OLYMPICS
With six points in two seconds, the U.S. Olympic team was on its way. To a comeback. To a win. And to another Olympic gold medal game. Stephen Curry scored 36 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:16 left, and the U.S. will play for gold in the Paris Olympics against host France at 3:30 Saturday afternoon after beating Serbia 95-91. The U.S. trailed by 17 points in the first half, plus faced an 11-point halftime deficit — the biggest one successfully overcome by an American team since NBA players were added to the Olympic mix in 1992. France, meanwhile, beat Germany 73-69. Curry says “that was a special one.”
Someone is going to have a very difficult task on Saturday. Someone is going to have to place a medal around the neck of a man who is every bit of 7-foot-4 and looks to still be growing. Victor Wembanyama has a new accolade. He’s an Olympic medalist. The only question is whether it’ll be gold or silver, something that’ll be determined Saturday night in the final game of the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Games. France is headed back to its second consecutive Olympic gold-medal contest, after beating Germany 73-69 in the first of two semifinals on Thursday.
Noah Lyles lost the Olympic 200 meters, falling to Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, then collapsing on the track and being carted off in a wheelchair. Later, wearing a mask, Lyles told reporters he had COVID. After crossing the line third, Lyles fell to his back and writhed around in pain, staying down for nearly 30 seconds before getting up, asking for water and getting to the wheelchair. Elsewhere, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own record and won gold again in the women's 400 hurdles; Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts went 1-2 for the U.S. in the 110 hurdles. Tara Davis-Woohall of the U.S. won gold in the long jump.
MLB
Jo Adell hit a bases-clearing double with two outs in a six-run fifth inning, Tyler Anderson retired Aaron Judge three times in six strong innings pitched and the Los Angeles Angels withstood rainy conditions for a 9-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night. Nolan Schanuel hit a leadoff homer and had an RBI single off Nestor Cortes before the Angels put together a six-run inning for the second straight game. Kevin Pillar hit a two-run single and Mickey Moniak capped the inning with an RBI single as the Angels totaled 27 hits in the last two games of the series.
Pete Alonso hit two home runs, David Peterson gave up one earned run across five innings and the New York Mets rolled past the Colorado Rockies 9-1 on Thursday to wrap up a three-game series. Mark Vientos hit his 17th homer of the season, Jose Iglesias had two RBIs, and Francisco Lindor had two hits and an RBI for the Mets, who moved a half-game ahead of the division rival Atlanta Braves for the sixth and final playoff spot in the National League playoff standings.
Bryce Harper had three hits, Trea Turner added a go-ahead, two-run single and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 on Thursday night. Philadelphia has won four of its last five, bouncing back from a six-game losing streak. The Phillies took control with a four-run sixth inning, rallying for the 4-1 lead. Weston Wilson brought home the game-tying run with an RBI single, Turner singled home two runs for the lead and Harper capped the run with a shallow RBI single to right center. Arizona's Jake McCarthy hit a two-run homer and added an RBI single.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered for the 10th time in 20 games and drove in four runs, Kevin Gausman pitched eight innings to win his fourth straight decision and the Toronto Blue Jays survived a late rally to beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-6. Guerrero came within a single of hitting for the cycle. He hit an RBI double off Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer in the first inning, extending his season-long hitting streak to 20 games. Guerrero flew out to end the second, then hit a two-run homer in the fifth, his 23rd. Guerrero capped his night with an RBI triple.
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and former Cardinal Dylan Carlson drove in two runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays avoid a sweep by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4. Brent Rortvedt added three hits for the Rays. Richard Lovelady (3-4) pitched one inning for the win and Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 24 opportunities. Nolan Arenado drove in a run, scored twice and had three hits for St. Louis. Paul Goldschmidt drove in two runs for the Cardinals. JoJo Romero (5-2) took the loss.
Mitch Haniger hit a game-ending three-run double as the Seattle Mariners rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3. Luke Raley, who homered in the bottom of the sixth to get Seattle on the scoreboard after Detroit led 3-0, opened the ninth with a single against Luke Holton. Will Vest (2-4) then relieved and gave up a single to Randy Arozarena before striking out the next two batters. After Jorge Polanco walked to load the bases, Haniger hit a fly ball that got past Tigers right fielder Ryan Vilade to clear the bases and give the Mariners the win. It was Haniger’s franchise-leading eighth walk-off. Reliever J.T. Chargois (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win. With division-leading Houston off, Seattle pulled back into a tie with the Astros atop the AL West.
Michael Conforto’s two-run single highlighted a four-run 10th inning and the San Francisco Giants beat the Washington Nationals 9-5 on Thursday after squandering a three-run lead in the ninth inning. Mark Canha hit a bases-loaded double, his fourth hit of the game, that snapped a 2-all tie and gave the Giants a 5-2 lead in the top of the ninth. In the bottom half of the ninth, Luis Garcia Jr. hit a three run homer with two out off Giants’ closer Camilo Duval that tied the game and forced extra innings. Giants’ closer Camilo Duval earned the win. Robert Garcia took the loss.
Luis Arráez hit an RBI double to cap a three-run ninth inning that put the San Diego Padres ahead for a 7-6 win and series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. With San Diego down 5-4, Pirates closer David Bednar gave up two runs before being pulled after Arráez hit a double to right. Bednar gave up a tying homer to Merrill in ninth of a 9-8 loss that went 10 innings Wednesday. San Diego has won five straight and 14 of 16 to move within 2 1/2 games of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead. The Pirates have lost four in a row and six of seven.
Milwaukee rookie Jackson Chourio hit two two-run home runs, part of a six-homer, 20-hit barrage by the Brewers as they swept the Atlanta Braves with a 16-7 victory. This was just the fourth sweep of the Braves for the NL Central-leading Brewers and second in Atlanta. The other was in 2016. The Braves, who gave up 36 hits over the past two games and were outscored 34-12 in this series, are on a five-game losing streak after Thursday. The Brewers also received home runs from William Contreras, Garrett Mitchell, Willy Adames and Jake Bauers.
TJ Friedl homered and drove in three runs, Elly De La Cruz had three hits and stole his major league-leading 59th base, and Jeimer Candelario hit a two-run single during a seven-run 10th inning as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Miami Marlins 10-4. Tyler Stephenson walked with the bases loaded to snap a 3-3 tie in the 10th. Buck Farmer (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief as the Reds took three of four in the series. Marlins reliever Emmanuel Ramirez (0-1) faced six batters in the 10th without recording an out.
Meantime, the Red Sox were off last night, and kick off their next homestand with the first of three against the Astros at 7:10 tonight.
NFL PRESEASON
Tommy DeVito replaced an injured Drew Lock late in the first quarter and led New York on two first-half scoring drives that Eric Gray capped with runs of 48 and 1 yard as the Giants beat the Detroit Lions 14-3 in a preseason opener limited to mostly backups. With the game played in a light rain Thursday night, neither Dan Campbell of the NFC North champion Lions nor Brian Daboll of the Giants was going to risk their starters in the contest at MetLife Stadium, close to where the teams held two of fight-filled joint practices on Monday and Tuesday.
Drake Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, played one series in his debut with New England on Thursday night, and the Patriots played their first game in 24 years without Bill Belichick as coach, beating the Carolina Panthers 17-3 in a preseason game. New England’s new coach, 38-year-old Jerod Mayo, dressed in a white short-sleeved Patriots’ pullover, became the NFL’s youngest coach when he was hired on Jan. 12, one day after Belichick agreed to depart as coach and left the organization. It was the first time since Jan. 2, 2000, that the Patriots played without Belichick on the sideline. He led them to six Super Bowl titles. Carolina also played its first game under a new coach, with Dave Canales making his debut as the franchise’s seventh.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' declaration that he “doesn't have any urgency” to resolve a contract dispute with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb drew an immediate response, with Lamb posting “lol” on social media. Lamb is holding out of training camp as he seeks a new deal. The 25-year-old Lamb is in the final year of his rookie contract after leading the NFL in receptions last season. Quarterback Dak Prescott — going into the final year of his own contract — delivered pointed support of Lamb following Jones’ remarks. Following his press conference, Prescott said to reporters in a joking manner, “I know y’all want to ask, I got urgency for it to happen.”
The first week of joint practices at NFL training camps already has included one player getting carted off the field and two teams getting fined $200,000 each for excessive fighting. Those events lent credence to the notion that joint practice sessions don’t need to last longer than one day. The idea is growing in popularity. Over two-thirds of the scheduled joint practice sessions this year are one-day affairs. Nearly 80% of the 2023 joint practices lasted two days.
The Chicago Bears will use their starters in Saturday's preseason game at Buffalo, which means the first NFL action for quarterback Caleb Williams. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft and the other starters were held out of the Hall of Fame Game last week. There will be a limited number of plays for the first-team offense. Coach Matt Eberflus called it a good time for Williams to face a live rush and to try to run the offense without penalties or other mistakes. The team's offensive line health has improved since earlier in the week and the only O-line starter who appears unlikely to play is right guard Nate Davis.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sat out the team’s joint practice with the Washington Commanders as a precaution because of inclement weather. With heavy rain moving through the area at the start of the practice, coach Robert Saleh pulled Rodgers from participating. The 40-year-old Rodgers is coming off a torn left Achilles tendon that ended his season last year after just four snaps. He has been healthy, participated fully in every previous practice and looked good on the field during training camp this summer. The Jets and Commanders play their preseason opener Saturday at MetLife Stadium. Saleh previously said Rodgers wouldn’t play in that or the second preseason game.
GOLF
Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, a Hall of Fame golfer whose antics on the greens and inspiring life story made him among the sport’s most popular players during a long professional career, died Thursday. He was 88. Rodriguez’s death was announced by Carmelo Javier Ríos, a senator in Rodriguez’s native Puerto Rico. Rodriguez said he learned to play golf by hitting tin cans with a guava tree stick and then found work as a caddie. He served in the U.S. Army from 1955-57 and joined the PGA Tour in 1960 and won eight times during his 21-year career, playing on one Ryder Cup team.
HORSE RACING
The New York Racing Association has canceled racing at Saratoga Race Course today with the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby impacting the region. NYRA says fans with tickets for the day are entitled to either a full refund or credit for a future purchase, and will be contacted by the NYRA sales office. Tickets purchased via third-party sites are not eligible for a refund from NYRA and customers should contact the vendor. Racing is slated to resume Saturday at Saratoga with the first post at 12:35 p.m.
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