MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Kyle Rudolph hasn't put up the biggest numbers over the first three years of his career, which is due as much to the Minnesota Vikings' revolving door at quarterback as anything else.

The Vikings have known all along what they have in Rudolph, a big, field-stretching tight end who can be a difference-maker in the right offense with the right quarterback. So now they're paying him like one. (MORE)

Paul Millsap has long been one of the more underappreciated players in the NBA, a do-it-all forward who has toiled in anonymity while playing in Utah and Atlanta.

Now he's going to get a chance to really make a name for himself with Team USA. (MORE)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Manager Don Mattingly hardly considers a late-July sweep in San Francisco a turning point to put his Dodgers in the driver's seat atop the NL West.

Yet coming off consecutive series losses at St. Louis and Pittsburgh, Los Angeles needed some sort of spark as August approaches. The Dodgers found it in the ballpark of their biggest rival, and left the Bay Area in first place following an emphatic three-game swing. (MORE)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) Convicted Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy said he wants to remain with the Carolina Panthers beyond this season.

Hardy addressed the media before Sunday's practice but refused to answer specific questions about his recent conviction on two domestic violence charges except to say, "I hate that I have distracted my team." (MORE)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Carl Edwards' 11-year run with Roush-Fenway Racing will end after this NASCAR season.

Roush confirmed the decision Sunday, a move that had been long expected but could not be substantiated because Edwards refuses to publicly discuss contract negotiations. He's believed to be headed to Joe Gibbs Racing in a new fourth car, but his contract with Roush does not permit him to announce his plans until September. (MORE)