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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) When Kliff Kingsbury began coaching at Texas Tech in 2012, he used to carry a secret weapon on recruiting trips: his Patriots 2003 Super Bowl ring. ''That was something I tried to seal the deal with. It didn't work as much as I would have liked but I definitely tried with the ring,'' Kingsbury said this week. Kingsbury, a quarterback, was drafted by New England in the sixth round in 2003, joining a roster that included a 26-year-old Tom Brady. Even then, Kingsbury knew there was something different about him. ''He was still the man, there's no doubt. Everybody knew who he was, and he was a superstar,'' Kingsbury recalled. An arm injury and yearlong stay on injured reserve prevented Kingsbury from ever playing a regular-season snap at quarterback for the Patriots, and he was cut prior to the 2004 campaign. But Kingsbury says he owes his coaching career to the year he spent studying under coach Bill Belichick and his sta

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Despite losing their first five games and starting 3-7, the New York Giants find themselves in a surprising playoff derby in the NFC East. The Giants are in the thick of it and have already beaten divisional rivals Washington (4-7) twice, and split games with Philadelphia (3-6-1). Now they go on the road to face Cincinnati (2-7-1) on Sunday and are in position to take advantage of the Bengals' recent misfortune. Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week's loss to Washington, and the Bengals are expected to start either practice-squad QB Brandon Allen or Ryan Finley, who seemed overwhelmed when he had to enter the game suddenly after the team's franchise QB was carted off. Before a bye week, the Giants beat the Eagles 27-7 after they squeaked by Washington 23-20. With six games to play, they're trying not to think about the possibility of the playoffs - yet. ''It's kind of hard for us to look that

Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer insists history and form counts for little heading into Tuesday's Western Conference Semifinal with FC Dallas. Schmetzer's side finished second in the Western Conference at the end of the shortened regular season and beat Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 in their opening Playoff fixture. The Sounders now boast a record of 13 postseason home victories in a row and are in strong contention to win a third MLS Cup in five seasons. But Schmetzer has warned his players to remain grounded ahead of the visit of a Dallas side on a high after scoring a late equalizer before knocking out Portland Timbers on penalties in their First Round tie. "If there is one message that I pound into them prior to kickoff, it is the fact that there are a lot of upsets in MLS and anything can happen," he said. "There's some pretty great, tremendous, interesting, fun games to watch. So we don't want to be on the losing end of any of those games

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Derrick Alston Jr. had 27 points as Boise State rolled past Sam Houston State 86-55 on Sunday. Marcus Shaver Jr. had 18 points and six rebounds for Boise State (1-1). RayJ Dennis added 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Abu Kigab had 11 points and seven rebounds. Zach Nutall had 22 points for the Bearkats (0-3). He also had seven turnovers but only two assists. --- For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25 --- This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com

Bogut was named to the All-NBA third team in 2010, five years before he won his first championship with the Warriors. Former No. 1 pick and NBA champion Andrew Bogut announced his retirement on his podcast on Monday. Bogut was selected out of Utah with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He played for five teams across 14 seasons, most recently playing 11 games for the Warriors in 2018-19.  The Australian center never made an All-Star team in his NBA career, though he retires with an impressive career resume. Bogut earned All-NBA third-team honors in 2009-10, and he was an All-Defense honoree in 2014-15. He appeared in three Finals, winning the championship with Golden State in 2015. Bogut was the fifth international player to be selected No. 1 overall. Fellow Australian Ben Simmons was drafted with the top pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. 

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Gustavo Bou scored his second goal of the game in the 86th minute to help the New England Revolution beat 10-man Orlando City 3-1 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Eighth-seeded New England will play at Columbus next Sunday for a spot in the MLS Cup final. The Crew advanced Sunday night with a 2-0 overtime victory over visiting Nashville. Fourth-seeded Orlando City had a chance to tie it at 2 in the 74th minute, but Matt Turner stopped Nani on a penalty kick. Twelve minutes later, Bou ran to Carles Gil's through ball and sent it between goalkeeper Brian Rowe's legs for a 3-1 lead. The teams combined for three goals in the opening 33 minutes. Gil opened the scoring in the 17th minute on a penalty kick after Uri Rosell was taken down at the edge of the box. Bou gave New England a 2-0 lead in the 26th off a rebound off the post, and Orlando City scored in the 33rd when Junior Urso's capitalized on a loose ball in front of the goal. Orlando

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Pedros Santos and Gyasi Zardes scored three minutes apart early in overtime and the Columbus Crew beat expansion Nashville SC 2-0 on Sunday to advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. The third-seeded Crew will host eighth-seeded New England next Sunday for a spot in the MLS Cup. The Revolution beat Orlando City 3-1 earlier Sunday. Santos scored in the 99th minute off a feed from Zardes near the center of the net, ending seventh-seeded Nashville's shutout streak at more than 200 minutes. Zardes struck in the 102nd on a breakaway off Luis Diaz's deft lead pass.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) The Los Angeles Rams returned from their bye week this month and promptly jumped into first place in the NFC West with impressive wins over conference elites Seattle and Tampa Bay. The San Francisco 49ers stumbled through three straight injury-plagued losses to NFC contenders Seattle, Green Bay and New Orleans before their own bye last weekend. They're still without injured Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle, and they face a difficult climb back to playoff contention despite their still-generous allotment of healthy talent. Although current form and future prospects clearly favor the Rams (7-3) when they host the Niners (4-6) on Sunday, that doesn't fill coach Sean McVay with the slightest bit of confidence. Not after three straight losses to Kyle Shanahan and the team that succeeded the Rams as conference champions. ''It isn't like this isn't a great football team,'' McVay said of the Rams' first sub-.500 opponent in six w

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Carson Wentz didn't finish the game the last time he faced the Seattle Seahawks because of a concussion. His troubles have only grown worse. It reached the point that coach Doug Pederson hesitated when asked if Wentz or rookie Jalen Hurts would start when the Philadelphia Eagles (3-6-1) host the Seahawks (7-3) on Monday night. ''He's my starter, end of story,'' Pederson eventually said to reporters. ''You guys can blow it up however you want it and that's fine. I'm focused on this team, these players, this coaching staff and the Seattle Seahawks.'' Wentz led the Eagles to four wins to secure an NFC East title last December and earned an opportunity to make his postseason debut after injuries forced him to watch Nick Foles lead Philadelphia to a Super Bowl title following the 2017 season, and a playoff win in 2018. Wentz was outstanding down the stretch last year, completing 67.6% of his passes for 1,199 yards, seve

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Jacksonville's injury report is longer than its losing streak, and that's saying something. Cleveland is better off, but not by much. The playoff hopeful Browns and downright woeful Jaguars will have numerous backups on the field - and a couple in the coaches' booth - when they play Sunday. It's far from ideal, but somewhat expected given the strangeness of this NFL season. The sheer volume of absences, though, is borderline extreme, even for a Week 12 matchup. ''When opportunities arise, people have a chance to take advantage and either open up some eyes or you could be in trouble,'' Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said. ''I mean, it could go either way for you. But I'm excited for the guys that are going out there, to see what they can do.'' The Browns (7-3) will be without five players, including standout defensive end Myles Garrett, because of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. Defensive ends Joe Jackso

ATLANTA (AP) The Las Vegas Raiders have positioned themselves to make a run at what would be just their second playoff appearance since reaching the Super Bowl during the 2002 season. Of course, they've been here before. A year ago, in their last year in Oakland, the Raiders entered the stretch run with a 6-4 records - the same mark they have heading into Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. But the team that now calls Las Vegas home stumbled to the finish, managing one win in its final six games while averaging a league-low 14.7 points during that span. ''We're definitely a better team this year, but we have to - and I mean have to - finish this season better than we did last year,'' quarterback Derek Carr said. ''I'm hopeful and I believe that we will and I think that it's different,'' This year feels much the same to the Falcons (3-7), who don't have a whole lot to play for other than avoiding their third straight lo

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) As much as he'd like, Josh Allen can't change the past when the topic of the Bills quarterback's first career start was mentioned this week. ''Obviously, very nervous, and things didn't turn out so great,'' Allen said, when asked to recall any lingering memories of Buffalo's 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers two weeks into the 2018 season. ''I should've, could've done a better job if I could go back and do it all over now,'' he added. ''But it did teach me some valuable lessons. ... It helped me. It really did, and I think you need to go through some of the bumps and bruises.'' In finishing 18 of 33 for 245 yards with a touchdown in the final minute, and two interceptions, Allen's outing was typically reflective of a raw rookie thrust into action after Nathan Peterman unraveled in Buffalo's season opener. The signs of growth have become undeniably apparent some 2 1/2 ye

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indianapolis spent all week preparing for Derrick Henry. Facing the league's leading runner with a short-handed defensive line only makes the challenge more daunting. With Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner out after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week, starting defensive end Denico Autry still inactive after going on the COVID list last week and now starting linebacker Bobby Okereke ruled out with an ankle injury, coach Frank Reich isn't changing his tune. He's bringing back an old refrain for Sunday's game against Tennessee. ''This is normal in the NFL and good teams overcome it,'' he said Friday, referring to the three absences. ''That's what we need to do. Sure, every player is important and adds a unique combination to the game and when players go down, you miss them. But I've seen it happen so many times through the years, the good teams overcome it and that's what we need to

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Greg Van Roten is certain a victory is coming for the winless New York Jets this season. Whether it happens Sunday against the AFC East-rival Miami Dolphins remains to be seen. But the veteran offensive lineman is tired of seeing that awful zero in New York's record. And, so are his teammates. ''When we win, it will be a relief, for sure,'' the Jets' starting right guard said. ''You never expect to lose this many in a row in this league. When we finally win, we want to get another and another.'' Well, the Jets (0-10) need to start with one first. And based on the teams' last matchup earlier this season, it won't be easy against the Dolphins (6-4). New York was shut out 24-0 on Oct. 18, one of a few embarrassingly poor performances by Adam Gase's group. But the Jets have played much better of late, nearly defeating New England in Week 9 and having a shot late in the game last week against the Chargers. A

DENVER (AP) Listen to Vic Fangio and you'd never guess the Broncos were preparing to face a quarterback making just his second career start as the New Orleans Saints' Taysom Hill is expected to do Sunday at empty Empower Field. ''I was turning on the tape maybe to see something different, but it's the Saints offense they've been running ever since Sean's been there,'' Fangio said of Saints coach Sean Payton, whose decision to start Hill over Jameis Winston paid off in a 24-9 win over the Falcons. ''Other than the quarterback designed runs, which are unique to him, they ran their offense,'' Fangio said. Hill looked comfortable under center, completing all but five of his 23 throws for 233 yards and rushing for 51 yards and two touchdowns in place of Drew Brees, who has multiple fractured ribs. ''He's a good quarterback,'' Fangio said of Hill, the versatile 30-year-old who has overcome an injury-riddled college

As poorly as things have gone for the Chicago Bears over the last month, they have a chance to close November by getting right back in the thick of the NFC North race. If the Bears don't capitalize on the opportunity, the Green Bay Packers will head into December well on their way to clinching a second straight division title. Chicago (5-5) has lost four straight and trails the Packers (7-3) by two games as the teams renew the NFL's oldest rivalry Sunday night at Green Bay. ''We're fighters,'' Bears running back David Montgomery said. ''So if anybody's counting us out, that's fine. But we're fighters, so we're going to keep fighting.'' The Packers have their own issues. After racing to a 4-0 start, the Packers have split their last six games. Green Bay has struggled lately at home with the pandemic preventing the Packers from allowing any fans to games. In their last two home games, the Packers lost 28-22 to the Minneso

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) When Kliff Kingsbury began coaching at Texas Tech in 2012, he used to carry a secret weapon on recruiting trips: his Patriots 2003 Super Bowl ring. ''That was something I tried to seal the deal with. It didn't work as much as I would have liked but I definitely tried with the ring,'' Kingsbury said this week. Kingsbury, a quarterback, was drafted by New England in the sixth round in 2003, joining a roster that included a 26-year-old Tom Brady. Even then, Kingsbury knew there was something different about him. ''He was still the man, there's no doubt. Everybody knew who he was, and he was a superstar,'' Kingsbury recalled. An arm injury and yearlong stay on injured reserve prevented Kingsbury from ever playing a regular-season snap at quarterback for the Patriots, and he was cut prior to the 2004 campaign. But Kingsbury says he owes his coaching career to the year he spent studying under coach Bill Belichick and his sta

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Despite losing their first five games and starting 3-7, the New York Giants find themselves in a surprising playoff derby in the NFC East. The Giants are in the thick of it and have already beaten divisional rivals Washington (4-7) twice, and split games with Philadelphia (3-6-1). Now they go on the road to face Cincinnati (2-7-1) on Sunday and are in position to take advantage of the Bengals' recent misfortune. Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week's loss to Washington, and the Bengals are expected to start either practice-squad QB Brandon Allen or Ryan Finley, who seemed overwhelmed when he had to enter the game suddenly after the team's franchise QB was carted off. Before a bye week, the Giants beat the Eagles 27-7 after they squeaked by Washington 23-20. With six games to play, they're trying not to think about the possibility of the playoffs - yet. ''It's kind of hard for us to look that

North Carolina is putting its fortunes on the offensive end in the hands of freshmen. It's just a matter of which newcomers will be most crucial for the No. 16 Tar Heels when they meet UNLV in a first-round game of the relocated Maui Invitational on Monday night at the downtown arena in Asheville, N.C. "We weren't nearly as smooth offensively as I wanted us to be," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of the season-opening 79-60 victory against visiting College of Charleston. But there were moments to relish for the Tar Heels after one game. Many of those came from the backcourt combination of freshmen Caleb Love and R.J. Davis. "It was a different vibe," North Carolina forward Armando Bacot said of the newcomers handling the ball. Davis and Love were the first pair of freshman guards to start North Carolina's first game of the season since Bobby Frasor and Marcus Ginyard in 2005-06. Love posted 17 points in his college debut, while Davis scored

Kansas State is saddled with an 0-2 start for the first time since the 2002-03 season. With Missouri-Kansas City coming to Manhattan, Kan. on Monday night, the Wildcats will look to avoid their first 0-3 start since 1965-66. UMKC (2-1) will be looking to rebound from its first setback of the season to Southeast Missouri State on Saturday. Neither of the Kangaroos' victories came against NCAA Division I opponents. K-State opened the season with back-to-back double-digit losses home to Drake (80-70) and Colorado (76-58). The Wildcats were tied or led in the second half of both games before fading down the stretch. "We made some progress, but tonight it was 20-some," head coach Bruce Weber said following the Colorado loss regarding his team giving 40 minutes of effort. "Now we've got to get to 25-30." Weber's crew has struggled with depth this season because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. Many days, the Wildcats could only practice 4-

The St. John's Red Storm and the Boston College Eagles are set to meet on Monday night in a non-conference, neutral-court game in Uncasville, Conn. Boston College (1-1) battled No. 3 Villanova in its opener before losing 76-67. The Eagles then rebounded and defeated Rhode Island, 69-64. St. John's (2-0) is off to a great start after beating Saint Peter's and LaSalle. Red Storm newcomer Vince Cole, a 6-5 junior-college transfer, was named the MVP of the Lapchick Tournament, won by St. John's. Cole, a two-time junior-college All-American, is averaging 20.0 points and shooting 46.2 percent on 3-point attempts. Two other Storm newcomers -- freshman Posh Alexander and junior-college transfer Isaih Moore -- were named to the five-player all-tournament team. Alexander is averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 steals and 3.0 assists. The 6-foot-10 Moore is averaging 10.5 points and is leading the team in rebounds (8.0). "We have to continue to get better," Storm coach Mike A

SMU's Kendric Davis recently spoke to the challenges of a long layoff after setting a program record for scoring in a season opener with 33 points. Davis and the Mustangs (1-0) aim to continue their acclimation on Monday when they host Texas A&M Corpus Christi five days after cruising to a 97-67 win over Sam Houston State. "We've been practicing for a year straight, so, I mean, it felt a little different," Davis said, a nod to the adjustments prompted by the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. "I mean, you've got to kind of get loose, get warm, just get back used to playing a game. That was pretty much the biggest thing was getting back (to) normal." As SMU awaits the return of other players expected to fill key roles this season -- namely Tyson Jolly, who is dealing with a personal matter -- the Mustangs will keep looking to a rejuvenated Davis, recovered from an early summer bout with COVID-19, for leadership. "He is a gym rat. He always has been

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver Tyreek Hill challenged two longstanding NFL records on Sunday. The Chiefs sport the most explosive offense in the NFL, and Kansas City's dynamic duo chased the record books in a matchup against the Buccaneers on Sunday.  Kansas City wide receiver Tyreek Hill tallied 210 receiving yards in the first half in Tampa Bay, challenging the all-time single-game yardage record. And Hill's quarterback started the contest on a similar pace.  Patrick Mahomes entered the locker room at halftime with 359 passing yards, putting him on pace to set the single-game passing yardage record. Mahomes won MVP in 2018, and he won Super Bowl MVP last season. But Sunday marked perhaps the greatest performance of his career. You have to travel far back in the annals of NFL history to find the record Mahomes is chasing on Sunday. Former Rams quarterback Norm Van Brocklin set the single-game yardage record back in 1951, throwing for 554 yards

The College Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2021 includes Len Bias, Paul Pierce and Antawn Jamison. Former Maryland star Len Bias, a two-time All-American who died of a drug overdose days after being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 1986 NBA draft, was selected for induction to the College Basketball Hall of Fame's class of 2021 on Sunday. Bias is one of six players and two coaches to be inducted. The other players include: Kansas's Paul Pierce, North Carolina's Antawn Jamison, Ohio State's Jim Jackson, UCLA's David Greenwood and Bradley's Hersey Hawkins. Coaches Tom Penders and Rick Byrd were also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Penders, 75, amassed over 600 career victories and led Rhode Island, Texas, George Washington and Houston to the NCAA tournament. Byrd, 67, coached at Belmont for 33 years, leading the Bruins to eight NCAA tournaments. Bias won the ACC's Player of the Year Award in 1985 and 1986, averaging 20.9 points per game across the tw

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) The Kansas City Chiefs aren't buying all the talk about Tom Brady's struggles. They insist he's still playing at a high level and will have to be at their best to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The reigning Super Bowl champions (9-1) visit the Bucs (7-4) on Sunday, with Patrick Mahomes facing Brady for the fourth time in his young career and Brady looking to shrug off a couple of subpar performances against playoff contenders. ''You can't take anything away from Tom Brady. He's still very smart, he's still trying to throw the ball downfield, he still has the weapons. We'll have our hands full,'' Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said. ''He's played against our system a number of times, even going back to New England,'' Mathieu added. ''He's familiar with us. Now we have to get familiar with him and the weapons he has.'' Brady won two of the previous three matchups against Mahomes, inclu

Frank Lampard never expected to avoid the mind games of his former manager Jose Mourinho as their respective Chelsea and Tottenham sides prepare to meet on Sunday. Blues legend Lampard was an integral cog in Mourinho's Chelsea machine during the Portuguese's first stint in charge at Stamford Bridge. Playing under the Portuguese, Lampard won the Premier League and EFL Cup twice and the FA Cup once. However, the duo had a well-publicised touchline exchange during Spurs' EFL Cup penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea back in September, while Mourinho seemed to aim a dig at Lampard when suggesting he had used a system akin to that of ex-Blues boss Antonio Conte following a 2-0 defeat of Tottenham last December. Asked if he thought he would be spared Mourinho's usual penchant for mind games, Lampard told a news conference: "No, I'm not surprised by anything in management because we all have similar jobs to do and we all have to sit in press conferences and we all h