Shohei Ohtani likely to win his third MVP award and Aaron Judge his second
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shohei Ohtani is expected to win his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge is likely to earn his second AL honor when the Baseball Writers' Association announces its balloting. Ohtani was unanimously voted the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels. He signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs, becoming the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers to the World Series title.
Australia beats the United States at the Davis Cup to reach the semifinals
MALAGA, Spain (AP) -- Australia has advanced to the Davis Cup semifinals for the third year in a row. The Australians eliminated the United States 2-1 on Thursday when Matt Ebden and Jordan Thompson beat Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-4 in the deciding doubles match in Malaga, Spain. Australia will face defending champion Italy or Argentina for a spot in the final. The Shelton-Paul pairing was a late substitution for Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis saved four match points in a third-set tiebreaker to get past Shelton in the opening singles match, before Taylor Fritz evened things for the Americans by defeating Alex de Minaur.
Spain and tennis having to cope with the retirement of the great Nadal
MALAGA, Spain (AP) -- It was an emotional farewell from tennis for Nadal this week after Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup in Malaga. It was also heart-wrenching for his fans across Spain, as they saw one of the country's very best finally call it quits. Davis Cup Finals head Feliciano López says Nadal is Spain's greatest athlete ever and compared him to others who have transcended sports such as Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.
World swim body eases rules on approved Russians competing in relays and some team events
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- The World Aquatics governing body of swimming has eased rules that now allow approved athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in team events at international meetings. World Aquatics says athletes who have been competing as neutrals in individual events during the invasion of Ukraine can team up and compete in swim relays, artistic swimming and synchronized diving. The neutrality rules included not publicly supporting the invasion and not having ties to the military and state security agencies. One swimmer from Russia and three from Belarus competed at the Paris Olympics as neutral individuals. They won no medals.
Simone Biles to join Snoop Dogg as a guest mentor for an episode on NBC's 'The Voice'
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Snoop Dogg and Simone Biles turned their Olympic bond from this summer's Paris Games into a new challenge: The superstar tandem will team up on NBC's "The Voice." Biles will join Snoop on the reality competition television series during a new episode, airing Monday. As a show coach, he enlisted Biles as a mentor in the playoff round to help advise five vocalist who are vying for a spot in the live shows. For Snoop and Biles, their pairing was a superb match for the sports and music icons -- who carried their effortless chemistry from the Olympics to the TV set of "The Voice."
Drama surrounds final 3 races of F1 season as drivers voice displeasure with recent FIA decisions
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- There's three races remaining in the Formula 1 season and Max Verstappen is inching so close to a fourth consecutive world championship he could wrap it up Saturday night at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. But all is not smooth sailing headed into this final month of racing. There's a new race director following the shock sacking of Niels Wittich that blindsided the Grand Prix Driver's Association so badly they created an Instagram account to rebuke the lack of FIA transparency. It's the lone post on the account. Greg Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media said last week he was stepping down from his position and F1 furiously denied over the weekend that Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula One Management, was also on the move.
Mavs star Luka Doncic has a right wrist sprain and will be re-evaluated in a week
DALLAS (AP) -- Luka Doncic has a right wrist sprain that will sideline the Dallas Mavericks star on a three-game road trip starting Friday night in Denver. The Mavericks say their five-time All-Star will be re-evaluated in a week. The defending Western Conference champions also visit Miami and Atlanta on the trip. The timeline for Doncic suggests he will miss a home game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday as well. Doncic was injured in a 132-91 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
Teresa Weatherspoon isn't dwelling on surprising firing by Chicago Sky
Teresa Weatherspoon is focused on her future and not dwelling on the past. It's been nearly two months since the Chicago Sky fired her as coach after just one season with the franchise. She spoke for the first time since she was let go after a 13-27 season with the Sky. She's now working with her new team in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league. A lot of Weatherspoon's role with the new league will be about player development. Something she's done at many of the stops along her coaching journey with the New York Liberty and New Orleans Pelicans.
New Hampshire court hears cases on transgender girls playing girls sports and the right to protest
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Two lawsuits about transgender girl athletes are being heard in federal court in New Hampshire. One case is challenging a state ban at schools and the other is about the right to protest transgender participation on girls teams. The first hearing Thursday was about two transgender girls being allowed to play on their high school girls soccer and track teams as they seek to overturn the law. The law bans transgender athletes in grades 5 to 12 from teams that align with their gender identity. The other hearing is about a school district's decision to bar parents from wearing pink wristbands with "XX" on them -- representing the female chromosome pair -- at a girls soccer game.
Pop star Ed Sheeran helps favorite soccer team sign player before getting on stage with Taylor Swift
It turns out British pop star Ed Sheeran is also good at recruiting soccer players. Sheeran is a minority shareholder at English soccer team Ipswich Town and it needed his help over the summer to get a player to join the club. Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton tells a Soccerex industry event in Miami: "Ed jumped on a Zoom call with him at the training ground, just before he stepped on stage with Taylor Swift. Hopefully that was a key part in getting the player across the line." Ashton didn't disclose the player in question, saying only: "He's certainly scoring a few goals."