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Ross Chastain crashes out at Talladega. His Cup Series championship hopes now hinge on The Roval

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — Ross Chastain, the runner-up in NASCAR’s championship last season, crashed out of Sunday’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway in a collision with fellow title contenders Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell.Chastain was in a pack of cars racing to the flag that marked the end of the first stage. It’s a typically aggressive lap as the top-10 stage finishers receive critical points needed to advance into the round of eight.Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran out of gas on the lap and that caused his Chevrolet to slow dramatically. Busch hit the wall trying to avoid running into the back of Stenhouse, just as Chastain tried to slide through the middle to advance his position.Chastain ended up running into Busch’s car as Busch bounced back into the racing line. That caused the Chevrolet from Trackhouse Racing to hit the wall and take a second hit from Bell.The chain-reaction collision ended Chastain’s race.“It’s just the ...

Falcons QB Ridder vows to shake off rough day after INTs in 23-7 loss to Jaguars

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Desmond Ridder hasn’t put up big numbers in his handful of NFL starts for the Atlanta Falcons. At least he hadn’t thrown many interceptions, though.Until Sunday.The second-year Atlanta quarterback threw two interceptions, including a pick-6, in a 23-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.“I did a terrible job of taking care of the ball,” Ridder said.Darious Williams picked off Ridder in the second quarter and raced 61 yards for a touchdown that extended Jacksonville’s lead to 17-0.Ridder’s next pass was also intercepted, this time by Andre Cisco. That put the Jags in the red zone and though they failed to convert on a fourth-and-1, it kept the Falcons pinned deep in their own end.“The reality is we put ourselves in a whole — and we can’t turn the ball over,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “So that’s something we’ve got to look at, and it’s not just one person.”Jacksonville stuffed the Falcons’ run-heavy offense early on, b...

‘Walking Dead’ Wallabies wait on fate at the Rugby World Cup

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) — Australia is on the brink of making the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals. And on the brink of missing out.The Wallabies don’t have another game scheduled. Yet they can’t go home because they might have another game.Their fate is in a void partly of their own making but they have to keep training just in case while they wander about France for another week.The Wallabies are the ‘Walking Dead’ of the Rugby World Cup.Beating Portugal 34-14 with a bonus point on Sunday wrapped up the Wallabies’ campaign in Pool C and lifted them into second place, which is a quarterfinal position.But Fiji is a point behind them in third and has a game in hand, against Portugal next Sunday in Toulouse.Fiji’s mission seems simple: Take at least one point against Portugal — win, draw, loss by seven or scoring four tries.Do that, and the Fijians advance and the Wallabies are knocked out.But they’re not out quite yet after smothering a ferocious comebac...

Raiders’ O’Connell expected to make first start at QB with 3 Chargers defensive starters inactive

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell is expected to make his first NFL start against a depleted Los Angeles Chargers defense.Safeties Derwin James Jr. and Alohi Gilman along with linebacker Joey Bosa have been declared inactive for Sunday’s game because of injuries. James and Gilman suffered injuries during last Sunday’s 28-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings.Bosa has been dealing with a hamstring injury the past three weeks and also sustained an injured toe last week.Backup cornerback Deane Leonard is also inactive because of a hamstring. Safety J.T. Woods was placed on the non-football injury injured reserve list Saturday.Raheem Layne will be one of the starting safeties while Dean Marlowe and AJ Finley were called up from the practice squad.O’Connell, who was selected in the fourth round of April’s draft, is expected to start with Jimmy Garoppolo in concussion protocol. The Raiders also have longtime veteran Brian Hoye...

Ryder Cup capsules of the 12 singles matches at Marco Simone

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — A capsule look at Sunday’s singles matches in the Ryder Cup:Scottie Scheffler, United States, halved with Jon Rahm, Europe.The battle between the best two players in golf this year lived up to its billing. Rahm seized control early and Scheffler was slowed by missing some good looks at birdie. Scheffler took his first lead on the 11th. Rahm won the next two holes to regain the lead, only for Scheffler to take the next two holes to take it back. Both made great up-and-downs for birdie on the 16th. On the final hole, Scheffler’s chip from the rough to a back pin ran off the green. Rahm’s 90-foot eagle putt settled inches from the cup for birdie to earn a halve.Viktor Hovland, Europe, def. Collin Morikawa, United States, 4 and 3.Morikawa was the first player to show up on the first tee without a hat to support Patrick Cantlay. He just didn’t have his best game. Hovland was 3 up after six holes and never let Morikawa back into the match. Morikawa ...

Simone Biles makes history on opening day of qualifying at World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

(CNN) — Simone Biles announced her return to the world stage in some style on Sunday as she sits in first place in the women’s all-around qualification at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault at an international competition.Biles stepped up to the vault, launched high into the air, twisting in angular blue blur, and landed with just a single backwards step to make history.That feat ensured the skill will now be named the Biles II in honor of the 19-time world champion, making it her fifth named element.A high-difficulty skill historically only done by men, the element is a roundoff onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting table, ending with a piked double backflip into the air to landing.She posted an all-around score of 58.865 to sit in first place at the end of her qualifying session, and in a commanding position to reach all four individual finals and the all-around f...

Russell Wilson throws 3 TDs, Broncos rally from 21 down to top Bears 31-28

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, Wil Lutz kicked a tiebreaking field goal with just under two minutes remaining and the Denver Broncos bounced back from one of the most lopsided losses in franchise history by rallying to beat the Chicago Bears 31-28 on Sunday.Denver (1-3) was coming off a 70-20 blowout by Miami that was franchise’s second-worst loss of the Super Bowl era, behind only a 51-0 pounding by the Raiders in 1967.Lutz's 51-yarder capped a comeback from a 28-7, third-quarter deficit. Kareem Jackson then intercepted Justin Fields with the Bears (0-4) near midfield.Chicago looked like it was headed toward an easy win, leading by 21 after Fields threw a 2-yard touchdown to Khalil Herbert late in the third quarter. Instead, the Bears dropped their 14th in a row since a Week 7 win at New England last season.The Bears had a chance to break a 28-all tie late in the fourth quarter. Chicago opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the 18 rather than ki...

Josh Allen throws 4 TD passes, runs for score, Bills rout division rival Dolphins 48-20

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score, and the Buffalo Bills brought Miami’s unbeaten start to an emphatic end, beating the division rival Dolphins 48-20 on Sunday.A week after Miami had one of the most impressive offensive performances in NFL history in a 70-20 win over Denver, Buffalo (3-1) showed the Dolphins (3-1) a thing or two about efficient offense while taking over first place in the AFC East.Stefon Diggs caught three touchdowns and finished with six receptions for 120 yards. Allen went 21 of 25 for 320 yards and had his 10th game with four passing TDs.Miami moved the ball reasonably well, finishing with 393 yards of offense, but the Bills forced two turnovers and sacked quarterback Tua Tagovailoa four times.The Bills suffered one major setback when cornerback Tre’Davious White was carted off in the third quarter with what the team said was an Achilles tendon injury. White pulled up while covering Tyreek Hill and wa...

Turkey strikes suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq after suicide attack in Ankara

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish defense ministry says its warplanes have carried out raids on suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday following a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital.A ministry statement said some 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were “destroyed” in the aerial operation, including caves, shelters and depots.Earlier, suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, injuring two police officers. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police Sunday, the interior minister said.An news agency close to the PKK said he group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The following is AP’s previous story.A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in the heart of the Turkish capital, Ankara, while a second assailant was killed in a shootout with police Sunday, the interior minister said.The attack occu...

Coalition jockeying revs up in Slovakia after Fico’s victory

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:11:52 GMT

Slovakia woke up Sunday to the likelihood of its new government being led by leftist-populist Robert Fico and his pro-Russia Smer party following their convincing victory in Saturday’s election.Smer drew 23 percent support, five points ahead of the liberal, pro-Western Progressive Slovakia (PS), which took 18 percent. The two parties exemplify the political polarization in Slovakia. Fico has rejected sanctions against Moscow over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and proposes to end military support for Kyiv. PS leader Michal Šimečka, meanwhile, acclaims Slovakia’s allegiance to the EU and NATO, and defends the rights of LGBT+ people — a rarity in the deeply conservative country. “I regard a government led by Robert Fico as an abiding evil,” Šimečka said following the release of the final results of the ballot.Fico, who did not address Smer’s victory until early afternoon on Sunday, said he would wait for a formal invitation from President ...