COLLEGES

LSU safety Greg Brooks has been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer, his family and the hospital caring for him announced Wednesday.

Brooks had emergency surgery three weeks ago to remove a tumor between his cerebellum and brainstem.

“Greg’s speech and ability to communicate has been impacted, and although he is responsive and working daily with physical therapy, he will face months of intensive rehabilitation,” said Dr. Catherine O’Neal, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Health. “The surgery was successful in removing the tumor, and there is no evidence that the cancer has spread.”

Brooks, who grew up in the New Orleans area, started 13 games for the Tigers last season, when he intercepted two passes to go with a sack, a forced fumble and three tackles for losses. He finished that season with five passes defended and 66 solo or assisted tackles.

Brooks also played in the first two games this season.

SOCCER

MLS: Diego Rossi had a first-half goal and added an assist on defender Malte Amundsen’s winner late in the second half as the Columbus Crew rallied to beat New England 2-1, ending the Revolution’s 15-match unbeaten streak at home to begin the season.

New England (14-7-10) was trying to become the seventh team in league history to remain unbeaten through the first 16 home matches of the season. The previous six teams all finished the season unbeaten at home.

New England got a goal by rookie Tomás Chancalay in the second half.

BASKETBALL

OBIT: Giannis Ioannidis, one of Greece’s most successful basketball coaches who later entered politics and served as a minister for sports, has died at the age of 78.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis led plaudits for the veteran player and coach, whose teams dominated Greek basketball in the formative 1980s and 1990s, winning 12 league championships and six cups.

WNBA: The WNBA has agreed to grant the Golden State Warriors an expansion franchise in 2025, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

While the deal hasn’t been finalized, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is expected to be in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday to announce the new franchise, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.

While Golden State has never had a WNBA franchise before, the Warriors have been one of the premiere teams in the NBA, winning four championships since 2015. There is a strong women’s basketball fan base in the area, given Stanford and Cal’s success.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR: NASCAR added Atlanta Motor Speedway and the road course at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York to the playoffs as part of the 2024 Cup Series schedule.

Many of the celebrated changes to the schedule had already been announced: Bristol Motor Speedway is removing the dirt for its spring race, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is returning NASCAR to his historic oval and Iowa Speedway will finally host a Cup race.

The remainder of the schedule release showed that the season again begins with the exhibition Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, followed by the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. The season ends once again at Phoenix Raceway, where the Cup champion will be crowned on Nov. 10.

TENNIS

CHINA OPEN: Jannik Sinner won his third title of the year by beating third-ranked Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) at Beijing.

The 22-year-old Italian had not beaten Medvedev in their six previous meetings, but he quickly found his rhythm from the baseline to earn his ninth tour title.

In the women’s tournament, second-ranked Iga Swiatek dropped only two games and advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Magda Linette 6-1, 6-1.