LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Donald is still determining whether he is ready and able to return to the Los Angeles Rams, but coach Sean McVay says the team will welcome the superstar defensive lineman if he decides to end his two-season retirement.

While the Rams reported to training camp at Loyola Marymount University on Saturday, McVay said he has no idea whether one of the greatest defensive linemen in recent NFL history will decide to resume his career.

“If that is something that he wants to do, we’re going to try to be able to make that happen,” McVay said. “But I genuinely do not have an answer on whether he is or he isn’t. I know he’s preparing himself to be able to make that decision, and I know if he feels good, he’s going to be ready to rock. If not, he doesn’t owe us anything.”

McVay said Puka Nacua is expected to practice in training camp while the Rams work on the next contract for their All-Pro receiver, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal. The coach said NFL MVP Matthew Stafford is fully healthy, but still will sit out multiple practices in training camp as part of a modified preparation schedule to keep the 38-year-old quarterback fresh for the long season ahead.

The Rams also confirmed first-round pick Ty Simpson had formally signed his four-year, $25.4 million rookie contract as he begins a training camp competition with Stetson Bennett for the backup job behind Stafford.

But McVay was eager to talk about a player who wasn’t reporting to the Loyola Marymount dorms — Donald, who anchored the Rams’ defense for a decade before he retired somewhat abruptly in March 2024.

Donald apparently began to entertain the idea of a comeback early last month after the Rams acquired superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett in a trade with Cleveland. The prospect of lining up next to one of his few contemporary peers compelled the now-35-year-old Donald to begin an extensive workout program aimed at returning him to football shape.

“He is going through his process, and he is putting himself in a position to make a decision,” McVay said. “He’s earned the right to be able to do that. … He’s very diligent. Anything that he does, he does all-in, and so he’s going through a very strict regimen and process that’s similar to what he did when he played. See how his body responds and feels, and then we’ll see when we have more information whether or not we’re going to give it a go, or whether or not he’s going to continue to enjoy what he’s been doing for the last couple of years.”

Donald hung it up nearly 2 1/2 years ago after a very successful decade spent entirely with the Rams in St. Louis and Los Angeles. He racked up a team-record 111 sacks as the heart of the Rams’ defense, winning the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times while earning eight All-Pro selections and 10 Pro Bowl selections.

Donald led the Rams to a championship in the 2021-22 season, making the decisive defensive plays in both the NFC title game and the Super Bowl victory over Cincinnati in their home SoFi Stadium.

Donald has stayed close to the game and the Rams during his two years of retirement, living mostly in Los Angeles while regularly returning to his native Pittsburgh. The current Rams are eager to see whether they’re about to add another star.

“I mean, him being the greatest of all time, I’m sure he’d have a pretty good impact, right?” defensive lineman Braden Fiske said. “It’s only been two years, but if you’ve seen the (workout) videos, it doesn’t seem like he’s lost too much of where he’s at. … If that’s what he chooses to do, I’m sure we’ll be waiting for him. We’re just letting him handle his process. That’s totally on him. I don’t want to be the pushy one. If it happens, great. If not, you know, we’ll play some good football.”

Fiske is among the linemen whose snap counts could be affected if Donald returns, but the Rams appear to be wholeheartedly excited about the prospect of adding Donald to a roster already considered to be among the Super Bowl favorites.

When asked if Donald’s comeback decision might not be made until midseason, McVay reiterated that the Rams will support whatever Donald wants to do.

“I think if AD makes the decision to come back, he’s going to want to play the whole year, just knowing how he is and the mindset that he has,” said left guard Steve Avila, who played with Donald as a rookie in 2023. “I don’t think he’d be halfway in, halfway out with being part of the team, and that’s just what you expect from someone as great as him.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mets slugger Juan Soto was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday because of a left calf strain.

Soto walked twice against Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki in Friday’s 4-2 loss before being replaced by Jorge Polanco in the sixth inning with the score tied at 1. He appeared to experience discomfort while running to second base on Bo Bichette’s double-play grounder in the second inning.

Soto is hitting .293 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs in 84 games this season. He missed 15 games with the same injury on April 3-21 and the Mets went 3-12 without him.

Soto sat out Wednesday’s 4-3 loss at Milwaukee but was back in the lineup Friday after the Mets had a day off.

The lone All-Star for the Mets this year, Soto exited the team’s first game after the break in the eighth inning on July 16 at Philadelphia. New York was off the following day, and he returned to the lineup as the designated hitter on Saturday and Sunday against the Phillies. He played left field Monday in Milwaukee and was the DH on Tuesday.

To replace Soto, the Mets called up infielder/outfielder Eric Wagaman from Triple-A Syracuse. Wagaman is hitting .162 with two homers and four RBIs in 21 games this season.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Salvador Perez, who hit the first home run of his career at Comerica Park in Detroit in 2011, set the Kansas City Royals’ all-time record with No. 318 on Saturday at the same venue.

In the Royals’ 3-2 win over the Tigers, Perez tied the game at 2 in the seventh inning with a 401-foot solo shot to left off right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan.

Perez’s blast broke a tie with Hall of Famer George Brett, who hit 317 homers for Kansas City from 1973-93. Like Brett, Perez has played his entire career with the Royals since debuting in 2011.

The 36-year-old is batting .210 with 15 homers and 44 RBIs in 98 games this season. He is a nine-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove catcher.

In 1,805 games with Kansas City, Perez has hit .261 with 748 runs and 1,060 RBIs.

–Field Level Media

Orlando City SC signed homegrown defender Bernardo Rhein to a first-team contract through the 2027-28 season.

The deal includes team options for the 2028-29 and 2029-30 campaigns.

“Bernardo has earned this opportunity through his dedication, consistency and the progress he’s shown at every stage of our development pathway,” said Orlando City general manager Ricardo Moreira.

“Having started in futsal, Bernardo brings flair and intensity to our backline. From the Academy to OCB and now the First Team, he has embraced every challenge and continued to grow as a player and as a person. This signing reflects our commitment to developing talent from within, and we’re excited to support Bernardo as he takes the next step in his career with the Club.”

The 18-year-old made his MLS debut on April 22, 2026, against Charlotte FC. He becomes the 19th Orlando City Academy product to advance through the full development pathway.

–Field Level Media

The Athletics signed former American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, ESPN reported Saturday.

The 38-year-old left-hander, a two-time All-Star, last pitched in the majors for the Milwaukee Brewers on July 13, 2024.

He has 13 years of major league experience, most prominently with the Houston Astros (2012-18). In 2015, he went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA and 216 strikeouts, en route to winning the AL Cy Young Award.

The veteran will now attempt another comeback with the Athletics. Per ESPN, he will report to Triple-A Las Vegas.

With the Astros, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Brewers, Keuchel is 103-92 with a 4.04 ERA and 1,254 strikeouts in 282 games (267 starts).

–Field Level Media

No. 4 seed Anna Bondar of Hungary outlasted Elina Avanesyan of Armenia 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (2) in a three-hour, 29-minute match on Saturday to advance to the final of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open in Germany.

Bondar will face fifth-seeded Tamara Korpatsch of Germany, who advanced in her semifinal match when Mayar Sherif of Egypt retired in the second set with an injury. Bondar reached the final at Hamburg for the second consecutive year.

Bondar was down 5-3 in the opening set against Avanesyan before rallying then taking the final four points of the tiebreaker for the set. Bondar also lost serve to fall behind 2-0 in the deciding set then won the first five points of the tiebreaker to advance.

Korpatsch dominated the opening set 6-1 then went up 2-0 in the second set before Sherif was forced to bow out. Sherif was coming off her first title in four years at the Iasi Open in Romania.

Prague Open

Lilli Tagger of Austria pulled off an upset of No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and earned her way into the final with a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4) semifinal victory.

Both semifinalists from the Czech Republic fell in their home country with No. 5 seed Tereza Valentova losing 7-6 (4), 6-3 to No. 8 seed Daria Snigur of Ukraine.

After losing the opening set, Tagger rallied by breaking Krejcikova’s serve to go up 4-2 in the second set. She broke serve again in the fourth game of the final set then won the final three points in the tiebreaker to win the match.

Snigur and Valentova each broke serve twice in the opening set before Snigur won the final four points of the tiebreaker. Snigur then broke Valentova’s serve twice in the second set, including once to take a 5-3 lead before serving for the match.

–Field Level Media

Miami Marlins minor league pitcher Eiver Mosquera has received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance.

This season with Class-A Jupiter and the rookie-level Florida Complex League Marlins in 12 games (nine starts), the 19-year-old was 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 16 walks in 38 innings.

Mosquera joined the organization in 2024 as a $150,000 international signing out of Venezuela.

–Field Level Media

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi was one of four players officially ruled out of Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game at Charlotte, N.C., as the Argentina star continues to recover from a run to the World Cup Final.

Also on Saturday, Hugo Cuypers, Rodrigo De Paul, Mbekezeli Mbokazi were ruled out of the All-Star Game, which will match the best of MLS against the top players from Mexico’s LIGA MX.

Cuypers earned his All-Star spot with his play for the Chicago Fire, but he was transferred to Mexico’s CF Monterrey on Thursday. De Paul, an Inter Miami midfielder, will follow Messi’s lead and bow out of Wednesday’s festivities after playing for Argentina in the World Cup.

Mbokazi, a defender from the Chicago Fire, was ruled out with a lower body injury. The South Africa native also appeared in this summer’s World Cup.

To replace the foursome, Inter Miami midfielder Yannick Bright, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Andres Cubas, Houston Dynamo forward Guilherme and Fire forward Philip Zinckernagel all were named All-Stars on Saturday.

Bright has guided Inter Miami to a 9-2-1 record in his 12 starts this season, while Cubas has three assists in 12 matches for the Whitecaps. Guilherme has eight goals and five assists in his first season with the Dynamo, while Zinckernagel has five goals and seven assists for the Fire.

–Field Level Media

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan broke his nose, three ribs and his hand, needed over 40 stitches to his face and sustained a severe concussion after he was involved in a car accident last week, ESPN reported Saturday.

Per the network, the accident occurred on July 14 after Shanahan collided with an SUV near his northern California home.

The other driver was not injured, per Palo Alto lieutenant Nicholas Martinez. Martinez added that drugs and alcohol were not involved.

The 49ers said Shanahan will participate in team activities on a limited basis at the start of training camp, with ESPN reporting doctors will not clear Shanahan for all activities until concussion symptoms clear.

The team said assistant head coach Chris Foerster along with team coordinators will handle the head-coaching responsibilities during this time.

49ers general manager John Lynch is scheduled to hold a news conference at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.

The Niners are scheduled to hold their first practice of training camp Sunday morning and are set to open the season on Sept. 10 against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.

Shanahan, 46, will begin his 10th season as head coach in San Francisco. He owns an 82-67 record in the regular season. He has a 9-5 postseason record, guiding the 49ers to a pair of Super Bowl appearances — losing to the Kansas City Chiefs both times (2020, 2024).

–Field Level Media

The parity era in the NBA seems like it could continue. At least, that’s what oddsmakers and bettors appear to believe after LeBron James’ latest decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers.

New York’s championship run last month capped a season that extended an unprecedented run of NBA parity, with eight different franchises winning titles in the last eight seasons — Toronto in 2019, James and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023, Boston in 2024, Oklahoma City in 2025 and now the Knicks.

There’s at least a reasonable chance now that the run of new champions will continue in 2027, with reigning Western Conference champion San Antonio, Minnesota, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami — and, of course, Philadelphia now among the teams with the best odds right now of hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy next June.

A look at the teams and their odds, broken down by tiers:

James’ decision moved Philadelphia into the upper tier of favorites — but not the highest tier.

Most major sportsbooks and prediction markets are clear: Teams are going to have to get through Oklahoma City and San Antonio to get out of the West. The Thunder, as of Saturday — and a lot will likely change in the next 10 months or so — would still be considered a slight favorite to win the NBA title in 2027, barely ahead of the Spurs.

That shouldn’t be a surprise: The Thunder are led by two-time Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and have a proven championship core, while the Spurs have unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama as the centerpiece of a young team that took huge strides in 2025-26 and should only get better.

This is the James impact: He’s got Philadelphia right there with defending champion New York.

The Knicks and 76ers have the third- and fourth-best championship odds — in some order, depending on the site — according to most books and prediction markets.

The good news for the Knicks: They’re right where they were entering last season, not quite the favorites but ahead of just about everybody in the league when it comes to title odds.

The good news for the 76ers: They’re going to have their best entering-the-season odds since probably 2019-20.

Some of the Celtics’ decisions this summer — particularly the trading of Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia — have faced serious criticism. Bettors don’t seem to mind, perhaps mindful of how the Celtics exceeded many expectations last season.

Boston is firmly the No. 5 choice right now according to most books and markets, not quite there with the Thunder, Spurs, Knicks and 76ers, but leading the rest of the pack.

This is where things start to get muddled, and where books and markets tend to vary on that next tier — the teams with the sixth-best through 11th-best odds.

Denver, Toronto, Minnesota, Detroit and Cleveland are all jammed fairly close together. The only real rising team in that mix is Toronto, clearly based on the expectation that the Raptors will eventually close the trade for Kawhi Leonard and bring back the key to their 2019 title run.

The next team in the race for a top-10 preseason odds spot is Miami. Betting opinions seem to vary widely, though the one thing that is consistent is an expectation that the acquisition of Giannis Antetokounmpo to play alongside Bam Adebayo will get the Heat back into the playoffs.

Even though the Lakers lost James, the odds still say that Luka Doncic’s team will be playoff-bound next season. And bettors seem to think that 2025 NBA finalist Indiana, which played without Tyrese Haliburton this past season because of injury and plummeted to the bottom of the league, will return to the playoffs this season.

Houston and Golden State round out the top 15 in current odds, suggesting that the belief is those clubs are postseason-bound as well.

Not too far back from there: Atlanta, Orlando and Portland.

Washington will have Trae Young, Anthony Davis and Khris Middleton. Bettors expect the Wizards to be better — but aren’t ready to put money on them being a playoff team yet.

The Wizards, with No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, are in a cluster of teams that odds point to as possible play-in candidates, along with Phoenix, Charlotte, Dallas and Utah.

Value bettors can find some very good odds right now on the clubs that books and markets aren’t loving right now.

That group: the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans, Chicago, Memphis, Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Sacramento.

A reminder — there’s always a surprise. Charlotte was toward the bottom of most preseason odds lists this past season and won 44 games. The season before that, Detroit had some of the longest preseason odds in the league and also won 44 games.

Based solely on the average of where the books and markets were on Saturday — and again, none of this will matter when the games start counting in October — the playoff picture in the NBA next spring would look like this:

East playoff teams — New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami, Indiana.

East play-in teams (but not in playoffs) — Atlanta, Indiana.

West playoff teams — Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, Minnesota, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, Golden State, Portland.

West play-in teams (but not in playoffs) — Phoenix, Dallas.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba