Update on the latest sports
MLB SCHEDULE
Tigers 8-Mariners 3
UNDATED (AP) —Jonathan Schoop homered and Isaac Paredes hit a go-ahead single as the Detroit Tigers rallied from a first-inning deficit and took advantage of three errors to beat the Seattle Mariners 8-3.
Mitch Haniger put Seattle ahead against Tyler Alexander with the first of his two solo homers, but the Tigers rallied to take two of three from the Mariners, who have lost six of nine following a five-game winning streak. José Jiménez pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for his first win since last Aug. 26. Alex Lange threw the eighth and Gregory Soto pitched a perfect ninth to finish the six-hitter.
In other afternoon MLM action:
— Mookie Betts hit the 25th leadoff home run of his career and the Los Angeles Dodgers continued their dominance of the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-3 win. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence. Cody Bellinger added two hits and Zack McKinstry drove in two runs as Los Angeles won its 13th straight over the Pirates. Phil Bickford picked up his first save when the game was called with one out in the top of the eighth inning after a rain delay of 1:15.
—Jace Peterson drove in three runs, Daniel Vogelbach hit a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied to beat Cincinnati 7-2 to take two of three from the Reds. Peterson, promoted from Triple-A Nashville before at the start of the series, blooped a tiebreaking, two-run single in a three-run sixth and added an RBI double in the eighth as Brewers won for the 11th time in 13 games. Vogelbach homered in the seventh, his sixth this season and second in as many days.
MLB NEWS
Alonso makes big allegation
BALTIMORE (AP) — New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso is accusing Major League Baseball of manipulating the baseballs to harm the earning potential for star free agents and players eligible for arbitration.
Alonso’s comments came in response to a question about the crackdown on sticky substances used by pitchers.
“I think that the biggest concern is that Major League Baseball manipulates the baseballs year in and year out depending on the free agency class — or guys being in an advanced part of their arbitration,” Alonso said. “… Maybe if the league didn’t change the baseball, pitchers wouldn’t need to use as much sticky stuff.”
When asked a follow-up question about this, Alonso remained firm. His implication was that the balls are friendlier to hitters in a year when a number of top pitchers are about to hit free agency — and vice versa.
In other MLB news:
—The Arizona Diamondbacks have fired hitting coach Darnell Coles and assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske. The team has struggled to score runs during a brutal stretch in which it has lost 30 of 35 games. The Diamondbacks named co-hitting coaches to replace them. Rick Short was promoted from Triple-A Reno and Drew Hedman was Arizona’s run production coordinator. Arizona has a majors-worst 20-43 record. The D-backs have lost a franchise record 19 straight road games.
—A Manhattan judge has rejected an attempt to force Major League Baseball to return next month’s All-Star Game to Atlanta. U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Carponi ruled Thursday against a not-for-profit organization representing small businesses. The lawsuit filed May 31 alleged that Major League Baseball acted unconstitutionally when it moved the game from the Atlanta Braves stadium to Denver after Georgia Republicans enacted a restrictive new voting law. The rewrite of Georgia’s election rules followed former President Donald Trump’s repeated unproven claims of fraud after his presidential loss to President Joe Biden.
—The Cleveland Indians have traded first baseman Jake Bauers to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named or cash. Bauers batted just .190 with six RBIs in 43 games before the Indians designated him for assignment last weekend and recalled Bradley. Bauers is expected to join the Mariners for today’s game in Detroit, and he’ll be back in Cleveland on Friday when Seattle opens a three-game series.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
AP source: CFP expansion to 12 teams on table for discussion
UNDATED (AP) — The College Football Playoff would expand from four to 12 teams, with six spots reserved for the highest ranked conference champions, under a proposal that will be considered next week.
A person familiar with announcement tells The Associated Press that a 12-team playoff would include the six highest-ranked conference champions in major college football, plus six at-large selections.
The CFP’s surprising disclosure comes a week ahead of the planned presentation to CFP officials in Chicago.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-DOCTOR SEXUAL ASSAULT
Schembechler son, players say Michigan coach knew of abuse
NOVI, Mich. (AP) — One of legendary University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler’s sons and two of his former players have described in detail how they were molested by the team’s longtime doctor and how Schembechler turned a blind eye when they told him about it.
Matt Schembechler, and former players Daniel Kwiatkowski and Gilvanni Johnson told similar stories during a news conference about how Dr. Robert E. Anderson, who died in 2008, molested and digitally penetrated them during physical exams decades ago.
They also talked about how Bo Schembechler, who died in 2006 and whose statue stands outside a university building that bears his name, refused to protect them and allowed Anderson to continue abusing players and other patients for years.
NBA NEWS
Bulls G Coby White has surgery on shoulder, out at least 4 months
UNDATED (AP) — Chicago Bulls guard Coby White has had surgery on his left shoulder after injuring it over the weekend. The team says White was hurt “while engaged in basketball activities away from the team” and will be reevaluated in four months. White averaged 15.1 points and 4.8 assists while starting 54 of the 69 games he played in last season. He started his final 18 games and averaged 17.6 points and 5.9 assists while making about 40% of his 3-pointers.
NHL NEWS
McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon finalists for NHL MVP honors
NEW YORK (AP) — Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon have been named finalists for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.
McDavid is considered the likely winner of the award after dominating the scoring race with 105 points in 56 games. That’s 21 more than the next-closest player, teammate Leon Draisaitl.
Matthews led the league with 41 goals.
If McDavid wins the Hart as expected, Edmonton will be the first team with different players as back-to-back MVPs since Boston in 1969 and 1970.
NFL NEWS
Belichick: Newton not practicing, but fine after hand injury
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Patriots quarterback Cam Newton hasn’t practiced since injuring his throwing hand during voluntary workouts last week. But coach Bill Belichick expects New England’s incumbent starting quarterback to be fine.
Newton was not at the Patriots’ latest workout today, the third session open to media.
This is Newton’s first full offseason with the Patriots after signing with them last July. His absence left New England with three quarterbacks — Jarrett Stidham, rookie Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer with a mandatory, three-day minicamp set for next week.
In other NFL news:
— The offensive line that the Kansas City Chiefs aggressively overhauled this offseason has taken a hit. Veteran Kyle Long suffered a knee injury during voluntary workouts that could require surgery and keep him out of training camp. The 32-year-old Long came out of a one-year retirement designed largely to get him healthy to sign a one-year contract with the Chiefs.
—Green Bay Packers reserve tight end Jace Sternberger has been suspended without pay for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The decision by the league means Sternberger will miss the Packers’ Sept. 12 opener at New Orleans and Sept. 20 home game against Detroit. He will be eligible to return to the active roster Sept. 21, and he could play as early as Sept. 26 at San Francisco.
—The Green Bay Packers expect to fill Lambeau Field for games this season. They also plan to welcome fans to training camp and their annual shareholders meeting this year. Fans who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 won’t need to wear masks. Unvaccinated fans will be asked to wear masks. Proof of vaccination won’t be required.
—The Jacksonville Jaguars signed rookie safety Andre Cisco on Thursday. He was a third-round pick from Syracuse. Jacksonville still needs to sign four of its nine draft picks. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne, cornerback Tyson Campbell and offensive tackle Walker Little remain unsigned as the team prepares for a mandatory, three-day minicamp next week.
—Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is trying to move on from the horrific ankle injury that ended his 2020 season. Prescott says he has “buried” the injury mentally. There are still plenty of questions for the player who recently signed the richest contract in the storied franchise’s history at $160 million over four years. Prescott has been kept out of 11-on-11 work during offseason practices. Coach Mike McCarthy says he expects Prescott to be cleared for everything at training camp next month.
FRENCH OPEN
Pavlyuchenkova advances to French Open final
PARIS (AP) — Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will play her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.
The 31st-seeded player defeated unseeded Tamara Zidansek 7-5, 6-3 to become the first Russian woman to reach a final at a major since Maria Sharapova at the 2015 Australian Open.
Both players struggled with their serves on Court Philippe Chatrier but Pavlyuchenkova managed to hold her nerves better on important points.
Unseeded Barbora Krejcikova saved one match point to book the other spot in the French Open final Saturday.
Down 5-3, 30-40 on her serve in the decider against 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari, Krejcikova hit a backhand winner at the net to stay alive in the match. She finally held and broke back in the next game to level at 5-5. Krejcikova then needed five match points to seal the absorbing contest 7-5, 4-6, 9-7.
NASCAR
Race organizers apologize for Confederate flag inside car
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Organizers of a NASCAR racing series in North Carolina have apologized after a car with a Confederate flag decal competed in a race last weekend, violating the governing body’s ban.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports the flag was spotted inside Lee Stimpson’s car Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Track spokesperson Gray Garrison says it won’t happen again, adding that track officials must have missed seeing the flag.
NASCAR banned Confederate imagery at all tracks last June after a noose on a garage pull-down rope at Talladega Speedway in Alabama was found in the garage assigned to Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in the series. After investigating, the FBI said the noose was on the garage door rope since 2019 and Wallace wasn’t targeted.
