Former Cowboys RB Thomas dies at 77 (2024)

David Wilson will retire as Toyota Racing Development’s president and group vice president in December after leading the U.S. motorsports arm for the past 11 of 35 years with the Japanese automaker. General manager Tyler Gibbs will succeed Wilson upon his departure on Dec. 16. Wilson was appointed to the position in January 2014 and has played a significant role in TRD race wins and championships across numerous series, including NASCAR and CART and IndyCar. Gibbs, who joined the company in 1996, will oversee engineering and administration in the company's operations in California and North Carolina.

Food that goes uneaten at the Paris Olympics is helping those in need around the French capital. It's part of an effort to cut down on food waste and contribute to organizers’ commitment to sustainability. Paris 2024 organizers have long said the Games would be more environmentally friendly, including reusable dishes in the main restaurant at the athletes’ village, greener construction and seats in venues made from recycled materials. In addition to helping those in need, organizers also hope the food donations will set an example for other Olympics and major events to follow.

Paris (AP) — Olympians at the Paris Games are taking care with their hair. French curl braids have been a popular choice, and there's a wide array of dyes, plaits and long locks.

This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has become a hometown hero in Algeria, a conservative, Muslim-majority country where attacks on her gender have been interpreted as attacks on the nation. In the town where she grew up and learned to box, Khelif's relatives and neighbors erupted in cheers on Tuesday when she won her Olympic semifinal match. The broad support and solidarity that Khelif enjoys amid misconceptions about her gender highlight how debates about gender identity animating the United States and Europe are mostly foreign in Algeria.

India’s growing influence in the Olympics during a bid to host the 2036 Summer Games should soon see a first sponsor deal from the country for the IOC. The International Olympic Committee currently has 15 top-tier sponsor partners which collectively paid almost $740 million last year in cash and services, None are from India. The IOC’s marketing director Anne-Sophie Voumard says “we would love to welcome a first new ... sponsor from India and I am sure that this is going to happen very, very soon.” India's richest family, the Ambanis, have funded a hospitality house at the Paris Olympics.

Women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics has highlighted the complexity of drafting and enforcing sex eligibility rules for women's sports and how athletes like Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan are left vulnerable in the fallout. Eligibility for women’s events has often been a legally difficult process for sports bodies that has risked exposing athletes to humiliation and abuse. In the 1960s, the Olympics used degrading visual tests intended to verify the sex of athletes. The modern era of eligibility rules started in 2009, after South African runner Caster sem*nya surged to stardom as an 18-year-old gold medalist at the world championships. She is involved in a legal challenge to track’s rules about testosterone levels.

From the City of Love to the City of Angels, planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is well underway and organizers are paying close attention to what’s worked, and what hasn’t, so far in Paris. It will be LA’s third time hosting the Olympics and first time since 1984. Swimming great Janet Evans is the chief athlete officer for LA2028, the organizing committee bringing the games to LA. She is focused on giving a voice to athletes and their concerns.

India women's wrestler Vinesh Phogat has been disqualified from the wrestling and will not compete in the gold medal match. Phogat, who stunned four-time world and defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan on her way to a spot in the 50-kilogram final, has been disqualified after failing to make weight. Susaki had captured gold at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago without losing a point. Phogat would have been the first woman from India to wrestle in a final. Now, she won't medal. Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to Phogat in one of the semifinals, now advances to the final against American Sarah Hildebrandt.

Traditional Polynesian conservation methods are being used to revive local ecosystems and protect natural resources in Tahiti, including near the Paris Olympics surfing venue. Called rahui, the practice temporarily restricts or bans the harvesting of essential resources in a designated area. Legally recognized in French Polynesia environmental code since 2016, this bottom-up solution is managed by local communities with help from scientists and the government. Now researchers and conservationists are working to expand the system, while helping communities address problems and concerns.

MINNEAPOLIS — Secondhand crossbow, anyone? Shotgun and scope? Deer skull on a mount?

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Missouri was SEC football’s 2023 surprise. Picked to finish fifth in the East Division, the Tigers finished 11-2. Their only losses were to LSU and Georgia. They defeated Kentucky 38-21, whipped Tennessee 36-7 and toppled Ohio State 14-3 in the Cotton Bowl. Eli Drinkwitz was…

Dozens of girls lined up with their parents early at the public gymnasium where Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade started her career 15 years ago. Some of those hopeful athletes in Guarulhos train at the gym every day, fight for trophies and medals in national competitions and also aim to reach the Olympic stage some day. Guarulhos city hall maintains the gymnasium, which hosts morning and afternoon classes and a local team for girls ranging in age between 9 and 17. Some of its staffers worked with Andrade almost 20 years ago.

White Sox snap their American League record-tying losing streak at 21 games with a 5-1 win over the Athletics.

Andrew Benintendi hit a two-run homer and the Chicago White Sox snapped their American League record-tying losing streak at 21 games on Tuesday night, beating the Oakland Athletics 5-1. Chicago on Monday matched the longest losing streak since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles lost 21 in a row, falling to the Athletics 5-1. The NL record since 1900 is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 straight.

A test run to allow Olympic athletes to familiarize themselves with the marathon swimming course in the Seine River will go ahead Wednesday. The decision was made after Tuesday's swim test was canceled over concerns about water quality in the Paris waterway. The triathlon mixed relay event was held Monday in the river that runs through the center of the French capital. The portion of the Seine in which the triathletes swam is much shorter than the course for the marathon swim, which has races scheduled for Thursday and Friday. World Aquatics, Paris 2024 and other officials met Wednesday morning and concluded the latest water test results were acceptable.

Houston pitcher Framber Valdez has lost his no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning on a home run from Texas slugger Corey Seager. Valdez walked two batters in the ninth, but only one runner was on when Seager homered. The Houston left-hander had a perfect game through five. It ended when Jonah Heim opened the sixth by reaching on third baseman Alex Bregman’s throwing error, ending the perfect game.

Duane Thomas, a running back for the Dallas Cowboys when they finally broke through and won a Super Bowl to cap the 1971 season, has died. He was 77. The team says Thomas died Sunday but had no other details. Thomas was with the Cowboys in 1970-71 for a pair of tumultuous seasons plagued by a contract dispute that once led him to call coach Tom Landry “plastic man.” Thomas was born and raised in Dallas before playing college football at West Texas State in the Texas Panhandle. He was a first-round pick by the Cowboys in 1970.

SAINT-DENIS, France — Gabby Thomas became the first American woman to win the Olympic Games 200-meter gold medal since 2012 with a dominating performance at Stade de France Tuesday night that belied the difficulty of the journey that preceded it.

Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson will not play in Saturday’s exhibition opener against the Green Bay Packers as the Browns continue to take a cautious approach after he underwent right shoulder surgery in November. Coach Kevin Stefanski announced his plans with Watson before Tuesday’s practice. Jameis Winston will start at quarterback for the Browns and make his debut with the team after signing as a free agent in March. Watson has thrown nearly every day in training camp so far, but the Browns are closely monitoring his reps and workload while getting him ready for the Sept. 8 season opener against Dallas.

PARIS (AP) — Zhan Beleniuk's focus wavered at times as he trained in hopes of winning a second Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling.

There was a moment where Brazil might have thought it had a chance. It trailed the U.S. by only eight midway through the second quarter. A big deficit had turned into something rather manageable. The moment was short-lived. A 21-2 run turned things into their predictable blowout state and for the 20th time in 20 Olympic appearances, the U.S. will play for a medal. Devin Booker led a balanced front with 18 points and the Americans had little trouble with Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, winning 122-87.

American Cole Hocker pulled the upset of the Olympics on Tuesday night, outracing both favorites Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to the finish line in the 1,500 meters. Hocker won the race in an Olympic record 3 minutes 27.65 seconds, pulling from fifth to first over the final 300 meters to beat his personal best by more than 3 seconds. He beat Kerr by .14 seconds, while Ingebrigtsen, who set the pace through the first 1200 meters, ended up in fourth behind American Yared Nuguse.

PARIS — Wrestlers Kamal Bey and Joe Rau had nearly identical Olympic debuts Tuesday morning, yet one still has a shot at a medal and the other is taking the outcome in stride.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif advances to gold-medal bout amid a week of scrutiny over gender misconceptions.

The Shark is back in the water, trying to make a second swim across Lake Michigan. Jim Dreyer entered the lake at Grand Haven, Michigan, on Tuesday and began swimming to Wisconsin. The route to Milwaukee is expected to cover roughly 83 miles, though it could be more depending on lake conditions. The 60-year-old Dreyer is towing supplies in an inflatable boat attached to him. Satellite communications will allow him to contact a crew for help if necessary. Dreyer first swam across Lake Michigan in 1998.

LOS ANGELES — The NBA may be leaving TNT after next season, but apparently Charles Barkley is staying put.

A 6-0 vote by the City Council in Mobile, Alabama, sets the stage for Amtrak passenger trains to roll from New Orleans to Mobile next year. The Sun Herald reports that the Mobile council voted Tuesday to fund the passenger service for three years. Funding had already been approved in Mississippi and Louisiana. Amtrak’s projected start time for the service is spring of 2025. It is not clear if it could begin before the Super Bowl is played in New Orleans on Feb. 9. Platforms are ready in New Orleans and in the Mississippi cities of Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. A platform has to be built in Mobile.

A gallery of highlights on Day 11 of the Olympics captured by AP photographers at the Paris Games.

The United States had a big night in track and field on Day 11 of the Paris Olympics. The Americans won two gold medals and five overall. Gabby Thomas blazed her way to an easy win in the 200 meters. She beat Julien Alfred of St. Lucia, who was winner of the 100 meters. American sprinter Brittany Brown was third. Cole Hocker, meanwhile, pulled the upset of the track meet with a stunning victory in the 1,500 meters. Hocker outraced the favorites and won with an Olympic record time. Annette Nneka Echikunwoke won a silver in the women’s hammer throw.

Israel's Olympic team said athletes have received threats as they compete in Paris. It comes amid larger tensions over Palestinian deaths during the war in Gaza. Yael Arad, president of the Israeli National Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the team had received “centralized” threats meant to generate “psychological terror” in athletes. Last week, Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into emailed death threats to Israeli athletes. The national cybercrime agency is looking into the leak of some Israeli athletes’ personal data online, which has since been taken down. Prosecutors also launched an inquiry into inciting racial hated after Israeli athletes received ’’discriminatory gestures” during an Israel-Paraguay match.

A rebuilt bronze statue of baseball icon Jackie Robinson is back in Wichita, Kansas. The original sculpture depicting Robinson resting a bat on his shoulder was cut off at its ankles by thieves in January, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park. The identical statue has been returned to the park where about 600 children play in the urban youth baseball league called League 42. It's named after Robinson’s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He broke Major League Baseball's racial barrier with the Dodgers in 1947.

Thomas Morstead’s punts this season will do more than just change field position for the New York Jets. The veteran punter announced Tuesday he’s donating $1,000 as part of his Punt for ALS campaign for each kick he drops inside the opponent’s 20-yard line in honor of former New Orleans Saints special teams star Steve Gleason. Gleason was diagnosed with ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2011. He was honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at The ESPYS last month.

The U.S. women’s basketball team can get closer Wednesday to its record eighth-consecutive Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The U.S. is on an impressive 58-game Olympic winning streak and will take on Nigeria in the quarterfinals. The excitement in track and field continues with the men’s 400-meter final, as well as the men's discus and steeplechase finals. In women's boxing, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan fights Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey in a women’s 57-kg semifinal, pushing forward amid widespread outcry about her participation in the Games.

Through Aug. 5

Through Aug. 5

Through Aug. 5

Charles Barkley intends to remain with TNT Sports through the remainder of his contract. The Hall of Fame player announced that he will not retire next season, reversing the announcement he made in June during the NBA Finals. Barkley said at the time that the upcoming season would be his last on television, no matter what eventually happened with the NBA’s media deal negotiations. He signed a 10-year contract extension with TNT Sports in 2022. The parent company of TNT Sports has sued the NBA in New York state court after the league did not accept the company’s matching offer for one of the packages in its upcoming 11-year media rights deal, which will begin with the 2025-26 season.

NASCAR car drivers are lot like many sports fans — they like to watch the Olympics, too. And with a two-week break, past champions like Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano were shouting out their favorite athletes competing at the Paris Games. Busch backed U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles, who took gold in the 100 meters. Logano shouted out Sha'Carri Richardson, the American who was second in the women's 100 meters. Elliott gave the American men's golf team support before the final round as Scottie Scheffler rallied to gold. NASCAR returns to the track at Richmond this week.

Welcome to Pitbull Stadium, the home of your FIU Panthers. Florida International announced what could end up as a 10-year agreement on Tuesday with international recording artist, Grammy winner and entrepreneur Armando Christian Pérez — the Miami native better known as Pitbull — to put his name on their on-campus stadium. Pérez will pay $1.2 million annually for the next five years, the university said, for the naming rights. He will have an option in August 2029 to extend the deal for another five years and continue the rebranding.