PITTSBURGH (AP) — The tools are there. They have been from the moment Gregory Polanco crashed into the big leagues six years ago as a raw mix of power and potential.

Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack has added a position to his department, bucking a trend toward athletic cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) — Austin Cindric won the first of two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Kentucky Speedway, charging past Chase Briscoe on an overtime restart Thursday night for his first victory of the season and first on an oval.

The imagery evoked by Dana White's crazy idea was undeniably intoxicating: An octagon perched amid swaying palm trees on a white sand beach, waves lapping at the canvas while mixed martial arts fighters traded blows in the tropical sun.

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Collin Morikawa didn't get rattled by his first missed cut as a pro or his first time playing Muirfield Village.

Nikola Vucevic had to raise his voice a bit to answer a question. He had just walked off the court after the first Orlando Magic practice of the restart, and some of his teammates remained on the floor while engaged in a loud and enthusiastic shooting contest.

Baseball players got a sense of what the game will be like without fans in the stands upon returning for workouts last week.

The legal fight over NBA rookie Zion Williamson’s endorsement potential now includes an allegation that his family received $400,000 from a marketing agency before his lone season for Duke.

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Dylan Frittelli says it was hard not to feel like an outcast Thursday at the Workday Charity Open in a group of three players who tested positive for the coronavirus and keep doing so.

The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday it will not play nonconference games in football and several other sports this fall, the most dramatic move yet by a power conference because of the coronavirus pandemic.

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Big Ten Conference will play only conference games in football, several other sports if fall seasons proceed in pandemic.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Baseball has its answer to penalty kicks, overtimes and shootouts, and it figures to stir just as much debate as all those other forms of tiebreakers.

NFL teams will be prohibited from post-game interactions within 6 feet of each other, so players won’t be allowed to exchange jerseys after games as part of the guidelines to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — The PGA Tour returned five weeks ago with some of its strongest fields. Now it gets its biggest star.

BOSTON (AP) — New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman said he hopes recent anti-Semitic social media posts by Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson can be a teaching moment, not just for him but others as well.

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball will open the 2021 season on April 1 and hopes to have every team play its first game on the same day for the first time since 1968.

Nashville SC has withdrawn from Major League Soccer's MLS is Back tournament in Florida after nine players tested positive for the coronavirus, the league announced Thursday.

The New Jersey Devils are hiring veteran coach Lindy Ruff to take over one of the NHL's youngest teams and removing the interim tag off Tom Fitzgerald's title as general manager, a person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

NEW YORK (AP) — American broadcaster CBS will get an early start on its Champions League deal, showing games next month when the pandemic-delayed competition resumes.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Forget about up-close “meet-and-greet" sessions with Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck when Walt Disney World parks reopen. There will be no firework shows or parades — those would draw too many people together — and both visitors and employees will be getting temperature chec…

TOKYO (AP) — The spokesman for the Tokyo Olympics expects the postponed games to go ahead in 2021 despite a recent poll in Japan in which 77% of respondents said they did not believe the games could be held next year.

-EDITOR’S NOTE — Tennis history is filled with wonderful rivalries, and so many are remembered because of matchups in Wimbledon finals. The Associated Press is republishing stories about a handful of such matches while the canceled grass-court Grand Slam tournament was supposed to be played.…

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal own an unforgettable collection of on-court contests — including nine Grand Slam finals — and a healthy store of mutual off-court respect for each other.

Preparing to complete a ninth Serie A campaign without winning the Scudetto, AC Milan decided returning to the pinnacle of football required a new approach.

Now that Major League Soccer has re-started, a group of Black Major League Soccer players is using the moment to call attention to systemic racism across sports and society.

CHICAGO (AP) — The wind blowing out at Wrigley Field. The tricky breeze in San Francisco. The heat in Los Angeles.

SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Ferrari is under pressure after just one race of the Formula One season and scrambling to push through aerodynamic improvements in time for Sunday's Styrian Grand Prix.

A person with knowledge of the situation says that Kawhi Leonard did not accompany the Los Angeles Clippers on their flight to Central Florida on Wednesday night for the restart of the NBA season.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Nearly 200 players took the field for an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence to protest racial injustice before Major League Soccer’s return to action Wednesday night.