AUTO RACING

Erik Jones will drive NASCAR’s iconic No. 43 next season for Richard Petty Motorsports, a pairing of a driver and a team both in need of fresh starts.

Jones in August was dropped by megateam Joe Gibbs Racing after six seasons, while Bubba Wallace and RPM are splitting at the end of the year. Wallace’s social activism this year became the defining characteristic of the storied Petty organization.

“They still have something to prove and I have something to prove,” Jones told The Associated Press. “We are both motivated to write a new chapter. It’s just a really clean slate, a chance to start from scratch and do something completely different.”

Wallace, NASCAR’s only full-time Black driver, has been outspoken on racial inequality and injustice. He ran a Black Lives Matter paint scheme on the No. 43 and RPM adopted Wallace’s “compassion, love, understanding” platform.

Wallace’s recent prominence helped the driver sign millions of dollars in new sponsorship, but the funding will follow him next season when he moves to a new team formed by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.

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The loss of Wallace could have crippled RPM, a cash-strapped team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. Instead, a volatile free-agent market helped RPM land Jones, a 24-year-old considered among the top young talents in NASCAR.

FORMULA ONE: Driver Lance Stroll said he intends to race at the Portuguese Grand Prix this week after finishing a period of self-isolation following a positive test for the coronavirus.

Stroll, who drives for Racing Point, pulled out of the Eifel Grand Prix in Germany a day before the Oct. 11 race because he felt unwell and said he later tested positive for COVID-19. In a post on Instagram, Stroll said he spent 10 days at home in self-isolation with mild symptoms and returned a negative test on Monday.

“I feel in great shape,” the Canadian driver wrote, “and I can’t wait to be back with the team and to race in Portugal.”

SOCCER

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: A Shakhtar Donetsk team depleted by coronavirus cases handed Real Madrid a shocking 3-2 home loss.

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Playing with only a few regular starters, Shakhtar took advantage of counterattacks to open a 3-0 first-half lead, then held on after Madrid pulled closer with two goals shortly after the break.

Shakhtar arrived in Spain without several key players who were not fully fit after going into isolation because of positive COVID-19 tests. Seven regular starters and a couple of first-choice substitutes were absent.

• Romelu Lukaku scored a late equalizer – his second goal of the game – to give Inter Milan a 2-2 draw at home against Borussia Monchengladbach.

• Kingsley Coman scored twice as Bayern Munich started its title defense with a 4-0 rout of visiting Atletico Madrid.

• Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico turned a mishit shot by Sadio Mane into his own net in the 35th minute, and Liverpool’s makeshift defense held firm in a 1-0 victory in Amsterdam.

• Manchester City got goals from Sergio Aguero, Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres in a 3-1 win at home against Porto.

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COLLEGES

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Pat Chambers resigned as Penn State’s coach following an internal investigation by the school into allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Chambers, 49, had been at Penn State for nine years and was coming off his best season.

Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said during a press conference that she would not disclose details of the school’s investigation, but did say NCAA matters were not part of the investigation.

The investigation followed a July story by ESPN’s “The Undefeated” that quoted a former Penn State player saying Chambers made an insensitive remark to him, referencing a noose during the 2018-19 season.

• Marquette has paused all men’s and women’s basketball team activities for 14 days after each program received one positive COVID-19 test.

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School officials said the most recent round of testing that took place Monday produced two positive results out of 45 tests of men’s and women’s basketball players, as well as NCAA-defined Tier 1 team personnel. All individuals within Tier 1, which includes coaches, trainers, physical therapists, medical staff, equipment staff and other team personnel, will quarantine for 14 days.

• Toledo halted all activities for its after six players tested positive this week, the school said. The results came on Tuesday during regular weekly testing, and a day after the school said Coach Tod Kowalczyk had tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating for 10 days.

Those players who tested positive also will self-isolate, the university said.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Former Texas Tech coach Marlene Stollings, who was fired after USA Today published a report detailing players’ claims of physical and emotional abuse, has filed a lawsuit against the school and Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Lubbock, Texas, claims breach of contract, fraud, fraudulent inducement, defamation and sex discrimination. Stollings was fired on Aug. 6, a day after the scathing report was published. Eric Bentley, general counsel for the Texas Tech University System, said the claims by Stollings in her lawsuit are without merit.

The lawsuit claims the school’s decision to fire Stollings was based on discriminatory biases against female coaches. It said Texas Tech and Hocutt “regularly, and in this instance in particular,” penalized female coaches for employing the “same demanding and effective coaching techniques” that male coaches used without consequence.

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TENNIS

GEORGES RETIRES: Former Wimbledon semifinalist Julia Goerges announced her retirement at the age of 31.

The German reached her highest ranking of ninth in the world in 2018 and was ranked 45th at her retirement. Her most recent match was a second-round loss to fellow German Laura Siegemund at the French Open.

Goerges reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2018 before losing in straight sets to Serena Williams. She was runner-up in mixed doubles at the French Open in 2014 alongside Nenad Zimonjic and was a finalist in the Fed Cup with Germany in 2014.

COLOGNE CHAMPIONSHIP: Top-seeded Alexander Zverev overcame Australia’s John Millman 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals in Cologne, Germany.

CYCLING

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GIRO D’ITALIA: João Almeida remained in the overall lead as the race headed into the high mountains, and Ben O’Connor earned his first stage victory in a Grand Tour by winning the 17th leg.

Almeida was part of the group of overall favorites that crossed the summit finish more than 5 minutes after O’Connor, and the Portuguese cyclist remained 17 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman.

Jai Hindley is third overall, 2:58 behind Almeida, on the eve of the Giro’s toughest stage. The so-called “Queen stage” features four classified climbs, three of which are the highest category, on the 128.6-mile route from Pinzolo to Laghi di Cancano. One of those is the iconic Stelvio pass, which also has 48 hairpin turns.

SPANISH VUELTA: Marc Soler made a strong move on the final descent to pull away from the pack and held on to comfortably win the second stage, with defending champion Primoz Roglic finishing second to keep the overall leader’s jersey.

Soler was able to ride alone toward the finish line at the end of the 94-mile route from Pamplona to Lekunberri, finishing 19 seconds ahead of Roglic to secure his first Grand Tour stage victory. Soler moved to 10th place overall, more than a minute off the lead.

WRESTLING

U.S. OUT OF WORLDS: The United States won’t send a team to the world championships because of health and safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The executive committee of USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling, unanimously approved the proposal not to send a team to Belgrade, Serbia, for the Dec. 12-20 event.

“My heart breaks for our athletes, as nobody is more affected by this decision than they are,” said Veronica Carlson, executive committee member and chair of the USA Wrestling Athlete Advisory Committee. “In the same breath, abstaining from the 2020 World Championships is the right decision. … In choosing to make this decision now, versus delaying it, the athletes have time to recover and refocus on what is most important – the 2021 Olympic Games.”

United World Wrestling, the international federation for wrestling, announced Monday that its executive committee approved existing plans to host the event.


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