AP-Sports Right Now
BASEBALL-CONGRESSIONAL GAME
Dems win with Scalise on minds of players
WASHINGTON (AP) — A record crowd of almost 25,000 came to Nationals Park to watch the Democrats beat the Republicans, 11-2 in the annual Congressional Baseball game.
Republicans and Democrats renewed their spirited, friendly diamond rivalry amid concerns over Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, who was shot on an Alexandria, Virginia, ballfield on Wednesday as the Republicans practiced for the game. Democratic manager and Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania accepted the winner's trophy, then gave it to his GOP counterpart, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, to put in Scalise's office on behalf of the Democrats.
Scalise remained listed in critical condition Thursday night after multiple surgeries, though word came from the hospital during the game that he had improved.
US OPEN
Fowler leads US Open
ERIN, Wis. (AP) — Erin Hills was kind to Rickie Fowler and rough on several others during the first round of the U.S. Open.
Fowler is atop the leaderboard following a 7-under 65 that included seven birdies and no bogeys. He birdied three straight holes while making the turn and tied the record for the lowest score in relation to par for a first round of a U.S. Open. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf each shot 7-under 63s at Baltusrol in 1980.
Fowler finds himself one shot ahead of Paul Casey and Xander Schauffele. Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka (KEHP'-kuh) and Tommy Fleetwood are at 5-under.
Seventeen players shot 3 under or better, suggesting that the 11-year-old course was kind to the field. But Erin Hills ate up Jason Day, who had a pair of triple-bogeys in a 7-over 79. Rory McIlroy signed for a 78 after joking that anyone who couldn't hit such wide fairways should pack their bags and go home.
Ernie Els opened with a 70 on the 20th anniversary of his last US Open victory.
Defending champ Dustin Johnson shot a 75 that included just one birdie.
Phil Mickelson had to withdraw from the event after realizing he wouldn't arrive on time. Mickelson attended his daughter's high school graduation in California this morning and had hoped the tournament might go in a weather delay with rain in the forecast. However, the weather did not cooperate.
Many golfers were stunned to see a small blimp crash near the tournament. Jamie Lovemark said he was teeing off when he looked up and saw the blimp on fire. Lovemark said he had the shakes and felt sick to his stomach.
A National Transportation Safety board official said the pilot had some burns and was in stable condition. Sheriff's officials said the pilot was the only one on board.
LPGA-MEIJER CLASSIC
Henderson leads through 18
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Brooke Henderson owns a one-stroke lead over six players through one round of the Meijer LPGA Classic. Henderson opened with an 8-under 63 that included an eagle and six birdies.
Major champions Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng share second with Jennifer Ha, Giulia Molinaro and Holly Clyburn.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Rockies win after squandering 8-run lead
UNDATED (AP) — The Colorado Rockies have regained sole possession of first place in the National League West, but they did it after blowing an eight-run lead lead to the visiting San Francisco Giants.
The Giants scored eight times in their final three at-bats before Raimel Tapia hit an RBI single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to complete the Rockies' wild 10-9 victory in Denver. Nolan Arenado (ar-eh-NAH'-doh) drove in four runs with three doubles, including an RBI hit that put the Rockies ahead 9-1 in the sixth. But the Giants chipped away on homers by Buster Posey, Nick Hundley and Brandon Crawford before Gorkys Hernandez lifted a sacrifice fly to tie it in the ninth.
Greg Holland got the win after blowing a save for the first time in 24 opportunities this season.
The outcome puts the Rockies one game ahead of Arizona and Los Angeles.
The Dodgers lost their share of first place by ending a six-game winning streak.
Lonnie Chisenhall came off the bench to deliver a three-run homer and a two-run single as the Indians thumped the Dodgers, 12-5 in Cleveland. The Indians led just 5-4 until Chisenhall went deep as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning.
Edwin Encarnacion (ehn-kahr-nah-see-OHN') homered, reached base five times and scored four times to help the Indians win for just the second time in 11 interleague games.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Bryce Harper slammed a first-inning homer and the Nationals put together a five-run fifth to hammer the Mets, 8-3 in New York. Daniel Murphy added three more hits against his former team and Michael A. Taylor hit the Nationals' league-leading 100th home run. Murphy and Taylor drove in two runs apiece to back Gio Gonzalez, who allowed two runs over seven innings of the Nats' second win in seven games.
— Marcus Thames (thaymz) smacked his 18th homer of the season, a tiebreaking, two-run shot in the ninth inning of Milwaukee's 6-4 verdict over the Cardinals in St. Louis. Keon Broxton hit the longest homer in Busch Stadium III's history, a 489-foot solo shot that tied the game. The Brewers' third straight win gives them a 2 1/2-game lead over the Cubs atop the NL Central.
— The Yankees dropped their third in a row as Khris Davis drove in a pair with a bloop single in the bottom of the 10th to give Oakland an 8-7 win over New York. Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro scored the tying run in the ninth and put the Bombers ahead with a sacrifice fly, but he also let Davis' blooper bounce off his glove. Chris Carter homered and had two RBIs for the Yanks, who continue to lead the AL East by two games over Boston.
— The Phillies ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the Red Sox, 1-0 on pinch-hitter Ty Kelly's RBI double in the bottom of the eighth. Nick Pivetta helped Philadelphia avoid a four-game season sweep by limiting Boston to four hits in a career-high seven innings. Losing pitcher Chris Sale struck out 10 and was working on a two-hitter until Andrew Knapp hit a one-out single and scored on Kelly's two-bagger.
— Minnesota still leads the AL Central by two games over Cleveland following the Twins' 6-2 win over Seattle. Chris Gimenez homered twice for the Twins, including a three-run blast that highlighted a five-run first inning. Eduardo Escobar also went deep in the first to back Jose Berrios, who is 6-1 after allowing two runs and five hits over a career-high eight innings.
— The Royals continued to work themselves back in contention by getting homers from Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon in a 7-2 victory over the Angels. The Royals have hit 14 homers during a five-game winning streak that has put themselves four games off the AL Central lead despite a 10-20 start. Matt Strahm was a winner in his first big league start following 41 relief outings, yielding an unearned run and three hits in five innings.
— The Tigers celebrated a 5-3 win over Tampa Bay following Miguel Cabrera's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Victor Martinez broke his 0-for-16 slump with an RBI single that opened the scoring. Justin Verlander was reached for two runs on six hits and five walks over seven innings.
— Rookie Matt Davidson homered for the fourth straight game before contributing to a four-run sixth inning that lifted the White Sox past the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 in Chicago. Davidson doubled and scored the tiebreaking run on Melky Cabrera's two-run single. The Orioles fell under .500 with their seventh loss in eight games.
MLB NEWS
Walker DL'd, Harvey to follow
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Mets have added second baseman Neil Walker to their disabled list and are about to place starting pitcher Matt Harvey and outfielder Juan Lagares on the DL.
Walker suffered a partially-torn left hamstring while trying to beat out a bunt in Wednesday's win over the Chicago Cubs. Walker was hitting .270 with nine homers and 33 RBIs this season.
Harvey will be sidelined for several weeks with a stress injury to the scapula bone in the right shoulder. The diagnosis came a day after his fastball averaged under 92 mph, about 2-5 mph lower than in his previous starts this season.
Lagares broke his right thumb trying to make a diving catch in Thursday's game against Washington. Lagares played because outfielder Michael Conforto missed his fourth straight start with a stiff back.
And if that wasn't enough for the Mets, GM Sandy Alderson announced that starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard (SIHN'-dur-gahrd) won't be able to throw for four more weeks. The Mets ace was expected to be out until after the All-Star break with torn lat muscle that landed him on the DL May 1.
In other MLB news:
— The Red Sox say reliever Tyler Thornburg will have season-ending right shoulder surgery. Boston says the right-hander will be treated in St. Louis for thoracic outlet syndrome. The condition results from the compression of nerves or blood vessels between the neck and the armpit.
— The Astros have agreed to a minor league contract with 20-year-old Cuban right-hander Elian Rodriguez that includes a $1.9 million signing bonus. The deal raises Houston's international signing bonus total to $10,757,500, well above its $2,197,000 signing bonus pool. That means the Astros will incur a tax of $8,560,500.
— The Athletics have brought up top prospect Matt Chapman the team's first-round pick in 2014. Chapman batted .259 with 16 home runs, 30 RBIs and a .592 slugging percentage in 49 games for Triple-A Nashville.
— Dodgers minor league pitcher Jair Jurrjens (jyr JUR'-jehnz) has been suspended for 80 games under baseball's minor league drug program following a positive test for testosterone that did not originate in his body. The former major league All-Star was pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City and hasn't appeared in a major league game since 2014.
— A's pitching coach Curt Young has been dismissed and replaced by bullpen coach Scott Emerson.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-LOUISVILLE
NCAA slams Cardinals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The NCAA has added several sanctions to Louisville's self-imposed punishment following a sex scandal investigation of the men's basketball team.
The NCAA's biggest additional sanction so far has been to suspend head coach Rick Pitino for five ACC games. The other penalties include vacating wins in which ineligible players participated, placing the basketball program on four years' probation, and issuing a 10-year show-cause order for former basketball operations director, Andre McGee.
The NCAA has yet to vacate the Cardinals' 2013 national championship, which could be one reason Pitino and Louisville officials are adamant about appealing the decision.
The NCAA began to look into the program following Katina Powell's allegations that she and other escorts were hired to have sex parties and strip for Louisville recruits and players.
The NCAA said the school must determine which games ineligible players participated in, and that might include the Cardinals title game. Players deemed ineligible would be those involved in the sex parties, which are considered impermissible benefits.
NBA-WARRIORS PARADE
Parade marking Warriors' title rolls in Oakland
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Warriors have taken one final bow at a victory parade in Oakland, three days after winning their second NBA championship in three years.
The team rode buses along the parade route before players and coaches spoke to the crowd at a rally. All-Star guard Stephen (STEH'-fehn) Curry recalled last year's loss to the Cavaliers in the finals and said everything the team went through last year makes this title so much sweeter.
The Warriors went 15-1 in the postseason and knocked off Cleveland in five games, 12 months after blowing a three-games-to-one lead to the Cavs.
NBA-NUGGETS-FRONT OFFICE
Kroenke, Connelly promoted
DENVER (AP) — Nuggets President Josh Kroenke has promoted assistant general manager Arturas Karnisovas to general manager and bumped Tim Connelly up to a new role as the team's president of basketball operations.
Karnisovas was a finalist for the Milwaukee Bucks' GM job this month and for the Brooklyn Nets' GM job last year.
NFL-CONCUSSIONS
1st 2 claims in NFL concussion settlement total $9 million
UNDATED (AP) — The first two claims in the NFL's billion-dollar concussion settlement have been announced, a total of $9 million in benefits. The U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania overseeing the process was notified Thursday that the claims were approved. The payouts were for $5 million for a qualifying diagnosis of ALS, and $4 million for a qualifying diagnosis of CTE.
The names of the former players were not disclosed as part of the filings. However, those amounts mean that both individuals played a minimum of five NFL seasons and were diagnosed before their 45th birthdays.
Because CTE can only be diagnosed once someone has died, the player's estate would be collecting that payout, approved on June 5. THE ALS claim was approved on May 26.
More than 14,500 class members out of a potential well above 20,000 have registered for benefits ahead of the Aug. 7 deadline. That can include former players or their families.
NFL-GIANTS-ENGRAM
Giants ink top pick
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants have signed first-round draft pick Evan Engram.
The speedy tight end gets a four-year deal that will pay him under $11 million. Engram was taken 23rd overall after catching 65 passes for 926 yards and eight touchdowns for Mississippi last season.
NHL-NEWS
Buffalo Sabres hire Phil Housley as head coach
UNDATED (AP) — Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley is returning to Buffalo after being hired by the Sabres as their next head coach. Housley takes over for Dan Bylsma (BYLZ'-muh), who was fired along with general manager Tim Murray in April.
Housley has spent the past four years as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators.
In other NHL news:
— The Carolina Hurricanes and forward Teuvo Teravainen (TAY'-voh tehr-uh-VY'-nuhn) have agreed to terms for a two-year deal worth more than $5.7 million. Teravainen had 15 goals and 27 assists in 81 games last season, all career highs.
— The Colorado Avalanche have bought out the final year of defenseman Francois Beauchemin's (FRAHN'-swah BOH'-shee-mihnz) contract. Beauchemin had a no-movement clause in his deal, and buying him out allows Colorado to protect an extra player in the upcoming Vegas expansion draft.
— The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded forward Jonathan Drouin (DROO'-an) to the Montreal Canadiens in a deal that gets them defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev. Tampa Bay also gets a conditional 2018 second-round pick and Montreal a 2018 conditional sixth-rounder.
JORDAN'S FATHER
Attorneys claim evidence tampering in James Jordan murder
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Attorneys for a man serving a life sentence for the murder of Michael Jordan's father say their client deserves a new trial because they say someone tampered with evidence.
Attorneys for Daniel Green say the autopsy found no hole in James Jordan's shirt that corresponded with the bullet wound in his upper right chest area. But the filing says an agent with the State Bureau of Investigation later noted a hole in the shirt, contradicting the autopsy.
The basketball great's father was killed on July 23, 1993. Green and Larry Demery were convicted after Demery testified that Green shot Jordan as he slept in his car.
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