NFL:
The Kansas City Chiefs have opened their season by knocking off the defending Super Bowl champs.
Alex Smith and rookie Kareem Hunt led an offense that shredded the Patriots in a 42-27 win at New England.
Smith threw a pair of long touchdown passes and Hunt scored three times after fumbling on his first NFL carry. Smith was 28 of 35 passing for 368 yards and four TDs.
Hunt put the Chiefs in front with a 78-yarder to punctuate Kansas City's charge after trailing 17-14 at halftime. Hunt also had a 58-yard scamper and finished with 141 yards rushing and 98 receiving.
Tyreke Hill scored on a 75-yard grab and had 133 receiving yards. Hunt triggered the Chiefs' 21-point fourth quarter with a 78-yard scoring reception. The extra point put Kansas City ahead 28-27 following the extra point with 14:07 remaining.
Tom Brady struggled mightily in the second half and didn't throw for a touchdown, finishing 16 for 36 for 267 yards. He became the 13th quarterback to start an NFL game at age 40.
NFL-NEWS
Browns rookie defensive end and NFL first-overall pick Myles Garrett will miss Sunday's opener against Pittsburgh and possibly a few more games after severely spraining his right ankle during Wednesday's practice. This is the second time Garrett already has been hurt as a pro after he was limited during his junior year at Texas A&M by a badly sprained left ankle.
— The Bengals have signed linebacker Vontaze Burfict to a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2020 season. The move comes despite Burfict being suspended for the first three games this season following his egregious hit on Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman in a preseason game.
— Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. missed a third straight practice this week because of a sprained left ankle, leaving his status in doubt for Sunday's game at Dallas. Beckham has not practiced since being hurt in a preseason game against Cleveland on Aug. 21.
— Falcons All-Pro receiver Julio Jones says he's 100 percent healthy for Sunday's season opener at Chicago. Jones had right foot surgery in March and took just eight snaps in one preseason game, but he's been practicing with no restraints for the last three weeks.
— The Chiefs have released running back C.J. Spiller and offensive lineman Jordan Devey in a move that allows the team to sign them following their season opener without guaranteeing their contracts. Spiller and Devey are both veterans whose contracts would have become guaranteed for the entire season had they been on the 53-man roster for the Chiefs' first game.
— The Browns have released safety Calvin Pryor after he was involved in a fight with wide receiver Ricardo Louis. Coach Hue Jackson did not provide any details of the skirmish, which took place before practice.
MLB:
Before last night, the last major league team to win at least 15 straight games had a movie made about the season. The Cleveland Indians are hoping their current run leads to their first championship in 63 years.
The Indians set a team-record with their 15th consecutive victory by belting five home runs and getting another strong performance from Corey Kluber in an 11-2 pounding of the White Sox in Chicago. It's the longest winning streak since the 2002 Oakland Athletics won 20 in a row on their way to the AL West title.
Kluber was outstanding in holding the White Sox to a pair of runs and three hits while striking out 13. He improved to 15-4 with a 2.56 ERA despite allowing solo homers by Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu in the first inning.
Edwin Encarnacion's three run blast put the Tribe ahead 4-0 in the first inning. Erik Gonzalez added a pair of homers for the Indians, who also got round-trippers from Francisco Lindor and Greg Allen.
Cleveland's magic number to win the AL Central is down to 12.
Going in the opposite direction are the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have dropped seven straight and 12 of 13 with last night's 9-1 loss to the Rockies.
Nolan Arenado put Colorado in front with a three-run blast off Clayton Kershaw three batters into the game. Arenado finished with four RBIs and Carlos Gonzalez added a solo shot as the Rockies moved three games ahead of St. Louis and Milwaukee for the second NL wild-card berth.
Kershaw gave up four runs and lasted just 3 2/3 innings in his second start since returning from a back injury.
The Dodgers' lead in the NL West is a healthy 10 games over Arizona, but it was 21 games on Aug. 25.
Major League Baseball has donated $10 million to the Baseball Hall of Fame's endowment.
All 30 teams contributed to the Hall of Fame's effort to raise money toward its goal of $30 million. The Hall has now raised $22 million.
Since it opened in 1939, the Hall of Fame has operated on a break-even basis without a significant endowment. It now has 40,000 artifacts, including bats, balls, gloves, uniforms, trophies, 135,000 baseball cards, 14,000 hours of recorded media, 250,000 historic photos and 3 million pieces in its library.
The goal is to make sure the collection is preserved for the future. The endowment also will help the Hall develop more world-class exhibits, take advantage of technology to increase access to its collections and extend the reach of its education programs.
Checking out the rest of the major league finals:
— Sonny Gray pitched into the sixth inning and the Yankees belted four home runs in a 9-1 pounding of the Orioles. Aaron Judge and Chase Headley hit two-run shots to back Gray, who allowed an unearned run and six hits over 5 2/3 innings. Starlin Castro and Todd Frazier also went deep the Yanks climbed within 3 ½ games of the AL East-leading Red Sox.
— The Twins have a one-game lead over the Angels for the second AL wild-card berth after Minnesota put together a three-run ninth to beat the Royals, 4-2. Kelvin Herrera came in to preserve a 2-1 win before allowing a sacrifice fly and Jorge Polanco's go-ahead, two-run single. Robbie Grossman homered for the Twins.
— Jon Lester worked six innings and the Cubs collected eight extra-base hits in an 8-2 win over the Pirates. Albert Almora Jr. smacked a two-run homer and Anthony Rizzo drove in a pair as Chicago moved five games ahead of the second-place Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central. Ian Happ was 3-for-5 with two runs scored for the Cubs, who scored in each of the first five innings to chase Jameson Taillon.
— St. Louis was a 3-0 loser at San Diego as Clayton Richard pitched five-hit ball over six innings. Wil Myers clubbed his 25th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the seventh to cap the scoring. Closer Brad Hand struck out Dexter Fowler with the bases loaded to end the game as the Redbirds' four-game winning streak.
— The Nationals' magic number to clinch the NL East is down to four after Washington scored three times in the sixth inning to beat the Phillies, 4-3. The Nats trailed 3-1 until Matt Wieters hit an RBI double and scored on Trea Turner's two-run single. Tanner Roark worked sixth innings of the Nationals' fourth straight win.
— Washington also got some help from the Braves, who scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to beat the second-place Marlins, 6-5. Ozzie Albies tied it with an RBI double before Kurt Suzuki's walk-off single sent Miami to its fifth straight loss. Albies and Jace Peterson drove in two runs apiece for the Braves.
— Matt Harvey earned his first win since May 28 by spotting the Reds an early 2-0 lead before lasting five innings in the Mets' 7-2 victory. Brandon Nimmo homered twice and had three RBIs to back Harvey, who was making his second start since suffering a shoulder injury.
The Boston Red Sox were off last night but begin a series tonight with the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:10 from Fenway park.
MLB NEWS
The Cleveland Indians were without slugger Thursday Jose Ramirez as they set a team record with their 15th consecutive victory.
Ramirez is sidelined after aggravating a wrist injury on a check swing earlier in the series. Manager Terry Francona says he doesn't expect Ramirez to miss an extended period.
Ramirez has been one of the Tribe's top hitters lately, batting .400 with seven homers and 10 RBIs in his last 13 games. He has a .305 batting average, 25 homers and 69 RBIs on the season.
In other major league news:
— The Nationals have promoted top prospect Victor Robles from Double-A Harrisburg. The 20-year-old outfielder hit .300 with 10 homers, 47 RBIs and 27 steals in 114 games over two minor league stops this season.
— The Braves are offering free tickets to fans from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina displaced by Hurricane Irma. The offer is good for anyone showing a valid Florida ID and is open to residents of Georgia and South Carolina counties under mandatory evacuation orders. The gesture is good for the team's four-game series with the Marlins, which began Thursday.
— Longtime Yankees player, manager and executive Gene Michael has died at 79.Michael spent seven of his 10 big league seasons with the Bombers and also played for the Pirates, Dodgers and Tigers. He had two stints as Yankees manager and two more as the team's GM before serving as the team's top scout and a special adviser to general manager Brian Cashman. He oversaw the drafting and development of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera. The Yankees say Michael had a heart attack and died Thursday.
TENNIS-US OPEN
It will be Sloane Stephens versus Madison Keys in Saturday's U.S. Open women's final.
The unseeded Stephens earned a spot in her first Grand Slam final by outlasting No. 9 Venus Williams, 1-6, 6-0, 7-5. Stephens quickly went up a service break in the third set, but she eventually trailed 5-4 and was two points from defeat before taking the last three games. The rally ended Williams' quest to reach the final for the first time in 15 years.
Stephens is just the fourth unseeded player to reach the U.S. Open women's final in the 49 years of the Open era, and the first since Roberta Vinci in 2015.
The 15th-seeded Keys rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 win over No. 20 Coco Vandeweghe to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Keys won 19 of the first 22 points and raced to a 5-0 lead in an opening set that lasted just 23 minutes. She continued to dominate despite an upper right leg injury that caused her to call the trainer to be taped midway through the second set.
The men's semifinals are Friday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-
Tenth-ranked Florida State and No. 22 Florida have canceled their respective home openers because of impending Hurricane Irma.
The Seminoles were supposed to play Louisiana-Monroe, while the Gators faced Northern Colorado.
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin says it "become obvious that playing a football game is not the right thing to do."
Neither game will be made up.
Also, South Florida and UConn called off their scheduled football game Saturday because of Irma. No makeup date was immediately announced.
NHL-PREDATORS-INJURIES
Nashville Predators general manager David Poile says the team doesn't expect defenseman Ryan Ellis to play for them until possibly 2018.
Ellis suffered a major knee injury during the Stanley Cup final and needs a full six months to recover from surgery. He scored 38 points during the regular season and was a major spark in the Predators' charge to their first finals appearance.
In other NHL news:
— Former enforcer George Parros has been hired to run the league's department of player safety. Parros had 159 NHL fights and logged over 1,100 penalty minutes without ever being fined or suspended. He replaces Stephane Quintal, who is stepping down to pursue other opportunities within hockey but is staying on this season to help with the transition.
LPGA-INDIANAPOLIS
Lexi Thompson is the leader after the opening round of the LPGA Tour's inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship at Indianapolis.
She fired a 9-under 63 that included 11 birdies and two bogeys, leaving her one shot ahead of Sandra Gal and Kris Tamulis. Thompson fell one stroke short of the Brickyard Crossing record set by Mike McCullough in the PGA Tour Champions' 1999 Comfort Classic.
OBIT-RAMOS
Former Cuban featherweight champion Sugar Ramos has died in Mexico City at 75.
Ramos was best known for his 1963 fight at Dodger Stadium with Davey Moore, who lost consciousness after the bout and went into a coma before dying two days later. Five years earlier in Cuba, Ramos stopped a fighter named Jose Blanco, who also died.
The World Boxing Council said he died Sunday of cancer.
UMass Athletics Director:
After a two-year tenure, University of Massachusetts Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford has earned a two-year contract extension through April 2022. Since joining UMass in April 2015, Bamford’s tenure has been marked by several milestone accomplishments both on and off the field benefiting over 650 student-athletes.
Bamford has made an immediate impact on the Department of Athletics and the University at-large. In his first two years, UMass has found renewed success in the Atlantic 10, provided cost-of-attendance benefits to student-athletes, negotiated multiple marquee match-ups in football as an independent, and undergone facility enhancements benefiting both student-athletes and fans.
BASKETBALL:
Rebecca Lobo was in familiar surroundings Thursday while preparing to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The former UConn and WNBA star grew up 13 miles away in Southwick.
The 43-year-old ESPN analyst reminisced about shooting baskets as a girl on an old moving walkway at the old Hall of Fame building and talked about joining the "titans of the game" she read about there while growing up.
Lobo, who led UConn to its first national title, won an Olympic gold medal and was among the first players in the WNBA, says didn't realize the impact of her career until she saw little boys wearing replicas of her jersey.
She says she hopes she helped change the way those boys viewed girls and sports.
Lobo will be officially inducted into the Hall Friday as part of an 11-member class that also includes NBA stars Tracy McGrady and George McGinnis, Kansas coach Bill Self and Notre Dame women's coach Muffet McGraw.
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