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#SportsReport: Marshawn Lynch Sits During National Anthem

Marshawn Lynch
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NFL:

Marshawn Lynch made the biggest news of what otherwise was a routine preseason NFL game by sitting during the national anthem prior to the Oakland Raiders' 20-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night.

The ex-Seattle running back, who came out of retirement to sign with his hometown Raiders, sat on an orange cooler with his arms resting on his knees, while others around him stood.

Although he rarely talks to the media, Lynch has voiced support for quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the anthem last season to protest what he saw as a pattern of police mistreatment of people of color.

Lynch did not play in the game.

PGA:

Justin Thomas has his first major title after overtaking Kevin Kisner and several others in winning the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

The world's 14th-ranked player closed with a 3-under 68 that included four birdies in a six-hole stretch. The run included a dramatic putt on the par-5 10th hole where his ball lingered on the left edge of the cup for several seconds before falling in. He followed that by chipping in from the fringe on No. 13 for another birdie.

Thomas all-but secured his fourth win of the year by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th, giving him a three-shot edge. He started the day two shots behind Kisner before finishing 8 under for the tournament.

Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed and Francesco Molinari tied for second at 6 under, though none had a chance to win as they played the 18th. Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama finished three strokes back. Matsuyama began the round one shot off the lead as he tried to become the first Japanese player to win a major.

Kisner faded at the end, beginning with a three-putt for bogey on 16. That was followed by a birdie miss and a double-bogey for a 3-over 74 that left him four shots back.

Chris Stroud fired a 5-over 76 after entering the round within one shot of Kisner.

MLB:

— The Red Sox took the rubber match of their three-game series in New York to stretch their lead in the AL East to 5 ½ games over the Yankees. Andrew Benintendi singled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning to complete Boston's comeback in a 3-2 win over the Yanks. The Yankees carried a 2-1 lead into the ninth before Rafael Devers crushed a homer off a 103-mile-an-hour pitch from Aroldis Chapman.

Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson crushed two-run homers as the Mets beat the Phillies for the third time in four days, 6-2. Winning pitcher Chris Flexen worked out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam with just one run scoring after Odubal Herrera's base-running gaffe led to a double play. Herrera tried to go from second to third on a bad throw, but he didn't realize that teammate Freddy Galvis was still on the base.

The Chicago Cubs have regained sole possession of first place in the National League Central by taking the rubber match of their three-game series at Arizona.

Jake Arrieta worked six strong innings and the Cubs banged out three late homers in a 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Arrieta struck out six, allowed three hits and blanked the DBacks until David Peralta's (peh-RAHL'-tahz) sacrifice fly cut Chicago's lead to 2-1.

Javier Baez clubbed a three-run homer that put the Cubs ahead 5-1 in the eighth, one batter before Ian Happ went deep. Kris Bryant also homered for the Cubbies, who now lead their division by one game over St. Louis.

The Cardinals had won a season-high eight straight until R.A. Dickey held them to one run over seven innings of the Braves' 6-3 triumph at St. Louis. Brandon Phillips slammed a two-run homer and Ender Inciarte was 3-for-5 with two runs scored to help Atlanta halt a five-game skid. Redbirds rookie Paul DeJong hit his 18th home run and was 3-for-5 to raise his average to .297.

Neil Walker had a successful debut with the Brewers, going 2-for-4 with a run scored in a 7-4 victory against the Reds. Domingo Santana launched a three-run homer to help Milwaukee win its second straight since a six-game losing streak. Ryan Braun finished with two hits and provided an RBI double in the Brewers' three-run first.

The outcome keeps Milwaukee two games behind the Cubs

The Pirates are four games off the division lead after J.A. Happ held them to a run and four hits over six innings of Toronto's 7-1 rout of Pittsburgh. Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer to support Happ, who allowed a first-inning run before winning his third consecutive start. Justin Smoak and Darwin Barney added solo shots in the Blue Jays' ninth win in their last 13 home games.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Cleveland beat Tampa Bay for the third straight day as Austin Jackson led off the eighth with a tiebreaking solo homer to push the Indians past the Rays, 4-3. Edwin Encarnacion also homered after Jay Bruce and Carlos Santana laced RBI doubles. Corey Kluber improved to 11-3 and struck out nine over seven innings as the Indians maintained their 4 ½-game lead over second-place Minnesota in the AL Central.

— The Twins kept pace by winning for the seventh time in eight games, getting homers from Brian Dozier and Miguel Sano in a 6-4 decision over Detroit. Minnesota blew an early 4-0 lead before Byron Buxton hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth. The Tigers knotted the score in a three-run fifth that included three passed balls, a wild pitch, a hit batter and an error.

— Kansas City's 14-6 laugher over the White Sox keeps the Royals five games behind the division-leading Indians. Whit Merrifield belted a three-run homer and drove in a career-high five runs, while Drew Butera furnished four of Kansas City's 16 hits. Jorge Bonifacio also homered and Lorenzo Cain drove in two runs to help Jason Vargas pick up his 14th win, tying a career high.

— The Astros ended their season-worst, five-game losing streak as Dallas Keuchel pitched into the seventh inning of a 2-1 verdict over the Rangers. Keuchel took a shutout into the sixth and struck out seven in his first victory since going on the disabled list two months ago. Jose Altuve homered and Carlos Beltran singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh to send Houston to its fourth win in 15 games.

— The Giants and Nationals split their doubleheader in Washington. Chris Stratton struck out a career-high 10 over 6 2/3 shutout innings to lead a 4-2 win over the Nationals in the opener. Joe Panik had three hits, including a two-run single in a three-run second. Anthony Rendon smacked a two-run homer in the eighth for the Nats.

— The Nationals walked away with a 6-2 win over San Francisco in the nightcap, thanks to Howie Kendrick's grand slam in the bottom of the 11th. Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman also homered for the Nats, but the game was extended after Pablo Sandoval went deep in the seventh for his first round-tripper since rejoining the Giants.

— Justin Turner socked a three-run homer and a solo shot as the Dodgers won for the 28th time in their last 33 games, 6-4 against San Diego. Yasmani Grandal also homered for Los Angeles, which improved to 83-34 and stretched their lead in the NL West to 18 games. Kenta Maeda pitched into the sixth inning for his 11th win.

— Giancarlo Stanton homered for the fourth straight day and the Marlins completed their first season sweep of the Rockies in 11 years with a 5-3 victory. Stanton leads the majors with 42 home runs, tying Gary Sheffield's team record set in 1996. Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado left the game in the fifth inning with what was diagnosed as a bruised left hand after getting hit by a pitch.

— The Angels were 4-2 winners over the Mariners behind Parker Bridwell, who gave up a run and four hits in six innings to win his fifth straight decision. C.J. Cron homered and Martin Maldonado had a two-run single as Los Angeles earned its sixth straight win and completed a four-game sweep. The outcome allowed the Angels to stay a half-game ahead of the Twins for the second AL wild-card berth.

— Matt Chapman unloaded a three-run homer while Oakland scored five times in the fourth to whip the Orioles, 9-3. Matt Joyce and Matt Olson also homered as the A's gained a four-game split. Manny Machado hit his 22nd homer and scored twice for Baltimore.

MLB NEWS

The Washington Nationals were relieved to hear that outfielder Bryce Harper didn't do major damage to his knee when it buckled during Saturday's game against San Francisco.

General manager Mike Rizzo said Harper has a "significant" bone bruise in his left knee but avoided the kind of ligament or tendon damage that could have ended his season. While, there's no definitive timeline for Harper to return, manager Dusty Baker referenced 10 days to two weeks.

— Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is back on the disabled list for the third time this year because of knee trouble. Pedroia has been hobbled by knee problems since being injured in a late slide by Manny Machado at Baltimore on April 21.

Also in the majors:

— Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis will complete his comeback from chemotherapy for testicular cancer by starting Monday night's game in Denver against Atlanta. The 28-year-old Bettis finished his last round of treatment in May, two months after doctors discovered his testicular cancer had spread. He had surgery in November to remove the cancer, but it returned and he was forced to leave the team in March for chemotherapy.

— The Padres have committed to their rebuilding program under Andy Green, giving their manager a three-year extension through 2021. The 40-year-old is in the second year of his original contract with the struggling Padres, and the organization is encouraged by the way he has handled his young team.

— A person familiar with the situation says NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan has a small stake in Derek Jeter's investment group that reached an agreement to buy the Marlins. Jordan and Jeter have known each other for more than 20 years and are close friends.

NASCAR-

Kyle Larson grabbed his third NASCAR Cup win of the year by holding off Martin Truex Jr. following an overtime restart at Michigan International Speedway.

Larson's victory came a day after he was permitted by team owner Chip Ganassi to compete in a sprint car event at Iowa before returning to Michigan. He is the first driver since Bill Elliott in the 1980s to win three straight Cup races at MIS.

Truex led by about a second ahead over Erik Jones before a late caution came out because of a spin by Michael McDowell, causing the overtime restart.

Jones finished third, followed by Ryan Newman and Trevor Bayne. Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski was 17th.

Keselowski and Truex won the first two stages.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

Starting receiver Antonio Calloway was among six Florida football players suspended for the team's season opener against Michigan on Sept. 2.

A person familiar with the situation says the players were suspended by the team for misusing school-issued funds.

It's the latest alleged infraction by Calloway, who pleaded no contest to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia in May and was suspended for the spring semester in 2016 amid sexual battery allegations.

Defensive end Keivonnis Davis, defensive lineman Richerd Desir-Jones and linebacker James Houston were also suspended for the Wolverines game, as were linebacker Ventrell Miller, defensive lineman Jordan Smith and offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort.

NFL:

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has taken another step as he recovers from right shoulder surgery.

Newton threw passes during the team period for the first time in two weeks as the team wrapped up training camp at Wofford College. Newton participated in red zone drills, but did not throw any long passes while rehabbing from soreness that stems from rotator cuff surgery in March.

It's unclear at this point if Newton will participate in this week's scrimmages against the Titans or the team's second preseason game at Tennessee on Aug. 19.

In other NFL news:

— Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi has joined team drills for the first time since he was sidelined by a concussion July 31. Ajayi wore pads Sunday for the first time since the injury, but left practice early because of hydration issues in the 90-degree morning sunshine. Coach Adam Gase said the issue was merely a matter of Ajayi regaining his conditioning.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has undergone knee replacement surgery.

The surgeon said the procedure went "very smoothly," and doctors hoped to have the Hall of Fame coach walking later in the day. He's expected to be released within one to three days to begin a rehabilitation program at Duke.

The surgery led Duke to cancel this week's exhibition trip to the Dominican Republic.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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