Curry scores 47, Warriors beat Kings to end 5-game skid
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored a season-high 47 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 116-113 to snap a five-game losing streak. Andrew Wiggins had 25 points and Klay Thompson added 16 for the Warriors before Curry made two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to secure the win. Draymond Green added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Green threw down a dunk with 37 seconds left to stretch the Golden State lead to three. Curry, Thompson, Green and Wiggins returned to the lineup after not playing against New Orleans on Friday.
Drake, Houston lead Ravens past Saints for 3rd straight win
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kenyan Drake rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns, Justin Houston had an interception to go with his third straight multiple-sack game, and the Baltimore Ravens beat the New Orleans Saints 27-13. Lamar Jackson passed for a touchdown and frustrated New Orleans with his mobility, rushing for 82 yards and exhibiting an array of jump cuts and spin moves. Baltimore won its third straight and remained atop the AFC North at 6-3, one game ahead of Cincinnati. The Saints fell to 3-6 and were outclassed by a Baltimore team missing several offensive starters. The Ravens converted 9 of 15 third downs.
Reich out, Saturday in as Colts try to fix stagnant offense
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts have hired former All-Pro center Jeff Saturday as interim coach after firing coach Frank Reich. The move came after another lackluster offensive performance in the team’s third consecutive loss. The Colts announced the moves one day after an ugly 26-3 loss at New England. Reich was hired in 2018 after serving as offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles. He led the Colts to the playoffs in two of his first four seasons. Saturday's only coaching experience came at a Georgia high school. He's served as a team consultant and an ESPN commentator most recently.
Judge, Ohtani among 3 finalists for AL MVP award next week
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Yordan Alvarez are the finalists for American League MVP in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. St. Louis Cardinals teammates Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt remain contenders for NL MVP, along with San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado. Balloting was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season, and winners will be announced next week. Justin Verlander of the World Series champion Astros is a heavy favorite to win his third Cy Young Award. Dylan Cease of the White Sox and Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays are the other AL Cy Young finalists. Miami ace Sandy Alcantara, Atlanta left-hander Max Fried and Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Julio Urías are the top three vote-getters for the NL Cy Young Award.
Young sits, but Murray, Hawks hand Bucks 1st loss of season
ATLANTA (AP) — Dejounte Murray scored 25 points, rookie A.J. Griffin came off the bench in Trae Young’s absence to add a career-high 24 and the Atlanta Hawks snapped the Milwaukee Bucks’ season-opening, nine-game winning streak with a 117-98 victory. Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a one-game absence with a sore left knee to score 25 points for the Bucks, who were attempting to become the first team to begin a season 10-0 since the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors got off to a 24-0 start. Young, Atlanta’s leader in points and assists, missed the game with right shin soreness.
World Cup ambassador: Homosexuality is 'damage in the mind'
BERLIN (AP) — An ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar has described homosexuality as a “damage in the mind” in an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF only two weeks before the opening of the soccer tournament in the Gulf state. Former Qatari national team player Khalid Salman told a German reporter in an interview that being gay is “haram.” That means forbidden in Arabic. He also says he has a problem with children seeing gay people. Excerpts of the television interview were shown Monday on the ZDF news program Heute Journal. The full interview will be shown Tuesday on ZDF. About 1.2 million international visitors are expected in Qatar for the tournament.
World Cup has 3 women set to referee matches in Qatar
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita knows that being one of three women picked to officiate matches at the World Cup is more than just about soccer. Stephanie Frappart of France and Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda must be of the same mind. It will be the first time a woman will be in charge on the game’s biggest stage. The three women are in a pool of 36 referees listed for Qatar. The rest are all men. FIFA has also named three female assistant referees. They are Neuza Back of Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico and Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States.
Duke's Scheyer focuses on enjoying moment in coaching debut
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke's Jon Scheyer focused on enjoying the moment as he led the seventh-ranked Blue Devils past Jacksonville in their season opener. It marked Scheyer's debut as the successor to retired Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski. Scheyer said he took a moment before the game to collect his thoughts and enjoy the opportunity. But he said he didn't talk about his debut to the team beforehand. Scheyer is a former Blue Devils player who won a national championship under Krzyzewski. The school named Scheyer as Coach K's successor in June 2021.
No. 1 Tar Heels hold down UNCW in opening win
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece and No. 1 North Carolina began a season of grand expectations by pulling away from UNC Wilmington in a 69-56 victory Monday night. Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps most impressive at the defensive end. UNCW shot just 29.8 % from the field. The Tar Heels, who were the NCAA tournament runner-up last season, began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years. Trazarien White scored 19 points for UNCW, which was faced a top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
Bills QB Allen's status uncertain with throwing elbow injury
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen is nursing a sore right throwing elbow, leaving cause for concern over the Buffalo Bills starter’s status against the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings this weekend. Coach Sean McDermott would only say he’s awaiting the results of tests to determine the severity of the injury sustained a day earlier in a 20-17 loss to the New York Jets. McDermott said it was premature to say whether Allen could practice this week or play before adding he would never count him out. If Allen is unavailable for this weekend, the AFC-leading Bills would turn to veteran backup Case Keenum to face the Vikings.