NBA considered suspending Sarver for more than 1 year
NEW YORK (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver was likely spared even stronger sanctioning by the NBA for his racist, misogynistic and hostile words and actions because of one key conclusion by investigators. The law firm that spent nearly a year digging into the situation determined Sarver’s use of slurs “was not motivated by racial animus.” Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10 million after the investigation found he engaged in what the league called “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies.”
Wainwright, Molina make history, then lead Cards over Brews
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina made history with the first pitch of the game, then the record-setting battery helped the St. Louis Cardinals extend their NL Central lead by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1. Wainwright and Molina started together for the 325th time, the most ever by a pitcher-catcher duo in the majors. The duo eclipsed the regular-season mark of 324 held by the Detroit Tigers pair of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan from 1963-1975. Wainwright gave up one run in five innings. Molina hit an RBI single and threw out a runner trying to steal. Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbaar homered as the Cardinals stretched their division lead to eight games over the second-place Brewers. Milwaukee is two games behind San Diego for the final wild-card spot in the NL.
FBS ADs urge college football reform, but not NCAA breakaway
WASHINGTON (AP) — The athletic directors who lead the schools that play major college football want the sport to continue be governed by the NCAA. But only if that governance can be streamlined. LEAD1, an association of Bowl Subdivision ADs, convened 105 of its 131 members for a meeting in Washington that focused mostly on how best to govern major college football. There has been some momentum in the past year to seriously explore breaking FBS away from the NCAA and creating another structure to run the biggest revenue-generator in college sports. For now, though, the preference is for reform within the current structure.
Week 3 Preview: 'Bama, Baylor out to avoid more Sun upsets
There may be no reason to put second-ranked Alabama and No. 17 Baylor on upset alert even though both are playing Sun Belt Conference teams in Week 3. Two Sun Belt teams beat Top 10 teams last Saturday. Appalachian State won 17-14 at Texas A&M, and Marshall won 26-21 at Notre Dame. Alabama slipped out of the AP’s No. 1 spot after escaping Texas with a 20-19 victory. But the Crimson Tide are nearly 50-point favorites against Louisiana-Monroe. Texas State is a more than a four-touchdown underdog going to Baylor. Texas State is 0-9 against Top 25 teams, the losses by an average margin of nearly 34 points.
College Football Picks: Texas A&M welcomes hungry Hurricanes
Last week was a good reminder to never shrug off a Saturday slate of college football games that appears to be short on marquee matchups. Intrigue arises in odd places, even without the obvious “big games.” This week’s schedule pops even less than that. If not for No. 24 Texas A&M and No. 25 Oregon squeezing into the bottom of the AP Top 25 there would be no games matching ranked teams this week. Still, there is still plenty of alluring games heading into the weekend.
Pro Picks aims to rebound following a rough start in Week 1
Patrick Mahomes loses sleep preparing for Thursday night games. Pro Picks had a restless weekend after a rough first week. The rebound begins when Mahomes leads the Kansas City Chiefs against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in the first exclusive Thursday night game on Prime Video. The AFC West showdown is a potential preview of the conference title game, though Buffalo will have its say. Mahomes has won his past three Thursday night games. Herbert is 2-0 at Arrowhead Stadium, though the Chargers faced mostly backups in their win at Kansas City in the 2020 regular-season finale.
Nike releases US World Cup jerseys some criticize as bland
NEW YORK (AP) — Nike released the United States’ World Cup jerseys Thursday, including a mostly white design for home matches that was criticized in advance by a pair of American players and some fans. The home jerseys have red and blue stripes on each sleeve. “We just as angry as y’all !!!” forward Tim Weah wrote last month after a version of the home jersey was posted online. “Tried to tell them” midfielder Weston McKennie wrote. The bright blue away jersey has an ice-dying technique somewhat akin to a tie-dye pattern.
Study: 1-in-5 U.S. adults bet money on sports in past year
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A new surveys shows nearly one in five U.S. adults bet money on sports over the past year. The report from the Pew Research Center shows that 19% of adults surveyed said they bet on sports. The most common way they did so involved bets with friends or family, such as a private betting pool, fantasy league or a casual bet; 15% say they bet this way. Only 8% say they made sports bets in person at a casino, racetrack or kiosk, and 6% did so online. A record 46.6 million Americans say they plan to bet on the current NFL season, according to the American Gaming Association.
Minor leaguers form union, 17 days after organizing began
NEW YORK (AP) — More than 5,500 minor league baseball players have formed a union, completing a lightning-fast organization campaign that launched just 17 days earlier in an effort to boost annual salaries as low as $10,400. Martin Scheinman, the sport’s independent arbitrator, notified Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association that a majority of the 5,567 players in the minor league bargaining unit had signed union authorization cards since the drive started Aug. 28. He did not provide the sides a specific number. MLB had agreed Saturday that it would voluntarily accept a union if there was majority support.
NFL on Prime Video latest foray by leagues into streaming
The NFL is set to make its debut with a streaming service on Thursday night. Amazon Prime Video will show the Los Angeles Chargers' game against the Kansas City Chiefs. It's the highest-profile of a series of deals between sports leagues and streaming services. NHL games will be shown on both ESPN+ and Hulu. Major League Baseball has deals with Apple TV+ and Peacock. Industry experts say viewers are becoming more comfortable with streaming games and advances in technology have made it seamless.