FOOTBALL

A medical examiner’s report concludes that former NFL player Mike Williams died from a rare form of sepsis related to dental health problems. The 36-year-old Williams died Sept. 12 after being hospitalized following a construction accident while working as an electrician.

Williams was a wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. The Hillsborough County (Florida)Medical Examiner’s report says the cause was bacterial sepsis traced to a dental infection.

Melissa Stark has reported from sidelines in 39 stadiums on three networks and in two countries. The veteran NFL reporter adds another numeric milestone during Saturday night’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers when she covers her 100th regular-season game.

The NFL has denied Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro’s appeal of a $100,000 fine in addition to banning him from the sideline for the remainder of the regular season for his role in a scuffle with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, a person familiar with the league’s decision told The Associated Press on Friday. DiSandro has still been permitted to travel and perform all other work duties.

How would you react if one of your best friends started dating an internationally known singer? Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce aren’t just teammates, they’re like “stepbrothers” as Alex Smith once noted.

So what was it like for Mahomes and his teammates when Kelce began seeing superstar singer Taylor Swift? That question was posed to Mahomes on CBS Mornings.

“At first, I felt like everybody kind of stayed away. Just let him do what he was doing,” Mahomes said. “And then he started bringing Taylor around, and he realized how cool of a person she was. And she is. And so for us, I mean, there were a couple of jokes here and there at the beginning, but now it’s just, she’s just part of Chiefs Kingdom now. She’s part of the team.”

WOrld Cup SKIING

Marco Schwarz’s mission to challenge Swiss dominator Marco Odermatt for the overall World Cup ski title is on track.

After eight races, the Austrian skier has become No. 1 in the season standings. For Schwarz, a former slalom specialist who turned into an all-event skier, the lead is a first reward for his ambition to start in as many races on the 45-event calendar as possible.

On Friday, Schwarz won a night race in Italy to take the lead, also in the slalom standings. He improved from sixth position after the opening leg to win by 0.25 seconds from Olympic champion Clement Noel.

SOCCER

The long-awaited reunion of Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi is now a reality, after the Uruguayan striker signed with Inter Miami on Friday for the 2024 season. Suárez and Messi spent six seasons together at Barcelona, winning four Spanish league titles together and nine other trophies — including a Champions League title — in that span.