FRANCISCO

Longtime San Francisco 49ers executive John McVay has died at age 91.

General manager John Lynch still views his San Francisco 49ers as a Super Bowl contender despite a string of injuries, lackluster performances and a 3-3 start to the season.

New York Jets coach Robert Saleh says the significance of his team playing at home in MetLife Stadium on Sunday is amplified because it's the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Tua Tagovailoa didn’t seem to celebrate this stat.

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan started training camp with a declaration that second-year player Trey Lance will be the starting quarterback and Jimmy Garoppolo will be moving on soon.

Seven-time Pro Bowl center Alex Mack is retiring after 13 years in the NFL, leaving a major hole in the middle of the offensive line for the San Francisco 49ers.

Brian Griese decided on a career change this offseason after a 13-year run in the broadcast booth that included the last two as the analyst on “Monday Night Football.”.

The Las Vegas Raiders concluded organized team practices with all four quarterbacks on the roster participating but the buzz surrounding the franchise was about Colin Kaepernick, who has gotten a workout with the club.

Colin Kaepernick is getting his first chance to work out for an NFL team since last playing in the league in 2016 when he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

Leonard Ignelzi, who produced breathtaking images of Hall of Fame careers, wildfires and major news events over 37 years as an Associated Press photographer in San Diego, has died.

The San Francisco 49ers are hiring ESPN analyst Brian Griese as their new quarterbacks coach.

The Los Angeles Rams will host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.

The Chiefs have won a record six straight AFC West titles and will be hosting their record fourth straight AFC title game when Cincinnati visits Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

Kyle Shanahan was a teenager watching on the sideline when the heated playoff rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers reached a fever pitch with three straight NFC title game matchups.

Hassan Haskins scored five touchdowns and Aidan Hutchinson had three sacks, helping No. 6 Michigan finally beat No. 2 Ohio State 42-27 to give Jim Harbaugh his first win as a coach against the rivals.

UConn has hired former UCLA coach Jim Mora to lead the Huskies.

Coach Kyle Shanahan knows it won’t matter to the big picture how well Trey Lance plays in his exhibition debut for the San Francisco 49ers.

Kapler said he experienced no side effects from his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. He said others, who looked into vaccination possibilities in the Phoenix area at the end of spring training, had Moderna or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shots. Opening day is Thursday at Seattle, and Kapler says any of his players who need some downtime before then will have it. School officials said COVID-19 opt-outs made it impossible to field the required number of players in key position groups to meet Southern Conference playing guidelines. The Mocs were 3-2 this spring and were set to head to Western Carolina for a game on Saturday.

Manning was selected Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2021. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File)NFL greats elsewhere, Peyton Manning and John Lynch shared a second career in Denver. Close friends Manning and Lynch, who joke about drinking Mai Tai cocktails together at Pro Bowls in Hawaii and then charging them to hotel rooms of other players, are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2021. This is the ultimate that one player could ever achieve after their playing days are over.”Like Pearson, Flores and Lynch, Faneca had a lengthy wait. During the pandemic, Baker instead traveled to the houses of the four modern-day players and Flores, and he surprised Manning at the Broncos' stadium.

The Packers then made Rodgers the starter in 2008 and have made the playoffs 10 times since then with one Super Bowl title. TOM TERRIFIC: Tom Brady can join some illustrious company with a win this week for another Super Bowl appearance. Brady will appear in his staggering 14th conference title game in 19 seasons as a starter when Tampa Bay visits Green Bay on Sunday. MIGHTY MATT: Packers coach Matt LaFleur is back in the NFC title game for the second time in two seasons as an NFL coach. All those coaches reached at least one Super Bowl in those years with the exception of Ryan, who lost to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay say their friendship and shared history shouldn't have much of an impact on their teams’ upcoming NFC divisional playoff matchup. The top-seeded Packers (13-3) host the Rams (11-6) on Saturday with an NFC championship game berth at stake. San Francisco’s head coach is Kyle Shanahan, who worked at Washington with Matt LaFleur and McVay from 2010-13. LaFleur was the quarterbacks coach on Quinn’s Atlanta staff from 2015-16 and worked for Mike Vrabel at Tennessee in 2018. They reunited in 2017 when McVay became the Rams’ head coach and hired LaFleur.

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh paces the sideline during the second half of the Citrus Bowl NCAA college football game against Alabama in Orlando, Fla. Michigan has decided to stick with Harbaugh. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan has decided to stick with coach Jim Harbaugh, finalizing a new, five-year deal that cuts his guaranteed compensation but gives him an opportunity to make up for the financial loss if he can start winning championships. “There is work to be done and challenges to be addressed,” Harbaugh said. And when Wisconsin beat the Wolverines 49-11 in 2020, Harbaugh fell to 0-11 in games his team was not favored to win. That left Harbaugh in a bit of a lurch going into the uncertain season with just two years left on his contract.

FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2020, file photo, San Francisco 49ers offensive assistant Katie Sowers stands on the field during warmups before an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. Sowers will not be returning to the 49ers in 2021 after becoming the first female coach to make it to the Super Bowl last year. A person familiar with the situation said the 34-year-old Sowers will leaving coach Kyle Shanahans staff where she worked closely with receivers coach Wes Welker. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman, File)Offensive assistant Katie Sowers, the first female coach to make it to the Super Bowl, will not be returning to the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. She followed Shanahan to San Francisco the following season and was hired as a full-time assistant in 2018, working extensively with the team’s wide receivers.

Rookies Chase Young and Kamren Curl scored defensive touchdowns as Washington grabbed sole possession of first place in the division after a gritty 23-15 win over the San Francisco 49ers. He missed the second half with soreness in his surgically repaired right leg. “We were not clean today offensively,” San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. Dwayne Haskins, the 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft, replaced Smith in the second half. San Francisco: travels to the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday.

(AP Photo/Don Wright)A person with knowledge of the punishment tells The Associated Press that at least three NFL head coaches have been fined $100,000 for violating the league’s rules that they wear face coverings on the sideline. More fines could be coming as several other coaches violated the league's rules requiring coaches to wear coverings over their mouths and noses at all times. Gruden wore his face mask like a chin strap and Payton wore his gaiter like a turtleneck. The punishments come a week after the NFL warned all 32 teams in a memo about following the rules for wearing face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic lest they put the NFL season at risk. ___Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arniestapleton___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Players gather around an injured person during the first half of an NFL football game between the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers at a nearly empty MetLife Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)The San Francisco 49ers contacted the NFL on Monday about the conditions of the playing surface at MetLife Stadium after several players went down with injuries in a victory over the New York Jets. The new artificial surface was used in a game for the second time on Sunday. The Niners will play again at MetLife Stadium on Sunday when they visit the New York Giants. Giants coach Joe Judge says his team held several walkthroughs and two scrimmages on the field before the opener, with no one complaining about the surface. “But as far as MetLife field, I think it is fine.

SAN FRANCISCO – Gary Hughes, a beloved professional scout for numerous big league organizations during a 54-year career, has died in Northern California after a battle with cancer. “Gary Hughes was the quintessential baseball man,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Without Gary Hughes, I probably would have never played a day in the big leagues," said Kevin Millar, a 12-year major league veteran. Hughes' son, Michael “Rock” Hughes, longtime Marlins visiting clubhouse manager, is married to Counsell's sister. “Gary was one of the great baseball scouts," former baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said, "and one of the great baseball minds of our generation.”___AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

It all comes full circle for the 37-year-old Gore on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, when his Jets host the team with which he began his career 16 years ago. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)NEW YORK – Frank Gore took his first snap as a pro in what seems like a lifetime ago. “I want to win, especially coming off a loss last week,” Gore said, referring to the Jets' 27-17 defeat at Buffalo. “I love Frank Gore,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who remembers watching him at the University of Miami while serving as the offensive quality control coach at Tampa Bay from 2004-05. So, to see Gore on Sunday at 37 facing the franchise with which he spent his first 10 NFL seasons might amaze some.

Fans watch the Kansas City Chiefs during NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Chiefs coach Andy Reid no longer carries around the heavy and ignominious tag of best coach never to win a championship. This is the best opportunity you can have to start the season.That contract extension is the second largest in NFL history. Very, very dynamic players, Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. They also will miss cornerback Bashaud Breeland and defensive tackle Mike Pennel, who are suspended for the start of the season.

(Lars Baron, Pool via AP)BERLIN Germanys soccer league was marked by gestures against racism and support for the Black Lives Matter movement on Saturday as Bayern Munich took another step toward a record-extending eighth straight Bundesliga title. All of Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlins 22 outfield players took a knee in the center-circle together before the top tier's late game with no fans present. Bayern's players had Black Lives Matter printed on their armbands, partly covering sponsor Qatar Airways logo on the left arm. Robert Lewandowski scored Bayerns fourth to claim his 30th Bundesliga goal of the season, set up by Thomas Mller, who now has 20 assists. It also had to do without fans, as all Bundesliga games are being played without supporters amid strict hygiene measures against coronavirus.

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice in 2016, he was mostly alone. Global opinion has shifted so much that more people are now vilifying those who attack Kaepernick or misrepresent his stance. I have had many people attempt to discourage our support of Colin, which is unthinkable to me. He is encouraged because more folks support Kaepernicks movement but realizes theres a long way to go.