U.S. OPEN
Jannik Sinner has defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with a relentless baseline game to win the U.S. Open men’s championship less than three weeks after being exonerated in a doping case. The No. 1-ranked Sinner is a 23-year-old from Italy whose victory Sunday gave him the second Grand Slam trophy of his nascent career. The other was at the Australian Open in January. Sinner also prevented No. 12 Fritz from ending a major title drought for American men that has lasted 21 years. Andy Roddick’s triumph at Flushing Meadows in 2003 was the last Slam title for a man from the United States.
On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka defeated American and Buffalo native Jessica Pegula with her 7-5, 7-5 victory in Saturday’s final.
NFL
Josh Allen had three of his four touchdowns in the second half and the Buffalo Bills overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 34-28 in each team’s season openers. Greg Rousseau had a career-best three sacks, including one that forced a fumble. The Bills defense preserved the win with Damar Hamlin and Ja’Marcus Ingram breaking up Kyler Murray’s pass attempt to Greg Dortch near the goal line on fourth-and-7 from Buffalo’s 29 with 26 seconds remaining. The outing featured the first kickoff return for a touchdown under the NFL’s new rules with Arizona's DeeJay Dallas running one back for 96 yards to cut Buffalo’s lead to 31-28.
Sam Darnold threw two touchdowns in a highly efficient performance and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel scored on a spectacular one-handed 10-yard interception return to lead the Minnesota Vikings to an easy 28-6 victory over the New York Giants. Darnold had touchdown passes of 3 yards to Justin Jefferson and 21 to Jalen Nailor. He also had a 22-yard pass to tight end Josh Oliver to help set up Aaron Jones' 3-yard TD run. Van Ginkel's TD was the final score. Graham Gano hit two field goals for the Giants in a very disappointing performance to open their 100th season.
Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, Joey Slye kicked three field goals and the New England Patriots won Jerod Mayo’s debut as coach, beating the mistake-prone Cincinnati Bengals 16-10. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett wasn't exceptional for New England but he kept the Patriots moving well enough against slow-starting Cincinnati. The Bengals went three-and-out on their first three possessions and didn't score a touchdown until near the end of the third quarter. Joe Burrow threw for just 164 yards and star receiver Ja'Marr Chase had six catches for 62 yards.
On Monday night football, the N.Y. Jets are at San Francisco at 8:15 p.m.
Caleb Williams got bailed out by his defense in a rough debut, with Tyrique Stevenson returning an interception 43 yards for the go-ahead touchdown to lead the Chicago Bears a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans. The Bears have their sights set on a playoff spot after going 10-24 over the previous two seasons. They trailed 17-0 in the first half, but they shut down the Titans from there and spoiled the debut of Tennessee coach Brian Callahan. Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards with a 55.7 passer rating.
Stefon Diggs caught two touchdown passes and Joe Mixon rushed for 159 yards and another score to help the Houston Texans close out a 29-27 victory at Indianapolis. It was the ninth straight road win in division play for Houston. The Colts extended the NFL’s longest active opening day winless streak to 11 despite getting two TD passes of more than 50 yards from Anthony Richardson. But Richardson also missed two wide-open receivers on what could have been scoring plays.
Jason Sanders nailed a 52-yard field goal as time expired, and the Miami Dolphins rallied past the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-17 to win their fourth straight season opener. Fresh off a big offseason payday, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 336 yards and a touchdown and led Miami on an eight-play, 31-yard drive over the final 2:09. Tyreek Hill started the comeback with 80-yard touchdown catch that sparked Miami’s sluggish offense in the third quarter and got the Dolphins within 17-14. Hill finished with seven catches for 130 yards. Trevor Lawrence had a quiet day for the Jaguars, completing 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins was handcuffed and placed face down on a street outside the team’s stadium after he was stopped for speeding and reckless driving Sunday morning before the Dolphins’ first game of the season. The incident Sunday morning left the star wide receiver baffled and resulted in a police officer being placed on administrative leave. The officer was one of at least three involved in detaining Hill. Some fans saw Hill being handcuffed and captured video on their way to the game, and it went viral on social media. Hill was told after the game that the officer was placed on leave and said, “That should tell you everything you need to know.”
Derek Carr passed for three touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints scored on their first nine possessions in a 47-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams each ran for touchdowns and Blake Grupe kicked four field goals in an extraordinary debut for new Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The season opener could not have gone much worse for new Carolina coach Dave Canales. Second-year quarterback Bryce Young was 13 of 30 passing for 161 yards, was intercepted twice and sacked four times. Carr's first TD pass was a 59-yarder to Rashid Shaheed on the game's first series. Pittsburgh 18 Atlanta 10
Justin Fields stepped in to lead the Steelers to a 18-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons with Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh debut put on hold by a calf injury. He got a big assist from Chris Boswell’s strong right leg. Boswell booted six field goals, three of them longer than 50 yards, and the Steelers made life miserable for Kirk Cousins in his first game as Atlanta’s big-money quarterback. Boswell connected from 57, 56, 51, 44, 40 and 25 yards to account for all the Steelers’ scoring. Pittsburgh kept the play-calling close to the vest under new coordinator Arthur Smith, who was fired in January after three seasons as Atlanta’s head coach. Cousins passed for just 155 yards and was picked off twice in Raheem Morris' first game as Falcons coach.
J.K. Dobbins rushed for 135 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown, and the Los Angeles Chargers had a successful debut under Jim Harbaugh as they rallied in the second half for a 22-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. It was the fifth 100-yard rushing game for Dobbins, who signed a one-year deal with the Chargers during the offseason after beginning his career in Baltimore. Justin Herbert was 17 of 26 for 144 yards and a touchdown. Gardner Minshew was 25 of 33 for 257 yards with a touchdown and interception in his first game for the Raiders.
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 84 of his 103 yards and a touchdown in the second half and the Seattle Seahawks overcame a mistake-filled first half to beat the Denver Broncos 26-20 in the debut of new coach Mike Macdonald. Walker sparked a second-half rally after an unsightly performance by Seattle’s offense over the first 30 minutes littered with sloppy miscues. The Broncos led 13-9 at the half thanks in part to two safeties. Walker scored on a 23-yard TD run in the third quarter and Geno Smith hit Zach Charbonnet on a 30-yard TD pass. Bo Nix ran for a TD in his debut for Denver, but threw two interceptions.
Deshaun Watson's return was rough. Playing his first game since his 2023 season ended with a serious shoulder injury, Watson was off the mark, hesitant and under seige as the Browns were pounded 33-17 by the Dallas Cowboys in their season opener. Watson was sacked six times, intercepted twice and hit 17 times while playing behind an offensive line missing two starters. Watson didn't make any excuses and vowed to be better next time out. It was hardly the comeback the Browns were hoping for from Watson, who has started just 13 games in three years with Cleveland because of a suspension and injury.
Baker Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 37-20 rout of the new-look Washington Commanders. The Bucs spoiled the NFL debut of No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels. Daniels was more effective running the ball than passing, scoring a pair of rushing TDs for Washington. Dan Quinn lost his debut as the Commanders' coach. Mayfield completed 24 of 30 passes without an interception, including TD throws of 1 and 17 yards to Mike Evans.
David Montgomery scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in overtime, lifting the Detroit Lions to a 26-20 win over the Matthew Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams in a rematch of an NFC wild-card game. The Lions lost a two-touchdown lead in the third quarter and extended the game with Jake Bates’ tying 32-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation. Detroit won the coin flip and took advantage of having the ball, gaining at least 9 yards on its first four plays in overtime to set up Montgomery’s game-winning score.
Dak Prescott has a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys hours before their season opener at Cleveland. A person with knowledge of the deal says the star quarterback and the Cowboys agreed on a $240 million, four-year contract. It's the first in NFL history to average $60 million per season. The runner-up in NFL MVP voting was entering the final year of a $160 million, four-year contract that was a franchise record before this deal. It includes $231 million guaranteed. That's $1 million more than the previous record from the fully guaranteed deal Deshaun Watson signed with the Browns two years ago.
Fox Sports is spending $375 million to put Tom Brady in the broadcast booth, and the network wants to make sure everyone knows he’s there. The seven-time Super Bowl champion made his debut as an NFL analyst during the Fox broadcast of the regular-season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. But first came a Brady hype video leading into the pregame show. The studio team admitted they couldn’t help but “fanboy” over their new co-worker.
MLB
Jameson Taillon allowed only one run in six innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Yankees 2-1 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep. Taillon (10-8) struck out six against his former team. He gave up Anthony Volpe’s second-inning, RBI sacrifice fly and allowed six hits. New York remained a half-game ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AL East. Isaac Paredes singled with the bases loaded in the first against Gerrit Cole (6-4) to drive in both runs. The runs were unearned because of an error by Gleyber Torres, who leads big league second basemen with 17 errors this season.
Santiago Espinal hit a tie-breaking two-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 victory and snap the New York Mets’ nine-game winning streak. Phil Maton opened the ninth by plunking Spencer Steer before Ty France legged out an infield single. Both runners advanced a base on Jake Fraley’s groundout before Espinal’s hit down the left-field line. The two-run rally ended an 80-inning streak in which the Mets hadn’t trailed, the longest streak in the majors this season. Buck Farmer threw a perfect eighth and Alexis Díaz earned his 26th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Dominic Fletcher’s RBI double sparked a five-run ninth inning and the Chicago White Sox avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. Chicago starter Chris Flexen’s winless streak extended to 21 straight starts — the longest in team history — after he was pulled with the game tied in the seventh inning. The 30-year-old right-hander gave up two runs on six hits, striking out six and walking one. Chicago (33-11) had lost 14 of its last 15 games before rallying against against Boston reliever Zack Kelly (6-3). Zach DeLoach added a two-run single in the ninth inning.
Edward Cabrera pitched seven scoreless innings, Connor Norby homered twice and the Miami Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-1. The 26-year-old Cabrera, who struck out six and walked one, didn’t allow a hit Sunday until Brandon Marsh singled with no outs in the sixth. He finished with three hits allowed. Norby has six homers and 13 RBIs and hit safely in 17 of 18 games since being recalled from Triple-A on Aug. 19. Miami ended the major league debut of Philadelphia starter Seth Johnson with a seven-run third. The 25-year-old Johnson allowed nine runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Santiago Espinal hit a tie-breaking two-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 victory and snap the New York Mets’ nine-game winning streak. Phil Maton opened the ninth by plunking Spencer Steer before Ty France legged out an infield single. Both runners advanced a base on Jake Fraley’s groundout before Espinal’s hit down the left-field line. The two-run rally ended an 80-inning streak in which the Mets hadn’t trailed, the longest streak in the majors this season. Buck Farmer threw a perfect eighth and Alexis Díaz earned his 26th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco hit two-run home runs and the Seattle Mariners scored five times in the first inning on their way to a 10-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. After getting shut out for the ninth time this season, Seattle started the game with five straight hits and all five batters came around to score. Arozarena’s 390-foot drive to left field off Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (8-11) in the second inning pushed the lead to seven. It was the first career home run at Busch Stadium — and first against the Cardinals —for the outfielder who started his career with St. Louis. Polanco added a 419-foot shot to center in the fifth for a 9-2 lead.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 46th home run of the season to tie his career high, Jack Flaherty pitched another gem and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-0 on Sunday in record-tying heat. With the first-pitch temperature of 103 degrees matching the hottest in Dodger Stadium history, Ohtani hit a 450-foot solo shot down the right-field line off Tanner Bibee in the fifth inning that was reviewed to see if it was fair. Ohtani also hit 46 home runs in 2021 for the Los Angeles Angels. The Japanese star has 46 stolen bases in a bid to become the first major league player with a 50-50 season. Flaherty (12-6) went 7 1/3 innings, striking out six and allowing four hits.
Pavin Smith homered in first three at-bats for his first multi-home run game and drove in a career-high eight runs, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks rout the Houston Astros 12-6 on Sunday night to end a three-game losing streak. Smith became the second Diamondback with a three-homer game this season, with Eugenio Suárez doing it against Washington on July 30. J.D. Martinez set the Arizona record with four home runs at Los Angeles on Sept. 4, 2017. Arizona pulled within a half-game of San Diego for the National League’s first wild card. Smith hit the first two homers off Justin Verlander, a three-run shot in the second and a grand slam in the third. He added a solo shot off Kaleb Ort in the fifth.
Zack Littell and four relievers combined on a five-hit shutout, Jonny DeLuca hit a two-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-0. Littell and Corbin Burnes were locked in a scoreless duel Sunday until the sixth inning, when DeLuca followed a leadoff walk with his sixth home run in 289 at-bats this season. That was enough to outdo a struggling Baltimore offense that scored only three runs in the three-game series. Tampa Bay took two of three from the Orioles, who are chasing the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East.
Cole Ragans scattered four hits in six scoreless innings as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-0 Friday night and traded places with the Twins in the AL Central and wild card standings. The Royals now hold a half-game lead for second place in the division and the second wild card spot. Michael Massey had three hits, including a home run, for the Royals. Ragans won for the first time since a 4-1 victory in Minneapolis on August 14, the Royals’ lone win in Minnesota this season. Zebby Matthews took the loss. He allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings.
Andrew Heaney snapped an eight-start winless streak as the Texas Rangers took an early five-run lead and beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-4. Heaney allowed four runs on three hits in six-plus innings Sunday to win for the first time since July 21. He was backed by home runs from Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe and Ezequiel Duran. Kirby Yates earned his 29th save in 30 chances after David Robertson left runners on the corners in the eighth with a one-run lead. The Rangers won three of four games against the Angels to match a season-best four consecutive series won.
Trey Sweeney had four hits that included a home run, Ty Madden struck out seven and the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 9-1 on Sunday. The Tigers, looking to make a late rally in the AL Wild Card race, took two out of three in Oakland and are two games above .500. Madden and Beau Brieske combined to take a no-hit bid into the fifth, with Madden recording his first career win after Brieske served as an opener in the first. The 24-year-old struck out seven in five innings and held the A’s to one run in his third major league appearance.
Jared Jones cruised through seven innings, striking out nine, as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 for a split of the four-game series. Jones allowed two runs and four hits, all coming in the first two innings on Sunday. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander retired 16 straight to end his outing, striking out five of the final six. The Nationals' Patrick Corbin worked six innings, surrendering seven runs and 10 hits with five strikeouts. Andrew McCutchen led off the third with his 19th home run.
Kyle Freeland pitched one-run ball for six innings and Sam Hillard hit a three-run homer as the Colorado Rockies beat the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers 4-1. Freeland (5-7) allowed an unearned run on three hits and struck out four for his ninth quality start of the season. The 31-year-old left-hander improved to 5-3 in his last 13 starts since returning from a left elbow strain that landed him on the injured list on June 23. Freeland allowed a base bit to Issac Collins in the second inning and then retired the next 14 batters. Relievers Seth Halvorsen, Angel Chivilli and Angel Chivilli teamed up for three hitless innings of relief.
Matt Chapman, Jerar Encarnacion and Luis Matos homered off Joe Musgrove in the six-run fourth inning and the San Francisco Giants held on to beat the San Diego Padres 7-6 to take two of three games in the seriers. Curt Casili also connected for the Giants, who had a winning record (4-3) in San Diego for the first time since 2021 and took a 6-4 lead in the season series with three games to go in San Francisco. The Padres have lost three of four, but still lead the race for the top NL wild card.
WNBA
Sabrina Ionescu scored seven of her 14 points in the fourth quarter to help the New York Liberty hold off the short-handed Las Vegas Aces 75-71 on Sunday. The Aces were playing without A’ja Wilson, who was sidelined with a right ankle injury she suffered on Friday against Connecticut. Wilson was in a walking boot. It was the first game she had missed since Aug. 3, 2019. The Liberty remained three games in front of Minnesota for the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs. New York has five games left to play. With the loss, Las Vegas remained in the fourth spot, one game in front of Seattle. Breanna Stewart scored 21 points to lead New York. The Liberty blew a 20-point late third quarter lead.
Brionna Jones scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, DiJonai Carrington added 19 points and Alyssa Thomas recorded her third triple-double of the season to help the Connecticut Sun beat the Los Angeles Sparks 79-67. Thomas finished with 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points and Marina Mabrey added 10 for Connecticut, which had lost back-to-back games for the second time this season. Rickea Jackson led the Sparks with 23 points.
Napheesa Collier scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead five Minnesota players scoring in double figures and the Lynx beat the Washington Mystics 78-71 to win for the 10th times in 11 games. Minnesota has won three consecutive games and has a 1 1/2-game lead over the Connecticut Sun for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with five games remaining in the regular season. Washington had won five of six and is 1 1/2-games behind Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot. Brittney Sykes led the Mystics with 13 points, Ariel Atkins added 12 and Stefanie Dolson 11, including three 3-pointers.
Aliyah Boston scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Caitlin Clark added 26 points and 12 assists to help the Indiana Fever beat Atlanta 104-100 in overtime Sunday and spoil the Dream’s Rhyne Howard’s third consecutive game with more than 30 points. Clark posted her franchise-record 14th double-double of the season for Indiana. Kelsey Mitchell added 21 points and Lexie Hull scored 12 on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Howard hit four 3-pointers and finished a career-high 36 points for Atlanta.
Chennedy Carter scored seven of her 28 points in the first couple minutes and the Chicago Sky never trailed in their 92-77 win over the Dallas Wings. Chicago has a one-game lead game lead over the Atlanta Dream for the eighth and final playoff spot with five games remaining in the Sky’s regular season. Dallas has lost four games in a row. Carter scored 11 points in the first quarter, and Chicago used a 13-1 run midway through the period to blow the game open. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 23 points.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
After the first shake-up of the college football season, the Southeastern Conference grabbed six of the top seven spots in the AP Top 25, a first in the 88-year history of the rankings. Georgia received 54 out of a possible 63 first-place votes to keep a firm hold on No. 1. No. 2 Texas jumped a spot after dominating defending national champion Michigan on the road and received four first-place votes. No. 3 Ohio State slipped a spot. Then came No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Mississippi, No. 6 Missouri and No. 7 Tennessee from the SEC. Notre Dame tumbled to 18th after being upset by Northern Illinois.
© 2024 Associated Press.
