AP Sports SummaryBrief at 2:22 p.m. EST

Bills: Safety Damar Hamlin showing ‘remarkable improvement’

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has shown what physicians treating him are calling “remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours.” The team announced that three days after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field. The Bills said that while Hamlin is still critically ill, the 24-year-year old has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. Hamlin’s agent, Ronald Butler, told The Associated Press that Hamlin was awake and has been able to grip the hands of family members at his hospital bedside. The developments come as the Bills were scheduled to return to practice for the first time since Hamlin collapsed when his heart stopped after making a tackle during the first quarter of Buffalo’s game against the Bengals.

Back to work not business as usual for Damar Hamlin’s peers

For Damar Hamlin’s teammates, peers and everyone in the NFL community, going back to work is not business as usual. Players returned to practice with heavy hearts on Wednesday, two days after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field during Buffalo’s game at Cincinnati. The 24-year-old Bills safety remains hospitalized in critical condition. His teammates are set to play the Patriots on Sunday, and all games for Week 18 remain on schedule. Some players across the league have expressed concern about playing this weekend because they’re still processing what happened to Hamlin.

James, Durant lead early in NBA All-Star starter voting

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets may be headed toward yet another NBA All-Star Game rematch. James is the overall leader in All-Star balloting so far. Durant leads all Eastern Conference players in early voting returns. That puts them on track to be All-Star captains for the third consecutive year. James has been a captain five times and his teams have gone 5-0 under that All-Star format. The game is Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City.

Andretti partners with General Motors for Cadillac F1 bid

General Motors will attempt to enter Formula One by partnering with Andretti Global under its Cadillac banner as it supports Michael Andretti’s bid to launch a two-car American team. Andretti has been lobbying the FIA to expand the 20-car grid and join the series after a failed 2021 attempt to purchase Sauber. His petition to expand the grid has been met by fierce resistance from existing F1 teams who have argued an 11th team will dramatically dilute their revenues. Andretti says partnering with General Motors gives him an American automaker that provides the additional value rival teams have argued new teams must bring to F1.

Cardiac events a frightening, familiar sight in the NHL

The horror that swept across the NFL when Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest during a game this week was all too familiar to members of the hockey community. At least five players experienced a heart-related issue in the NHL over the past 25 years. All of them collapsed during games. All of them survived. The NHL has updated its policies and required more robust medical support at games. Experts say that’s key and adjustments should continue to make sure medical staffs and teams are always prepared.

Football fans grapple with violent side of a beloved sport

NEW YORK (AP) — The harrowing on-field collapse of Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin has forced some fans to confront a truth they’ve always known but hated to think about: Football, a game with violence in its DNA, can go from exciting and joyous to dark and tragic in a flash.  Now, as Hamlin remains in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital, fans like Max Cerone are reflecting on their relationship with the sport they love. Cerone says he’s thinking of the players who put their bodies at risk but are often not seen as regular human beings.  Other fans are grappling with the perennial question of whether to allow their kids to play.

Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do

It was a horrific scene. A young athlete just getting started on a promising NFL career, popping up from a rather innocuous-looking tackle — and then slumping back to the turf. Just like that, fighting for his life. Naturally, when a traumatic event happens like the one that stopped Damar Hamlin’s heart, we’re roused to ponder the value of sport. Especially a violent sport such as football. But anyone who suggests this is a precarious moment for America’s No. 1 pastime, that somehow we’ve crossed a Rubicon leading to its slow, inevitable downfall, simply hasn’t been paying attention.

Hamlin’s collapse spurs new wave of vaccine misinformation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Misinformation about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines has flared up once again, this time following the on-field collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a game Monday. Even before Hamlin was carried off the field, social media posts claimed without evidence that his medical emergency was caused by a COVID-19 inoculation. Prominent anti-vaccine groups and right-leaning figures like Tucker Carlson claimed Hamlin’s cardiac arrest is connected to a number of athletes who have died after receiving the shot. Physicians interviewed by the AP, however, said it’s wrong to blame vaccines for Hamlin’s injury and that there’s been no increase in cardiac arrests among vaccinated athletes.

Soccer fans hopeful ahead of Gulf Cup in Iraqi city of Basra

BASRA, Iraq (AP) — Iraq is hosting its first international soccer tournament in more than four decades and for many Iraqis, the tournament that is about to kick off in the southern city of Basra offers a rare moment of joy and optimism. The eight-nation Arabian Gulf Cup starts on Friday, with teams from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — as well as Yemen and Iraq. Soccer fans and officials say the two weeks of matches will be a respite from all the violence, political and economic crises. many hope that if the tournament goes smoothly, FIFA could allow World Cup qualifiers to return to Baghdad.

Masters awards exemption to NCAA champion Gordon Sargent

The Masters is extending an invitation to NCAA champion Gordon Sargent. Sargent is now a sophomore at Vanderbilt. He won the NCAA title last year in a four-man playoff and is regarded as one of the elite college golfers. He’s No. 3 in the amateur ranking. Augusta National has a long history of looking after elite amateurs. But Sargent is the first amateur to get a special invitation since 18-year-old Aaron Baddeley in 2000 after Baddeley won the Australian Open. The Masters also gave an invitation to Kazuki Higa of Japan. He won the Japan tour money title last year.