AP Sports SummaryBrief at 2:21 p.m. EST

College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams in 2024 season

The College Football Playoff says it will expand to a 12-team event starting in 2024. The announcement came after the Rose Bowl agreed to amend its contract for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That was the last hurdle CFP officials needed cleared to expand the four-team format. The expansion is expected to produce about $450 million in additional gross revenue for the conferences and schools that participate. The plan to expand the playoff was unveiled publicly in June 2021 and it took 18 months of haggling and delays to finally complete.

LeBron: Media disparity between Jones photo, Irving comments

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has questions about the disparity of media scrutiny he believes is being applied to a 1957 photo of Jerry Jones and the recent controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving. The photo of Jones, captured by an Associated Press photographer, shows him standing among a group of white students at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas on Sept. 9, 1957. The group was blocking six Black students who were attempting to desegregate the school. James said that Black athletes get more scrutiny when “we do something wrong or something that people don’t agree with” but that the Jones picture “seems like it’s just been buried under.”

Watson dodges non-football questions after NFL suspension

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has refused to address non-football questions in his first comments since returning from an 11-game suspension over sexual misconduct allegations. Watson spoke to the media for the first time since Aug. 18 but declined to discuss his suspension or the reasons he had to sit out. He has been accused by more than two dozen women of sexual harassment and assault during massage therapy sessions. The 27-year-old will play his first game for the Browns on Sunday in Houston, where he starred for four seasons and where the alleged misconduct took place.

Gaylord Perry, two-time Cy Young winner, dies at 84

GAFFNEY, S.C. (AP) — Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry has died at the age of 84. Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Perry died at his home in Gaffney, South Carolina, at about 5 a.m. Thursday. The Perry family said that Perry died after a short illness. Perry pitched for eight major-league teams from 1962 until 1983. He won the Cy Young with Cleveland in 1972 and with San Diego in 1978 just after turning 40.  Perry was a five-time All-Star who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Hurt on goal, Pulisic hopes to face Netherlands at World Cup

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — United States midfielder Christian Pulisic hopes to play against the Netherlands in the round of 16 at the World Cup on Saturday after bruising his pelvic bone while scoring in the 1-0 win over Iran. Pulisic is going to consult with the medical staff in the hope of joining the latest training session. He says “I will do everything in my power to work with this medical team and make sure I can play.” Pulisic was in pain when he sprawled on the field after colliding with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand on Tuesday.

Stéphanie Frappart makes history as 1st female World Cup ref

AL KHOR, Qatar (AP) — French referee Stéphanie Frappart has bocame the first woman to take charge of a men’s World Cup game after blowing her whistle to start Germany’s game against Costa Rica. Frappart also had two women as assistants. Neuza Back of Brazil and Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico complete an all-female refereeing team on the field. Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States was also working at the Al Bayt Stadium as the offside specialist in the video review team. Frappart has already refereed men’s games in World Cup qualifying and the Champions League. She also took charge of this year’s men’s French Cup final and the 2019 Women’s World Cup final for FIFA.

Belgium out of World Cup as Croatia advances with 0-0 draw

AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — Croatia advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup with a 0-0 draw against Belgium. Belgium’s group-stage exit will likely usher in the breakup of its talented but underachieving generation of players. The point left 2018 runner-up Croatia in second place behind Group F winner Morocco. The Croats have reached at least the semifinals on each of the two times they have advanced to the knockout stage. Belgium was eliminated after scoring only one goal in three games and failed to live up to its status as the second-ranked team and one of the tournament favorites.

Messi fans from Asia cheer on Argentina at World Cup

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Argentina is finding a legion of passionate superfans from India, Bangladesh and other Asian countries at the World Cup in Qatar. Thousands have traveled to Qatar specifically to see Messi and his team with their own eyes. Many others are among migrant workers that make up about 90% of the country’s population of 3 million. Qatar-based Smitha Issac from India attended Argentina’s final group game against Poland with her family on Wednesday. Isaac said Lionel Messi “is something like Messiah.”

Thorns to be sold amid fallout from women’s soccer scandals

The owner of the Portland Thorns has announced he is putting the club up for sale, the latest fallout from an investigation into misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League. Merritt Paulson’s decision comes nearly two months after a pair of team executives were dismissed for their roles in systemic abuse and misconduct that had spanned multiple teams in the NWSL, including the Thorns. Paulson had relinquished his decision-making role with the Thorns in October. But there have been continuous calls for Paulson to sell the team.

Jamie Chadwick parlays W Series success into Andretti ride

Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick has parlayed her success in the all-women series into a bigger ride. The British racer has been selected the driver for Andretti Autosport in the Indy NXT Series next season. Indy NXT is the new name of the rebranded Indy Lights Series, the final step on the ladder system before IndyCar. Chadwick will make her debut in an American racing series in March driving the No. 28 for Andretti Autosport with sponsorship from DHL. The 24-year-old will become the first female in 13 years to compete fulltime in the Indy NXT championship.