July 14, 2026 4:22 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kylian Mbappé and France haven’t trailed at all in this year’s World Cup. Neither has Spain with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. Only one can reach the final. France and Spain play Tuesday in the first of two powerhouse semifinal matches. France has outscored its opponents 14-2, with Mbappé matching Lionel Messi’s eight goals for the scoring lead at the tournament. Spain has outscored opponents 10-1, with Mikel Merino scoring decisive goals as a substitute in the past two games. This is the first World Cup since 1990 that each of the final four teams are former champions. Defending champion Argentina and England play in the other semifinal match.
July 13, 2026 4:33 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes won his second straight start after going winless for nine in a row as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored 10 runs in the fourth inning to rout the Milwaukee Brewers 14-5 and head into the All-Star break with a three-game sweep. What was slated to be a high-profile matchup lost some of its luster when Milwaukee scratched hard-throwing Jacob Misiorowski on Saturday because of arm fatigue. While Skenes and Misiorowski are All-Stars, both will skip pitching in Tuesday’s showcase. Skenes (8-8) allowed two runs and three hits over 5 1/3 innings with one walk and seven strikeouts.
July 13, 2026 4:37 am
Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies will start Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in his home ballpark. He’ll take the mound for the National League against Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays announced Sunday that Cease will be the American League’s starter. Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who is managing the NL, said Sanchez is his starter. Also Sunday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said New York’s Cam Schlittler was not planning to pitch in the All-Star Game. Then hours later Boone and Schlittler said the right-hander could be available after all.
July 13, 2026 4:36 am
ATLANTA (AP) — It’s a World Cup semifinal lineup for the ages. Four previous champions and the four top-ranking teams in the world. Five of the six top scorers, one GOAT and one of the bitterest rivalries in soccer. France, Spain, England and Argentina are two wins away from being crowned champion of the world again and it is just too close to call either semifinal matchup. Not since 1990 has the final four of a World Cup been made up entirely of previous winners. England and Argentina were involved then, although they didn’t play each other. They will on Wednesday. Kylian Mbappé’s France plays Lamine Yamal’s Spain in the first semifinal on Tuesday.
July 13, 2026 4:37 am
LONDON (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 for his second consecutive Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam overall. Zverev appeared bothered by a knee issue after a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set. Sinner’s latest title came in his first tournament since a meltdown at the French Open. It was Sinner’s 10th straight victory over Zverev. Zverev was coming off his first Grand Slam title at the French Open. Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s final on Saturday for her first Grand Slam title.
July 13, 2026 4:35 am
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Ryan Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the final lap of overtime to cap a dominant victory in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta. Blaney won every stage of the race after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to fight off challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who finished second, on the final lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four. Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and finished 29th instead of second. There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning.
July 12, 2026 6:38 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Esmerlyn Valdez hit his third home run of the day, and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 to sweep a doubleheader. The Pirates won the first game 7-6, as Valdez hit two home runs — including a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning — and drove in six runs. Bryan Reynolds singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth off rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, who allowed three runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings. Mason Montgomery got his first save of the season and the second of his career.
July 12, 2026 6:41 am
LONDON (AP) — Linda Noskova is the latest in a long line of Czech women to win Wimbledon. The 21-year-old Noskova recovered from a second-set meltdown in which she wasted five match points to overcome Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in an all-Czech final for her first Grand Slam trophy. Noskova became the third Czech woman in four years to win the grass-court major after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was in attendance. As was the greatest Czech-born player of them all. Record nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova looked on from the Royal Box where she was seated next to Kate, the Princess of Wales.
July 12, 2026 6:43 am
LONDON (AP) — Jannik Sinner returned to familair ground before overwhelming Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals on the Centre Court grass. The top-ranked players’ team says Sinner practiced on an indoor hard court two days before facing Djokovic. The decision by coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi enabled Sinner to regain the timing that has made him the strongest and most feared baseline player in the sport. Andre Agassi says on the BBC that Sinner “reminded himself just how much that ball can explode off his racket.” Sinner will face French Open champion Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final as he attempts to defend his Wimbledon title.
July 12, 2026 6:46 am
The Khosla family ownership group, including Vinod Khosla, has entered into a formal agreement to purchase the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The announcement came Saturday from the estate of Paul Allen. The sale price is $9.612 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is still subject to approval by the NFL. The agreement remains subject to the approval by the NFL.
