SPORTS HEADLINES

Hockey community, family and friends mourn brothers John and Matthew Gaudreau at their funeral

MEDIA, Pa. (AP) — John and Matthew Gaudreau are being mourned by family, friends and countless members of the hockey community at the funeral for the brothers who died when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in New Jersey. Buses brought players and others to St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Pennsylvania. John Gaudreau’s Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Patrik Laine, Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and longtime executive Brian Burke were among those in attendance. John was an All-Star for the Calgary Flames and Blue Jackets and Matthew played collegiate hockey alongside his brother at Boston College. They died on the eve of their sister’s wedding.

Tyreek Hill was not ‘immediately cooperative’ with officers during stop, police union says

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins was handcuffed and placed face down on the ground by police during a traffic stop because he was not “immediately cooperative” with officers, the president of the South Florida police union said in a statement Monday. Passing fans and some teammates saw Hill in handcuffs with at least three officers around him following the stop outside the team’s home stadium that quickly went viral just hours before the Dolphins kicked off their season Sunday. Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said Hill was handcuffed according to the police department’s policy.

US Open champ Jannik Sinner is a young man in a hurry. He is 23, is No. 1 and has 2 Slam titles

NEW YORK (AP) — New U.S. Open champion Jannik Sinner is making big strides in a short amount of time. And he figures that bodes well for what’s to come. Sinner is still just 23 but already has reached No. 1 in the ATP rankings and collected the second Grand Slam trophy of his career by defeating Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the final at Flushing Meadows on Sunday. Add that to his Australian Open championship in January, and Sinner is the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to pick up major titles No. 1 and No. 2 within the same season. Sinner says he wants to keep improving, including on his serve.

Analysis: There were more shaky quarterback performances than superlative ones in Week 1

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix played like rookies. Several established quarterbacks weren’t much better. There were more shaky performances than superlative ones on Sunday. Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr and Josh Allen excelled while leading their teams to victories. C.J. Stroud, Tua Tagovailoa and Sam Darnold also posted decent stat lines in wins. But Kirk Cousins was rusty in his return from a torn Achilles tendon. Deshaun Watson played like someone who was starting his 13th game in four years. Joe Burrow seemed out of sync. Will Levis made a crucial mistake that gave away the game. Trevor Lawrence had a poor second half. Justin Fields didn’t seem comfortable. Kyler Murray started strong and faded in the second half. Daniel Jones and Bryce Young were disasters.

Alex Morgan says goodbye in San Diego to crowd of 26,500 after an illustrious 15-year career

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Through tears and a smile, Alex Morgan waved to the crowd and walked off the field for the last time on Sunday. Despite the nearly 100-degree heat, a crowd of 26,516 filled San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium for Morgan’s farewell match. The two-time Women’s World Cup winner announced on Thursday she was retiring after 15 years in the game. She also revealed she was pregnant with her second child. Morgan started and wore the captain’s armband for the Wave, playing the first 13 minutes against the North Carolina Courage before subbing out to an ovation. Morgan won World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, and a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. She fought for equal pay with the men’s national team and helped the Wave win the Shield in 2023.

Aaron Rodgers will make his return to the field for the Jets against the 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers makes his return to the field for the New York Jets one year after his highly anticipated debut with the team ended after just four plays. Rodgers is set to start the season opener Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers in his first game back since tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 1 last season. The 40-year-old Rodgers spent his first 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning four MVPs and one Super Bowl. He was traded before the 2023 season to the quarterback-starved Jets, who have been searching for a franchise QB since Joe Namath left nearly a half-century ago.

Tom Brady takes awkward first steps in his transition from the football field to the TV booth

Fox Sports is spending $375 million to put Tom Brady in the broadcast booth, and the network wants to make sure everyone knows he’s there. The seven-time Super Bowl champion made his debut as an NFL analyst during the Fox broadcast of the regular-season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns. But first came a Brady hype video leading into the pregame show. The studio team admitted they couldn’t help but “fanboy” over their new co-worker. Brady’s commentary was knowledgeable, as expected, but also lacking in personality. There were awkward laughs, a cringey fist bump with rules analyst Mike Pereira and a lot of calling players by their first names.

A Palestinian team in Chile offers soccer with a heavy dose of protest

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The players have names like José and Antonio and grew up in a South American nation near Antarctica. But their fervor for the Palestinian cause and bright red, white, black and green-colored jerseys is unmatched. For a century now, this storied Chilean soccer club has served as an entry point for the world’s largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East to connect with an ancestral home thousands of miles away. As the bloodiest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to rage in the Gaza Strip, Club Palestino’s electric game atmosphere, viewing parties and pre-match political stunts have increasingly tapped into a sense of collective Palestinian grief in this new era of war and displacement.

National League wild card race looks like a barnburner with 3 weeks remaining in regular season

PHOENIX (AP) — The National League playoff race is getting very interesting with three weeks remaining in the regular season. The Padres, Diamondbacks, Mets and Braves are locked in a four-team scramble with only three postseason spots available. The American League race isn’t quite as close, though a hot streak from a handful of teams could tighten things quickly. The Tigers, Mariners, Red Sox and Rays are all within striking distance of the Twins, who are trying to hang on to a 3 1/2 lead for the last AL wild card.

AP Top 25 Reality Check: SEC takeover could last a while with few nonconference challenges left

The Southeastern Conference has taken over the The Associated Press college football poll, grabbing six of the first seven spots. The now 16-team SEC set a new standard for hoarding high AP Top 25 rankings, with Georgia at No. 1, Texas at two, Alabama four, Mississippi five, Missouri at No. 6 and Tennessee seventh. Extend it out a little further and half of the top 16 comes from the SEC. How long will this last? Could be a while before those first six teams start running into challenges.