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Ohio State
tops AP poll
(AP) -- Ohio State and Oregon give the Big Ten Conference the top two teams in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason rankings for the first time in 65 years. The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes in the poll of 69 media members.
Oregon was No. 1 on 14 ballots. Ohio State is now tied with Alabama for second most preseason No. 1 rankings behind Oklahoma’s 10. Oregon has its highest preseason ranking in program history.
Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas round out the top five. Defending national champion Indiana is No. 6 and followed by Miami, Texas A&M, Mississippi and Oklahoma.
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Michigan checked in at No. 16.
Padres sale
approved
(AP) -- Major League Baseball’s team owners unanimously have approved the sale of the San Diego Padres to an investor group led by private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife and business partner, Kwanza Jones.
The league announced the approval Monday after a vote. Feliciano and Jones reached an agreement in May to buy the Padres from the family of late owner Peter Seidler at an MLB-record valuation of $3.9 billion.
Seidler’s family announced its intention to explore a sale of the Padres last November. The 53-year-old Feliciano is a co-founder of Santa Monica-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital.
LIV Golf
to end early
(AP) -- LIV Golf is ending its season one tournament early. The upstart league says the team champion that was supposed to be determined next week in Michigan instead will be decided Sunday at LIV Golf Indianapolis.
That means only 12 tournaments this year. That’s the fewest on the schedule since LIV launched behind massive Saudi Arabia funding in 2022. But the Saudi funding ends after this year, and the league is scrambling for survival.
LIV previously announced an agreement with a lead investor with few other details. The hope is that it can be played next year under a different format.
Ronaldo eyes
retirement
RIYADH (AP) -- Cristiano Ronaldo says this Saudi Pro League season is likely to be the last of his professional career. The 41-year-old superstar’s contract with Riyadh club Al-Nassr expires next June and he has told Vogue magazine that another is unlikely.
Ronaldo says “This is probably my last year of football and I want to leave a spectacular legacy. The Portugal forward has scored 976 career goals. He married long-time partner Georgina Rodriguez earlier this month.