AP Sports SummaryBrief at 6:13 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 and told them “love you guys.” 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.

Column: A round of applause, please, for playoff-crasher TCU

AP Sports Columnist Paul Newberry says TCU has given the College Football Playoff something it desperately needed: Variety.  The four-team playoff has been largely monopolized by a group of powerful programs during its first eight years of existence. Alabama has played in the title game six times. Clemson reached the finale four times. Ohio State and Georgia were two-time finalists before this season. Now along comes TCU. Newberry says the Horned Frogs have already made this playoff a winner even before Monday’s showdown with Georgia for the national championship.

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.

Sports betting markets forced to adjust to higher scoring

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The recent rise in NBA and NHL scoring has caused the betting markets to respond in kind. Sportsbooks are posting totals that would have been unimaginable not long ago. NBA teams were averaging 113.8 points a game through Thursday. That is the highest figure since the 1969-70 season when the average was 116.7. NHL teams were averaging 3.17 goals a game. That is the highest number since the 1993-94 season when the figure was 3.24. The College Football Playoff semifinals were two shootouts, following a more long-range trend.

Browns done with Jadeveon Clowney 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 said ‘nothing comes above the team.’ 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.

Xander Schauffele withdraws from Kapalua with back injury

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Xander Schauffele’s year is not off to an ideal start. The No. 6 player in the world has withdrawn from the Sentry Tournament of Champions with a back injury. Schauffele first experienced back pain a month ago in the Bahamas. But he worked that out and felt better as the week went on. Kapalua was different. He withdrew from the pro-am Wednesday and found the injury getting worse. Schauffele will head home to get an MRI and see if he can find out what’s going on with his back. He has a heavy West Coast schedule ahead of him.

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.

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.