JJ Watt Signs Multiyear Deal as Lead NFL Game Analyst
NEW YORK — JJ Watt is staying in the top chair. The former Houston Texans star signed a multiyear agreement Thursday that makes him the permanent lead analyst on his network’s No. 1 NFL broadcast team, next to play-by-play voice Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson. Watt, 37, moved into the role this season
Guardians Relievers Brogdon and Hernández Elect Free Agency
CLEVELAND — Two right-handed relievers who spent part of 2026 in the Cleveland Guardians bullpen are heading to the open market. Minor league transaction records show Connor Brogdon and Carlos Hernández both opted for free agency this week, shortly after Tampa Bay eliminated Cleveland in a sixth game of the AL Championship Series. Brogdon, 31,
Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd Says NCAA Welcomes Eligibility Chaos
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Arizona men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd believes the NCAA is content to let the fight over player eligibility stay messy, arguing the disorder helps the governing body lobby for a federal law. Speaking at Big 12 media days this week, Lloyd said college sports have become so political that the NCAA
What the 76-Team March Madness Field Means This Season
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — As a new college basketball season tips off, teams across the country are chasing a bigger prize: the NCAA’s men’s and women’s tournaments will each grow from 68 teams to 76 in 2027, and nobody yet knows exactly which schools the extra spots will reward. Each bracket still gives an automatic bid
UConn Women Retool, Reload for Another Title Push
STORRS, Conn. — UConn opens the 2026-27 women’s basketball season ranked second in the preseason poll, trying to turn the page on a national semifinal loss to South Carolina that ended an unbeaten run and left a bitter coaching exchange in its wake. The Huskies had not lost all season before that night, and their
Notre Dame Basketball Leans on Transfers to End Drought
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame men’s basketball opens a new season aiming to end a drought: the Fighting Irish have not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2022. Coach Micah Shrewsberry’s program is coming off three losing seasons in a row. Last winter brought only four ACC victories, and the Irish missed the conference
Charles Barkley Vows Quiet TV Exit, Jabs Aaron Rodgers
ATLANTA, Ga. — Charles Barkley says that when he finally walks away from television, he will not use the exit to settle old scores, and he pointed to Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the example he does not plan to follow. Appearing on a satellite radio sports show Wednesday, the Hall of Famer was asked
Magnitude 7 Earthquake in Tibet Kills 16, Injures 76
NAGQU, Tibet — A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked a remote, high-altitude stretch of China’s Tibet region late Thursday, leaving 16 people dead and 76 others hurt, local officials said Friday. The quake hit Baqen County in the city of Nagqu at 10:33 p.m. local time. Officials with the Nagqu city government gave updated casualty
France Confirms First Human Case of Livestock Virus Shamonda
LYON, France — Health officials in France have confirmed the first known human infection with Shamonda, a virus that until this year had only been documented in animals, mainly cattle. The patient had a badly weakened immune system and was being treated for a serious illness at the Hospices Civils de Lyon hospital system. The
Congo Ebola Outbreak Tops 9,600 Cases
KINSHASA, Congo — The Ebola outbreak centered in Congo keeps widening, with confirmed cases now above 9,600 and the disease reaching an eighth Congolese province as well as a new country, Nigeria. World Health Organization figures through Oct. 19 count 9,637 confirmed cases and 4,646 confirmed deaths since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, a