August 18, 2026 4:23 am
Ohio State and Oregon give the Big Ten Conference the top two teams in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason rankings for the first time in 65 years. The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes in the poll of 69 media members. Oregon was No. 1 on 14 ballots. Ohio State is now tied with Alabama for second most preseason No. 1 rankings behind Oklahoma’s 10. Oregon has its highest preseason ranking in program history. Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas round out the top five. Defending national champion Indiana is No. 6 and followed by Miami, Texas A&M, Mississippi and Oklahoma.
August 18, 2026 4:25 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is legally contesting her siblings’ plan to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% minority ownership stake in the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The oft-quarreling siblings told ESPN they had voted to sell the family trust’s remaining interest in the 17-time NBA champion team purchased by their father in 1979. The decision would have ended Jeanie Buss’ tenure as the Lakers’ governor because the job requires at least 15% ownership of the team. Jeanie Buss has told her siblings through her attorney that no sale can happen without Jeanie Buss’ approval.
August 17, 2026 4:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Reynolds, Brandon Lowe, and Nick Yorke each had two RBIs to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Boston Red Sox 8-3 after a 2 1/2-hour rain delay. The tarp came out after the sixth inning at 3:35 p.m. local time, and play resumed at 6:05. The Pirates won their franchise-best eighth consecutive home series against an AL opponent, a streak extending back to a three-game sweep of Detroit from July 21-23, 2025. Reynolds got Pittsburgh on the board first with an RBI double in the first, and scored when Lowe added a single. The Red Sox started a rally in the fifth on Connor Wong’s three-run homer, but the delay halted any momentum towards a 29th comeback win.
August 17, 2026 4:53 am
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is back to his dominant self. The world’s No. 1 player took a two-shot lead and turned into a blowout at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He shot a 66 and won by eight shots over Si Woo Kim. That’s the largest margin of victory at the TPC Southwind in its 68-year history. Kim shot 68. Scheffler not only won $3.6 million, he clinched a $23 million bonus for being No. 1 in the FedEx Cup through next week’s BMW Championship. Sungjae Im was the only player to move into the top 50 to advance in the postseason.
August 17, 2026 4:55 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tommy John, the pitching great known for the surgery that bears his name, has died at 83. According to agent Mike Maguire, John died at his home in Bradenton, Florida, on Saturday night. John had a remarkable 26-year career, winning 288 games and becoming the first pitcher to successfully return after groundbreaking elbow surgery. This procedure, now known as Tommy John surgery, has saved the careers of many baseball stars. John was a four-time All-Star and played for several teams, including the Yankees and Dodgers. His legacy extends beyond his pitching, as his surgery revolutionized baseball.
August 16, 2026 7:20 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sonny Gray worked seven innings for his career-best 15th win of the season, Wilyer Abreu hit a home run, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0. Gray (15-3) struck out seven and allowed six hits while walking one. He had won 14 games in three other seasons. Abreu hit his 22nd homer in the second inning to put the Sox ahead 1-0. Andruw Monasterio drove in two more with his ninth-inning RBI double, and Jahmai Jones drove in Monasterio. Jared Jones (2-5) took the loss. The Pirates were led by Esmerlyn Valdez and Jake Mangum with two hits each.
August 16, 2026 7:46 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Joey Logano continued his surge toward the NASCAR Chase, winning Saturday night at Richmond Raceway with a late-race charge on fresh tires. The three-time Cup Series champion scored his second victory in the past four races while climbing from 17th to ninth in the points standings. With 24 laps remaining, the Team Penske driver snatched the lead from Christopher Bell, who had pitted 20 laps earlier and was trying to stretch his tires to the finish. Logano earned his 39th career victory and third at Richmond by 0.392 seconds over Chase Briscoe, who led a race-high 171 of 400 laps.
August 16, 2026 7:47 am
MASON, Ohio (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s stay at the Cincinnati Open was a short one. The 24-time major champion fell to Thiago Agustin Tirante 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday in a match that took 2 hours, 44 minutes in hot and humid conditions. A 25-year-old from Argentina, Tirante is ranked No. 50 in the world. The 39-year-old Djokovic was playing for the first time since his loss to top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the semifinals at Wimbledon. Up next for Djokovic is the U.S. Open. Djokovic appeared to struggle physically in the heat and had his 10-match winning streak in Cincinnati snapped. He won the title in 2020 and 2023. In a rain-delayed match that ended at 2:15 a.m. Sunday, top-seeded Alexander Zverev beat Cameron Norrie 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
August 16, 2026 7:50 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Islam Makhachev sets a UFC record with his 17th straight victory, defeating Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330 on Saturday night. Makhachev, who hasn’t lost since 2015, won the welterweight crown in 2025 and successfully defended it for the first time. Mackenzie Dern also defended her 115-pound title with a unanimous decision over Gillian Robertson. Edson Barboza retired after a loss to Esteben Ribovics, ending a career that began in 2009. UFC returned to Philadelphia for the first time since 2019, with local fighter Jeremiah Wells winning by submission.
August 15, 2026 3:23 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a three-run home run and rookie Rafael Flores Jr. homered for the third time in two days to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. Lowe’s homer came in the fifth inning off Jovani Moran and landed in the right-field stands, extending the Pirates’ lead to 7-2 as they won back-to-back games for the first time since July 26-27. Flores hit a solo shot off Jake Bennett (7-6) in the second to open the scoring after connecting twice Thursday in a 13-1 win at Miami.
