Russell Wilson rebounded from his worst performance of the season to throw for two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks moved back on top of the NFC West with a 28-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Wilson was flawless, erasing the mistakes from the past four weeks when Seattle dropped three of four including losses in the past two weeks to Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams. For a few days, Seattle will be back on top alone until the Rams play on Monday night against Tampa Bay. Kyler Murray was 29 of 42 for 269 yards and two TDs, but Seattle was able to sack the QB three times.
In NFL news:
The New York Jets' suddenly thin and inexperienced secondary took another big hit. Veteran cornerback Brian Poole is having surgery on his injured shoulder and coach Adam Gase confirmed that Poole will be out the rest of the year. The Jets also got the news that starting cornerback Bless Austin would miss practice with a neck injury and he was getting an MRI. Three of New York's five healthy cornerbacks are rookies.
NFL sacks leader Myles Garrett remained away from his Cleveland teammates for the second straight day, but the Browns expect him to return Friday and play this weekend against Philadelphia. The Browns are also without starting right tackle Jack Conklin and kicker Cody Parkey. Both were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list after they were identified as high risk for having close contact with an outside practitioner who tested positive.
The Chicago Bears placed punt returner Dwayne Harris on injured reserve Thursday because of a triceps injury. Harris, signed to the practice squad late last month, has appeared in three games, averaging 8.1 yards on 10 punt returns. He was injured in Chicago's loss to Minnesota Monday night. After Harris left the game, receiver Anthony Miller broke the Bears' longest punt return of the year with a 32-yarder.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed rookie cornerback CJ Henderson on injured reserve with a groin injury. The move creates a huge hole in their secondary days before hosting unbeaten Pittsburgh. If D.J. Hayden is able to play, Tre Herndon and Sidney Jones would start outside. If not, Chris Claybrooks likely would make his second career start against one of the best receiving groups in the league.
Former NFL safety Jake Scott has died at 75. Scott was was the most valuable player in the Super Bowl that completed the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. Former teammate Dick Anderson says Scott died Thursday in Atlanta after a fall down a stairway that left him in a coma. Scott played in three consecutive Super Bowls, won back-to-back championship rings and made the Pro Bowl five years in a row with Miami. He had two interceptions, including a 55-yard return from the end zone, against the Redskins as the '72 Dolphins won to finish 17-0.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Zaven Collins returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime to give No. 25 Tulsa a 30-24 comeback victory over Tulane on Thursday night. Tulsa forced overtime with a 37-yard Hail Mary completion as time expired, with third-stringer Brin Davis connecting with JuanCarlos Santana. Tulsa is 5-1 overall and 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Brin entered with 2:09 left in the third quarter after backup Seth Boomer was carted off the field because of a left leg injury. Starter Zach Smith left with a torso injury late in the first quarter. Playing its first game as a ranked team since 2008, outgained Tulane 522 yards to 302, but turned the ball over three times.
Also, the Big Ten game Saturday between Maryland and Michigan State has been canceled. A COVID-19 outbreak on the Terrapins resulted in a positive test for coach Michael Locksley. No. 24 Louisiana-Lafayette canceled its game against Central Arkansas on Saturday because of positive COVID-19 tests.
Later Thursday, the Mountain West announced San Jose State at Fresno State was canceled because of COVID-19 cases and contact tracing with the Bulldogs. That is the third Mountain West game this week to be called off, joining Utah State at Wyoming, and UNLV at Colorado State.
The No. 11 Ducks will host UCLA on Saturday after another shuffling of schedules in the Pac-12. The game will feature two dual-threat quarterbacks. Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough is only the second Ducks QB to throw for more than 200 yards and run for 80 or more in back-to-back games. UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns while running for 52 yards and another score in the Bruins' victory over Cal.
Lou Holtz has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 83-year-old former college football coach confirmed the test Thursday to Columbia TV station WOLO. Holtz led Notre Dame to the 1988 national title in a Hall of Fame career. He has worked for ESPN and campaigned for President Donald Trump. Holtz is set to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump.
NBA
NBA free agency is usually a weeklong frenzy. Deals get struck, then teams and players must wait a few days before they can sign those contracts. And from there, a few more months often pass before the player goes to work with his new club. Not this year. What promises to be a chaotic free-agent window opens in the NBA at 6 p.m. Eastern on Friday, just a couple days after the NBA draft, a mere 42 hours before signings can begin and about a week and a half before training camps around the league open.
In moves ahead of the free agent signing period:
A person familiar with the situation says Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward opted out of the final year of a contract that would have paid him $34.1 million, making him a free agent. Hayward could still re-sign with the team, either to remain in Boston or be part of a sign-and-trade deal that would open up more potential destinations. Brad Stevens, who also coached Hayward in college at Butler, recruited Hayward to Boston in 2017 and the team signed to a four-year, $128 million deal.
The New York Knicks have waived veterans Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson and Wayne Ellington and declined their team option on Bobby Portis. The Knicks signed all the veterans as part of a seven-player class in the summer of 2019. They enter free agency Friday with only Julius Randle and Reggie Bullock remaining from the group, having traded Marcus Morris to the Clippers during the season. The Knicks also waived forward Kenny Wooten and declined their option on guard Theo Pinson.
Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is opting in at $19 million for the final year of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks, while center Willie Cauley-Stein is moving on after declining his $2.3 million option. A person with knowledge of the decisions confirmed both moves to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcements were planned. Hardaway shot a career-best 40% from 3-point range playing alongside 21-year-old sensation Luka Doncic as the Mavericks reached the playoffs for the first time in four years. He averaged 19.3 points per game. Cauley-Stein's impact was minimal after a trade with Golden State.
A person familiar with the situation says the Atlanta Hawks have agreed to trade center Dewayne Dedmon to the Detroit Pistons for guards Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas. The deal allows the Hawks to clear a logjam at center. The Hawks selected center Onyeka Okongwu from Southern Cal with the No. 6 pick of the NBA draft on Wednesday night. Last season, the Hawks acquired center Clint Capela from Houston in a trade-deadline deal. Capela was injured and didn't play before Atlanta's season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on Turkish forward Ersan Ilyasova. The 33-year-old Ilyasova played 63 games and made eight starts for the Bucks last season. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 6.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 15.7 minutes. This marked Ilyasova's third stint with the Bucks. He began his career with Milwaukee in 2006-07 and also played for the Bucks from 2009-15 and from 2018-20.
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired guard Luke Kennard from Detroit, and sent guards Landry Shamet to Brooklyn and Rodney McGruder to Detroit as they attempt to improve the supporting cast around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. In addition to Kennard, the Clippers received center Justin Patton from the Pistons in the draft-night deal, as well as the draft rights to junior-college player Jay Scrubb and four second-round picks.
MLB
Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman's suspension for throwing near the head of Tampa Bay's Mike Brosseau was reduced from three games to two after he appealed the decision. Major League Baseball announced the result of the appeal. It was heard by special assistant to the commissioner John McHale Jr. Chapman threw a 101 mph fastball near Brosseau's head on his first pitch to the pinch hitter with two outs in the ninth inning of a 5-3 victory over the Rays on Sept. 1.
In other baseball news:
The Washington Nationals are moving their Triple-A franchise back East. After two years in Fresno, California, the Nationals are relocating to Rochester, New York. The change ends the Rochester Red Wings' 18-year affiliation with the Minnesota Twins and brings the Nationals back to the International League in upstate New York. Washington's Triple-A affiliate was in Syracuse for a decade before the move to the West Coast.
The Milwaukee Brewers have promoted Matt Arnold to senior vice president and general manager. The 41-year-old Arnold joined the Brewers as a vice president and assistant general manager in October 2015. He was promoted to senior vice president and assistant general manager in June 2019.
The Detroit Tigers have requested unconditional release waivers on utilityman Brandon Dixon so he can pursue a job in Japan. Dixon led the Tigers with 15 home runs in 2019, but the 28-year-old had only 13 at-bats in the majors during this year's shortened season.
The major league minimum salary will rise to $570,500 next season, a hike of $7,000. The minor league minimum for a player signing his first major league contract increases from $46,000 to $46,600 next season, and the minor league minimum for a player signing a second or later major league contract goes up from $91,800 to $93,000. In the final two seasons of the five-year deal, the increase is calculated as the rise from October to October in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal advanced to the semifinals at the ATP Finals for the first time in five years and knocked out the defending champion in the process, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 at the O2 Arena. It is the sixth time in 10 appearances that Nadal has reached the last four of the season-ending tournament, which is the biggest title he has yet to win in his illustrious careers. Andrey Rublev beat U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem 6-2, 7-5 in the early match. Thiem was already assured of winning the group after beating Tsitsipas and Nadal in the first two rounds.
GOLF
Camilo Villegas and Matt Wallace are tied for the lead at 6-under 64 after one round of the RSM Classic at Seaside. Villegas made a birdie on his last hole at the Seaside course. Wallace made a 30-foot par on his last hole at Seaside.
Also, Women's British Open winner Sophia Popov left top-ranked playing partner Jin Young Ko and everyone else behind Thursday in the Pelican Women's Championship. Popov shot a 6-under 64 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead over Ashleigh Buhai, with Ko eight shots behind after a 72 in her first LPGA Tour start of the year. Ko, the No. 1 player in the world for the last 68 weeks, has been home in South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic. She plans to play three straight tournaments through the U.S. Women's Open.
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