Professional Sports

Diamondbacks 3B Jose Fernandez becomes 7th MLB player since 1900 with 2 homers in debut

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jose Fernandez strode to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning during his first big league game in a pressure-packed spot against four-time All-Star closer Kenley Jansen. The three-run homer that followed capped one of the most powerful ...

World Cup qualifying was long, wacky and historic

Qualifying is done. The lineup is complete. The countdown to the biggest-ever World Cup is on, with the 48-team tournament in North America a veritable hodgepodge of stellar names and unheralded upstarts. Here's a look at what we learned from a qualification campaign that lasted 2 1/2 years, ...

Italy upset again as World Cup field is set

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — The 48-team field for FIFA 's biggest ever World Cup is complete after a qualifying process that spanned more than two and a half years. Iraq edged Bolivia 2-1 in an intercontinental playoff at Monterrey in northern Mexico on Tuesday to secure the 48th spot, hours ...

Royals rule the weekend for ABS challenges

Salvador Perez and the Kansas City Royals have been baseball's best at utilizing their robot challenges through the first weekend of the Automated Ball-Strike System. Perez topped all catchers by going 4-0 on challenges, while San Francisco's Heliot Ramos and Cincinnati's Eugenio Suárez were ...

NFL OKs 1-year rule allowing replay center to correct mistakes by replacement refs

PHOENIX — The NFL's competition committee approved a one-year rule for the upcoming season that would allow the replay center in New York to correct "clear and obvious mistakes made by on-field officials that impact the game" in case of a work stoppage involving the NFL Referees ...