NFL
Third-stringer Danny Etling tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ralph Webb early in the second half and iced the game with an 86-yard run late as the New England Patriots beat the New York Giants 17-12 in a preseason finale Thursday night.
Both teams rested their starters. Giants quarterback Eli Manning chatted with receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the first half, while Tom Brady sat next to the New England water coolers and relaxed.
In other Thursday night pre-season action:
AJ McCarron made a shaky case for a roster spot, leading a surge in the fourth quarter after struggling for most of the game, and the Buffalo Bills closed the preseason with a 28-27 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Roberto Aguayo kicked a 26-yard field goal on the final play of the exhibition season to lead the Los Angeles Chargers to a 23-21 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
E.J. Manuel made a strong bid to be Oakland's backup quarterback, throwing for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the Raiders closed out the preseason with a 30-19 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Manuel completed 18 of 22 passes.
Cameron Meredith caught two passes for 72 yards and a touchdown, helping the New Orleans Saints beat the Los Angeles Rams 28-0 in the teams' preseason finale. Meredith, a former Bears wide receiver, was one of the top free agents signed by the Saints.
Rookie safety Armani Watts intercepted two passes and Makinton Dorleant returned another pick for a touchdown as the Chiefs beat the Packers 33-21. Both teams rested their starters.
The Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans did their best to protect their starters for the regular season. They let Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota lead the cheerleading from the sidelines. Rookie Daniel Carlson kicked field goals of 39 and 22 yards and Kyle Sloter added a 24-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter as the Vikings beat the Tennessee Titans 13-3 as the teams wrapped up the preseason.
Christian Hackenberg had a rough audition for an NFL roster spot, tossing two interceptions but the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles rallied to beat the New York Jets 10-9 to avoid a winless preseason.
Josh Dobbs put together a compelling case to be on someone's NFL roster next week, throwing for a touchdown and running for another to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 39-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the preseason finale. Dobbs is fighting for one of the backup quarterback spots behind Ben Roethlisberger.
Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for a touchdown, backup Robert Griffin III spent the entire game on the sideline and Baltimore beat the Washington Redskins 30-20 to complete its third consecutive unbeaten preseason.
Baker Mayfield threw for 138 yards in a dominant first half for Cleveland, and the Browns wrapped up the preseason with a 35-17 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Matt Barkley's left knee was injured by a low hit after he threw a pass during Cincinnati's 27-26 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. For the second year in a row, the Bengals lost a quarterback to injury in the final preseason game.
Brock Osweiler made a strong final bid for Miami's backup quarterback job, leading three first-quarter touchdowns in the Dolphins' 34-7 preseason win over the Atlanta Falcons. Each team rested its starters in the final week of the preseason.
Terry Swanson rushed for a 37-yard touchdown run to lift the Houston Texans to a 14-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys in their preseason finale. Swanson finished with 69 yards on 17 carries.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cayleb Jones has been charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and other counts after an argument and physical confrontation with his girlfriend. Authorities say the incident happened early Tuesday at an Eagan hotel. Jones' girlfriend told police he pushed and shoved her, interrupted her 911 call and smacked her phone out of her hand. The complaint says officers noticed rug burns, a scratch on her neck and a broken fingernail. Jones also is charged with felony theft and a gross misdemeanor count of interfering with an emergency call.
The Chiefs have agreed to trade offensive lineman Parker Ehinger to the Dallas Cowboys for cornerback Charvarius Ward, a person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade will not become official until Friday, the last day before roster cuts.
The NFL has hired 24 full-time game officials, including veteran referees Walt Anderson and Pete Morelli. The number of full-time officials is up from 21 last season.
An arbitrator is sending Colin Kaepernick's grievance with the NFL to trial, denying the league's request to throw out the quarterback's claims that owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests of social injustice. The former 49ers quarterback argues that owners have colluded to keep him off any NFL roster since he hit free agency in 2017.
A police report in Connecticut has concluded that the wife of longtime ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit when she rear-ended another man's car, killing them both. The Hartford Courant reports that police determined Katherine Berman was speeding and did not apply her brakes before crashing into a car driven by an 87-year-old man.
MLB
Lorenzo Cain hit a home run off the top of the left field fence in the 11th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers, a day after winning a slugfest that went extras, edged the Cincinnati Reds 2-1.
NL batting leader Christian Yelich went 0 for 4 with a bases-loaded walk for Milwaukee.
On Wednesday night, Yelich went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle as the Brewers outlasted Cincinnati 13-12.
The playoff-contending Brewers totaled just six hits in their latest victory.
Elsewhere in league action:
Wade LeBlanc pitched seven scoreless innings, Mitch Haniger hit his 23rd home run and the Seattle Mariners jumped on the Oakland Athletics early and held on for a 7-1 victory. Robinson Cano had two hits and an RBI after being dropped down a spot in the batting order after second baseman Jean Segura was scratched. Dee Gordon and Ryon Healy added two hits apiece.
David Peralta hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the opener of a pivotal series. The loss snapped the Dodgers' five-game winning streak.
Franmil Reyes homered with two outs in the 13th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 3-2 victory against the Colorado Rockies. Reyes connected off Bryan Shaw (4-6) for his 12th homer.
Victor Martinez hit his second home run of the game and Niko Goodrum followed with a homer off Dellin Betances in the ninth inning, rallying the Detroit Tigers past the New York Yankees 8-7. The Tigers, last in the majors in home runs, connected five times and ended a five-game losing streak. Giancarlo Stanton hit his 300th career home run for the Yankees, who have lost three of four. The series continues Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a sacrifice fly in Boston's four-run seventh inning and a tiebreaking single in the ninth, helping the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox 9-4 on Thursday night. Ian Kinsler sparked the winning rally with a one-out single off Thyago Vieira (1-1) for the last of his three hits. Blake Swihart then walked before Bradley drove in Kinsler with a liner into right field. Boston increased its AL East advantage to 8 1/2 games over the New York Yankees. The series continues Friday at 8:10 p.m.
Andrew Heaney threw six scoreless innings, Andrelton Simmons capped a four-run sixth inning with a three-run double and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Houston Astros 5-2. Heaney scattered five hits with six strikeouts to earn his first road win since Sept. 2, 2015, at Oakland.
Harrison Bader and John Gant hit back-to-back home runs, Gant pitched into the sixth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0. The Cardinals have won 17 of 21 and took their tenth consecutive series, their longest series winning streak since 2009, when they also won ten in a row. Pirates starter Joe Musgrove opened the game with 21 consecutive strikes, a first in the majors since pitch tracking began in 1988, according to Stats.
Tommy La Stella hit the first pinch-hit homer of his career against his former team, carrying the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in a matchup of NL division leaders. Chicago stopped off at SunTrust Park for a single game before the start of a regularly scheduled 10-game road trip, making up a contest that was rained out on May 17
Jason Kipnis hit a three-run homer that broke a sixth-inning tie and sent the Cleveland Indians over the Minnesota Twins 5-3. The AL Central-leading Indians opened a 14-game lead over second-place Minnesota. Cleveland is 31-11 against division opponents, and needed this win to beat the Twins 10-9 in the season series.
The Mets had the night off as they traveled to San Francisco to take on the Giants Friday at 10:15 p.m.
In other MLB news:
The World Series champion Houston Astros have rewarded manager A.J. Hinch with a new contract that extends his run in the dugout through the 2022 season. Hinch's contract had been set to expire after this year. The 44-year-old Hinch guided Houston to its first World Series title last season. The Astros led the AL West by 2 1/2 games over Oakland going into Thursday night's home game against the Angels. Hinch took over the Astros in 2015. The former major league catcher formerly managed the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia says Japanese rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani will start for Los Angeles on Sunday night for the first time since spraining the ulnar collateral ligament in his right pitching elbow nearly three months ago. Ohtani will make his return on national television against the defending World Series champion Houston Astros.
In a swap of backup catchers, the Minnesota Twins have traded Bobby Wilson to the Chicago Cubs for Chris Gimenez and a player to be named or cash. The 35-year-old veteran has been on the 10-day disabled list since Aug. 23 with a sprained right ankle. Wilson hit .178 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 47 games for Minnesota. Gimenez, who has been playing at Triple-A Iowa, will join the Twins. He batted .143 with one RBI in 12 games with the Cubs.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired catcher Chris Stewart from the Atlanta Braves. Friday's move bolsters Arizona's catching depth and gives the team a fourth player at the position.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora says he isn't sure when David Price will make his next start after the left-hander was hit by a line drive. Price was struck on his left wrist in the third inning of Wednesday night's 14-6 win against Miami at Fenway Park. Price visited a hand specialist on Thursday and Cora says he is fine, but he doesn't know if he'll take his next turn in the rotation next week in Atlanta
TENNIS
Make it 18 for 18 for Roger Federer in the second round of the U.S. Open.
The No. 2 seed beat Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 to continue his streak of reaching the third round in the tournament he has won five times.
Federer will next face No. 30 seed Nick Kyrgios, who beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-0.
Federer is 7-0 against Paire, winning 16 of 17 sets against the Frenchman.
In other action Thursday:
No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki is out of the U.S. Open in the second round, joining No. 1 Simona Halep on the sideline. Wozniacki lost 6-4, 6-2 to 36th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine. Wozniacki is the reigning Australian Open champion and a two-time runner-up at Flushing Meadows.
Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) wasted a match point in the third set, before going on to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 against Tennys Sandgren at the U.S. Open to reach the third round.
In a U.S. Open matchup between two young, up-and-coming men in the top 50, 19-year-old Alex de Minaur beat 20-year-old Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the third round at a second Grand Slam tournament in a row. Tiafoe, an American, is ranked 44th, one spot ahead of de Minaur, an Australian. Both made it to the third round at Wimbledon this year.
Gael Monfils retired in the second set of his second-round U.S. Open match against 2014 runner-up Kei Nishikori because of an injured right wrist. The 39th-ranked Monfils, a semifinalist at Flushing Meadows two years ago, was treated by a trainer and had his wrist taped up. But he unraveled the tape shortly before saying he could not continue.
Madison Keys cruised into the third round of the U.S. Open, beating fellow American Bernarda Pera 6-4, 6-1. The U.S. Open runner-up last year served eight aces and never lost her serve in the match that lasted 1 hour, 12 minutes. The No. 14 seed will play either Aleksandra Krunic or Kirsten Flipkens in the next round.
Three-time major champion Angelique Kerber has made it through a second-round test at the U.S. Open. The No. 4 seed edged 82nd-ranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Kerber won the U.S. Open in 2016. Her other Grand Slam trophies came at that year's Australian Open and this year's Wimbledon.
COLLEGE TOP-25
McKenzie Milton threw for 346 yards and five touchdowns and No. 21 UCF routed UConn 56-17 on Thursday night to extend the longest winning streak in the nation to 14 games.
The reigning American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year completed 24 of 32 passes and ran for another 50 yards. Sophomore receiver Tre Nixon, a transfer from Mississippi, caught passes, scoring on plays of 34 and 11 yards.
UConn quarterback David Pindell was a bright spot for the Huskies, throwing for 266 yards and a touchdown and running for another 157 yards and a score.
The game was marred by what appeared to be a serious injury to UCF defensive back Aaron Robinson on the opening kickoff.
NBA
The Memphis Grizzlies have signed 7-foot-1 center Doral Moore and added him to their training-camp roster.
Moore played 30 games as a junior at Wake Forest last season but was not drafted in 2018.
He averaged 11.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.97 blocks while shooting 68.9 percent. The 21-year-old Moore appeared in 92 games over his three-year college career.
In other NBA news:
A key big man off the bench for the Golden State Warriors' past two championship seasons has retired. David West's announcement wasn't a surprise as he made it clear he would take some time after the team's latest title run to contemplate his future and likely retirement. He left the Spurs following the 2015-16 season for a chance to chase a championship with the Warriors.
The Sacramento Kings say federal authorities are investigating a former top executive after team officials uncovered suspicious financial transactions. The Kings say the FBI and federal prosecutors took formal action Monday to recover the money former chief revenue officer Jeffrey David is suspected of embezzling. David holds the same position with the Miami Heat after leaving the Kings in June. No charges have been filed.
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