I don't shoot sports, per se, but I do shoot the occasional biker, when they pass close as I'm shooting wildlife. Here's a jolly guy that I shot this morning. 1 of 22 images with a tack-sharp eye:
Jolly Biker by
David Stephens, on Flickr
This kind of shooting is literally point and shoot. It hardly matters what focus mode you're in. Here, I was in "Wide", with all 693-AF points activated.