AP Sports SummaryBrief at 1:02 p.m. EST

Bills’ Hamlin breathing on his own, joins team via video

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s agent says the player is breathing on his own and able to talk after having his breathing tube removed. It comes four days after he went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field. Hamlin also joined the team’s morning meeting by videoconference. Agent Ira Turner was unable to provide any other details in a text sent to The Associated Press. The development was first reported by The Athletic. The 24-year-old Hamlin was listed Thursday in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

EXPLAINER: What Bills-Bengals cancellation does to playoffs

The NFL’s decision to cancel the Bills-Bengals game has major playoff implications for several teams. The league is changing the rules for the postseason to accommodate the cancellation. The NFL plans a special meeting Friday to ask teams to vote on a resolution recommended by Commissioner Roger Goodell and approved by the competition committee Thursday night. The Bills-Bengals game was suspended Monday night after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the field. Hamlin had his breathing tube removed by Friday morning.

NFL: Bills-Bengals won’t resume; playoff scenarios revealed

The NFL won’t resume the Bills-Bengals game that was suspended Monday night after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the field. The league announced its decision on Thursday. The NFL said its decision creates “potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios.” The league said clubs on Friday, in a special league meeting, would consider a resolution recommended by the commissioner and approved today by the Competition Committee. The Bills-Bengals game had major playoff implications. Buffalo entered Monday night needing a win to maintain the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Kansas City Chiefs currently hold that spot. The Bengals had a chance to earn that top seed with two more wins and a loss by the Chiefs.

Browns send Jadeveon Clowney home after critical comments

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was sent home Friday and will not practice after he made critical comments about the team. The Browns will play their season finale Sunday in Pittsburgh, and Clowney will not make the trip. Coach Kevin Stefanski will address the media following practice. Clowney is in his second season with the Browns. He said in an interview Thursday with cleveland.com that he didn’t feel appreciated and was “95% sure” he wasn’t coming back for a third season. Clowney also said the Browns are giving Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett preferential treatment and were focused only on getting him to the Hall of Fame.

Family ties have long run strong in the ranks of NFL coaches

Luke Steckel is finishing his 10th season working with the Tennessee Titans, the very same NFL team his father worked for once. That connection didn’t get Luke Steckel into the NFL. That credit goes to a college friend. The potential downside of football as a family business lurks in the issue of nepotism. Fathers hiring sons or recommending them to friends can unwittingly perpetuate the sport’s long struggle with consistently placing coaches of color in the top roles. The NFL’s annual diversity and inclusion report acknowledged the issue as recently as 2020. That cited internal league research that 63 NFL coaches were related either biologically or through marriage.

Cristiano Ronaldo experiences surreal start in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The palm trees lining the desert roads leading out of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport were wet with rain drops when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived this week in Saudi Arabia’s capital city. The surprising weather greeted the soccer great’s shocking move to the Middle East. It’s a surreal start for Ronaldo as he takes the next step of his storied career in a league few know much about. The wet and chilly weather has been so severe that his new team was forced to postpone its Saudi league match against Al Ta’ee on Thursday because rain had impacted the electric system at the club’s home stadium. He was then left out of the squad for the rescheduled match.

Texas fires Chris Beard amid felony domestic violence charge

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has fired basketball coach Chris Beard, who faces a felony domestic family violence charge after his fiancée told police he strangled and bit her. The school sent Beard’s attorney a letter that said the coach was “unfit” for the position. Beard had been suspended without pay since Dec. 12. He had five years left on a seven-year guaranteed contract. Police responded to an emergency call to Beard’s house. The woman initially told officers that Beard choked her from behind, bit her and hit her during an argument. Beard’s attorney has said Beard is innocent and that his fiancée later denied she was choked.

Get Smart: Kirby’s carves his own path to dynasty at Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — Kirby Smart was paid $8,000 in his first coaching job at Division II Valdosta State. Now, he’s one of college football’s most dominant forces. He is the $10 million-a-year architect of a potential dynasty at Georgia. The top-ranked Bulldogs have a shot at becoming the first team in a decade to win back-to-back national titles. When you consider what Smart has done since taking over in 2016, the journey takes on a far more impressive luster. The Bulldogs were a very good program under Mark Richt. Smart made them great.

Stealing home? Man accused of burglarizing Brewers clubhouse

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a man with felony burglary after he allegedly stole memorabilia and other items from the Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse at American Family Field. Online court records show the 25-year-old man was charged Dec. 14. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that a criminal complaint says the man attended a Sept. 8 doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants. The complaint says he drank at least 10 beers, passed out in some bushes outside the stadium, woke up, got back inside, found his way to the clubhouse and took items from the locker room. The items included electronics, a credit card and signed bats.

Ohtani, Darvish, Suzuki on Japan World Baseball Classic team

TOKYO (AP) — Japan officials have named 12 members of their World Baseball Classic team who will represent the country later this year. They include three major leaguers, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres and Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs. The WBC will be played in Japan, Taiwan and United States from March 8-21. It features 20 national teams. The powers from Asia will be Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia. Latin America will feature the largest contingent with Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama, and Nicaragua. The United States and Canada are also entered.