Athlete compensation
FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2014, file photo, hockey pucks bounce off the wall during the warm up session before the USA vs Finland men's bronze medal ice hockey game at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. National Hockey League players are set to return to the Olympics in Beijing this winter after reaching an agreement with international officials. The league, NHLPA, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation struck a deal Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, that will put the best players in the world back on sports' biggest stage in February after skipping the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
NHL reaches agreement to send players to Olympics in Beijing

By Stephen Whyno And John Wawrow Sep. 03, 2021 11:20 AM EDT

Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart holds the MVP trophy after the Commissioner's Cup WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
WNBA teams ready for sprint to the finish of regular season

By Doug Feinberg Aug. 17, 2021 02:04 PM EDT

Simone Biles, of the United States, waits to perform on the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo. The American gymnastics superstar has withdrawn the all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Simone Biles makes mental health the talk of the Tokyo Games

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 29, 2021 07:22 AM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019 file photo, IAAF President British Lord Sebastian Coe at the award ceremony during the Weltklasse IAAF Diamond League international athletics meeting in the stadium Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland. The Diamond League will hold its season opener in Britain for the first time with Gateshead replacing Rabat as the 2021 campaign’s first host city, it was announced Friday, April 16, 2021. Diamond League chairman Sebastian Coe says it’s an “incredibly important year” with track-and-field athletes preparing for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics as well as next year’s World Athletics Championships in Oregon. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, file)
Gateshead replaces Rabat for Diamond League season opener

Apr. 16, 2021 07:26 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2021, file photo, Jordan Larson participates in a volleyball workout at Fair Park Coliseum, in Dallas. Larson was a player and coach while winning the inaugural championship of a unique women's professional indoor volleyball league focused on individual stats over team results. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
U.S. women's pro volleyball league looks ahead to 2nd year

By Schuyler Dixon Mar. 31, 2021 05:05 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2016, photo, National Women's Hockey League All-Star players take time for a photo before an All-Star game at Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y. The National Women's Hockey League semifinals and final will air on NBC Sports Network in early February 2021. It will be the first time professional women's hockey games are shown live on a major television network in the U.S. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert, File)
NWHL semifinals, final to air live on NBCSN in February

By Stephen Whyno Dec. 22, 2020 08:34 AM EST

President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed Russia's flag and anthem are barred from next year's Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing on Thursday. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russia claims victory with loopholes in Olympic sanctions

By James Ellingworth Dec. 17, 2020 01:04 PM EST

Ben Hallock, right, of the U.S. and Dmitrii Kholod of Russia fight for the ball during the men's water polo Group D third round match of the 17th FINA Swimming World Championships in Hajos Alfred National Swimming Pool in Budapest, Hungary, in this Friday, July 21, 2017, file photo. Hallock, 23, is among 18 U.S. men’s water polo players who joined professional teams in Europe after COVID-19 hampered their training in California. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP, File)
US water polo players flock to Europe to prepare for Tokyo

By Jay Cohen Dec. 15, 2020 12:26 PM EST

NWHL season to last 2 weeks and played in Lake Placid bubble

By John Wawrow Nov. 25, 2020 12:10 PM EST
The National Women’s Hockey League season will be limited to a two-week run and played in a bubble in Lake Placid, New York, as a result of COVID-19...

FILE - In this March 3, 2018, file photo, Meghan Duggan, of the gold medal-winning U.S. women's Olympic hockey team, listens to a question from the media before an outdoor NHL hockey game between the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Annapolis, Md. U.S. women's hockey captain Duggan announced her retirement Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, after a career in which she won the 2018 Olympic gold medal and seven world championship golds. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
Meghan Duggan, a champion across women's hockey, retires

By Stephen Whyno Oct. 13, 2020 10:41 AM EDT

FILE - In this in this April 15, 2008 file photo, U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth takes questions during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in Chicago. Ueberroth vision laid the foundation for what the Olympic Games have become today. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
BOYCOTT GAMES: Could another Olympic reset be on tap?

By Eddie Pells Aug. 05, 2020 01:00 PM EDT

FILE - This Aug. 23, 2019, file photo shows International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel watching the opening ceremony of the 2019 Sirius Junior Club World Cup ice hockey tournament in Sochi, Russia. Fasel is encouraged upon learning the NHL’s tentatively agreed to labor deal opens the possibility of the league allowing its players to return to Olympic competition. Aside from the uncertainty raised by the global COVID-19 pandemic, Fasel told The Associated Press by phone Tuesday, July 7, 2020, he doesn’t foresee any major stumbling blocks that could derail negotiations leading up to the 2022 Beijing Games.(Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin via AP, Pool, File)
IIHF encouraged by NHL's potential return to Olympics in '22

By John Wawrow Jul. 07, 2020 04:53 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 12, 2020, file photo, crews cover the ice at American Airlines Center in Dallas, home of the Dallas Stars hockey team, after the NHL season was put on hold due to the coronavirus. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press on Sunday, July 5, that the NHL and NHL Players’ Association have agreed on protocols to resume the season. Daly said the sides are still negotiating a collective bargaining agreement extension. A CBA extension is still crucial to the process. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)
NHL, players announce labor deal, plan to resume play Aug. 1

By John Wawrow And Stephen Whyno Jul. 06, 2020 09:02 PM EDT

The Sydney Opera House is illuminated in support of Australia and New Zealand's joint bid to host the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, in Sydney, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Australia and New Zealand will co-host the Women's World Cup in 2023, with the following edition possibly set to take place just two years later. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via AP)
Australia, New Zealand to co-host 2023 Women’s World Cup

By Graham Dunbar Jun. 25, 2020 11:54 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 29, 2018 file photo taken with a fisheye lens, a flag flies at the Banc of California Stadium prior to an MLS soccer game between Los Angeles FC and the Seattle Sounders in Los Angeles. Los Angeles FC will seek a new name for its 2-year-old Banc of California Stadium after a restructuring of the bank's partnership with the Major League Soccer club. LAFC announced Tuesday, May 26, 2020 that Banc of California will eventually give up its naming rights to the sleek new stadium just south of downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, file)
The Latest: Detroit Pistons set to reopen practice facility

By The Associated Press Jun. 03, 2020 01:38 PM EDT

FILE - This May 27, 2015, file photo shows the center court at Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, as France's Gael Monfils plays his second round match against Argentina's Diego Schwarztman during the French Open tennis tournament. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)
The Latest: NWSL moves to allow training in small groups

By The Associated Press May. 25, 2020 04:32 AM EDT

Swiss Federal president Simonetta Sommaruga, left, and Swiss Federal councillor Alain Berset, right, talk after the media briefing about the latest measures to fight the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic in Bern, Switzerland, Monday, March 16, 2020. The vast majority of people recover from the new coronavirus, according to the World  Health Organization, most people recover in about two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the illness.(Anthony Anex/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland to grant federal loans to sports bodies

By Graham Dunbar May. 13, 2020 04:01 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 8, 2020, file photo, an empty Parkview Field minor league baseball stadium is shown in downtown Fort Wayne, Ind. Unlike the NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball that can run on television revenue, it's impossible for some minor sports leagues in North America to go on in empty stadiums and arenas in light of the coronavirus pandemic. These attendance-driven leagues might not play again at all in 2020, putting some teams in danger of surviving at all and potentially changing the landscape of minor league sports in the future. (Mike Moore/The Journal-Gazette via AP, File)
The Latest: College hoops coaches salute essential workers

By The Associated Press May. 13, 2020 11:06 AM EDT

En esta imagen de archivo, tomada el 2 de abril de 2020, un hombre con una mascarilla pasa por delante del logo de los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio 2020, en Tokio. (AP Foto/Eugene Hoshiko, archivo)
Study: Olympians should push for collective bargaining

By Eddie Pells Apr. 23, 2020 08:17 AM EDT

FILE In this Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020 a general view of the Camp Nou stadium prior of a Spanish Copa del Rey soccer match between Barcelona and Leganes at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort, File)
The Latest: Softball World Cup pushed back to 2022

By The Associated Press Apr. 22, 2020 01:52 PM EDT