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AP Interview: Klaveness slams Infantino’s FIFA for firing top executive in ‘management by fear’

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA’s removal of the senior official who said Gianni Infantino deceived staff with his World Cup sell-off plan has been called “unacceptable.” Norway soccer president Lise Klaveness also urges other leaders at FIFA to resist potentially damaging orders. The firing of FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour late Monday came 17 days after his statement to the Associated Press criticizing Infantino’s $20 billion private equity project. Infantino dropped the plan within hours. Klaveness tells the AP firing Lamour is part of a culture of “management by fear” at FIFA.

Ohio State and Oregon are 1-2 in the AP preseason Top 25, SEC leads conferences with 9 ranked teams

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.

Jeanie Buss to contest siblings’ plan to sell their Lakers minority ownership stake to Kushner, Iger

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.

WNBA says fans should have been free to wear shirts with messaging about transgender issue

At least three fans were asked by WNBA security personnel to cover shirts that had messages about transgender women participating in women’s sports during Sunday’s game at Atlanta between the Dream and the Indiana Fever. The league said in a statement Monday that the fans should have been free to wear the shirts. Two people wore shirts with a message that women’s and girls’ sports should be restricted to those assigned female at birth, while one person was wearing a shirt in support of transgender people. The league says the security workers have been told they were wrong to ask that the messages be covered up.

Serena and Venus Williams return to doubles and lose close match in Cincinnati

MASON, Ohio (AP) — Serena and Venus Williams played their first doubles match together since the 2022 U.S. Open and lost a thriller to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns at the Cincinnati Open. After splitting the first two sets, the sisters nearly recovered from a 6-0 deficit in the match tiebreaker before a double-fault by Venus Williams ended their first doubles appearance in a non-Grand Slam event since the Italian Open in 2016. Serena had been off the tour since 2022 before returning this summer at age 44. The sisters planned to play together at Wimbledon but had to withdraw after Serena injured her knee while losing her singles match.

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s first career walk-off homer gives Cubs 7-5 win over White Sox in 10 innings

CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his first career walk-off homer, a two-run shot in the 10th inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 7-5 win over the crosstown White Sox at Wrigley Field. The All-Star center fielder and MVP contender hit his fifth leadoff homer of the season to start the game. Then he ended it when he led off the 10th by driving a 2-1 slider from Hagen Smith deep into the right-field patio area. It was the 30th homer of the season for Crow-Armstrong, one short of his career best from last year. With 31 stolen bases this year, he also has back-to-back 30-30 seasons.

MLB approves sale of San Diego Padres to José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones

Major League Baseball’s team owners unanimously have approved the sale of the San Diego Padres to an investor group led by private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife and business partner, Kwanza Jones. The league announced the approval Monday after a vote. Feliciano and Jones reached an agreement in May to buy the Padres from the family of late owner Peter Seidler at an MLB-record valuation of $3.9 billion. Seidler’s family announced its intention to explore a sale of the Padres last November. The 53-year-old Feliciano is a co-founder of Santa Monica-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital.

O.J. Brigance, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens before battling ALS, dies at age 56

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — O.J. Brigance, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens before waging an unyielding battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, has died. He was 56. The Ravens announced Brigance’s death on Monday. Brigance was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2007. Not long after that, he and his wife, Chanda, formed the Brigance Brigade Foundation, an organization whose mission is to “equip, encourage and empower” those afflicted with ALS. Despite using a wheelchair and a communication device that translated his messages, Brigance served as senior adviser for player engagement with the Ravens, a job he started in 2004.

LIV Golf to end season early and cancel the Michigan team event

LIV Golf is ending its season one tournament early. The upstart league says the team champion that was supposed to be determined next week in Michigan instead will be decided Sunday at LIV Golf Indianapolis. That means only 12 tournaments this year. That’s the fewest on the schedule since LIV launched behind massive Saudi Arabia funding in 2022. But the Saudi funding ends after this year, and the league is scrambling for survival. LIV previously announced an agreement with a lead investor with few other details. The hope is that it can be played next year under a different format.

Ketel Marte doesn’t show up for game and is placed on the restricted list by Diamondbacks

BOSTON (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have placed All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte on the restricted list after he went AWOL for the second straight season. Marte failed to show up for Arizona’s game against Boston Monday night, and manager Torey Lovullo was still searching for answers after it was over. Lovullo says Marte is “dealing with a personal issue” but he didn’t have any specifics. Lovullo said he spoke to Marte Monday morning and afternoon trying to find out what was going on, but didn’t get any answers. Marte traveled with the team to Boston and Lovullo thought he was still there, but wasn’t certain.

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