AP Sports SummaryBrief at 12:14 p.m. EST

The darker side of the rise of womens sports: With more visibility comes more online harassment NEW YORK (AP) As womens sports set new records for attendance and viewership this year, longtime fans have watched with both optimism and unease.

The meteoric rise in popularity propelled by stars like the WNBA's Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has also revealed strong backlash to this success.

Its a cycle female athletes and fans of womens sports have come to recognize: With the increased and sought-after visibility also comes added scrutiny and, often, harassment and online abuse targeting some players.

Much of it has been racially motivated and directed at players of color across the sports landscape.

Donald Trump said he wants to ban trans athletes from competing.

The reality is more nuanced President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promise to ban transgender athletes struck a chord with voters.

It's uncertain, however, what exactly Trump will do once his second term begins in January.

The most immediate action could be to remove Title IX protections for trans-athletes that were introduced by the Biden administration.

Several ongoing court battles about the participation of trans-athletes could also shape the near future of the issue.

Ex-teammates expect the best from Lindsey Vonn in return to World Cup ski racing at age 40 BEAVER CREEK, Colo.

(AP) A trio of well-known and well-decorated American ski racers are all rooting for their longtime teammate Lindsey Vonn as she returns to ski racing at 40 this weekend in St.

Moritz, Switzerland.

More than anything, Bode Miller, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso, all in their 40s, just want their teammate to be safe as she races at top speeds again.

Vonn retired in 2019 not because she was slowing down, but because she was broken down.

She has a new titanium knee and feels strong again as she competes in a Word Cup race for the first time in nearly six years.

Vonn has 82 World Cup wins.

Brr! Winter adds an old-school challenge to the CFP.

Visiting teams insist it's 'snow' problem Besides first-round games at on-campus sites, the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff also serves up something now for this postseason: cold-weather northern venues as opposed to bowl games in warm, sunny climates.

Whether that provides a home-field advantage for sixth-seeded Penn State, No.

7 seed Notre Dame and No.

8 Ohio State remains to be seen, but it's a factor southern schools such No.

11 SMU and No.

9 Tennessee must prepare for.

Tenth-seeded Indiana only has to travel a couple hundred miles north to South Bend but December football will be new to the Hoosiers, especially at No.

7 seed Notre Dame.

Caitlin Clark's No.

22 to be retired during February ceremony at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Caitlin Clark's No.

22 will be retired in a ceremony Feb.

2 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Clark finished her college career last season as the all-time leading mens or womens scorer in NCAA Division I history and is widely regarded as a transformational figure in the womens game.

The flair of her game and long-distance 3-point shots spawned a legion of fans adorned in her No.

22 jersey at games both home and away.

Clark grew up in the Des Moines area and said Iowa holds a place in her heart bigger than just basketball.

Ivy League football to compete in FCS playoffs beginning next season PRINCETON, N.J.

(AP) The Ivy League has announced its football programs will compete in the FCS playoffs beginning next season.

The league said Wednesday the decision to compete in the playoffs followed a year-long process initiated by its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Mason Shipp is a senior football player at Yale who serves as the committee's chairman.

He called this a monumental day and said to the future generations of Ivy League football players: "go win us some hardware! The 2024 season culminated with Columbia, Dartmouth and Harvard earning a share of the Ivy League title.

It was Colombia football's first Ivy League title since 1961.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo won an NBA Cup together.

Now, the next challenge: chasing the big prize LAS VEGAS (AP) Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo stood side-by-side during the postgame celebration after the NBA Cup final.

Antetokounmpo was holding the MVP trophy.

Lillard was holding the bigger trophy.

And it was a moment that Lillard had waited a long time to savor.

Hes been a rookie of the year, a 3-point contest champion, an All-Star MVP, even a member of the leagues 75th anniversary team.

And while his biggest goal is still winning an NBA championship, the significance of winning the NBA Cup was not lost on the 13-year veteran.

No.

3 Notre Dame, No.

9 Indiana take one last spin with 1-year QBs Kurtis Rourke and Riley Leonard Indiana coach Curt Cignetti pursued Kurtis Rourke in the transfer portal because he wanted a proven winner.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman wanted Riley Leonard because he thought the former Duke quarterback could win a national championship.

So the two programs with vastly different histories made the same choice betting big on veteran quarterbacks with only one-year of eligibility remaining.

The reward comes Friday night when the 10th-seeded Hoosiers visit the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish in the first College Football Playoff game ever played on a college campus.

The winner advances to a quarterfinal round matchup against second-seeded Georgia.

NFL has a record number of playoff clinches and bottom dwellers with 3 weeks to go There might by more intrigue in the race for the No.

1 pick than in the race to make the playoffs in the final three weeks.

Theres already a record number of teams that have clinched a playoff spot with three weeks to play in the NFL season and a record number of teams with three or fewer wins after Week 15 as a league built on parity has become one of haves and have nots.

Seven playoff spots have been clinched at this point in the season for the first time ever and the 50% of playoff berths filled are the most with three weeks remaining.

Wake Forest reaches deal with Washington State's Jake Dickert to become coach, AP source says Wake Forest has agreed to a deal with Washington States Jake Dickert to become the Demon Deacons next football coach.

That's according to a person familiar with the decision.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school hasnt spoken publicly yet about its coaching search.

Dickert is set to replace Dave Clawson, who resigned unexpectedly Monday after 11 seasons.

Dickert has guided the Cougars to 20 wins in three full seasons since taking over that program..

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