AP Sports SummaryBrief at 4:02 p.m. EST

Messi, Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 to reach World Cup final

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi is back in the World Cup final with Argentina on his mission to win soccer’s biggest prize for the first time. He could hardly be playing any better. Messi converted a penalty and had a hand in the other two goals by Julián Álvarez to lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Croatia. It set up a meeting with either France or Morocco in Sunday’s title match. It will be the 35-year-old Messi’s second World Cup final in what might be his last ever appearance at the tournament. Croatia failed in its bid to reach a second straight World Cup final.

Live updates | Argentina-Croatia in the World Cup semifinals

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Julian Alvarez has scored to give Argentina a 3-0 lead over Croatia in the World Cup semifinals. Alvarez scored in the 69th minute. He also scored to make it 2-0 in the 39th. Lionel Messi scored the first goal from the penalty spot in the 34th minute.

Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach dies at 61

Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach has died following complications from a heart condition. The pioneering coach helped revolutionize the college football passing game with the Air Raid offense. Leach had been hospitalized over the weekend and had a bout of pneumonia late this season. He died Monday night. In 21 seasons as a head coach at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State, Leach went 158-107. Six of the 20 best passing seasons in major college football history were by quarterbacks who played for Leach, including four of the top six. Mike Leach was 61.

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray out for season with torn ACL

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury confirmed the extent of the injury during his Tuesday news conference. The news is not a surprise after the 25-year-old injured his knee on the third play of Monday night’s 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots. The fourth-year quarterback was flushed out of the pocket and running to his right when he tried to juke past a Patriots defender, but tumbled to the grass in obvious pain. Players from both teams surrounded the quarterback before he was carted off the field with a towel draped over his head.

The Jordan Trophy: NBA rebrands, redesigns its MVP award

The NBA Most Valuable Player award has been renamed The Michael Jordan Trophy. The league made that announcement Tuesday and unveiled the redesigned award. The trophy has been named for Maurice Podoloff for about six decades. Jordan won the trophy that was named for Podoloff five times. But now the league’s best player each year will receive a trophy named for the six-time champion.

EXPLAINER: Inside the NBA’s process on changing trophies

There’s been an evolution of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player trophy in the 70 or so years since it was first awarded. It used to be called the President’s Trophy. Players used to do the voting. In time, it all changed; the trophy was known as the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, and a media panel of 100 writers and broadcasters now are the voters. As of Tuesday, there’s a new trophy and a new name — The Michael Jordan Trophy. It is the biggest move in a long line of trophy tweaks and twists by the NBA in recent years.

Moroccan World Cup ‘dream’ faces biggest test against France

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Morocco’s improbable, history-making run at the World Cup is about to get its ultimate test. Africa’s first semifinalist is playing defending champion France and striker Kylian Mbappé. It is a match that has cultural and political connotations because Morocco was under French rule from 1912-56. It is far from the foregone conclusion many would presume by looking at the names of the players and the rankings of the teams. Morocco has shocked the soccer world in Qatar by topping a group containing Belgium and then eliminated Spain and Portugal. It’s one of the biggest stories in the World Cup’s 92-year history and Morocco isn’t done yet.

WR Beasley comes out of retirement to rejoin Buffalo Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Receiver Cole Beasley ended a brief retirement to take one more shot at extending his career by reuniting with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Beasley was signed to Buffalo’s practice squad, rejoining the team that cut him in March for salary-cap reasons. The 11th-year player was out of work until being signed to Tampa Bay’s practice squad in late September. The 33-year-old Beasley had four catches for 17 yards in two games with the Buccaneers before announcing his retirement on Oct. 5. The AFC-leading Bills have won four straight games and have the inside track to clinch their third consecutive AFC East title. Buffalo hosts division rival Miami on Saturday night.

Analysis: NFL fight against fakery leads to feud with Jordan

The NFL sent a recent memo to its teams reminding them of the consequences when players fake an injury. And a few days later the league found itself in a feud with New Orleans star Cameron Jordan after accusing the seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end of faking an injury in a loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jordan and the Saints deny the allegations and insist his left foot sprain was genuine. The league’s memo said the NFL needs to uphold the integrity of the game. But Jordan wonders, what about the integrity of his good name?