AP Sports SummaryBrief at 3:16 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.

NFL owners approve playoff plan after Bills-Bengals canceled

NFL owners have approved a resolution that could lead to a neutral site for the AFC championship in response to the cancellation of Monday night’s Bills-Bengals game after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field. NFL teams held a special meeting to consider the recommendation of Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league’s competition committee. Hamlin is breathing on his own and able to talk after having his breathing tube removed, his agent said. It’s the latest step in his remarkable recovery in the four days since going into cardiac arrest during the game at Cincinnati. Hamlin even joined the Bills’ team meeting via videoconference.

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.

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.

Shiffrin focusing on the process as she nears Vonn’s record

It’s never been just about wins for Mikaela Shiffrin. Not when she didn’t win any of her five individual races at last year’s Beijing Olympics. And not during her current five-race winning streak. Even when her next victory will tie her with Lindsey Vonn for the women’s World Cup record at 82 wins apiece. U.S. ski team women’s head coach Paul Kristofic says Shiffrin is “a great process-oriented person” and that records are “not really the motivating factor every day when she goes to race.” Shiffrin has a chance to both match and surpass Vonn’s mark this weekend at two giant slaloms Saturday and Sunday in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Sophia Smith named US Soccer Female Player of the Year

Forward Sophia Smith has been named the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year after leading the national team with 11 goals and starting in a team-high 17 matches. The 22-year-old Smith is the youngest player to win the award since Mia Hamm won it at age 22 in 1994. Smith is also the youngest player to lead the United States in scoring since Hamm had 10 goals in 1993.

Djokovic advances to face Medvedev in Adelaide semis

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic beat Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 at the Adelaide International to set up a semifinal with Daniil Medvedev. The combined ATP-WTA event is a warmup for this year’s Australian Open which the top-seeded Djokovic missed last year after being barred from the country because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. Medvedev defeated fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-3. The Russian was the runner-up last year to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open. World No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka was the first woman through to the semifinals after beating Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-5.

Mardy Fish out as US Davis Cup captain before next matches

Mardy Fish is out as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team. The U.S. Tennis Association says the two sides “mutually agreed to move in a new direction.” The USTA announced the change as part of a news release that began by listing the members of the American roster for a qualifying matchup at Uzbekistan in February. Those players are doubles specialist Rajeev Ram, Tommy Paul, Jenson Brooksby, Mackenzie McDonald and Austin Krajicek. Ram was notably left off the squad by Fish for the Davis Cup Finals in November. Fish had been the U.S. captain since 2019. He was fined $10,000 in November by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for promoting a gambling operator via social media.

Maui musings: Connection between Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim have been neighbors in Dallas for the last several month without really knowing each other. Kim even is using Spieth’s longtime swing coach. That changed on a flight home from the Bahamas. Kim said he was going back to South Korea for a few weddings and his parents were going to stay through the holidays. Spieth’s wife, Annie, said no one should spend Christmas alone. They invited the 20-year-old over for Christmas dinner. Spieth says Kim is great with their 1-year-old son, Sammy. And he says Kim packs quite the appetite.