CYCLING: Marcel Kittel had little trouble winning the sixth stage of the Tour de France in a mass sprint finish Thursday with Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish both no longer in the race. Chris Froome held on to the leader's yellow jersey. It was Kittel's second victory in this year's race and 11th overall in his Tour career.
NBA: The New York Knicks are trying to bring back Tim Hardaway Junior. The Knicks signed the guard to a four-year, $71 million offer sheet Thursday, agent Mark Bartelstein said. Hardaway is a restricted free agent, so the Atlanta Hawks will have two days to match the offer. The deal was first reported by ESPN.
Kelly Olynyk has agreed to sign with the Miami Heat, after four seasons with the Boston Celtics. Olynyk shot a career-best 51 percent last season and has averaged 9.5 points per game in his four NBA seasons. In Miami, he will likely be a backup to center Hassan Whiteside.
A person with knowledge of the deal says the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki have agreed on a two-year, $10 million contract that carries a team option in the second season. Nowitzki is now set to join former Lakers great Kobe Bryant as the only players to spend 20 seasons with one NBA franchise. The 7-foot German is also the only foreign-born player with 30,000 career points, a milestone he reached last season.
Checking out other NBA news:
The Spurs have signed veteran forward Rudy Gay, who averaged 18.7 points last season in Sacramento but played just 30 games before rupturing his left Achilles tendon. The 6-foot-8 Gay has averaged 18.4 points in 753 career games.
A person with knowledge of the contract terms says the Heat also kept James Johnson in the fold by giving him a four-year package that could be worth more than $60 million. Johnson revived his career in Miami last season, averaging a career-high 12.8 points.
The Clippers, Hawks and Nuggets have worked out a three-team trade that sends sharp-shooting forward Danilo Gallinari to Los Angeles. The Clippers also shipped Jamal Crawford, Diamond Stone, cash considerations and a protected 2018 first-round pick to the Hawks, who gave a second-round pick to Denver.
The Pacers have waived backup guard Monta Ellis, who averaged 11.3 points and four assists in 114 games over two seasons with the team. By releasing the 12-year veteran, Indiana saves about $9 million on the salary cap and won't have to pay next season's salary.
TENNIS: The U.S. Open will experiment during its qualifying rounds this year with scoreboard clocks to limit how much time elapses between points and how long pre-match warmups or mid-match clothing changes can last. Also set to be tried out at Flushing Meadows in August's qualifying matches: letting coaches communicate with their players from the stands between points.
Second seed Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Roger Federer have advanced to the third round of Wimbledon by winning in straight sets. Other winners on the men's side include sixth seed Milos Raonic and No. 8 Dominic Thiem, but Americans Jack Sock and John Isner went down to defeat. Women's top seed Angelique Kerber won her second-round match in straight sets, as did fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska.
MLB: Wilson Ramos homered and drove in three against Chris Sale despite the All-Star's record-setting performance, rookie Jake Faria remained unbeaten and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1. Sale struck out 12 while giving up four runs and seven hits in seven innings. He became the first Red Sox pitcher to strike out 10 or more in 12 games before the All-Star break, surpassing the 11 games of Pedro Martinez in 1999. Faria gave up a run and four hits while walking four in six innings.
Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts left the game in the first inning after being hit just above the right wrist by a pitch from Jake Faria of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Mets and Yankees were off last night, The Mets are in Saint Louis tonight to take on the Cardinals at 8:15. And the New York Yankees are at home to face the Milwaukee Brewers tonight at 7:05.
Dustin Fowler hobbled into the Yankee Stadium interview room on crutches about a week after he injured his knee during his major league debut. He said, he "just couldn't believe what was going on," when he crashed into the wall chasing a foul ball. He faces a four-to-six month rehabilitation after rupturing the patellar tendon in his right knee.
Defending champion Giancarlo Stanton will be the top seed in the Home Run Derby on Monday night at his home ballpark in Miami. Stanton received the No. 1 seed after winning the event during All-Star week last year in San Diego. He will face New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, the No. 8 seed, in the opening round at Marlins Park. Yankees rookie Aaron Judge, who leads the majors with 29 home runs, is the No. 2 seed and will square off against seventh-seeded Justin Bour of the hometown Marlins.
Third basemen Justin Turner of the Dodgers and Mike Moustakas of the Royals have received the final initial roster spots for Tuesday's All-Star game in Miami. Turner received a record 20.8 million votes in online balloting, topping Freddie Freeman's 19.7 million in 2013. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was second in the NL vote, leaving Cubs reliever Wade Davis as the sole representative of the World Series champions.
Closer Fernando Rodney entered in the ninth inning last night with a three-run lead and a chance to help the Arizona Diamondbacks get within 3 ½ games of the first-place Dodgers in the National League West. Rodney never got a single out as the Dodgers scored four times in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Diamondbacks, 5-4.
Rodney gave up a leadoff single and walked three straight hitters to force in a run before Corey Seager tied the game with a two-run single. T.J. McFarland followed Rodney and promptly surrendered Chris Taylor's walk-off single that put Los Angeles 5 ½ games ahead of Arizona.
The DBacks wasted a pair of homers by Jake Lamb and a solo shot by Ketel Marte.
Logan Forsythe homered for the Dodgers, who won for the 23rd time in 27 games.
Elsewhere in the majors:
The Brewers have opened a 4 ½-game lead in the NL Central after crushing the second-place Cubs, 11-2. Ryan Braun slammed a two-run homer to ignite Milwaukee's seven-run third off Mike Montgomery and the Cubs' bullpen. Zach Davies picked up his team-high 10th victory by limiting the defending World Series champs to two runs on five hits over six innings.
The Blue Jays cooled off Houston by putting together a five-run fifth off Lance McCullers in a 7-4 downing of the Astros. Russell Martin homered and Josh Donaldson ended an 0-for-15 slump with a two-run single that put Toronto ahead to stay. Marwin Gonzalez and Carlos Beltran homered for the Astros, who lost for just the 10th time in 41 road games.
Jose Ramirez drove in three runs and Cleveland salvaged the finale of its three-game series with San Diego by blasting the Padres, 11-2. Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a two-run blast, and Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo homer and collected four hits while scoring four times. Josh Tomlin entered with a 6.17 ERA before holding the Padres to two runs and four hits over seven frames.
Cleveland's lead in the AL Central is one game over the Royals and 1 ½ games over the Twins after Minnesota erupted for six runs in the third inning to beat the Orioles, 6-4. Max Kepler lined a two-run single and scored on Eduardo Escobar's two-run triple. Jose Berrios improved to 8-2 by working six shaky innings, giving up three earned runs and seven hits.
Mike Foltynewicz continued his recent strong pitching by tossing six innings of two-run ball in the Braves' 5-2 win at Washington. Foltynewicz is 4-0 with a 2.98 with 40 strikeouts over 42 1/3 innings in seven starts since allowing five runs over four innings of a loss at San Francisco. Freddie Freeman moved back to first base and had two hits and two RBIs as Atlanta pulled within 8 ½ games of the NL East-leading Nationals.
The Rockies have continued their downward spiral with a 6-3 loss to the Reds. Sal Romano allowed two runs and six hits over five innings to help the Reds gain a split of the four-game series. Adam Duvall hit his 20th home run and drove in two runs as the Reds dealt the Rockies their 12th loss in 15 games.
Luke Voit hit a two-run homer and had three RBIs to lead the Cardinals past the Marlins, 4-3. Voit is hitting .333 with seven RBIs and six extra-base hits in 11 games since being recalled from Triple-A Memphis. Michael Wacha struck out nine and gave up two runs over 5 2/3 innings to help the Cardinals earn a four-game split and stay within 5 ½ games of the NL Central lead.
Josh Bell hit a two-run homer and an RBI double as the Pirates doubled up the Phillies, 6-3. Gregory Polanco went 4-for-4 with a solo shot and two ribbies in Pittsburgh's third straight win since a four-game skid. Chad Kuhl lowered his ERA to 5.03 by yielding two earned runs over seven innings.
Dixon Machado drove in two runs with his first career homer as Detroit whipped San Francisco, 6-2. Anibal Sanchez earned his first victory since Aug. 23, allowing two runs and five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks over six innings. The Giants lost for the second time in nine games.
Khris Davis banged out a three-run homer and Bruce Maxwell added a solo shot, both in a four-run fifth that gave the Athletics a 7-0 lead in a 7-4 win at Seattle. Rookie Paul Blackburn picked up his first major league win by allowing one run and eight hits over 7 2/3s. Blackburn lowered his ERA to 0.66 and blanked the Mariners until Mitch Haniger homered in the fifth.
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner and Kansas City third baseman Mike Moustakas have received the final initial roster spots for Tuesday's All-Star game in Miami. Turner received a record 20.8 million votes in online balloting, topping Freddie Freeman's 19.7 million in 2013. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was second in the NL vote, leaving Cubs reliever Wade Davis as the sole representative of the World Series champions.
Outfielder Kyle Schwarber is back with the Cubs after a two-week stint in the minors. Schwarber hit .343 with four homers in 11 games for Triple-A Iowa. Inserted into the Cubs' lineup on Thursday, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to drop his major league average to .168 with 12 homers and 28 RBIs in 65 games. Chicago made roster room by placing pitcher John Lackey on the 10-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis of the right foot.
Indians manager Terry Francona remains hospitalized with no clear timetable for his return. Francona spent his third straight day at the Cleveland Clinic, where he has been undergoing tests — and possibly a procedure. Doctors are trying to resolve issues that have made him light-headed over the past month.
The Tigers have put left-hander Daniel Norris on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left groin. Norris lost his third straight start Wednesday night, allowing five runs in four innings of a 5-4 loss to San Francisco. He's 4-7 with a 5.29 ERA on the season.
The Braves have recalled right-handed reliever Akeel Morris from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned right-hander Matt Wisler to Gwinnett. Wisler was 0-1 with a 7.41 ERA in eight games with Atlanta.
NFL: Five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is adding the title of author to his resume. Simon & Schuster says it will publish the Patriots quarterback's debut book in September. "The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance" is described by the publisher as an "athletes' Bible" that will reveal Brady's methods for success.
PGA: Sebastian Munoz opened with a 9-under 61 that puts him two strokes ahead of Davis Love III after one round of the PGA's Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia. Munoz has never finished higher than 27th in a PGA event. Love is looking for his first win since the 2015 Wyndham Championship, which made him the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history. He would be the oldest if he wins this event.
NHL:
The Washington Capitals have hung onto their backup goaltender
Philipp Grubauer has agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract just days after becoming a restricted free agent. The 25-year-old German went 13-6-2 with a 2.04 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage and three shutouts in 24 games with Washington last season.
Sebastian Munoz is the early pace-setter at the PGA's Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia. Munoz opened with a 9-under 61 that puts him two strokes ahead of Davis Love III. Munoz has never finished higher than 27th in a PGA event. Love is looking for his first win since the 2015 Wyndham Championship, which made him the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history. He would be the oldest if he wins this event.
Defending champion Danny Lee was at 64 along with David Lingmerth, Ben Martin, rookie Xander Schauffele, and Canadians Graham DeLaet and Nick Taylor.
Belgian rookie Laura Gonzalez Escallon birdied three of the final four holes for a 7-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead in the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
Gonzalez Escallon also made birdies on three of the first four holes to put herself in a tie with Sei Young Kim in the first-year event.
Kim had eight birdies and a bogey to move one shot ahead of Tour rookies Madeleine Sheils and Min-G Kim.
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