Horse Racing:
Horse racing fans in Saratoga can get an up-close look at American Pharoah this morning. The Triple Crown winner is scheduled for a gallop between 8:45 and 9 a.m. It’s all in prep for the Travers Stakes tomorrow. If American Pharoah wins on Saturday he will be the first horse to win the Triple Crown and Travers in 74 years.
MLB:
In baseball, in the American League, Texas beat Toronto 4-1 to bring the Yankees to 1 ½ games behind the Blue Jays and the AL East lead. The Angels blanked Detroit 2-0, Kansas City beat Baltimore 5-3, Tampa Bay edged Minnesota 5-4, and it was the White Sox over Seattle 4-2. The Boston Red Sox had a day off and start a series with the Mets tonight. The Yankees also had a day off and start a series with Atlanta tonight.
In the National League, the Mets bested Philadelphia 9-5 in 13 innings maintaining their 6 ½ game lead over the Nationals. Meanwhile Washington doubled up San Diego 4-2, San Francisco won against the Cubs 9-1, the Dodgers blanked Cincinnati 1-0, Pittsburgh slid past Miami 2-1, and it was St. Louis over Arizona 5-3.
A woman was injured by a foul ball at a Philadelphia Phillies game, hours after the Major League Baseball commissioner was at the stadium and spoke about fan safety. Commissioner Rob Manfred talked at Citizens Bank Park before the New York Mets played the Phillies last night. He said there was a chance that protective changes could be made as early as next season.
An arbitrator has ruled against Barry Bonds in a collusion case stemming from his final season in the majors. Major League Baseball was informed this week that arbitrator Frederic Horowitz had ruled in its favor. Bonds had sought compensation after no teams would take him following his final season with San Francisco. Bonds hit .276 with a .480 on-base average and 28 home runs in 340 at-bats for the Giants in 2007. The career home runs leader with 762, Bonds turned 43 during his last season. He later offered to play for the minimum major league salary but got no offers.
NFL:
The New York Jets have signed quarterback Josh Johnson, adding another veteran to the mix. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Johnson in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He has also been with the Cleveland Browns and had two stints each with the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers. The Bengals released Johnson on Tuesday after A.J. McCarron won the backup job.
Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden says outside linebacker Junior Galette will miss the entire season after tearing his left Achilles tendon. Galette is the fifth Redskins player lost to a season-ending injury in the preseason.
With backup Johnny Manziel nursing a sore throwing elbow, the Browns signed free agent quarterback Pat Devlin. Manziel has been shut down from throwing because of the soreness, which the team revealed has been a problem for him since high school. Manziel has not thrown a pass since Sunday and the team has announced he won't play in the final two exhibition games.
Devlin has been with Miami, Minnesota and Chicago since being signed by the Dolphins in 2011.
Track & Field:
Usain Bolt has completed a sweep of the sprint events at the world track and field championships in Beijing. As was the case last Sunday when he won the 100 meters, he finished first in front of American Justin Gatlin in the 200. His winning time was 19.55 seconds. While taking his victory lap Bolt was hit from behind by a cameraman who was riding a two-wheeled scooter. The scooter collided with the gold medal winner after hitting a metal railing. Seven years ago, Bolt started his amazing run of gold at the Beijing Olympics and has not lost a major 200 race since.
Tennis:
The draw has taken place for the U.S. Open, the final major of the year in tennis, and once again there is the chance of a Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova semifinal. They met in the semis at Wimbledon with Williams coming out on top. Williams by the way is looking to complete a single season Grand Slam sweep at the Open. On the men's side, Roger Federer and Andy Murray could meet in one semifinal and Novak Djokovic and last year's runner-up Kei Nishikori in the other. The Open starts play next Monday in New York.
Lucky-loser entry Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine beat fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 yesterday in the Connecticut Open quarterfinals. Tsurenko will face fourth-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the semifinals. Safarova beat Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 56 minutes.
On the men's side, Roger Federer and Andy Murray could meet in one semifinal and Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori in the other.
NBA:
Former NBA star Darryl Dawkins has died at the age of 58. Dawkins' backboard-shattering dunks earned him the moniker "Chocolate Thunder" and helped pave the way for breakaway rims. He died yesterday at a hospital. No cause of death was immediately announced. An autopsy is scheduled for today. Dawkins spent parts of 14 seasons in the NBA with Philadelphia, New Jersey, Utah and Detroit.
NCAA:
Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly says defensive end Ishaq Williams has been ruled ineligible for the season by the NCAA, ending his college playing career. Williams was dismissed from Notre Dame last fall after being investigated for possible academic dishonesty, and had his waiver appeal for another season rejected by the NCAA.
IndyCar:
Justin Wilson's race car will be back on track for the IndyCar season finale. Andretti Autosport announced that series veteran Oriol Servia will drive Wilson's No. 25 Honda at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. The 37-year-old Wilson died Monday, a day after a piece of debris from another car struck him in the head at Pocono Raceway.
PGA:
Bubba Watson is tied with Spencer Levin. Tony Finau and Camilo Villegas for the lead after the first round of The Barclays after shooting 5-under 65. Jordan Spieth got off to a rough start in the first tournament of the FedEx Cup playoffs, shooting a four-over 70.
LPGA:
Brittany Lang has the first round lead at the LPGA's Yokohama Tire Classic. She shot a 7-under-65 that featured nine birdies. That's good for a two-shot lead over Tiffany Joh, Sydnee Michaels and Ryann O'Toole.
NHL:
St. Louis Blues forward Patrik Berglund will undergo surgery on his right shoulder. The 27-year old will be evaluated in four months. Berglund was hurt in training for the upcoming season. This is the same shoulder he dislocated during the 2013-14 season.
WNBA:
In the WNBA, Phoenix topped Connecticut 81-80.
Blimp:
The fabled Goodyear Blimp is retiring. But don't fret. The cigar-shaped thing most people have seen floating over sports events will still be there. It just won't be, technically, a blimp.
The nation's three Goodyear blimps are being replaced by larger semi-rigid dirigibles. Goodyear's Priscilla Tasker says its brand new design.
Such a craft differs from a blimp in that the big, helium-filled balloon that carries it aloft won't go flat when the gas is drained.
The company's Southern California-based Spirit of America blimp was retired earlier this month. That was about a year after Ohio-based Spirit of Goodyear left the fleet.
Goodyear's last blimp, Florida-based Spirit of Innovation, is coming to California next month. It will cover for Spirit of America until a replacement semi-rigid dirigible is built.
PawSox:
Federal highway regulators have told state officials that if the Pawtucket Red Sox build a stadium on land that was supposed to be a park, the land will have to be sold at fair market value first, a requirement that could add millions to the bottom line.
The state Department of Transportation wrote to the Federal Highway Administration at the request of the I-195 Commission, which asked about the land's requirements.
The federal agency responded Aug. 13, telling the transportation department the land given to the commission for free has a stipulation that it remains open space.
Any change in use would require the land to be first returned to the transportation department and resold at fair market value.
The team's original plan eyes riverfront land designated as open space.
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