could be back in right field by the end of the season, according to the team. Even with the elbow injury, Harper led the Phillies to their first World Series since 2009, where they lost to Houston in six games. The two-time NL MVP hit .349 with six homers and 13 RBIs in 17 postseason games.
Empty streets, cranes: the city built for Qatar's World Cup
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Less than a month before it is set to host the World Cup final, Lusail City is oddly quiet. The sleek district 20 kilometers north of Doha was built to accommodate World Cup fans and hundreds of thousands of host nation Qatar's residents. It is home to the golden, bowl-shaped stadium where the World Cup's final match will take place, but its empty streets are raising questions about how much use it will get once more than a million soccer fans leave the small Gulf Arab nation after the tournament.
England wary of World Cup upset against US
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — England scored six goals in its opening World Cup game against Iran, but it was the two it conceded that concern coach Gareth Southgate and provide hope for the United States. The tournament has already produced some shocking results, including Saudi Arabia's win against Argentina and Japan's upset over Germany. A win for the U.S. over England would not be on the scale of Saudi Arabia's win, but Gregg Berhalter's team is undoubtedly the underdog against one of the tournament favorites.
Promising Spain brings back the 'tiki-taka' at the World Cup
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — King Felipe VI was among those congratulating Spain after its 7-0 rout of Costa Rica in the World Cup opener as "La Roja" put on a masterclass of ball possession and efficient attacking to get off to a good start in its quest to win a second world title. The historic victory raised expectations about "La Roja's" chances of succeeding in Qatar and winning soccer's most coveted trophy for the first time since 2010. Spain plays Germany in their second Group E match on Sunday.
Jets bench Zach Wilson, Mike White to start vs. Bears
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson has been benched by the New York Jets. The underachieving quarterback will be replaced by Mike White as the starter Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Coach Robert Saleh announced the decision after evaluating and discussing the situation with his assistants. Saleh said the benching is a reset for the second-year quarterback. Wilson had a dismal performance last Sunday in the Jets' 10-3 loss to the Patriots in New England. The No. 2 overall pick in the draft last year was 9 of 22 for a measly 77 yards. Joe Flacco will be White's backup.
Japan gets 2 late goals to upset Germany 2-1 at World Cup
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored late goals to give Japan a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Germany at the World Cup. Ilkay Gündogan had given four-time champion Germany the lead with a first-half penalty. But Doan pounced on a rebound to equalize in the 76th minute after Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer blocked a shot from Takumi Minamino. Then Asano sprinted clear of Nico Schlotterbeck and beat Neuer from a narrow angle in the 83rd. Both Doan and Asano play for German clubs. It was the first competitive meeting between the two nations.
Teen Gavi leads Spain to 7-0 rout of Costa Rica at World Cup
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Spain's young squad got off to a high-scoring start at the World Cup by routing Costa Rica 7-0. Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio and Ferran Torres scored a goal each in the first 31 minutes. Torres, Gavi, Carlos Soler and Álvaro Morata added to the lead in the second half. Olmo's goal was the 100th at World Cups for Spain. The country became the sixth nation to score more than 100 times in the tournament. It was the first time Spain has scored seven goals in a World Cup match.
College Basketball Scores
Wednesday, Nov. 23
EAST
American 74, Georgetown 70
Babson 66, Amherst 54
Binghamton 81, Columbia 79
California (Pa.) 90, Chestnut Hill 64
Dist. of Columbia 91, Bowie St. 88
Duquesne 75, Alabama St. 57
Indiana St. 85, Drexel 81
Maine 66, CCSU 58
Mass.-Lowell 73, Brown 62
N. Illinois 86, LIU 61
Niagara 91, D'Youville 53
Providence 71, Merrimack 57
Queens (NY) 88, Nyack 73
Rhode Island 57, Illinois St. 44
St. Francis (Pa.) 120, Franciscan 53
St. Peter's 98, Old Westbury 51
SOUTH
Appalachian St. 74, ETSU 70
Carson-Newman 92, Clayton St. 89
Coll. of Charleston 74, Kent St. 72
E. Kentucky 122, Brescia 84
Eckerd 89, Puerto Rico-Bayamon 69
Emory & Henry 86, Bluefield College Ramblin Rams 71
FIU 83, Stony Brook 50
Florida Gulf Coast 73, UMKC 59
Greensboro 62, Ferrum 59
High Point 77, Tennessee St. 72
Jacksonville 64, Campbell 43
Kansas 80, NC State 74
Kentucky 96, North Florida 56
Liberty 55, Bradley 44
Lincoln Memorial 61, Georgia College 54
Lipscomb 72, Chattanooga 66
Louisiana Tech 80, Alabama A&M 75
Miami 79, St. Francis (NY) 56
Mississippi St. 52, Utah 49
Mount Olive 70, Lenoir-Rhyne 63
Queens (NC) 107, Lynchburg 72
Rollins 94, Southeastern 59
SC-Aiken 86, Limestone 62
Samford 79, Valparaiso 49
Southern Miss. 70, Fort Wayne 58
Texas A&M-CC 98, Alcorn St. 67
The Citadel 72, New Orleans 65
Toledo 82, N. Kentucky 69
UCF 76, Evansville 56
W. Kentucky 71, Tulane 65
Wake Forest 105, SC State 74
William & Mary 62, Radford 51
Winthrop 101, E. Michigan 87
Wofford 70, North Greenville 59
MIDWEST
Arkansas Tech 68, Drury 61
Auburn 43, Northwestern 42
Cent. Michigan 82, CS Northridge 66
Cincinnati 81, Louisville 62
Cleveland St. 77, Chicago St. 63
Detroit 70, Charlotte 49
Ferris St. 75, Ashland 69
Illinois College 62, Illinois Tech 50
Indiana 87, UALR 68
John Carroll 78, Fredonia St. 68
Kansas St. 61, LSU 59
Lindenwood (Mo.) 77, Idaho St. 76, OT
Marquette 84, Georgia Tech 60
Michigan 78, Jackson St. 68
Missouri 89, Coastal Carolina 51
Missouri S&T 95, St. Louis 41
Missouri-St. Louis 75, Michigan Tech 57
Mount Union 94, Wooster 76
Ohio Dominican 78, Alderson-Broaddus 72
Ohio St. 80, Texas Tech 73
Ohio Wesleyan 67, Capital 65
Purdue-Northwest 101, Calumet College of St. Joseph 75
Saint Louis 96, Paul Quinn 53
Sam Houston St. 80, South Dakota 49
St. Thomas (MN) 76, Milwaukee 72
Tennessee 71, Butler 45
Walsh 115, Carlow 44
Wis.-River Falls 78, Finlandia 68
Wisconsin 43, Dayton 42
Wright St. 87, Weber St. 65
SOUTHWEST
Baylor 89, McNeese St. 60
Dallas Baptist 74, S. Nazarene 71
East Carolina 79, Texas-Arlington 65
Hamilton 85, Texas Lutheran 83
St. Thomas (Texas) 58, Texas-Dallas 53
Sul Ross St. 90, Trinity (FL) 78
UC Riverside 76, Abilene Christian 65
UTEP 68, CS Bakersfield 67, OT
FAR WEST
Air Force 64, MVSU 51
Arizona 81, Creighton 79
Arkansas 78, San Diego St. 74, OT
Biola 82, SAGU American Indian College 54
Black Hills St. 97, Montana St.-Billings 38
Cal Poly 82, Idaho 71
Cal St.-East Bay 75, Dominican (Cal.) 71, OT
Denver 86, IUPUI 64
E. New Mexico 74, Northern New Mexico 53
Loyola Marymount 81, Morgan St. 80, OT
Nevada 62, Akron 58
Santa Clara 64, Menlo 51
Seattle 89, Pacific Lutheran 53
Southern Cal 82, BYU 76
UC Santa Barbara 89, North Alabama 71
UCLA 100, Pepperdine 53
UNLV 71, Minnesota 62
Washington 62, Fresno St. 57
Willamette 86, La Verne 81
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NBA RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Tuesday's Games
Philadelphia 115, Brooklyn 106
Sacramento 113, Memphis 109
Detroit 110, Denver 108
Phoenix 115, L.A. Lakers 105
Wednesday's Games
Cleveland 114, Portland 96
Charlotte 107, Philadelphia 101
Minnesota 115, Indiana 101
Brooklyn 112, Toronto 98
Atlanta 115, Sacramento 106
Boston 125, Dallas 112
Miami 113, Washington 105
New Orleans 129, San Antonio 110
Chicago 118, Milwaukee 113
Denver 131, Oklahoma City 126, OT
Detroit 125, Utah 116
Golden State 124, L.A. Clippers 107
Thursday's Games
No games scheduled.
Friday's Games
Minnesota at Charlotte, 5 p.m.
Philadelphia at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Portland at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston, 8 p.m.
Brooklyn at Indiana, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Boston, 8 p.m.
Washington at Miami, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Utah at Golden State, 10 p.m.
Denver at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Dallas at Toronto, 5 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Houston, 8 p.m.
Utah at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Thursday's Time Schedule
By The Associated Press
All Times EST
Thursday, Nov. 24
NFL
Buffalo at Detroit, 12:30 p.m.
New York Giants at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
New England at Minnesota, 8:20 p.m.
WORLD CUP SOCCER
Switzerland vs. Cameroon, 5 a.m.
Uruguay vs. South Korea, 8 a.m.
Portugal vs. Ghana, 11 a.m.
Brazil vs. Serbia, 2 p.m.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Top 25
No. 20 Mississippi vs. Mississippi State, 7 p.m.
MEN'S TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
No. 1 North Carolina vs. Portland at Portland, Oregon, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Kansas vs. Wisconsin at Nassau, Bahamas, 11 a.m.
No. 6 Gonzaga vs. Portland St. at Portland, Oregon, 12:30 a.m.
No. 8 Duke vs. Oregon St. at Portland Oregon, 3 p.m.
No. 12 Michigan St. vs. No. 18 Alabama at Portland, Oregon, 10:30 p.m.
No. 20 UConn vs. Oregon at Portland, Oregon, 8 p.m.
No. 22 Tennesse vs. Southern California at Nassau, Bahamas, 1:30 p.m.
No. 24 Purdue vs. West Virginia at Portland, Oregon, 10 p.m.
WOMEN'S TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
No. 5 Iowa St. vs. Michigan St. at Portland, Oregon, 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. American University at Nassau, Bahamas, 4:15 p.m.
No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 18 Oregon at Portland, Oregon, 5 p.m.
No. 12 LSU vs. Geroge Mason at Nassau, Bahamas, 2 p.m.
No. 13 NC State vs. Vanderbilt at Cancun, Mexico, 4 p.m.
No. 25 Kansas St. vs. Clemson at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 8 p.m.