ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo holds a special place in Brian Daboll’s heart that goes beyond being his beloved hometown.

BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns didn’t wait for Deshaun Watson to tell them he couldn’t play.

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Flag football and cricket were among five sports that took their next step Friday toward inevitably being added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

AHMEDABAD, India — Tens of millions of sports fans in south Asia will have their eyes and ears focused on one thing on Saturday — the much-anticipated Cricket World Cup match between host India and archrival Pakistan.

ATLANTA — The 2020s are starting to feel like the 1990s for the Atlanta Braves.

MINNEAPOLIS — José Abreu homered for the third time in two games, a two-run rocket in the fourth inning that launched the Houston Astros to their seventh straight AL Championship Series appearance with a 3-2 win that eliminated the Minnesota Twins in Game 4 of their AL Division Series on Wednesday night.

(AP) — Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton remained in intensive care on Wednesday while dealing with a rare form of pneumonia.

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper answered Orlando Arcia’s mockery with a mammoth three-run homer and a solo shot, glaring at the shortstop on each trot around the bases, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 10-2 in Game 3 of their NL Division Series on Wednesday night.

MINNEAPOLIS — Jose Abreu hit a three-run homer for Houston in a four-run first inning against Sonny Gray and piled on with a two-run shot in the ninth, powering the Astros past the Minnesota Twins 9-1 on Tuesday for a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series.

PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers cobbled together a 100-win regular season, using a strong offense to compensate for a banged-up starting rotation.

BALTIMORE — In two years, the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers went from triple-digit losses to the postseason.

ANTWERP, Belgium — Not even a slight stumble near the end could stop Simone Biles. Less than three months after returning to competition, the American superstar is back at the top of world gymnastics once again.

MINNEAPOLIS — Carlos Correa contributed an RBI single and a quick-twitch tag off a pickoff throw from Sonny Gray, and the Minnesota Twins swept the Toronto Blue Jays with a 2-0 win in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two years after losing 102 games, the resilient Texas Rangers are savoring a journey that’s transformed them into a playoff team.

Maybe there’s too much Taylor, not enough Travis.

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants hope to begin interviewing internal managerial candidates this week as they seek to replace Gabe Kapler, who was fired last Friday with three games left in a second straight losing season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jordan Montgomery was exceptional against the Tampa Bay Rays, even better when he lumbered off the mound to make a diving catch that helped the Texas Rangers to a 4-0 victory in their AL Wild Card Series opener.

MINNEAPOLIS — Royce Lewis smashed Minnesota’s 18-game postseason losing streak into the seats, homering in each of his first two at-bats to carry the Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of their AL Wild Card Series on Tuesday.

MINNEAPOLIS — Royce Lewis has played in 70 games for the Minnesota Twins. He has five grand slams.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Garrett Wilson agreed with Willie Gay’s assessment earlier this week that the New York Jets’ struggling offense appears to be a run-first bunch without Aaron Rodgers leading the way.