GOLF

Caleb Manuel of Topsham shot a 3-over 74 Monday in the first round of the U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey.

Manuel had 12 pars and two birdies. He also had three bogeys and one double bogey and was six shots behind the top spot shared by five golfers (Chris Francoeur, Luke Gutschewski, Hazen Newman, Campbell Kremer and Michael Thorbjornsen).

The top 64 qualifiers after Tuesday’s second round will advance to the match play portion of the tournament. Manuel is tied for 78th.

BMW CHAMPIONSHIPS: British Open champion Cameron Smith pulled out of the BMW Championship with what his manager described as a “hip discomfort” that Smith had been feeling the last few months.

Smith is No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, assured of a spot in the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta, though the withdrawal will mean he starts at least three shots behind when the FedEx Cup finale begin.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: With two of the best players in the country leading the way – and a championship game loss as motivation – Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight season and ninth time overall.

Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, national defensive player of year Will Anderson Jr. and the Crimson Tide received 54 of 63 first-place votes and 1,566 points in the Top 25 presented by Regions Bank released on Monday.

Ohio State is No. 2 with six first-place votes (1,506 points) from the media panel and defending national champion Georgia is third with three first-place votes (1,455 points). Clemson is No. 4. Notre Dame rounds out the top five, setting up a tantalizing opener at Ohio State on Sept. 3.

The Tide’s preseason No. 1 ranking is the seventh in 15 years under coach Nick Saban. Since the preseason rankings started in 1950, only Oklahoma with 10 has been No. 1 in the initial poll more often than Alabama.

• LSU quarterback Myles Brennan has decided to end his college football career after five seasons with the Tigers.

The 23-year-old Brennan, who announced his decision, spent his first three years at LSU as a backup. He was named the starter in 2020, only to have that season cut short by an abdominal injury after three starts in which he passed for 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Brennan then missed all of last season because of a non-football arm injury that occurred during a fishing outing at the end of August camp.

• Clemson starting defensive end Xavier Thomas will miss up to six weeks with a foot injury suffered over the weekend.

Defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin said that Thomas, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound fifth-year lineman, will need surgery.

Thomas had 27 tackles, including 3 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles in 12 games last season, 10 of them starts. Thomas, who is from Florence, South Carolina, has started 19 games in his Clemson career, with 112 tackles and 12 1/2 sacks.

• Atlanta and South Florida have been selected to host College Football Playoff national championship games for the second time.

The CFP announced that Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, would be the site of the title game scheduled to be played in January 2026, the final game of the current 12-year media rights deal with ESPN.

Miami Gardens hosted the 2021 game, following the 2020 pandemic-altered season.

In its announcement, the CFP said the host of the 2025 game also was selected and would be announced at a later date.

A person familiar with the decision, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not been made, said Mercedes-Benz Stadium would be the site of that game.

The first Alabama-Georgia championship game in 2018 was played in Atlanta and won by the Crimson Tide in overtime.

• Steve Worster, the powerful fullback in a bruising wishbone offense that led Texas to the undisputed national championship in 1969 and the brink of another a year later, died Saturday. He was 73.

The Texas athletic department announced the death, for which no cause was given.

BASKETBALL: Pete Carril, the rumpled, cigar-smoking basketball coach who led Princeton to 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, where his teams unnerved formidable opponents and rattled March Madness with old-school fundamentals, died Monday. He was 92.

Princeton released a statement from Carril’s family, which said he died “peacefully this morning.” It did not give a cause of death.

“We kindly ask that you please respect our privacy at this time as we process our loss and handle necessary arrangements. More information will be forthcoming in the following days,” the statement said.

Carril, a Hall of Famer, schooled his teams in a distinct and throwback brand of ball – the Princeton offense, a game marked by patience, intelligence, constant motion, quick passing and backdoor cuts that often ended in layups.

It was an offense that could be played on any level of basketball. At Princeton, it was usually performed by players often dismissed or overlooked by some of the nation’s basketball powers. Come the NCAA Tournament, however, Princeton’s unforgiving discipline could offset the disparity of talent on the floor.

During Carril’s 29 seasons as the Tigers’ coach, the system worked splendidly. His teams won 13 Ivy League titles and posted a 514-261 record without the benefit of scholarship players. Its deliberate approach draining the high octane from many opponents, Princeton led the nation in scoring defense in 14 of his last 21 seasons, including the last eight in a run that ended in 1996.

He guided Princeton to the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1975 and was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.

TENNIS

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN: Andy Murray pulled out a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5 win over Stan Wawrinka in the first round at Mason, Ohio, in a matchup of three-time Grand Slam champions trying to put injuries behind them.

Serena Williams had been scheduled to face 19-year-old Emma Raducanu of Britain, the defending U.S. Open champion, in a first-round match on Monday that was pushed back to Tuesday because of what the tournament described as “a number of factors related to scheduling.”

BASKETBALL

NBA: Merry Christmas, Memphis. The Grizzlies are in line to be part of that holiday’s NBA showcase for the first time.

Ja Morant and the Grizzlies will face Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Dec. 25 in San Francisco, according to a person with knowledge of the league’s scheduling plans.

Given that the league has not announced the final 1,230-game season slate, it is still possible that the Christmas schedule could change – though such a move is unlikely.

The Grizzlies were one of two current NBA franchises yet to have a game on Dec. 25. The Charlotte Hornets are now the only club still waiting for its first Christmas schedule invite.

The rest of the Christmas schedule, the person said, will have Philadelphia facing New York, Milwaukee meeting Boston, the Los Angeles Lakers playing against Dallas and Phoenix going up against two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

• Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers have settled the grievance he filed to recoup a portion of last season’s salary, a person with knowledge of the details said.

Simmons was seeking a portion of the nearly $20 million that was withheld after he refused to suit up for the 76ers last season. He was eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets in February for a package headlined by James Harden.

The person confirmed the settlement to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms were to remain confidential. The agreement was first reported by ESPN.

Simmons was the No. 1 pick by the 76ers in 2016 and became an All-Star. But he was heavily criticized after he struggled when the top-seeded 76ers were upset by Atlanta in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals.

Simmons then cited mental health concerns for not playing last season. He then had back problems in Brooklyn and ended up missing the entire season.

WNBA: Liz Cambage announced on social media that she decided to step away from the WNBA “for the time being,” addressing for the first time her contract divorce from the Los Angeles Sparks last month.

“While I’ll miss rocking the purple and gold, I’ll be taking this time to focus on my healing and personal growth before providing clarification on past rumors,” the four-time All-Star said in an Instagram post. “Thank you to all my supporters, family and friends for all the love and light you continue to surround me with.”

The Sparks were in the hunt for a playoff spot when Cambage left the team on July 26. The team lost eight of their final nine games and finished out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Los Angeles had traded away its first-round pick for the 2023 draft, meaning it won’t benefit from missing the playoffs.

Internationally, Cambage had competed for Australia, helping the team win a bronze medal in 2012. But she withdrew from playing with the Opals shortly before the Tokyo Games last summer, citing her mental health. A few days before that, Cambage had been accused of using a racial slur towards a Nigerian national team player in a closed scrimmage. Cambage denied those allegations.

Cambage averaged 13 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Sparks in 25 games this season after signing as a free agent in the offseason.

HOCKEY

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: Team captain and Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish had a goal and two assists, leading Canada to a 6-3 win over Finland in Group A play at Edmonton, Alberta.

Connor Bedard and Ridly Greig each had a goal and an assist, and Brennan Othmann, Tyson Foerester and William Dufour also scored for Canada (4-0-0), which finished atop Group A. Olen Zellweger had three assists.

Earlier, Switzerland clinched its spot in the quarterfinals with a 3-2 win over Austria (0-0-4).

Attilio Biasca’s goal in the third period was the winner for the Swiss. Joshua Fahrni and Jonas Taibel also scored in the win.

Leon Wallner and Ian Scherzer scored for Austria.

The reigning champion Americans (4-0-0) went undefeated in round-robin action and will take on Czechia (1-2-1), the country commonly known as the Czech Republic, in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals are scheduled for Friday and the medal games will go Saturday.

BOXING

FIGHT OFF: Four-time world champion Adrien Broner withdrew from his nationally televised fight against Omar Figueroa on Saturday night, citing mental health.

Broner announced his decision on Instagram, apologizing to his fans and asking for prayers. He said mental health is real and that “I’ve watched a lot of people die playing with they boxing career and that is something I won’t do …”

Showtime was scheduled to air the fight from Hollywood, Florida.

The 33-year-old from Cincinnati also said he loves boxing and “I feel like I came up short before because my mind was not 100% there.”

SOCCER

WORLD CUP: FIFA has handed out four-year doping bans to two players who tested positive for banned substances during qualifying for this year’s World Cup.

FIFA said in a statement that El Salvador forward Erick Alejandro Rivera tested positive for the steroid clostebol after a 3-0 loss to Canada on Sept. 8, while Sabri Ali Mohamed of Djibouti tested positive for testosterone following a 4-0 loss to Algeria on Nov. 12.

El Salvador and Djibouti both failed to qualify for this year’s tournament in Qatar.

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