AP Sports SummaryBrief at 4:07 p.m. EST

Messi, Mbappe give Qatar the perfect World Cup ending

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — When it comes to soccer, money can buy the world. It can pay for the World Cup. And the world’s best players. And it can bundle them all up into a perfect package and present it to a global audience of millions. The power of money was on show in all its glory as Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties to become world champions for the third time and end Lionel Messi’s pursuit of the one major trophy that had eluded him in his storied career. Not a bad return on Qatar’s estimated $200 billion investment.

TCU’s Sonny Dykes named Associated Press coach of the Year

TCU’s Sonny Dykes is The Associated Press Coach of the Year after leading the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff in his first season with the school. Dykes received 37 of 46 first-place votes from AP Top 25 voters to become the second TCU coach to win the award. The first two were won by Gary Patterson, the coach Dykes replaced. TCU faces Michigan on Dec. 31 in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal. Tulane coach Willie Fritz was second with two first-place votes, followed by Tennessee’s John Heupel and last year’s winner, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan.

Analysis: Top NFL teams had lots of close calls in Week 15

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Joe Burrow wasn’t satisfied after throwing four touchdown passes in the second half to rally the Bengals to a comeback win over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. Week 15 was a struggle not only for the Bengals but several playoff-bound teams. Only one game — Bengals-Buccaneers — was decided by more than 10 points, going into the Rams-Packers matchup Monday night. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs needed overtime to beat the lowly Houston Texans. Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia had to overcome a tough first half and three turnovers to beat Chicago 25-20. Dallas blew a 17-point lead in the third quarter and lost 40-34 in overtime at Jacksonville.

Purdue holds top spot in AP poll as UConn climbs to No. 2

Purdue maintained its grasp on No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll on Monday, receiving 40 of the 60 first-place votes from a national media panel after knocking off Davidson in its only game last week. That allowed the Boilermakers to hold the top spot for a second consecutive week. But after then-No. 2 Virginia lost to Houston, UConn leaped into second place and scooped up the remaining 20 first-place votes. The Huskies were unranked in the preseason. rest of the top five were Houston, Kansas and Arizona. Marquette entered the poll at No. 23 and Arizona State at No. 25.

St. John’s cracks women’s AP Top 25 for 1st time since 2015

St. John’s is ranked in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time since 2015. The Red Storm is No. 25 after winning its first 11 games to match a school record. South Carolina remains a unanimous No. 1, receiving all 28 first-place votes from a national media panel. The top five was unchanged with Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana and Notre Dame following the Gamecocks. North Carolina and North Carolina State are sixth and seventh. Virginia Tech, UConn and LSU round out the top 10.

At 50, ‘Immaculate Reception’ still lifts a region’s spirits

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The “Immaculate Reception” turns 50 this Friday, Dec. 23. That’s the name for the play in which Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris caught a deflected pass and scored a touchdown for Pittsburgh’s first-ever playoff victory. The NFL considers it the greatest play in league history. But it’s more than that. The name is a wordplay on the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It came to symbolize the grit of the blue-collar city. But Pittsburgh steelmaking was in decline even as the Steelers were building a dynasty. The Immaculate Reception gave a needed morale boost. “This was our cultural rallying point,” says one priest.

USOPC pushes category qualifiers for sport transgender issue

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is encouraging individual sports to consider “category qualifiers” to ensure transgender athletes will have events to participate in after they reach puberty. The USOPC finalized its so-called position paper addressing a proposed path forward for transgender participation in sports. Its recommendations were based on the principles that science and “fairness” should guide all major decisions. The federation said category qualifiers are used in several sports, including wrestling and boxing, and a so-called open category could be used in some sports. Such a category could include male, transgender and nonbinary athletes who were male at birth. It would leave a category exclusively for athletes who were female at birth.

Ovechkin revels in Messi winning World Cup with Argentina

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin is one of the happiest athletes around about Lionel Messi winning the World Cup with Argentina. Ovechkin is a big fan of Messi and even got a jersey of his as a gift from teammates for his 1,000th NHL game three years ago. Ovechkin sees some parallels between finally hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in his 13th NHL season and Messi winning the World Cup in likely his last opportunity at age 35. Messi also dominated on the way to the championship much like Ovechkin did in earning playoff MVP honors in 2018. Ovechkin’s only question is how Messi will celebrate compared with him and his teammates.

Messi wins World Cup to push claim to be soccer’s GOAT

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi made his strongest case yet to be considered soccer’s greatest player of all time after finally winning the World Cup. It will never be possible to say definitively even after Argentina’s 4-2 penalty shootout victory over France in the final at Lusail Stadium. No one will ever surpass Pele for some. The Brazil great won the World Cup three times. Even in Messi’s homeland there is Diego Maradona. He remains for many the country’s ultimate soccer icon after captaining his national team to the 1986 World Cup title. And Messi has even had a personal rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo for the past 15 years or so. He also now has a World Cup.

Alabama’s Young, Anderson sticking around for Sugar Bowl

Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. decided they had unfinished business at Alabama, even if it won’t include another shot at a national championship. The fifth-ranked Crimson Tide stars chose to stick around for the Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 against No. 11 Kansas State instead of joining other high-profile NFL draft prospects in opting out of their bowl games. Both Young and Anderson have been talked about as candidates for the No. 1 pick if they declare for the draft. A wave of stars like Texas All-American running back Bijan Robinson have opted out of their bowls.