North Carolina No. 1 in AP preseason basketball poll
North Carolina surprised just about everyone last year when a talented team led by first-year coach Hubert Davis parlayed a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament into a run to the national title game.
The Tar Heels won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year.
With four starters back from the team that lost to Kansas in New Orleans, the Tar Heels are the runaway pick as the preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 released Monday. They earned 47 of 62 first-place votes from a national media panel to easily outdistance Gonzaga, the top preseason team the past two years.
The Bulldogs received 12 first-place votes while No. 3 Houston had one and fourth-ranked Kentucky the other two.
There was a tie at No. 5 between the Kansas Jayhawks, who raised their latest national title banner inside Allen Fieldhouse earlier this month, and Big 12 rival Baylor, which raised its own championship banner the previous season.
Duke, where Jon Scheyer replaced Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, was ranked seventh and UCLA eighth. Creighton has its best preseason ranking at No. 9, followed by Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Indiana, TCU and Auburn.
NFL
CARDINALS ACQUIRE WR ANDERSON FROM PANTHERS >> The Arizona Cardinals have made a move to bolster their struggling offense, adding disgruntled receiver Robbie Anderson in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.
Both teams announced the deal, saying the Panthers would receive “undisclosed draft compensation” in return.
A person familiar with the trade said the Panthers would receive a sixth-round pick in 2024 and a seventhround pick in 2025. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because some details of the trade haven’t been announced.
The trade could be beneficial to both sides: Anderson’s days in Carolina appeared numbered after he was sent off the field and into the locker room by interim coach Steve Wilks during the second half of the Panthers’ 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, following a sideline argument with an assistant coach. COMMANDERS’ WENTZ HAS SURGERY TO REPAIR BROKEN FINGER >> Carson Wentz underwent surgery to repair a broken right ring finger, sidelining the Washington Commanders starting quarterback six games into his tenure with the team.
The Commanders announced Wentz had surgery in Los Angeles, but did not provide a specific timeframe of how much time Wentz will miss. If he goes on injured reserve, he would be out at least four games, which would mean missing returns to Indianapolis and Philadelphia.
Taylor Heinicke is expected to start Sunday when Washington hosts Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, his 17th NFL start since being a surprise playoff star in the playoffs in January 2021. TAGOVAILOA TO PREPARE AS DOLPHINS STARTER >> Tua Tagovailoa is back, and his return will be a welcome sight for a Dolphins team that has not won a game since he suffered a concussion on Sept. 29.
Tagovailoa will go through practice this week as the Dolphins starter, and assuming all goes well, he is expected to start Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
NBA
BARKLEY, ‘INSIDE THE NBA’ CREW AGREE TO CONTRACT
EXTENSIONS >> Charles Barkley will not be leaving TNT or the “Inside the NBA” crew for the foreseeable future.
Barkley has signed a 10year extension with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which owns TNT. Barkley’s agreement coincides with contract renewals for host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.
Barkley has been with TNT since retiring as a player in 2000. He had floated the idea of doing commentary for Saudifunded LIV Golf this past summer. ROCKETS AGREE TO 4-YEAR EXTENSION WITH PORTER >>
The Houston Rockets have agreed to a four-year contract extension with Kevin Porter Jr. that could be worth as much as $82 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Though the value of the extension could reach $82 million, only the first season in 2023-24 is guaranteed at about $16 million. The person spoke to The
AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been officially announced.
The deal was reached Monday, the deadline for players out of the rookie draft class of 2019 to agree to extensions. The 22-yearold Porter will make $3.2 million this season in the last year of his current deal which remains in place.
Soccer
BENZEMA AND PUTELLAS WIN BALLON D’OR AWARDS
>> Karim Benzema won the men’s Ballon d’Or for the first time on after a brilliant season with Real Madrid capped by the Champions League and Spanish league titles.
Spanish player Alexia Putellas won the women’s trophy for the second straight year following another standout season with Barcelona.
Benzema had his best season ever at Madrid, being the top scorer in both leagues. He scored 44 times for Madrid, including 15 in Europe’s top competition, and equaled Raúl González as the club’s second-highest scorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
Benzema, at 34, became the oldest winner since the first recipient in 1956, Stanley Matthews. WORLD CUP TICKET SALES TOP 90% OF STADIUM CAPACITY IN QATAR >> Nearly 2.9 million tickets have been sold for the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA and organizers said, leaving about 7% of seats still available.
People living in the
United States, Saudi Arabia and England topped the list of international ticket buyers, while Mexico was the biggest market outside Qatar for corporate hospitality sales.
More tickets will become available before the tournament starts on Nov. 20, FIFA’s tournament director Colin Smith said at a news conference in Doha held with Qatari organizers. NEYMAR APPEARS IN COURT IN TRIAL OVER BARCELONA
TRANSFER >> A few hours after scoring the winning goal in Paris Saint-Germain’s victory over Marseille in the French league, Neymar arrived in court in Spain to face a trial for alleged irregularities involving his transfer to Barcelona in 2013.
Neymar’s parents, former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and representatives for both the Spanish club and Brazilian team Santos also appeared in court after a complaint brought by Brazilian investment group DIS regarding the amount of the player’s transfer.
Prosecutors have charged the 30-year-old Neymar and his father with corruption and asked for a prison sentence of up to two years, although any jail time would likely be suspended. DIS accused them of corruption and fraud and asked for a five-year prison sentence for Neymar and his father, and for compensation of 34 million euros ($32.1 million) and a fine of 195 million euros ($190 million) that would be paid to the Spanish state.