A look ahead to top enterprise and feature stories planned globally by AP Sports. New digests will go out each Thursday and Monday and will be repeated on other weekdays. Please note that story plans may change depending on news and other issues.

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As with all our operations, we welcome and want your feedback. If you have thoughts or questions about the Sports Showcase Digest or the material listed, please reach out to Oskar Garcia, deputy sports editor for presentation and storytelling, at 215-446-6632 or at ogarcia(at)ap.org.

All times are Eastern.

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TUESDAY, June 5

SOC–WCUP-PUTIN’S TOURNAMENT

MOSCOW – The World Cup will kick of next week in Vladimir Putin’s Russia despite the host nation being under international sanctions. Issues like the annexation of Crimea, Olympic doping and the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal are all clouds hanging over the tournament. By James Ellingworth. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos by 12 p.m. Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY, June 6

RAC–BELMONT-JOCKEY CONCUSSION PROTOCOL

Horse racing is years behind other sports in concussion education, evaluation Will Hernandez Jersey Giants , diagnosis and return protocol for jockeys, who often suffer them when they fall off. Doctors have spent the past two years developing a protocol, but progress has been slowed by the industry’s lack of continuity from state to state and track to track. Riders who are on the Triple Crown trail from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness and the Belmont see different rules and care along the way as horse racing seeks to catch up with the NFL, NHL and NBA on brain injuries decades after developing better treatment for horses than riders. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 950 words, file photos by 4 a.m. Wednesday.

FRIDAY, June 8

FBN–WENTZ’S COMEBACK

PHILADELPHIA – Carson Wentz was having an MVP season before a torn ACL forced him to the sideline where he watched Nick Foles lead the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory. Wentz has a mission to return for Week 1 but his return comes with interesting circumstances: He’s got no pressure to return right away because the Eagles can lean on the Super Bowl MVP to start the season. And that’s not necessarily a threat to Wentz, whose friendship with Foles appears without the strain seen in other famed NFL tandems like Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers or Joe Montana and Steve Young. That has allowed Wentz to pursue other interests while rehabbing, like building a sports complex during a mission trip to Haiti, with the comfort of knowing his job is reasonably safe if he plays well once he comes back. By Rob Maaddi. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 3 a.m. Friday.

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Again, if you have questions about the Sports Showcase Digest or the material listed, please reach out to Oskar Garcia at 215-446-6632 or ogarcia(at)ap.org.

Thanks Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey Dolphins ,

AP Sports

Matt Ryan pulled out his secret weapons to seal the five-year contract extension that made him the NFL's highest-paid player.

Ryan brought his infant twin boys, Marshall and John, to Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank's office on Friday, when the deal was signed.

"Tough negotiators," a smiling Ryan said Monday.

The twins, born on April 8 following a complicated pregnancy for Ryan's wife, Sarah, and the new contract are reasons for Ryan to have an optimistic new focus on his future.

The extension announced on Thursday is worth at least $100 million , a league record, and could be worth as much as $150 million.

Ryan has been the figurehead of the Falcons during their most successful 10-year run in franchise history. He says he sees the contract as an incentive for the future instead of a reward for leading the team to six playoff seasons, including the Super Bowl run in 2016, when he was named NFL MVP.

"We've had some really good teams Tre'Davious White Bills Jersey ," Ryan said. "But I think the best is in front of us and that's what has me so excited about my future here and our future as an organization, that we have a lot of really good pieces in place."

Ryan said when he was drafted in 2008 it was his hope "to be the quarterback that a franchise leans on for a long time, 15, 20 years. That's kind of still where my head is at."

Before the extension, Ryan, who turns 33 on May 17, could have been a free agent after the 2018 season.

The threat of Ryan entering free agency could have been the biggest story of training camp. That was a distraction Ryan and the Falcons were eager to avoid.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff described the extension as "our primary focus this offseason."

Now Ryan can focus on football instead of finances as he prepares for the 2018 season.

"I'm happy with the timing of it," Ryan said. "I think the organization is very happy with the timing of it. Certainly when we get back to training camp it's 100 percent about football. ... I always felt confident it was going to get done in a smooth way and in a timely manner and I feel like it did."

There was little question the Falcons would keep Ryan, who has helped to reshape the perception of the franchise.

Before the Ryan era, the Falcons had only eight playoff seasons in 42 years, and none in back-to-back years. With Ryan, the Falcons have made the playoffs in six of 10 years Authentic Logan Paulsen Jersey , including the 2016 Super Bowl run.

The contract extension brings continued stability for an offense that also returns wide receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu and running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Dimitroff gave the offense a boost by making wide receiver Calvin Ridley its first-round draft pick last month.

Like Jones, Ridley is from Alabama.

"I guess I'm an honorary Alabama quarterback now," Ryan said. "... I'm very excited about Calvin coming here."

Ryan's new deal topped the total compensation of the $84 million, three-year guaranteed deal that quarterback Kirk Cousins received from the Minnesota Vikings.

Someday, Ryan will be able to show his twins a photo taken by the Falcons of the day they were in the room when he signed the extension.

"It was a special day for our family," he said. "I was excited that they were there. That will always be a great memory for us but also a really cool picture for me to be able to show them when they get older. They won't remember it, but I'll tell them I was OK at one point."

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