MLB:
The second half of the Major League Baseball season starts back up today since the All-Star break where the American League came away with home field advantage in the World Series. Boston is in Los Angeles to take on the Angels, the Yankees will see Seattle at home, and the Mets face the Cardinals in St. Louis.
Golf:
Dustin Johnson played bogey-free on Thursday en route to a 7-under-par 65 and a one-stroke lead going into the second round of the British Open at St. Andrews. Zach Johnson and Retief Goosen were among six players just one shot back, and Jordan Spieth was at minus-5 as he tries to join Ben Hogan as the only players to win the Masters, the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year. Tiger Woods carded just one birdie in a 76 that leaves him 11 strokes back.
Sam Saunders has a one-stroke lead over Jason Gore after the first round of the Barbasol Championship in Alabama. Saunders shot a 7-under 64 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
Ha Na Jang fired a 5-under 66 for a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour's Marathon Classic. The South Korean birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine and closed with a birdie to move ahead of Nannette Hill, Wei-Ling Hsu, Lee-Anne Pace and Sarah Kemp.
NFL:
Longtime New England Patriots offensive lineman Dan Connolly has decided to retire.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed defensive end Cameron Heyward to a six-year contract. The 26-year-old Heyward was entering the final year of the rookie pact he signed after the Steelers took him with the 31st overall selection of the 2011 draft. He set a career high and tied for the team lead with 7 1/2 sacks in 2014 as Pittsburgh won the AFC North title.
A court hearing has been postponed for former UConn tight end Sean McQuillan on the assault charge that ended his college football career. McQuillan had been scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court yesterday morning, but a court clerk says the case was continued to Monday. McQuillan was arrested in April after an altercation with a roommate at his off-campus apartment.
NHL:
The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Taylor Aronson to a one-year, two-way contract after he accepted his qualifying offer. The deal will pay him $605,000 in the NHL or $65,000 in the minors. The 23-year old had 29 assists in his first full season at Milwaukee in the American Hockey League last season. Aronson also led the Admirals' defensemen with 32 points. He had 38 points in the ECHL with Cincinnati in 2013-14.
NBA:
Josh Smith is now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers after signing a reported one-year deal worth the veteran minimum $1.5 million. The 29-year-old forward is the 25th player in NBA history with over 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,000 blocked shots. Smith helped the Rockets rally from a 3-1 series deficit against the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, scoring 34 points over the last two games.
The Sacramento Kings have voided the one-year contract of free-agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute after he failed a team physical, two days after he agreed to the deal. Mbah a Moute averaged a career-high 9.9 points to go with 4.9 rebounds per game with Philadelphia last season. He has averaged 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in seven NBA seasons.
Colorado prosecutors want Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson to use an alcohol monitoring device after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence for a second time this year. Lawson was arrested in Los Angeles Tuesday and is scheduled to stand trial in a Denver DUI case next month.
Mavericks President and CEO Terdema Ussery is stepping down for a position with sports apparel company Under Armour. Chief financial officer Floyd Jahner is taking Ussery's place as Mavs CEO.
Olympics:
The United States Olympic Committee has heard from organizers of Boston's bid to host the 2024 Summer Games. Officials from the USOC and Boston 2024 met privately yesterday. They say they reviewed the progress made over the last two weeks since Boston 2024 unveiled a revised version of its $4.6 billion proposal.
Tour de France:
Britain's Chris Froome remains in control of the yellow jersey, symbolic of being the overall leader of the Tour de France. In Thursday's 12th stage the winner was Spain's Joachim Rodriguez after surging out of a breakaway group on the way to an uphill finish as the race leaves the Pyrenees mountains.
WNBA:
In the WNBA, New York beat Connecticut 64-57 and it was Atlanta over Los Angeles 76-72.
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