NFL
Jalen Hurts ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw a 63-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards and a score, and the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles held off the turnover-prone Minnesota Vikings 34-28. Hurts shook off a sluggish passing performance in the first half when he connected with Smith for the scoring strike in the third quarter that made it 27-7. It almost wasn’t enough as Kirk Cousins tried to rally the Vikings late. But Minnesota couldn't overcome four lost fumbles as it fell to 0-2. The Eagles are 2-0.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers says on Instagram he had surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon on Wednesday. Rodgers' post Thursday night includes a picture of him smiling in a blue medical cap and gown in a hospital bed with his left foot clearly bruised. Rodgers said the surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon based in Los Angeles who has worked with numerous professional athletes during his career. Rodgers is out for the season after tearing his Achilles tendon on the fourth snap of his debut with his new team Monday night, a 22-16 overtime victory over Buffalo.
A Memphis, Tennessee, couple who took in former NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher when he was in high school denied in court documents filed Thursday that they used a legal agreement between them to get rich at his expense and lied about intending to adopt him. Lawyers for Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy filed a response to Oher’s Aug. 14 request for a judge to end a conservatorship signed in 2004 when Oher was an 18-year-old high school football player. Oher had a troubled childhood and moved in with the Tuohys, in a story that was the subject of the film “The Blind Side.”
MLB
Kodai Senga struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, Jeff McNeil and Jonathan Araúz homered, and the New York Mets continued playing the spoiler with an 11-1 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks dropped the final three games of a four-game series against the Mets to fall into a tie for the third NL wild-card spot in the National League with Cincinnati and San Francisco. Senga (11-7) gave up two hits, walked two and lowered his ERA to 2.95. Merrill Kelly (11-7) allowed seven runs and struck out seven in five innings.
The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox split a doubleheader yesterday. The Red Sox beat the Yankees in the first game, 5-nothing, and the Yankees defeated the Red Sox in the night cap 8-5.
Aaron Judge hit a grand slam, DJ LeMahieu broke an eighth-inning tie with an RBI double, and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 8-5 to split a doubleheader. New York's Oswald Peraza hit his first career homer, a two-run shot in the ninth. The Yankees who won three of four at Boston to draw even with their rival at the bottom of the AL East. Earlier Thursday, the Red Sox fired Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom after nearly four seasons, then beat the Yankees 5-0 in the twinbill opener. Tanner Houck pitched six strong innings and registered his first win since April.
Luke Raley hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and Tampa Bay’s remarkable bullpen retired everyone it faced in the Rays’ 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night in the opener of a huge series at Camden Yards. The Rays pulled within a game of first-place Baltimore in the AL East, and their relievers extended their streak to 34 innings without an earned run. Ryan O’Hearn and Gunnar Henderson homered for the Orioles, but with the game tied at 3, Raley hit a drive to center field off Kyle Bradish for his 19th home run of the year.
The Boston Red Sox have fired Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom as the team stumbles toward a third last-place finish in four seasons. The team made the announcement before the start of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, who took the first two games of the series to drop Boston into a tie for last. Bloom was hired from the Tampa Bay Rays to help revive the farm system and bring financial stability to a team that was one of baseball’s biggest spenders. One of his first actions was to trade 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, on a mandate from ownership to get the payroll in order.
Ronald Acuña Jr. has the kind of numbers that make the young Atlanta Braves star a no-doubter for the National League MVP award. Then again, so does Dodgers standout Mookie Betts and his teammate, Freddie Freeman. It’s getting close to the postseason for Major League Baseball, which also means it’s close to award season. Some of the races are closer than others and it appears the NL MVP race is a particularly epic chase. Acuña has been the favorite for months. He’s the catalyst for a robust Braves offense that leads the big leagues by scoring nearly six runs per game.
The Phillies were off last night. They start a three-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis at 8:15 tonight.
SOCCER
The players in Spain’s women’s soccer league have called off a strike after reaching a deal to increase minimum wage. The first set of games was not played last weekend because of the strike. This weekend's matches will now go ahead as scheduled. The deal will increase the minimum salary from $17,100 to $22,500. The strike coincided with the scandal caused by Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales when he kissed a national team player on the lips without her consent during the Women’s World Cup awards ceremony. Rubiales has since resigned.
GOLF
Justin Thomas scuffled through an uneven afternoon with a 3-under 69 in his return to the PGA Tour following a lengthy layoff, leaving him six shots off the lead Thursday in the first round of the Fortinet Championship. Thomas, the former No. 1 player in the world who was a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup, had hoped to clean up his game in a final tune-up, but wasn’t nearly as sharp at Silverado Resort as he hoped. Playing for the first time since finishing 12th at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 6, Thomas made four birdies and worked around a bogey on the par-4 ninth. He was tied for 20th, chasing Lucas Herbert, the leader after a 6-under 63.
Europe’s 12 Ryder Cup players have delivered a mixed bag of scores in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship. None of them were better than Marcus Helligkilde. The No. 232-ranked Dane made seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch then closed with three in a row to shoot an 8-under 64 and take a two-stroke lead at the European tour’s flagship event. Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Ludvig Åberg (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (68) posted the best rounds of the Europeans heading to Rome for the Ryder Cup in two weeks. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm shot 72 and 71, respectively.
WNBA PLAYOFFS
Washington plays at New York at 7:30 tonight, and Atlanta is at Dallas tonight at 9:30.
NCAA
The University at Albany men's basketball team is bringing in ex-University of Buffalo head coach Jim Whitesell as an assistant coach. The Great Danes announced the move today/Thursday. Whitesell spent the last four seasons at Buffalo, amassing a 70-49 record and leading the school to its second-ever NIT appearance in 2021. Head coach Dwayne Killings also says former Great Dane Matt Cerruti is returning as video coordinator. He played as a graduate transfer in 2021-22 before a brief pro career.
Colorado State coach Jay Norvell just heated up the rivalry with No. 18 Colorado by taking a poke at Deion Sanders. Norvell made a reference on his show to Sanders’ tendency to wear a hat and sunglasses at news conferences. Norvell says that "when I talked to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off.” Norvell also mentioned how his players had a “chip on their shoulder” after conducting interviews with ESPN in advance of the game dubbed the “Rocky Mountain Showdown.” The Rams are the underdog on Saturday night against Colorado at sold out Folsom Field.
STEENKAMP DIES
Barry Steenkamp, the father of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman who was fatally shot by Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius, has died. He was 80. Family lawyer and spokesperson Tania Koen confirmed his death. A foundation set up by the Steenkamp family in memory of Reeva said Barry Steenkamp died in his sleep on Thursday evening. The foundation said: "we find solace in the knowledge that he is now with his beloved Reeva.” Barry Steenkamp cut a grieving and sometimes angry figure at Pistorius' murder trial and said this year on the 10th anniversary of his daughter's killing that he had not forgiven Pistorius.
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