U.S. OPEN
Novak Djokovic has won the U.S. Open for his 24th Grand Slam title by using every ounce of his energy and some serve-and-volley guile to get past Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final at Flushing Meadows. The 36 year—old Djokovic is a 36-year-old from Serbia whose triumph Sunday makes him the oldest man to win the U.S. Open in the professional era. He also moved one major singles title in front of Serena Williams to become the first player to win 24 entirely as a pro. Only Margaret Court also collected a total of 24, but 13 of those came before professionals were admitted to the Slam events. Medvedev had beaten Djokovic in the 2021 U.S. Open final, and Djokovic was unable to travel to New York last year because he wasn't vaccinated against COVID-19.
Now that Coco Gauff is a Grand Slam champion, she’s ready for stardom. She’s also eager for more. The 19-year-old from Florida said in an interview with the AP after winning the U.S. Open that she wants to experience that feeling again. So she plans to devote herself to improving as a player in order to keep collecting major championships. She says she knows she can perform better than she did while Gauff beating Aryna Sabalebka in Saturday's final 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Gauff won't give a number of Grand Slam titles she wants to earn, instead defining it this way: “As many as I can.” Anyone who would doubt Gauff clearly has not been paying attention. in an interview with the AP after winning the U.S. Open that she wants to experience that feeling again. So she plans to devote herself to improving as a player in order to keep collecting major championships.
NFL
Noah Igbinoghene returned a blocked field goal 58 yards for a touchdown on the opening series, DaRon Bland scored on a pick 6 later in the first quarter and the Dallas Cowboys embarrassed the New York Giants again, posting a season-opening 40-0 victory. It was the Cowboys' largest shutout win. Tony Pollard scored on two short touchdown runs and Dallas forced three turnovers and sacked Daniel Jones seven times in shutting down New York’s supposedly improved offense and beating the Giants for the fifth straight time and 12th in 13th meetings. The shutout was the largest between the teams.
Jalen Hurts threw a touchdown pass and Darius Slay had a 70-yard interception return for a score as the Philadelphia Eagles built a big early lead, then hung on at the finish to beat the New England Patriots 25-20. The Eagles capitalized on two early turnovers by the Patriots, spoiling a day in which New England honored former quarterback Tom Brady at halftime. Hurts was 22 of 33 for 170 yards and the TD but had a costly fumble in fourth quarter that gave the Patriots a chance. New England’s Mac Jones finished 35 of 54 for 316 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Brock Purdy threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers drilled the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7. Christian McCaffrey ran for 151 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers, who built an early 20-point lead and cruised. Kenny Pickett passed for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Steelers.
Aaron Rogers and the Jets take on Josh Allen and the Bills at 8:15 tonight in New Jersey.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he had butterflies before his preseason debut with his new team a few weeks ago. And they’ll be back Monday night when the Jets open the regular season against the AFC East-rival Buffalo Bills in front of a home crowd at MetLife Stadium with a primetime audience watching. Even the game’s greatest players have moments when they need to get their emotions in check. Rodgers has learned how to handle pressure during his long NFL career spent largely in the spotlight.
Tom Brady ran out of the tunnel in front of a screaming New England crowd one more time. He returned to the place where he established himself as one of the NFL’s greatest to thank the fans for “another day in this stadium that I will never forget.” With the six Super Bowl trophies he won for New England behind him, Brady took the stage set up on the field at halftime of the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and declared himself “a Patriot for life.” Brady led the Patriots to six NFL titles before leaving as a free agent in 2020 in a bitter breakup with coach Bill Belichick. Brady then led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a championship.
MLB
DJ Stewart hit a two-run double in the ninth inning and To Major League Baseball where, the New York Mets overcame a career-high 14 strikeouts by Minnesota starter Pablo López to beat the Twins 2-0 and avoid a three-game sweep. López went eight innings for the Twins, who have a 7 1/2-game lead in the AL Central over Cleveland. Stewart doubled to right-center off reliever Griffin Jax, who took over for López in the ninth. Francisco Lindor led off with a bloop double and Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch — the third time a Mets batter was plunked in the game. Stewart connected on a full count two batters later. Adam Ottavino allowed a leadoff double in the ninth to Carlos Correa but held on for his ninth save.
Milwaukee rookie Sal Frelick preserved a no-hit bid with a leaping catch in the 10th inning that kept the game scoreless, the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Brewers 4-3 when Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer in the 12th and Kyle Higashioka hit a winning double in the 13th. After Corbin Burnes pitched eight hitless innings and Devin Williams worked a 1-2-3 ninth. With two on in the 10th, Anthony Volpe hit a drive to right and Frelick leaped against the wall, catching the ball as he elbowed center fielder Joey Wiemer in the mouth.
Triston Casas hit a three-run homer and the Boston Red Sox averted a three-game sweep with a rain-delayed 7-3 victory over AL-best Baltimore that halted the Orioles’ seven-game winning streak. Reese McGuire added an RBI triple and Rafael Devers a run-scoring single for the Red Sox, who stopped their four-game losing streak. Boston is six games behind Seattle for the last AL wild card. Closing in on their first playoff berth since 2016 and looking for their first division title in nine years, the Orioles lead second-place Tampa Bay by three games in the AL East.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and the Miami Marlins, held hitless until the seventh, rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Dane Myers broke up a no-hit bid by Phillies starter Ranger Suárez with a one-out double in the seventh. Yuli Gurriel drove in two runs for the Marlins, who pulled within a half-game of Arizona for the final National League wild card. Miami has won eight of 10 after taking two of three games from Philadelphia. Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber homered for the defending NL champion Phillies, who began the day three games in front of the Chicago Cubs for the league’s top wild card.
Yankees rookie Jasson Domínguez has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow and needs Tommy John surgery, interrupting an impressive start to his major league career that included four home runs in his first seven games. The prized 20-year-old center fielder was scheduled to bat third for New York in Sunday’s series finale against Milwaukee but was scratched about 15 minutes before the first pitch. Afterward, manager Aaron Boone said Domínguez went for a scan during the game, which revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The switch-hitter launched a two-run homer Friday, becoming the youngest player since at least 1901 to homer four times in his first seven games.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Brittney Sykes scored on a lob pass at the buzzer to lift the Washington Mystics to a 90-88 win over the New York Liberty to close out the regular season. Sykes finished with 20 points. She caught an inbounds pass from Natasha Cloud in the lane and put it in before the buzzer, ending the Liberty’s eight-game winning streak and any chance New York had for the top seed in the playoffs. The teams will meet in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, with Game 1 on Friday in New York. The final play was set up after Breanna Stewart blocked Elena Delle Donne’s shot on the baseline with 0.5 seconds remaining.
In a regular-season finale where Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas set several league records, Courtney Williams finished with a triple-double, scoring six of her 23 points in overtime, to rally the Chicago Sky to a 102-91 victory over the Sun. Chicago, which and clinched the final playoff spot on Friday with a 92-87 victory over the Minnesota Lynx. The Sky will open on the road against the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday night. No. 3 seed Connecticut will host the sixth-seeded Minnesota Lynx in a first-round opener, also on Wednesday night.
Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces will have homecourt advantage throughout the WNBA playoffs — a place they only lost once this season. The defending champions wrapped up the top seed in the postseason before they even stepped on the court Sunday by virtue of New York’s last-second loss to Washington. Las Vegas will open up the best-of-three first round series Wednesday night against eighth-seeded Chicago, which enters the postseason for a fifth straight year. The other half of Las Vegas’ bracket features fourth-seeded Dallas against No. 5 Atlanta. The Lynx will play at Connecticut on Wednesday night also to open up that series. The second-seeded Liberty play Washington on Friday night.
SOCCER
Suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has resigned after kissing a player on the lips in a controversy which overshadowed Spain winning the Women’s World Cup for the first time. Rubiales announced his resignation Sunday in a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia. The player said it was without her consent. Prosecutors presented their case for potential criminal charges against Rubiales to Spain’s National Court in Madrid on Friday, two days after Hermoso formally accused him of sexual assault. Rubiales says the kiss was consensual.
FIBA BASKETBALL WORLD CUP
The United States has placed fourth in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, falling to Canada 127-118 in overtime yesterday. Germany took the title by beating Serbia, 83-77.
NCAA
Michigan State has suspended football coach Mel Tucker after allegations became public that he sexually harassed an activist and rape survivor during a phone call last year. The university's president and athletic director announced the suspension pending the results of an outside investigation into the allegations. The school hired a Title IX attorney to investigate Brenda Tracy’s complaint and the investigation concluded on July 25. A hearing is scheduled for the week of Oct. 5 determine if Tucker violated the school’s sexual harassment and exploitation policy. Secondary coach Harlon Barnett will serve as the team’s interim coach and former coach Mark Dantonio was named associate head coach while Tucker awaits his fate.
Texas jumped to No. 4 in The Associated Press college football poll after beating Alabama and the Pac-12 became just the second conference to place as many as eight teams in an AP Top 25. Georgia received 55 first-place votes to remain the clear No. 1. Michigan is No. 2, with two-first place votes. No. 3 Florida State received three first-place votes and moved up a spot. Texas got two-first place votes. The Longhorns are in the top five for the first time since starting the 2010 season at No. 5 while Alabama dropped to No. 10.
The hype is coming for the Texas Longhorns like it hasn’t in years. That's what happens when you knock off Alabama on the road and get your first win over a top-five team in 15 years. The Longhorns, who vaulted seven spots to No. 4 in the AP poll following that 34-24 win, seem determined not to get swept up in it. It’s still early September, after all. Alabama fell from third to 10th. As wide receiver Xavier Worthy said, “We're on to Wyoming.” That's the next, much less-hyped matchup.
NASCAR
Tyler Reddick took advantage of a late caution and fresh tires to rocket past six others in a two-lap sprint to win at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. He also punched his ticket to the next round of the playoffs with the NASCAR Cup Series win. Reddick's car owner, Denny Hamlin, got a poor jump when the green flag dropped and was unable to chase Reddick down and finished second. Erik Jones held on for third and Kyle Larson, who won at Darlington last week, marched through the field in the closing laps to finish fourth. The playoff cut-off for the round of 12 happens next weekend at Bristol.
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