Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Clyde Edwards-Helaire showed new teammate Le'Veon Bell and the rest of the NFL how dominant the Kansas City Chiefs' running attack is already. The rookie had 161 yards rushing and Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Travis Kelce, leading the Chiefs to a 26-17 win over the Buffalo Bills. Monday night's game was originally scheduled for last Thursday. Mahomes finished 21 of 26 for 225 yards. His first scoring toss to Kelce was the 90th of his career in his 37th game, breaking the NFL record for fewest games to 90 TD passes. Josh Allen had a quiet night for Buffalo, going 14 of 27 for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
UNDATED (AP) — The attorney representing eight Black former Iowa football players who allege racial discrimination during their time with the Hawkeyes said the university's rejection of their demands, which included a payment of $20 million, is not the end of the matter. Civil rights attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons of Tulsa, Oklahoma, had stated the players' demands in a 21-page letter to university officials dated Oct. 5. In addition to $20 million, the players called for the firings of head football coach Kirk Ferentz, offensive line coach Brian Ferentz and athletic director Gary Barta. The university general counsel's office says it won't give into the demands and that work had already begun to create a more welcoming environment for Black athletes.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills welcomed back starting cornerback Tre'Davious White for their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. White is active after a back injury kept him out of a 42-16 loss at Tennessee on Tuesday. Starting receiver John Brown is also active after missing the Tennessee game because of a knee injury. Buffalo's defense will be without starting linebacker Matt Milano, who will miss his second straight game with a pectoral injury. The Chiefs are minus starting receiver Sammy Watkins, who had already been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Newly signed running back Le'Veon Bell is also not active. Bell signed with the Chiefs on Thursday after being cut by the New York Jets.
UNDATED (AP) — Adrian Martinez turned back a challenge from Luke McCaffrey to win the starting quarterback's job for Nebraska's opener at No. 5 Ohio State. McCaffrey made a serious bid to unseat the Cornhuskers' two-year starter, who struggled with injuries last year and seemed to regress from his fantastic freshman season in 2018. Coach Scott Frost said he feels as if he's got two starting quarterbacks because there is so little separation between the two. McCaffrey is the brother of NFL star Christian McCaffrey and son of former pro receiver Ed McCaffrey. Luke played quarterback and receiver as a freshman last season.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue coach Jeff Brohm is expected to miss Saturday's season opener against Iowa after a second test confirmed he has COVID-19. Big Ten protocol requires players who test positive to sit out 21 days but staff members are required to isolate 10 days. Brohm will not be on the sideline this weekend. Instead, offensive coordinator Brian Brohm will be calling plays.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — The Rutgers quarterback competition is down to Nebraska graduate transfer Noah Vedral and redshirt sophomore Art Sitkowski. In releasing his depth chart on Monday, Greg Schiano indicated he probably will not disclose his starter until Saturday when he begins his second coaching stint with the Scarlet Knights with a game at Michigan State. There were five players in the running for the quarterback job when training camp started.
Update on the latest sports
NFL-CHIEFS/BILLS
Chiefs knock off Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs controlled time of possession in Buffalo on Monday while improving to 5-1 this season.
Patrick Mahomes (mah-HOHMZ') and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (heh-LEHR') highlighted a Chiefs attack that gained 466 total yards in a 26-17 win over the Bills. Mahomes was 21 of 26 for 225 yards, including a pair of scoring strikes to Travis Kelce (KEHL'-see). Edwards-Helaire provided 161 of Kansas City's 245 yards rushing.
Mahomes' first scoring toss made him the fastest player with 90 career TD passes. Mahomes did it in his 37th game, three fewer than the old mark held by Dan Marino.
The 4-2 Bills managed just 206 yards in suffering their second straight loss. Josh Allen was 14 of 27 passing for 122 yards, two TDs and one interception.
NFL-CARDINALS-COWBOYS
Cardinals hammer Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — It was a nice homecoming of sorts for quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury as the Arizona Cardinals hammered the Dallas Cowboys to improve to 4-2.
Murray passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in the Cardinals' 38-10 dismantling of the Cowboys. The Dallas native misfired on eight of his first 11 passes and finished 9 of 24 for 188 yards. But Murray hit Christian Kirk in stride on an 80-yard touchdown for a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.
Murray also ran for 74 yards as Arizona won their second straight since losing two in a row.
Kingsbury picked up his first win in the Longhorn State since being fired by Texas Tech two years ago.
It was a tough night for Ezekiel Elliott, who set up the first two Arizona TDs with fumbles and finished with just 49 yards on 12 carries.
Andy Dalton also struggled for Dallas in his first start since replacing injured quarterback Dak Prescott, completing 34 or 54 passes for 266 yards and two interceptions. Dalton didn't get the Cowboys into the end zone until his one-yard TD toss to Amari Cooper with 2:48 remaining.
Dallas still leads the NFC East despite a 2-4 record.
NFL-NEWS
Titans' Lewan out for season with torn ACL
UNDATED (AP) — Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee.
The three-time Pro Bowl tackle was hurt with 6:12 left in the third quarter of Sunday's overtime win against Houston.
Lewan has started 85 of his 90 games played since being taken 11th overall by the Titans in the 2014 NFL draft.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
— The Panthers have closed their facility for the next two days after receiving an "unconfirmed" positive coronavirus test. The team said in a statement that "the training room remains open and we are still scheduled to operate on our regular itinerary on Wednesday." Panthers coach Matt Rhule (rool) said on a video conference call today that he received a phone call at 4:48 a.m. about the unconfirmed test, but wouldn't say if it involved a player, coach or staff member.
— The Jets have agreed to trade veteran nose tackle Steve McLendon to the Buccaneers. New York also sends a 2023 seventh-round draft pick to Tampa Bay in exchange for the Buccaneers' sixth-rounder in 2022.
— A person familiar with the review by the NFL and NFL Players Association says officials found instances when the Titans failed to wear masks at all times and were "insufficiently clear" to players about not meeting or working out once the facility closed. The findings were given to the Titans on Monday and will be considered for any potential discipline of the team. The person says there was no discussion of any discipline for an individual, including general manager Jon Robinson, coach Mike Vrabel or any players.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-PURDUE-BROHM
Boilermakers coach has COVID-19
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue football coach Jeff Brohm has announced that he had contracted COVID-19 and would not be on the sideline for Saturday's season-opener at home against Iowa. Instead, offensive coordinator Brian Brohm will replace his older brother and will continue calling plays.
Purdue staff members are required to follow CDC guidelines, which means isolating for 10 days and remaining symptom-free.
MLB-WORLD SERIES
Dodgers, Rays open the Fall Classic Tuesday
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays open the World Series Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
It's a matchup of the top teams in each league, although the Dodgers and Rays needed seven games to win their championship series.
Tyler Glasnow will be the Rays' Game 1 starter, one day before Blake Snell takes the mound. Glasnow was 5-1 with a 4.08 ERA in 11 starts during the regular season and 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA in four postseason starts.
The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw for the series opener. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in four postseason starts, leaving him with an 11-12 record in his postseason career.
The Dodgers have home field advantage based on their regular-season winning percentage and will bat last in games 1, 2, 6, and 7.
MLB-NEWS
Bill Miller, umpiring 4th World Series, named crew chief
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bill Miller will be the umpire crew chief for the World Series and will work home plate for Game 3 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays.
This will be the fourth World Series for the 53-year-old Miller. He made his big league debut in 1997 and has worked the Fall Classic in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
Miller's crew includes Jerry Meals, Mark Carlson, Laz Diaz, Chris Guccione, Marvin Hudson and Todd Tichenor.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— The Nationals have agreed to terms with Jim Hickey to be their pitching coach. Hickey is entering his 38th season in pro baseball after spending the past two with the Dodgers as a special assistant for player development. He has served as pitching coach for pennant-winning teams in Houston in 2005 and Tampa Bay three years later.
— Reds general manager Nick Krall has been named director of baseball operations for the team but will continue to handle GM duties. Krall replaces Dick Williams, who resigned Oct. 7 to assume a larger role in his family's development business.
NHL-NEWS
Coyotes re-sign Fischer
UNDATED (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes have signed forward Christian Fischer to a two-year contract.
The 23-year-old Fischer was a restricted free agent after providing six goals, nine hits and 140 hits in 56 games with the Coyotes last season.
In other NHL news:
— The Avalanche agreed to a one-year deal with restricted free agent Tyson Jost. The 22-year-old forward scored eight goals and 23 points in 67 games for Colorado last season.
— Hall of Fame hockey broadcaster Mike Emrick has announced his retirement after almost 50 years behind the microphone. The man affectionately known as "Doc" for his Ph.D. in communications spent the past 15 years as the voice of the NHL in the United States. The 74-year-old Emrick called 22 Stanley Cup Finals and six Olympics since working his way up from the minors in the 1970s. He did the most recent NHL playoffs remotely from his home in Michigan.
NASCAR-LARSON REINSTATED
NASCAR reinstates Larson for 2021 season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Larson can return to NASCAR competition next season following a long suspension for using a racial slur while playing a video game.
He was suspended in April, dropped by his sponsors and fired by Chip Ganassi Racing after he used the n-word while playing an online racing game in which viewers could follow along.
Larson spent the last six months immersed in diversity programs that helped him gain an understanding of racial injustice. He did not apply for reinstatement until last week.
RUSSIA-HACKING-SPORTS
6 Russian military officers charged in vast hacking campaign
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has announced charges against Russian intelligence officers in a string of global cyberattacks. The attacks targeted a French presidential election, the Winter Olympics in South Korea and American businesses. The case implicates the same Kremlin unit that interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections, but is not related to the November vote.
The indictment accuses the six defendants of hacks that prosecutors say were aimed at furthering the Kremlin's geopolitical interests and in destabilizing or punishing perceived enemies. All six are said to be current and former officers in the Russian military intelligence agency known as the GRU.
The Justice Department indictment says one target was the 2018 Games in South Korea, where Russian athletes were banned because of state-sponsored doping.
More than 250 athletes' medical records were published and confidential data from some of the world's biggest sports organizations were stolen in what U.S. prosecutors said was retaliation for the doping punishments.
None of the six defendants is currently in custody, but the Justice Department in recent years has eagerly charged foreign hacker in absentia with the goal of creating a message of deterrence.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
MLS announces programs to combat racism, promote diversity
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Soccer has announced a series of initiatives to combat racism, advocate for social justice and increase diversity in the sport.
Commissioner Don Garber will sit on a new diversity committee. The group will work with the league to develop a strategy toward diversity, inclusion, opportunity and social justice.
Garber says the league is "committed to utilizing our wide-ranging platforms to create meaningful programs" in soccer and society.