AP Sports SummaryBrief at 9:23 a.m. EST

Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach dies at 61

Mississippi State says football coach Mike Leach has died following complications from a heart condition at the age of 61. The pioneering coach helped revolutionize the college football passing game with the Air Raid offense. A third-year coach at Mississippi State, Leach had been hospitalized over the weekend and had a bout of pneumonia late this season. 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.

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.

Messi, Modric get Argentina, Croatia to World Cup semifinals

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Tears are flowing from soccer’s biggest superstars as they make emotional exits from what might be their last World Cup. First it was Neymar, then it was Cristiano Ronaldo and it could be Lionel Messi next. Momentum is building behind Messi’s push to cap his one-of-a-kind career by winning the World Cup for the first time. The 35-year-old Argentina playmaker has carried his team to the semifinals almost in the same way Diego Maradona led the South American nation to the title in 1986. Now in Argentina’s way is Croatia. The 2018 runner-up is establishing a reputation as the most stubborn and durable of opponents and boasts one of soccer’s most graceful players in Luka Modric.

Murray’s injury is the worst part of Cards’ loss to Patriots

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was carted off the field during the team’s first offensive drive after a knee injury Monday night in Arizona’s game against the New England Patriots. The fourth-year quarterback was flushed out of the pocket on the third play of the game and ran to his right. He tried to juke past a Patriots defender, but instead fell to the grass in obvious pain. The Cardinals confirmed the knee injury and said the quarterback would not return.

Baker’s World Series title among best sports moments of 2022

Dusty Baker finally got his elusive championship with the Houston Astros, garnering his first World Series ring in 25 years as a manager in one of the most memorable moments of the year in sports. Baker won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a player, but missed on two chances to win the Fall Classic before the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. His one of many memorable redemptive moments. The Los Angeles Rams proved home cooking is best by winning the Super Bowl at home and the Golden State Warriors found their old magic by winning their fourth NBA title in eight years and first since 2018. The Colorado Avalanche turned on the way-back machine to win their first Stanley Cup title since 2001.

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?

Spanish court acquits soccer star Neymar in fraud trial

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A Spanish court has acquitted soccer star Neymar and his fellow defendants in a fraud and corruption trial related to the Brazilian’s 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona. Brazilian company DIS had accused Neymar, his father, and the former presidents of Santos and Barcelona of having intentionally hid the cost of his transfer to avoid paying DIS what it was due as the partial holder of his player rights. However, the court says in a statement that “it has not been proven that there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed.”

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 its star striker Kylian Mbappé. It is a match that has cultural and political connotations because Morocco was under French rule from 1912-1956. 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 Croatia and then eliminating Spain and Portugal. It’s one of the biggest stories in the World Cup’s 92-year history and Morocco isn’t done yet.

Fast-paced Indiana holding its own in Eastern Conference

After losing 57 games a season ago, the Indiana Pacers are a .500 team at the moment. That’s despite dropping seven of their last 10. Coach Rick Carlisle’s group can push the tempo, and the Pacers have a 22-year-old standout in point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Indiana is not a team that should be taken lightly. The Pacers are fifth in the NBA in tempo after ranking 18th last season. When the season began, it wasn’t clear how much longer Myles Turner would be with Indiana. That’s still a reasonable question. But now there’s another one alongside it: How much longer can these Pacers stay in the playoff race?