Professional hockey
FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2017, file photo, fans stand for the national anthem at New Era Stadium before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets in Orchard Park, N.Y. New Era Field will no longer be the name of the stadium, after the global sports headware and clothing apparel company asked to be released from its naming rights and sponsorship agreement. No reason was provided for the move, announced Wednesday, July 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
New Era asks to pull out of Bills stadium naming rights deal

By John Wawrow 19 hrs ago

Signs for the Washington Redskins are displayed outside FedEx Field in Landover, Md., Monday, July 13, 2020. The Washington NFL franchise announced Monday that it will drop the “Redskins” name and Indian head logo immediately, bowing to decades of criticism that they are offensive to Native Americans. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Washington's NFL team drops 'Redskins' name after 87 years

By Stephen Whyno Jul. 13, 2020 08:58 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2015, file photo, NHL Player's Association executive director Donald Fehr, left, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attend a news conference at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Given the gravity of the pandemic and the abrupt decision to place the NHL season on pause in March, it did not take Bettman and Fehr long to realize they were going to have to work together if play was to resume any time soon. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
NHL, players take collaborative approach in bid to resume

By John Wawrow Jul. 11, 2020 06:06 PM EDT

San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey carries his bats during a baseball practice in San Francisco, Sunday, July 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
The Latest: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott tests positive

By The Associated Press Jul. 10, 2020 08:34 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2018, file photo, a fan yawns before the start of the 17th inning in Game 3 of the World Series baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, in Los Angeles. Major League Baseball will start each extra inning this season by putting a runner on second base. This rule has been used since 2018 in the minor leagues, where it created more action and settled games sooner. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
New extra-inning format stirs debate as teams plot strategy

By Steve Megargee Jul. 09, 2020 03:52 PM EDT

Bills hire Sinnarajah as VP of business administration

By John Wawrow Jul. 08, 2020 03:59 PM EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills have hired Jason Sinnarajah as senior vice president of business administration. From Toronto,...

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2017, file photo, former NBA player and players union deputy Roger Mason, left, listens as entertainer Ice Cube, right, announces the launch of the BIG3, a new 3-on-3 professional basketball league, in New York. Hundreds of sports-related businesses got in line for the government-funded Payroll Protection Plan designed to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. None of the four North American major sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball — applied, but both Major League Soccer and the National Women's Soccer League were represented. Rapper Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league says it returned almost half of the $1.6 million it received, but givebacks were rare. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
Sports jumps on PPP bandwagon, but big leagues take a pass

By The Associated Press Jul. 06, 2020 10:07 PM EDT

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo watches players during team baseball practice at Chase Field, Friday, July 3, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Latest: Diamondbacks OF Kole Calhoun tests positive

By The Associated Press Jul. 06, 2020 11:57 AM EDT

Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy kicks the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Thursday, July 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Peter Powell,Pool)
Enhanced crowd audio adds another dimension to fanless games

By Joe Reedy Jul. 05, 2020 10:00 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 27, 2020, file phohto, Chicago Red Stars' Julie Ertz, second from left, holds Casey Short, center, while other players for the team kneel during the national anthem before an NWSL Challenge Cup soccer match against the Washington Spirit at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The National Women's Soccer League revised its anthem policy after most players knelt during the anthem before season-opening games last weekend at the Challenge Cup. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Discourse over national anthem looms for NBA, other leagues

By Schuyler Dixon Jul. 03, 2020 02:55 PM EDT

Salvador Hernandez, a groom at Emerald Downs Racetrack in Auburn, Wash., wears a mask as he watches a race Wednesday, June 24, 2020, on the first day of thoroughbred horse racing at the track since all professional sports in Washington state were curtailed in March by the outbreak of the coronavirus. No spectators were allowed, but online wagering was available and the races were streamed. Organizers hope to continue racing into October on a modified schedule. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The Latest: Another PGA Tour player tests positive for virus

By The Associated Press Jun. 30, 2020 04:25 PM EDT

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announces a new executive order in response to the rising COVID-19 cases in the state, during a news conference in Phoenix on Monday, June 29, 2020. The governor ordered bars, nightclubs and water parks to close again for at least a month starting Monday night — a dramatic about-face as coronavirus cases surge in the Sunbelt. (Michael Chow/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool)
The Latest: Nets' DeAndre Jordan says he has coronavirus

Jun. 29, 2020 06:05 PM EDT

Before entering the field gates for football strength and conditioning camp at Arlington Martin High School, athletic Trainer Joey Pena, right, uses a thermometer on the forehead of sophomore running back Gervawn Neville for a temperature check Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. While states have been easing the economic and social lockdowns prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, some are now letting high school athletes return for summer workouts before teachers have even figured out how they are going to hold classroom instruction. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
The Latest: 2nd Tennessee men’s basketball player has virus

By The Associated Press Jun. 23, 2020 12:08 PM EDT

Leicester's manager Brendan Rodgers talks to the team during the English Premier League soccer match between Watford and Leicester CITY at the Vicarage Road Stadium in Watford, England, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Michael Regan/Pool via AP)
The Latest: NFLPA advises halt to private workouts together

By The Associated Press Jun. 20, 2020 02:03 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 13, 2020, file photo, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan reacts to a question during a news conference at The Players Championship golf tournament, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. It’s been over three months since the commissioners of major sports cancelled or postponed events because of the coronavirus. Enough time for us to grade them on how they’ve handled the virus so far. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
Column: Sports virus grades are in, at least for midterms

By Tim Dahlberg Jun. 17, 2020 04:35 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 6, 2020, file photo, an empty MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. , is viewed. Timing favored the NFL over other major pro sports leagues in trying to figure out how to keep the coronavirus pandemic from wrecking the 2020 season. America's most popular sport has another big advantage if the games are played: TV money. While NFL owners could lose billions collectively with limited capacities in stadiums or no fans at all, the league is well-positioned financially because of lucrative media contracts approaching $10 billion in a full 2020 season. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
TV money gives NFL leg up if fans can't fill teams' coffers

By Schuyler Dixon Jun. 13, 2020 10:28 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2018, file photo, Buffalo Sabres co-owner/president Kim Pegula stands on the field before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. Pegula is staying on as Sabres president with a continued focus on making the small-market franchise economically sustainable, while in the face of criticism the team has been mismanaged under her leadership. The team's co-owner told The Associated Press in a recent interview she believes she remains the best-suited for the job to streamline the operation, while acknowledging the process has taken longer than expected. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Pegula focused on efficiency; staying on as Sabres President

By John Wawrow Jun. 11, 2020 02:54 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2017, file photo, St. Louis Blues' Joel Edmundson pauses as fans use their phones to light up Scottrade Center during a ceremony as part of a league-wide cancer awareness campaign, before an NHL hockey game between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings in St. Louis. When the virus wanes enough to allow the games to begin again, the very essence of these events will likely be missing. Playing in empty buildings would require a significant recalibration. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues 12/1/2017

Jun. 08, 2020 02:12 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2008, file photo, Nebraska's Cookie Miller (24) body surfs the crowd that rushed the court after Nebraska beat Kansas State 71-64 in a college basketball game in Lincoln, Neb. When the virus wanes enough to allow the games to begin again, the very essence of these events will likely be missing. Playing in empty buildings would require a significant recalibration.(AP Photo/Dave Weaver, FIle)
'Create your own excitement': Players ponder empty buildings

By Dave Campbell Jun. 08, 2020 02:10 AM EDT

Amid concerns of the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, a baseball fan has his temperature checked by a security guard before being allowed to tour Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers baseball team in Arlington, Texas, Monday, June 1, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Fan experience to change profoundly amid COVID-19 pandemic

By Dave Skretta Jun. 07, 2020 11:54 AM EDT