Here are the AP’s top sports stories that have moved or are planned to move today. All times U.S. Eastern. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan. Sports content can be found at http://newsroom.ap.org/page/APSports.

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UPCOMING

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FBN--PRESEASON OPENS

DESCRIPTION: The NFL’s preseason schedule kicks off with the Hall of Fame game between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals, featuring backups and depth players competing for opportunities to get more snaps when the games count. By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi.

UPCOMING: By 08/05/2026 3:00 p.m. EDT, Text

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BKL--FOCUSED FEVER

DESCRIPTION: The Indiana Fever seems to be the focal point of every WNBA controversy from trans-gender athletes to a Congressional push to protect star players such as Caitlin Clark. But Indiana hasn’t been derailed by all the distractions. Instead, the focused Fever is playing some of its best basketball despite the distractions. By Michael Marot. 700 words, with photos by 4 p.m. ET.

UPCOMING: By 08/05/2026 4:00 p.m. EDT, Text

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FBC--OKLAHOMA ST-COACH

DESCRIPTION: Oklahoma State will start the season with someone other than Mike Gundy at coach for the first time since 2004. Can Eric Morris and a slew of transfers help lead the Cowboys snap an 18-game Big 12 Conference losing streak? By Tim Willert. Text, file photo.

UPCOMING: By 08/05/2026 4:00 p.m. EDT, Text

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SOC--LEAGUES-CUP-SAN LUIS-MIAMI

DESCRIPTION: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami take on Atletico San Luis in a Leagues Cup match at Nu Stadium. By Alanis Thames. UPCOMING: 300 words, photos.

UPCOMING: By 08/05/2026 10:00 p.m. EDT, Text, Photo

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BBO--CARDINALS-YANKEES

DESCRIPTION: With touted 21-year-old shortstop George Lombard Jr. coming off a big major league debut, the New York Yankees host the St. Louis Cardinals in the finale of their three-game series. By Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick. 300 words, with photos.

UPCOMING: By 08/05/2026 10:05 p.m. EDT, Text

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NEW AND DEVELOPING

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FBN--FALCONS-WALKER

Falcons’ Jalon Walker to miss the 2026 season with a torn ACL

SUMMARY: Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jalon Walker will miss the 2026 season with a torn ACL, the team announced Wednesday. Walker was injured during training camp on Tuesday and was unable to put weight on his left leg. The Falcons drafted him in 2025 after a standout career at the University of Georgia. He made an immediate impact, helping the Falcons achieve the second-most sacks in the NFL last season. Walker’s absence leaves uncertainty in the Falcons’ pass rush. Walker’s counterpart, James Pearce Jr., adds to the uncertainty while facing a potential suspension due to an offseason arrest.

WORDS: 309 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 1:31 p.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6452209a5aad52909ae998e4aaa571ac&mediaType=text

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RAC--TRIPLE CROWN-PREAKNESS

Preakness shifting back to three weeks and a day after the Kentucky Derby, to be run on a Sunday

SUMMARY: The Preakness Stakes is moving to three weeks and a day after the Kentucky Derby to be run on a Sunday for the first time. No Triple Crown race has ever been run on a Sunday in the history of the series. The shift marks a major change on the horse racing calendar after three-quarters of a century of the Preakness taking place two weeks to the day after the Derby is run on the first Saturday in May, with the lone exception of 2020 because of the pandemic. For at least one year, it will mean just a 13-day gap between the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

WORDS: 669 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 12:00 p.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:53923abcb96ebaa37cb8c5597d57736c&mediaType=text

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SOC--INFANTINO-FIFA MEETING

European soccer leagues add to pressure on FIFA president Gianni Infantino amid ‘crisis’ meeting

SUMMARY: The association of European soccer leagues has called for governance reform of FIFA. This adds to the mounting pressure on president Gianni Infantino following his failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup. With Infantino reportedly holding a meeting Wednesday with senior staff in Rabat, Morocco, European Leagues has described the proposal as “dangerous”. It says it points to deeper concerns about how world soccer’s governing body operates. European Leagues says there are “serious questions about FIFA’s governance, internal culture and decision-making.”

WORDS: 421 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 11:52 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:98cacb47356cb365346ae998d1d38c49&mediaType=text

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GLF--LIV GOLF

LIV Golf has lead investor and planning ahead for another season

SUMMARY: LIV Golf says it has a lead investor that will allow the league to plan ahead for 2027 and beyond. The rival league has been in survival mode since March when the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia announced it would no longer pay for LIV after 2026. Saudi money is what allowed the league to pay nine-figure bonuses to lure top players away from the PGA Tour and created $20 million purses. LIV CEO Scott O’Neil did not identify the lead investor. But he says the new league would have players as majority equity holders.

WORDS: 377 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 11:29 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:169ca9da22ea74151b370b4ff6426617&mediaType=text

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FBN--ON FOOTBALL WITH ROB MAADDI

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was inspired by Barry Sanders serving his teammates

SUMMARY: Saquon Barkley saw a clip of Barry Sanders on NFL Films when he was a kid that left a lasting impression. It wasn’t Sanders juking half the defense on one of his dynamic touchdown runs. Instead, the Hall of Fame running back who inspired a generation of running backs with his sensational, elusive, shifty style was walking up and down the sideline handing out refreshments to his teammates. Barkley joined Sanders as one of nine players to rush for 2,000 yards in a season in 2024 when he was the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.

WORDS: 730 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 11:00 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d7948527c2eccdc195fbcb44fb83cf1e&mediaType=text

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FBN--HALL OF FAME-BREES

Drew Brees’ prolific Hall of Fame career was a triumph of intangibles over measurables

SUMMARY: Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is among the former NFL greats being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, this weekend. His induction will celebrate a 20-year NFL career in which the 6-foot Brees overcame a relative lack of height and came back from a career-threatening shoulder injury to set records and win a Super Bowl. Brees’ 80,358 yards and 571 touchdown passes rank second all-time. He’s also remembered as an uplifting force during New Orleans’ recovery from Hurricane Katrina. He arrived less than a year after the storm and led the Saints to the playoffs nine times and the only championship in the club’s six-decade history.

WORDS: 1465 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 10:27 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:ac53ee5b6a33fafbadfcf432f03f1a64&mediaType=text

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SOC--WORLD CUP-SPAIN-MOROCCO-MIGRATION

Party in Spain’s government questions co-hosting 2030 World Cup with Morocco after migration crisis

SUMMARY: The junior partner of Spain’s government wants Spain to reconsider hosting the next World Cup with Morocco after the migration crisis in Ceuta. Tens of thousands of people surged across the Moroccan border last week and into the European enclave. The small left-wing party presented a motion in the country’s Parliament on Wednesday asking Spain’s sports authorities to revisit its plan to co-host the 2030 soccer tournament with Morocco and Portugal. The motion would be non-binding.

WORDS: 496 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 9:47 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:fbd54b5a53c8468b7dc182dfef6d90ad&mediaType=text

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ATH--COMMONWEALTH GAMES-MISSING ATHLETES

Scottish police looking into reports of missing athletes at the Commonwealth Games

SUMMARY: Police in Scotland say they have received reports that “several” athletes were unaccounted for following the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Ugandan sporting news website NBS Sport said four members of the nation’s boxing team had reportedly gone missing in Scotland and did not rejoin the rest of the delegation before the team’s scheduled return to Uganda on Tuesday. The Pakistan Today newspaper also reported a missing boxer from the Pakistan national team. “Enquiries are ongoing to assess the circumstances, and early engagement is taking place with the Home Office,” Police Scotland says.

WORDS: 194 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 7:46 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:20a7b6897f3c8597482fc1302cb490f2&mediaType=text

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FBN--NEW COACHES

A league filled with new bosses: 10 head coaches in new places reshape NFL sidelines

SUMMARY: Robert Saleh’s second chance as an NFL head coach came in Tennessee with the Titans. He has lots of company being a head coach with a new franchise. The NFL tied its record with 10 head coaches hired by new teams this offseason, matching the previous high last reached in 2022. John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski also are with their second teams. Mike McCarthy joined the list of men to coach three different franchises after going home in Pittsburgh. The other six all are in their first NFL training camps as head coaches.

WORDS: 780 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 6:00 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:5f576998252ecc185dda2b4472b21acb&mediaType=text

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BBO--TRADE DEADLINE-CASH

Mets to pay $8.1M to Pirates as part of Weaver trade, Cubs to send Toronto nearly $5M with Taillon

SUMMARY: The New York Mets are paying more than $8.1 million to the Pirates in a trade that sent pitcher Luke Weaver to Pittsburgh. That covers most of the $13.4 million left on Weaver’s contract. Pittsburgh will pay Weaver a small portion of his salary. In other deals, the Chicago Cubs are paying nearly $5 million to Toronto in the transaction that sent pitcher Jameson Taillon to the Blue Jays. The San Francisco Giants are paying San Diego more than $4 million in the trade that sent 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray to the Padres.

WORDS: 889 - MOVED: 08/05/2026 6:00 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:1ad8f41bc15b63fb80e4c7e41b18ce1b&mediaType=text

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MOVING TOMORROW

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FBN--PANTHERS-CARDINALS

CANTON, Ohio — The Carolina Panthers face the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL preseason opener. By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi.

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FBN—ALL OF FAME-KUECHLY

Former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday.

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