Griner sent to Russian penal colony to serve sentence
MOSCOW (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner's lawyers say she has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession. A Russian court rejected an appeal of her nine-year sentence last month. The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury was convicted Aug. 4. Police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner’s arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington. The politically charged case could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow.
Georgia is new CFP No. 1, followed by Ohio St, Michigan, TCU
Georgia was the new No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, followed by Ohio State, Michigan and TCU. The Bulldogs rise from three to one was no surprise after their dominant victory against the previously top-ranked Volunteers. Clemson, which was No. 4 in the selection committee’s first rankings last week, also lost. That cleared the way for changes in the top four. Ohio State stayed at two. The Buckeyes’ Big Ten rival, Michigan moved up from five to three. TCU jumped three spots to No. 4, putting the nation’s four unbeatens at the top of the rankings. Tennessee fell to No. 5.
AP source: Suspended Kyrie Irving meets with Adam Silver
NEW YORK (AP) — A person with knowledge of the meeting says suspended Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The Nets banned Irving for at least five games without pay on Thursday after he refused to say he had no antisemitic beliefs. That came hours after Silver said Irving made a “reckless decision” to post a link on his Twitter feed to a film that contains antisemitic material and said he would be meeting with him within a week. They finally did on Tuesday, the person told The Associated Press, speaking on anonymity because the meeting and its details were private.
Oilers' Kane cut on wrist by skate blade, taken to hospital
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Edmonton forward Evander Kane was cut on the left wrist by a skate blade and taken to the hospital with a frightening injury during the Oilers’ 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Oilers said Kane was in stable condition and scheduled to undergo a procedure Tuesday night. Kane got tangled with Lightning defenseman Philippe Myers just inside the Edmonton defensive zone and while on the ice was cut by Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon’s skate blade 3:27 into the second period. Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist for Edmonton.
Cowboys' McCarthy senses emotions with Green Bay return near
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is in tune with the emotions of returning to Green Bay. McCarthy won a Super Bowl with the Packers 12 years ago. He's in his third season with the Cowboys and four years removed from a midseason firing in Green Bay. McCarthy says the unhappy ending left a “dent” for him and his family. He says he's had time to get over it. The playoff-contending Cowboys and struggling Packers play Sunday.
NFL scoring down to lowest level since 2010 at halfway point
Halfway through the 2022 season it appears NFL defenses have finally started catching up. After a five-year run of hot-shot quarterbacks lighting up scoreboards and leaving defenses with few answers, the pendulum has turned away from the offense for a change. The 21.8 points per game average through nine weeks is the lowest at this stage of the season since 2010, when teams averaged 21.7 points per game. Scoring is down a staggering 3.5 points per game from this point two years ago when offenses peaked in partly empty stadiums due to the pandemic, and 1.6 points per game from last season.
Golden Knights beat Maple Leafs 4-3 in OT, win 8th straight
TORONTO (AP) — Reilly Smith scored his second goal of the game 23 seconds into overtime and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 for their eighth straight win. Jack Eichel and Nicolas Roy also scored for Vegas, which has won 12 of 14 this season. William Karlsson had two assists and Logan Thompson stopped 28 shots. Timothy Liljegren scored twice and Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist for Toronto, and Erik Kallgren made 16 saves. The Maple Leafs snapped a three-game win streak. In the extra period, Smith took a breakaway pass from Shea Theodore and roofed a backhand on Kallgren for his seventh of the season.
After winning NAIA title, ex-teammates making giant leap
MILWAUKEE (AP) — They overcame the ravages of a hurricane to win a national title at their old school. Now former Loyola New Orleans teammates Zach Wrightsil, Myles Burns and Brandon Davis are aiming for one more improbable achievement. They are attempting to make the leap from their NAIA program and succeed at the NCAA Division I level. Burns is at Mississippi, Davis at Texas State and Wrightsil at Marquette. The NAIA doesn’t keep track of how many players transfer from one of its schools to the NCAA Division I level. But the moves Burns and Wrightsil are making seem particularly rare as they go straight to one of the six major conferences.
This year's World Series is 2nd-least watched on TV
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Houston Astros’ six-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies finished as the second least-watched World Series on television. The six games averaged 11,784,000 on Fox, down 1.3% from the 11,940,000 for the Atlanta Braves’ six-game win over the Astros last year and ahead of only the 9,946,000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ six-game victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020. Houston’s 3-1 win in Game 6 on Saturday night was seen by 12,549,000 viewers on Fox, down 11% from 14,140,000 Atlanta’s 7-0 victory over the Astros in last year’s finale, played on a Tuesday night.
Blatter says picking Qatar as World Cup host was a 'mistake'
GENEVA (AP) — Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says picking Qatar to host the World Cup was a mistake 12 years ago. Blatter led FIFA at the time of the vote and says soccer and the World Cup are too big for a country as small as Qatar. He repeated his claim that key votes for Qatar were swayed by a 2010 meeting in Paris between then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy and FIFA vice president Michel Platini. The 86-year-old Blatter spoke with a Swiss newspaper group. It was his first major interview since being acquitted with Platini in July of financial misconduct at FIFA.