NFL
Zach Wilson showed he can still move New York’s offense as a backup but the Jets kicked off the Aaron Rodgers Era with a 21-16 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the Hall of Fame game. It was a battle of backups as both teams rested their starters in the NFL’s inaugural game of 2023. There was also a notable opening-night glitch as a power outage in Tom Benson Stadium caused about a 20-minute delay between the third and fourth quarters. Browns rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson rallied the Browns, who trailed 16-7 at halftime. Thompson-Robinson threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Austin Watkins Jr. with 9:33 left to put Cleveland ahead.
MLB
Anthony Volpe hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning, helping the New York Yankees to a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s American League Championship Series. Giancarlo Stanton and Billy McKinney hit back-to-back homers in the first inning for the Yankees, who beat the Astros at home for the first time since June 26, 2022. Houston completed its four-game ALCS sweep of New York with a pair of wins in the Bronx. Michael King (3-4), the third of five New York pitchers, earned the win with 1 2/3 innings of one-hit ball. Clay Holmes earned his 15th save. Kendall Graveman (3-5) took the loss.
Brady Singer tossed eight innings of three-hit ball and Bobby Witt Jr. and Drew Waters hit homers to help the Royals beat the Mets 9-2 to wrap up their second consecutive series sweep. Singer allowed only three singles without a walk while striking out four Thursday. Carlos Carrasco took the loss for the Mets after allowing six runs in six innings. The Royals had won just four of their first 33 series this season, but they squeaked out three wins over Minnesota before taking three from the Mets, a National League club they had never swept in franchise history.
Michael Lorenzen threw a season-high eight innings of two-run ball in his Phillies debut as Philadelphia beat the Miami Marlins 4-2. Acquired from the Detroit Tigers two days ago, Lorenzen scattered six hits and struck out five. J.T. Realmuto homered and singled after a bruised right hand forced the Phillies’ star catcher to miss the last two games. Bryce Harper had two hits for Philadelphia, which won three in the four-game series against its NL East and wild-card rivals. Miami’s Luis Arraez singled in four at-bats and his major league-leading batting average dropped to .377.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox were off last night, they’ll start a three-game home series against Toronto at 7:10 tonight.
Max Scherzer settled in after an unfortunate first inning to win his debut for the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out nine over six innings in a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. Four of Chicago’s first five batters reached base in a three-run first inning when Scherzer threw 37 pitches. Mitch Garver led off the Rangers' fourth against Touki Toussaint with a 457-foot homer to tie the game. Marcus Semien went deep later in the inning to put Texas ahead to stay. The Rangers got Scherzer, who is now 10-4, from the New York Mets in a trade last weekend.
Shohei Ohtani has been pulled from the mound by the Los Angeles Angels after only four innings due to cramps in his pitching hand and fingers. Ohtani pitched scoreless three-hit ball with four strikeouts against the Seattle Mariners, and he had thrown only 59 pitches. The Angels didn’t immediately announce why they had pulled the two-way superstar and frontrunner for his second AL MVP award after winning his second straight AL Player of the Month award this week. The start was Ohtani’s shortest of the season, not counting a two-inning outing in Boston caused by a lengthy rain delay. He hadn’t pitched fewer than five innings in any other start since August 2022.
WNBA
Diana Taurasi received a pass and in an instant, the shot was off her fingertips. It was a 3-pointer that splashed through the net, just like so many others. Taurasi became the first WNBA player to reach 10,000 points, hitting the mark with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night. After the shot, the crowd in Phoenix erupted in cheers and Taurasi’s teammates surrounded her in a circle, jumping up and down and celebrating. It was part of a vintage night for the 41-year-old Taurasi, who had a season-high 42 points in Phoenix's 91-71 victory. She started the night needing 18 points to make it to 10,000 — and finished at 10,024.
NBA
The Charlotte Hornets say the sale of the majority stake in the franchise from six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall has been finalized. The Hornets introduced Plotkin and Schnall at a news conference Thursday. They said there will be a focus on player development but they hope to attract more free agents as the organization experiences more success. Jordan, who owned the team for the past 13 years, said in a news release it has been a “tremendous honor” to own the Hornets but didn’t give an explanation for why he sold the team. Jordan will remain on as a minority owner.
WORLD CUP
In yesterday’s World Cup action, South Korea tied Germany 1-1 and Morocco topped Columbia 1-nil.
Two-time champion Germany was eliminated in a wild finale to the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, while low-ranked Morocco advanced to the knockout stage. Colombia also advanced as Group H winner to round off a slew of upsets in the opening weeks of the competition being held in Australia and New Zealand. A day earlier Jamaica eliminated another favorite in Brazil to advance to the round of 16. South Africa is also through to the next stage after its stoppage-time winner against Italy. But Germany’s early exit after a 1-1 draw with South Korea stands out as the biggest shock in a tournament full of shocks.
In Saturday’s matches, the first of the Round of 16, Switzerland will play Spain at 1 a.m. Eastern, Japan plays Norway at 4 a.m., Sweden and the U.S. play at 5 a.m., and the Netherlands play South Africa at 10 p.m.
NCAA
The Big Ten has joined the Big 12 in pushing the Pac-12 to the brink. Oregon and Washington are being courted by the Big Ten and Arizona was in serious talks to join the Big 12, people with direct knowledge of both discussions told The Associated Press. All spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing has been made official by the schools or conferences involved. None of the news bodes well for the Pac-12’s survival. The boards of regents for Arizona’s two biggest universities, along with the University of Washington, scheduled special meetings, ramping up speculation that more Pac-12 schools could leave the flailing conference.
One of the state agencies involved in the ongoing investigation of alleged sports wagering violations by Iowa and Iowa State athletes announced there is no evidence suggesting the integrity of any contest involving the schools was affected by gambling interests. That's according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. A total of seven current or former athletes at the two schools were criminally charged this week. All seven are charged with tampering with records and all are suspected of placing bets on contests involving their own schools. Four are alleged to have wagered on games involving their own teams.
WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Russell Henley still thinks about a poor finish that cost him the Wyndham Championship two years ago. Thursday was all about his great start. He shot 62. That gives him a one-shot lead over Adam Svensson and Byeong Hun An. All three are a lock for the PGA Tour postseason that begins next week. Adam Scott is not in that group. He's No. 81 in the FedEx Cup and only the top 70 advance after this week. Scott took a big step with a 65. Justin Thomas is No. 78 and he's stuck in neutral. He shot 70.
SARATOGA RACE COURSE
Eight new members of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs will be inducted this morning. The class includes jockey Corey Nakatani and horses Arrogate, California Chrome and Songbird. Also being inducted via the Historic Review Committee is jockey Fernando Toro, plus Pillars of the Turf selections John Hanes II, Leonard Jerome, and Stella Thayer. Arrogate, California Chrome and Songbird were elected in their first year on the ballot. Nakatani made his base on the West Coast and won nearly 4,000 races, including 10 Breeders’ Cup contests and 341 graded stakes.
It’s the fourth weekend of the Saratoga Race Course meeting. Friday’s highlights include the Grade II National Racing Museum Hall of Fame Stakes at eight furlongs and the Grade III Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational at 11 furlongs. Solo Album is the morning line favorite in the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton for three-year-old fillies, and More Than Looks is the morning line favorite in the $500,000 Hall of Fame Stakes for three-year-olds.
The $500,000 7-furlong Grade I Test Stakes for three-year-old fillies, the $1 million nine-furlong Grade I Whitney for four-year-old and older horses, and the $600,000 11-furlong Grade I Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes will be run Saturday.
Sunday’s top race is the $200,000 Grade III Adirondack Stakes, a six-and-a-half furlong race for two-year-old fillies.
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