NFL
C.J. Stroud had a short and at times shaky debut, Davis Mills threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to rookie Tank Dell and the Houston Texans beat the New England Patriots 20-9 in the teams’ preseason opener. Stroud was drafted second overall and played the first two series while going 2 of 4 for 13 yards with an interception. He rushed twice for 6 yards and was sacked once. Mills finished 9 of 12 for 99 yards while playing the balance of the opening half. Dalton Keene added a 1-yard touchdown run. Case Keenum had a 5-yard TD pass to Alex Bachman. The Patriots gave most of their projected starters the night off, including quarterback Mac Jones.
Seattle wide receiver Cade Johnson was taken to a hospital during halftime of the Seahawks’ preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings after suffering a concussion. Johnson was placed on a backboard as a precaution and transported to Harborview Medical Center for evaluation of head and neck injuries. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after the game that Johnson had suffered a concussion, but early tests showed no other findings beyond that. Johnson had full movement in his extremities. It was unclear if he would be spending the night in the hospital. Carroll said Johnson was hurt following a kickoff in the second quarter, although there was no obvious sign he was injured.
MLB
James Paxton worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and five Boston pitchers combined for the seven-hit shutout as the Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0. John Schreiber, Josh Winckowski and Chris Martin followed Paxton, and Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth inning for his 25th save as Boston moved five games over .500 at 60-55 and took three of four games from the Royals. Alex Verdugo hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to give Boston a 1-0 lead and Adam Duvall added an RBI double in the fifth. Austin Cox and Taylor Hearn worked the first three innings for Kanas City. Alec Marsh (0-6) went the final five innings, allowing two runs while striking out three.
Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto hit two-run homers, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals. The Phillies took three of the four games in the series from the Nationals and improved to a season-best 12 games over .500. The only sour note in Thursday’s victory for the Phillies was slugger Bryce Harper leaving the game in the top of the fifth inning with what the club called mid-back spasms. CJ Abrams, Joey Meneses, Keibert Ruiz and Ildemaro Vargas each had two hits for Washington (50-65). Vargas knocked in both Washington runs with two doubles.
The Yankees and Mets were off last night. The Yankees begin a three-game set against the Marlins in Miami at 6:40 tonight, and the Mets start a three-game home set against the Braves at 7:10 tonight.
Bruce Bochy returns to San Francisco's Oracle Park this weekend as manager of the Texas Rangers ready to face his former Giants in an interleague series. It will be Bochy's first time back in another uniform since managing San Francisco for 13 years and winning three World Series championships in 2010, ‘12 and ’14, and he's sure to receive a rousing ovation. He plans to thank as many people as he can during the visit.
In Thursday’s World Cup action, Salma Paralluelo has scored deep in extra time to give Spain a 2-1 win over the Netherlands and a spot in the Women's World Cup semifinals for the first time. The 19-year-old forward struck in the 111th minute of an epic quarterfinal match between European soccer heavyweights. She made her break down the left, pivoted momentarily and launched a left-foot shot into the back of the net for an historic match-winner. The Dutch lost the final to the U.S. in the 2019 Women's World Cup. Now both finalists and a string of highly-ranked teams are out of the 2023 edition being co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand.
Today, Sweden topped Japan in their quarterfinal match 2-1. Tomorrow, Australia and France play at 3 a.m., and England plays Columbia at 6:30 a.m. in the remaining quarterfinals matches
WNBA
Brittney Griner had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Mercury set a WNBA record for points in a quarter with 45 in the first before holding off the short-handed Connecticut Sun down the stretch for a 90-84 win. Phoenix broke the record of 44 points in a quarter set earlier this season by New York to build a 21-point lead. But the Mercury only scored seven points in the second to have their lead trimmed to 52-48 at the break. The 38-point difference was the largest drop-off in points from one quarter to the next in WNBA history.
NBA
The 2023 induction class will be honored Saturday night by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Among the dozen inductees are NBA greats Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwayne Wade and Tony Parker, longtime Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, women’s basketball titan Becky Hammon, late college basketball legend Jim Valvano, and the 1976 U.S women’s Olympic team. Gary Blair, Gene Bess, David Hixon and Gene Keady round out the class. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. at Symphony Hall in Springfield and will be carried live on NBA TV.
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS GAMBLING
Renowned gambler Billy Walters writes in his book that Phil Mickelson wagered more than $1 billion in the last 30 years. Walters' book is due out on Aug. 22. The Fire Pit Collective obtained the excerpt and its stunning allegations. They include Walters telling of a conversation in which Mickelson wanted him to bet $400,000 for him on the Americans winning the 2012 Ryder Cup. Mickelson played on that team. Walters says he talked him out of it. Mickelson said in a statement Thursday that he never bet on the Ryder Cup. Walters was sentenced to five years in prison for an insider trading case that involved Mickelson as a relief defendant.
NCAA FOOTBALL GAMBLING
Jirehl Brock and three other Iowa State football players along with three current or former Iowa football players and a student assistant have been charged in connection with the state’s investigation into illegal sports wagering at the two schools. A total of 15 football and basketball players and staffers with ties to the schools have been charged since last week in the ongoing investigation. Current athletes face a loss of eligibility for violating NCAA gambling rules. Brock and several other players are accused of tampering with records to disguise that they were under the legal betting age of 21 at the time they placed wagers.
FEDEX ST JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP
Jordan Spieth kept a clean card and clean pants in the rain-soaked opener to the PGA Tour postseason. Spieth chipped in for eagle on his way to a 63 in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. That gives him a one-shot lead over Tom Kim, who did what he could to stay clean. Kim rolled up his pants to make it look as though he were wearing capris. He already had one muddy day at the PGA Championship and didn't want a repeat. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler each had 67. Top-seeded Jon Rahm shot 73.
Collin Morikawa is pledging $1,000 for every birdie he makes the next three PGA Tour events to help with relief for the deadly fires in Hawaii. For him, it’s personal. Morikawa's grandparents were born in Lahaina and owned a restaurant there. Lahaina is a historic town on Maui and a popular tourist destination. It was the hardest hit by fires that have claimed at least 36 lives and destroyed fabled Front Street. Morikawa made six birdies Thursday in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He's hopeful others will pitch in and make pledges to raise as much money as possible.
GERMAN CUP - SOCCER
When Makkabi Berlin takes the field this weekend, the soccer club founded by Holocaust survivors will become the first Jewish team to play in the German Cup. Wolfsburg, which competes in the top tier of German soccer, will be the clear favorite against the office workers and other amateurs who play for Makkabi. But the small club whose blue and white crest features the Star of David made history just by reaching the tournament started under the Nazis. One of the co-founders, 85-year-old Marian Wajselfisz, still attends Makkabi’s games and says the team's qualification for the tournament is “a wonderful, wonderful thing, and all Jewish people are proud of it.”
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