“THE SCOREBOARD”
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NY YANKEES 9 MIAMI 4
WASHINGTON 8 OAKLAND 2
PHILADELPHIA 13 MINNESOTA 2
CHICAGO CUBS 6 TORONTO 2
MILWAUKEE 7 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 6 (10)
KANSAS CITY 12 ST. LOUIS 8
TEXAS 2 SAN FRANCISCO 1
TAMPA BAY 9 CLEVELAND 8
BOSTON 5 DETROIT 2
HOUSTON 11 LA ANGELS 3
SEATTLE 9 BALTIMORE 2
CINCINNATI 9 PITTSBURGH 2
ATLANTA 7 NY METS 0
SAN DIEGO 10 ARIZONA 5
LA DODGERS SIX COLORADO 1
BOX SCORES: http://hosted.stats.com/mlb/scoreboard.asp
STATS: http://hosted.stats.com/mlb/index.asp
PLAYER NEWS: http://hosted.stats.com/mlb/news.asp
NFL PRE-SEASON
HOUSTON 20 NEW ENGLAND 9
SEATTLE 24 MINNESOTA 13
DETROIT 21 NY GIANTS 16
PITTSBURGH 27 TAMPA BAY 17
GREEN BAY 36 CINCINNATI 19
ATLANTA 19 MIAMI 3
WASHINGTON 17 CLEVELAND 15
ARIZONA 18 DENVER 17
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NASHVILLE 7 INDIANAPOLIS 5
LANSING 7 FORT WAYNE 3
LAKE COUNTY 1 SOUTH BEND 0 (SUSPENDED IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SECOND INNING)
WNBA
NEW YORK 89 CHICAGO 73
LAS VEGAS 113 WASHINGTON 89
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
MIAMI 4 CHARLOTTE 0
NASHVILLE 5 MINNESOTA 0
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WEEK 1
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
| BOYLE COUNTY (KY.) | AT | GIBSON SOUTHERN | 6:00 PM | ||
| CENTER GROVE | VS. | ST. EDWARD (OHIO) | 12:05 AM | ||
| SOUTHSIDE HOMESCHOOL | AT | PHALEN ACADEMY | 5:00 PM |
BIG 10 WEEKLY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
WEEK 1
MINNESOTA VS. NEBRASKA
THURSDAY, AUG. 31
WISCONSIN VS. BUFFALO
MICHIGAN STATE VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN VS. EAST CAROLINA
PURDUE VS. FRESNO STATE
RUTGERS VS. NORTHWESTERN
INDIANA VS. OHIO STATE
ILLINOIS VS. TOLEDO
MARYLAND VS. TOWSON
IOWA VS. UTAH STATE
PENN STATE VS. WEST VIRGINIA
WEEK 2
MARYLAND VS. CHARLOTTE
PENN STATE VS. DELAWARE
MINNESOTA VS. EASTERN MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS AT KANSAS
INDIANA VS. INDIANA STATE
IOWA AT IOWA STATE
NEBRASKA AT COLORADO
PURDUE AT VIRGINIA TECH
MICHIGAN STATE VS. RICHMOND
RUTGERS VS. TEMPLE
MICHIGAN VS. UNLV
NORTHWESTERN VS. UTEP
WISCONSIN AT WASHINGTON STATE
OHIO STATE VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
WEEK 3
MICHIGAN VS. BOWLING GREEN
WISCONSIN VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
INDIANA VS. LOUISVILLE (IN INDIANAPOLIS, IN)
MINNESOTA AT NORTH CAROLINA
NEBRASKA VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
NORTHWESTERN AT DUKE
ILLINOIS VS. PENN STATE
PURDUE VS. SYRACUSE
MARYLAND VS. VIRGINIA
RUTGERS VS. VIRGINIA TECH
MICHIGAN STATE VS. WASHINGTON
IOWA VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN
OHIO STATE VS. WESTERN KENTUCKY
WEEK 4
INDIANA VS. AKRON
ILLINOIS VS. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
PENN STATE VS. IOWA
NEBRASKA VS. LOUISIANA TECH
MICHIGAN STATE VS. MARYLAND
NORTHWESTERN VS. MINNESOTA
OHIO STATE AT NOTRE DAME
MICHIGAN VS. RUTGERS
PURDUE VS. WISCONSIN
WEEK 5
PURDUE VS. ILLINOIS
MARYLAND VS. INDIANA
MINNESOTA VS. LOUISIANA
NEBRASKA VS. MICHIGAN
IOWA VS. MICHIGAN STATE
NORTHWESTERN VS. PENN STATE
RUTGERS VS. WAGNER
WEEK 6
NORTHWESTERN VS. HOWARD
OHIO STATE VS. MARYLAND
MINNESOTA VS. MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS VS. NEBRASKA
IOWA VS. PURDUE
WISCONSIN VS. RUTGERS
WEEK 7
MARYLAND VS. ILLINOIS
MICHIGAN VS. INDIANA
WISCONSIN VS. IOWA
RUTGERS VS. MICHIGAN STATE
PURDUE VS. OHIO STATE
PENN STATE VS. UMASS
WEEK 8
MICHIGAN STATE VS. MICHIGAN
IOWA VS. MINNESOTA
NEBRASKA VS. NORTHWESTERN
OHIO STATE VS. PENN STATE
INDIANA VS. RUTGERS
ILLINOIS VS. WISCONSIN
WEEK 9
PENN STATE VS. INDIANA
NORTHWESTERN VS. MARYLAND
MINNESOTA VS. MICHIGAN STATE
WISCONSIN VS. OHIO STATE
NEBRASKA VS. PURDUE
WEEK 10
MINNESOTA VS. ILLINOIS
NORTHWESTERN VS. IOWA (IN CHICAGO, IL)
MICHIGAN STATE VS. NEBRASKA
RUTGERS VS. OHIO STATE
MARYLAND VS. PENN STATE
MICHIGAN VS. PURDUE
INDIANA VS. WISCONSIN
WEEK 11
ILLINOIS VS. INDIANA
NEBRASKA VS. MARYLAND
PENN STATE VS. MICHIGAN
OHIO STATE VS. MICHIGAN STATE
PURDUE VS. MINNESOTA
WISCONSIN VS. NORTHWESTERN
IOWA VS. RUTGERS
WEEK 12
IOWA VS. ILLINOIS
MARYLAND VS. MICHIGAN
INDIANA VS. MICHIGAN STATE
OHIO STATE VS. MINNESOTA
WISCONSIN VS. NEBRASKA
NORTHWESTERN VS. PURDUE
PENN STATE VS. RUTGERS
WEEK 13
NEBRASKA VS. IOWA
FRIDAY, NOV. 24
PURDUE VS. INDIANA
RUTGERS VS. MARYLAND
ILLINOIS VS. NORTHWESTERN
MICHIGAN VS. OHIO STATE
MICHIGAN STATE VS. PENN STATE
MINNESOTA VS. WISCONSIN
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
WEEK 0
SATURDAY, AUG. 26
NOTRE DAME VS. NAVY (DUBLIN, IRELAND) | 2:30 P.M. | NBC
MERCER VS. NORTH ALABAMA (MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN
JACKSONVILLE STATE VS. UTEP | 5:30 P.M. | CBSSN
NEW MEXICO STATE VS. UMASS | 7 P.M. | ESPN
SAN DIEGO STATE VS. OHIO | 7 P.M. | FS1
VANDERBILT VS. HAWAI’I | 7:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
JACKSON STATE VS. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (ATLANTA, GEORGIA) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
USC VS. SAN JOSE STATE | 8 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
LOUISIANA TECH VS. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL | 9 P.M. | CBSSN
WEEK 1
THURSDAY, AUG. 31
WAKE FOREST VS. ELON | 7 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
UCF VS. KENT STATE | 7 P.M. | FS1
GEORGIA STATE VS. RHODE ISLAND | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
WESTERN MICHIGAN VS. ST. FRANCIS (PA) | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
UCONN VS. NC STATE | 7:30 P.M. | CBSSN
MINNESOTA VS. NEBRASKA | 8 P.M. | FOX
MISSOURI VS. SOUTH DAKOTA | 8 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
UTAH VS. FLORIDA | 8 P.M. | ESPN
TULSA VS. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
UAB VS. NORTH CAROLINA A&T | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
ARIZONA STATE VS. SOUTHERN UTAH | 10 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
FRIDAY, SEPT. 1
EASTERN MICHIGAN VS. HOWARD | 6:30 P.M. | ESPN+
MICHIGAN STATE VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN | 7 P.M. | FS1
MIAMI (FLA.) VS. MIAMI (OHIO) | 7 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
GEORGIA TECH VS. LOUISVILLE (MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM IN ATLANTA) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
KANSAS VS. MISSOURI STATE | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
HAWAI’I VS. STANFORD | 11 P.M. | CBSSN
SATURDAY, SEPT. 2
IOWA VS. UTAH STATE | 12 P.M. | FS1
KENTUCKY VS. BALL STATE | 12 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
LIBERTY VS. BOWLING GREEN | 12 P.M. | CBSSN
MICHIGAN VS. EAST CAROLINA | 12 P.M. | PEACOCK
PURDUE VS. FRESNO STATE | 12 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
SMU VS. LOUISIANA TECH | 12 P.M. | ESPNU
TENNESSEE VS. VIRGINIA (NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE) | 12 P.M. | ABC
TCU VS. COLORADO | 12 P.M. | FOX
BOSTON COLLEGE VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS | 12 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
OKLAHOMA VS. ARKANSAS STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN
OLE MISS VS. MERCER | 2 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
IOWA STATE VS. UNI | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
TEMPLE VS. AKRON | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
OHIO VS. LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
AIR FORCE VS. ROBERT MORRIS | 2 P.M. | ALTITUDE SPORTS
OREGON VS. PORTLAND STATE | 3 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
INDIANA VS. OHIO STATE | 3:30 P.M. | CBS
AUBURN VS. UMASS | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN
MARYLAND VS. TOWSON | 3:30 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
WISCONSIN VS. BUFFALO | 3:30 P.M. | FS1
WESTERN KENTUCKY VS. SOUTH FLORIDA | 3:30 P.M. | CBSSN
WASHINGTON VS. BOISE STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ABC
NOTRE DAME VS. TENNESSEE STATE | 3:30 P.M. | NBC
PITT VS. WOFFORD | 3:30 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
CINCINNATI VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
TEXAS VS. RICE | 3:30 P.M. | FOX
APPALACHIAN STATE VS. GARDNER-WEBB | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
ARKANSAS VS. WESTERN CAROLINA | 4 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
MISSISSIPPI STATE VS. SE LOUISIANA | 4 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
NORTH TEXAS VS. CAL | 4 P.M. | ESPNU
SYRACUSE VS. COLGATE | 4 P.M. | ESPN+/ACCNX
GEORGIA VS. UT MARTIN | 6 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
CHARLOTTE VS. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS. MONMOUTH | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
GEORGIA SOUTHERN VS. THE CITADEL | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
JAMES MADISON VS. BUCKNELL | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
MARSHALL VS. ALBANY | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL VS. MAINE | 6:30 P.M. | ESPN+
USC VS. NEVADA | 6:30 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
TEXAS A&M VS. NEW MEXICO | 7 P.M. | ESPN
UL MONROE VS. ARMY | 7 P.M. | NFL NETWORK
VANDERBILT VS. ALABAMA A&M | 7 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
COLORADO STATE VS. WASHINGTON STATE | 7 P.M. | CBSSN
BAYLOR VS. TEXAS STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
HOUSTON VS. UTSA | 7 P.M. | FS1
KANSAS STATE VS. SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
OKLAHOMA STATE VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
MEMPHIS VS. BETHUNE-COOKMAN | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTHERN MISS VS. ALCORN STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
TROY VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
ALABAMA VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE | 7:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
ILLINOIS VS. TOLEDO | 7:30 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. NORTH CAROLINA (CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
PENN STATE VS. WEST VIRGINIA | 7:30 P.M. | NBC
WYOMING VS. TEXAS TECH | 7:30 P.M. | CBS
LOUISIANA VS. NORTHWESTERN STATE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN+
VIRGINIA TECH VS. OLD DOMINION | 8 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
TULANE VS. SOUTH ALABAMA | 8 P.M. | ESPNU
NEW MEXICO STATE VS. WESTERN ILLINOIS | 9 P.M. | ESPN+
UTEP VS. UIW | 9 P.M. | ESPN+
ARIZONA VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA | 10 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
BYU VS. SAM HOUSTON | 10:15 P.M. | FS1
UCLA VS. COASTAL CAROLINA | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN
SAN DIEGO STATE VS. IDAHO STATE | 10:30 P.M. | CBSSN
SUNDAY, SEPT. 3
RUTGERS VS. NORTHWESTERN | 12 P.M. | CBS
SAN JOSE STATE VS. OREGON STATE | 3:30 P.M. | CBS
FLORIDA STATE VS. LSU (ORLANDO, FLORIDA) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
MONDAY, SEPT. 4
DUKE VS. CLEMSON | 8 P.M. | ESPN
NFL PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE
WEEK 1
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12
INDIANAPOLIS AT BUFFALO, 1:00
TENNESSEE AT CHICAGO, 1:00
N.Y. JETS AT CAROLINA, 4:00
JACKSONVILLE AT DALLAS, 5:00
PHILADELPHIA AT BALTIMORE, 7:00
L.A. CHARGERS AT L.A. RAMS, 9:00
SUNDAY, AUGUST 13
KANSAS CITY AT NEW ORLEANS, 1:00
SAN FRANCISCO AT LAS VEGAS, 4:00
WEEK 2
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17
CLEVELAND AT PHILADELPHIA, 7:30
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18
CAROLINA AT N.Y. GIANTS, 7:00
CINCINNATI AT ATLANTA, 7:30
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19
JACKSONVILLE AT DETROIT, 1:00
MIAMI AT HOUSTON, 4:00
BUFFALO AT PITTSBURGH, 6:30
CHICAGO AT INDIANAPOLIS, 7:00
TAMPA BAY AT N.Y. JETS, 7:30
KANSAS CITY AT ARIZONA, 8:00
NEW ENGLAND AT GREEN BAY, 8:00
TENNESSEE AT MINNESOTA, 8:00
DENVER AT SAN FRANCISCO, 8:30
LAS VEGAS AT L.A. RAMS, 9:00
DALLAS AT SEATTLE, 10:00
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20
NEW ORLEANS AT L.A. CHARGERS, 7:05
MONDAY, AUGUST 21
BALTIMORE AT WASHINGTON (ESPN), 8:00
WEEK 3
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24
PITTSBURGH AT ATLANTA, 7:30
INDIANAPOLIS AT PHILADELPHIA (PRIME VIDEO), 8:00
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25
DETROIT AT CAROLINA (CBS), 8:00
NEW ENGLAND AT TENNESSEE, 8:15
L.A. CHARGERS AT SAN FRANCISCO, 10:00
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26
BUFFALO AT CHICAGO, 1:00
SEATTLE AT GREEN BAY, 1:00
CLEVELAND AT KANSAS CITY, 1:00
ARIZONA AT MINNESOTA, 1:00
N.Y. JETS AT N.Y. GIANTS, 6:00
CINCINNATI AT WASHINGTON, 6:05
MIAMI AT JACKSONVILLE, 7:00
BALTIMORE AT TAMPA BAY, 7:00
LAS VEGAS AT DALLAS, 8:00
L.A. RAMS AT DENVER, 9:00
SUNDAY, AUGUST 27
HOUSTON AT NEW ORLEANS (FOX), 8:00
WEEK 1 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
DETROIT LIONS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (THU) 7:20P (CT) 8:20P NBC
CAROLINA PANTHERS AT ATLANTA FALCONS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
HOUSTON TEXANS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
CINCINNATI BENGALS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P CBS
TENNESSEE TITANS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P CBS
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
ARIZONA CARDINALS AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
GREEN BAY PACKERS AT CHICAGO BEARS 3:25P (CT) 4:25P FOX
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT DENVER BRONCOS 2:25P (MT) 4:25P CBS
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P CBS
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 4:25P (ET) 4:25P CBS
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P FOX
DALLAS COWBOYS AT NEW YORK GIANTS 8:20P (ET) 8:20P NBC
BUFFALO BILLS AT NEW YORK JETS (MON) 8:15P (ET) 8:15P ESPN/ABC
TOP NATIONAL RELEASES/HEADLINES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MLB ROUNDUP: WANDER FRANCO’S WALK-OFF HR CAPS RAYS’ WILD WIN
Wander Franco led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a 411-foot home run to right to give the Tampa Bay Rays a wild 9-8 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Franco jumped all over a 1-1 slider from Cleveland’s Nick Sandlin (5-5) to smack his 17th homer of the season. Franco had three RBIs and Isaac Paredes hit a two-run homer for the Rays, who blew a three-run, ninth-inning lead before Franco’s heroics.
Paredes’ 23rd homer of the season in the sixth gave the Rays a 5-4 lead. Tampa Bay tacked on three runs in the seventh without a hit as they loaded the bases with one out on three walks from Daniel Norris. The Rays then scored two on an Andres Gimenez error and another on a Manuel Margot fielder’s choice.
Myles Straw hit his first homer of the season for Cleveland, which has lost 10 of its last 14 games. The Guardians also scored three runs without a hit, tying the game in the ninth on three walks, a hit batter and three wild pitches.
Rangers 2, Giants 1
Jon Gray combined with two relievers on a three-hitter, Nathaniel Lowe and Mitch Garver hit consecutive pitches for home runs and visiting Texas celebrated manager Bruce Bochy’s return to San Francisco with a victory.
The Oracle Park visit was the first for the 68-year-old Bochy since he stepped down after the 2019 season following 13 years as the Giants’ manager, a stint that included three World Series titles. Bochy watched Gray (8-5) fire seven shutout innings, with the right-hander allowing just two hits while fanning seven.
While the Rangers earned their ninth win in their last 10 games, the Giants suffered their fifth loss in the club’s last six games.
Yankees 9, Marlins 4
Anthony Volpe belted a three-run home run and Aaron Judge also went deep to lift visiting New York over Miami.
New York’s Kyle Higashioka ripped a two-run single in the ninth inning to highlight a three-hit performance. Oswaldo Cabrera, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres each had an RBI single for the Yankees, who recorded 14 hits and went 7-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Randy Vasquez (2-1), who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre prior to the game, picked up the win after allowing two runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings. Jesus Luzardo (8-7) permitted seven runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings to lose his second straight start.
Phillies 13, Twins 2
Bryson Stott homered, doubled and drove in three runs while J.T. Realmuto hit a homer, singled and had two RBIs as host Philadelphia crushed Minnesota.
Johan Rojas hit his first career homer and knocked in three runs, Trea Turner added three hits and two RBIs and Nick Castellanos ripped three hits for the Phillies, who have won three straight. Kyle Schwarber left the game in the seventh after fouling a ball off his foot while Bryce Harper sat out with back spasms and is considered day-to-day.
Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler each hit a solo home run for the Twins. Polanco and Michael A. Taylor had two hits each for Minnesota, which has dropped four in a row. Twins starter Dallas Keuchel (0-1) lasted only 1 2/3 innings and gave up six hits and six runs with two walks and no strikeouts.
Braves 7, Mets 0
Austin Riley had three hits, including a home run, and a pair of RBIs for visiting Atlanta, which rolled over New York in the opener of a four-game series.
The Braves improved to 4-4 on a season-long 11-game road trip. The Mets fell to 2-8 this month. Eddie Rosario had two hits and three RBIs for the Braves. Charlie Morton (11-10) earned the win after allowing three hits and walking a career-high seven while striking out four over five-plus innings.
Mark Vientos had two singles for the Mets, who left 14 runners on base and went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Tylor Megill (6-6) took the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits and one walk while striking out three over 5 1/3 innings.
Nationals 8, Athletics 2
Ildemaro Vargas hit a three-run home run as Keibert Ruiz and Jake Alu also homered in Washington’s victory over visiting Oakland in the opener of a three-game series.
It was a tight game until Vargas’ fourth blast of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning. Alu’s first career home run came in his 14th game in the majors, a solo shot in the eighth.
Ruiz, Vargas and Stone Garrett all had two hits for Washington, which received at least one hit from every batter in the lineup to total 12 as a team. Athletics starter Paul Blackburn (2-3) took the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The team had won his past three starts.
Reds 9, Pirates 2
Luke Maile hit a three-run home run and Elly De La Cruz also drove in three as visiting Cincinnati toppled Pittsburgh.
Spencer Steer added an RBI double and an RBI single, and TJ Friedl had an RBI single for the Reds, who had lost two in a row and eight of nine.
Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott (7-3) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, with nine strikeouts and no walks. Ke’Bryan Hayes homered and Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI single for the Pirates, who have lost three of four.
Red Sox 5, Tigers 2
Chris Sale pitched in a major league game for the first time in more than two months and Triston Casas hit a three-run home run to help Boston stretch its winning streak to three games by beating visiting Detroit.
Casas put Boston in front 4-0 when he hit his 19th homer of the season in the fourth inning. It was the first home run Tigers starter Tarik Skubal has allowed this season.
Sale, who spent more than two months on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, retired the first 14 batters he faced. Sale allowed two runs on one hit, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter in 4 2/3 innings. Kerry Carpenter’s solo home run in the fifth was the only hit Sale allowed.
Cubs 6, Blue Jays 2
Javier Assad pitched seven strong innings, Cody Bellinger hit a two-run home run and visiting Chicago defeated Toronto.
Nico Hoerner added a solo shot and Bellinger, Hoerner and Ian Happ each had two hits for the Cubs, who are 7-3 this month. Assad (2-2) allowed one run, four hits and one walk with two strikeouts in his third start of the season.
Brandon Belt hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays, who returned from a 5-2 road trip. Toronto starter Jose Berrios (9-8) allowed six runs (four earned) and nine hits with three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.
Royals 12, Cardinals 8
Salvador Perez went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as host Kansas City jumped to a 9-0 lead after two innings, then had to stave off St. Louis’ attempted comeback.
Maikel Garcia singled twice and scored twice, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games and matching the Royals’ rookie hitting-streak record. Nelson Velazquez and Bobby Witt Jr. added homers as Kansas City won its seventh straight home game.
Willson Contreras went 3-for-3 with a 461-foot home run and five RBIs for St. Louis, which has dropped 13 of 20 since its season-best, six-game winning streak July 15-20. Adam Wainwright (3-7) was torched for eight runs — his most since June 17, 2017 — on nine hits while recording three outs.
Astros 11, Angels 3
Jon Singleton posted his first career multi-home run game and Justin Verlander won in his 500th career start as Houston walloped visiting Los Angeles.
Singleton, signed by Houston as a minor league free agent on June 24 and recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, went 3-for-4 with a walk and a career-high five RBIs in his first appearance at Minute Maid Park for the Astros since Sept. 25, 2015.
Verlander (7-6) made his first start in Houston since being re-acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline. He became the 50th pitcher in history to record 500 career starts, delivering a quality start in the process by allowing three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over six innings.
Brewers 7, White Sox 6 (10 innings)
Mark Canha delivered a go-ahead, pinch-hit double in the 10th inning and the bullpen contributed 4 1/3 innings of one-run relief to lift Milwaukee over host Chicago.
William Contreras, Carlos Santana and Victor Caratini had two hits apiece for the Brewers, who maintained a 2 1/2-game lead on the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds atop the National League Central. The Brewers have played extra innings in four of the past six games, including three straight.
Eloy Jimenez smacked a two-run home run among his three hits for Chicago, while Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn had two hits apiece.
Padres 10, Diamondbacks 5
San Diego left-hander Blake Snell continued his mastery of Arizona and Xander Bogaerts had four hits, including a two-run home run, and three RBIs in Phoenix.
The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Padres, whose offensive outburst matched the run total they scored during that stretch.
Snell, who entered the game 4-1 with a 0.84 ERA in eight career games (seven starts) against the Diamondbacks, allowed only two hits in six innings while striking out seven and walking four.
Mariners 9, Orioles 2
Julio Rodriguez, moved back into the leadoff spot with J.P. Crawford placed on the 7-day concussion list, doubled, homered and drove in four runs, and Luis Castillo pitched six strong innings as Seattle routed visiting Baltimore.
Cal Raleigh and Ty France also homered for the Mariners, who won their eighth in a row and for the 13th time in their past 15 to pull within a half-game of Toronto for the American League’s third and final wild-card playoff berth.
Anthony Santander homered for the AL East-leading Orioles, who lost for the third time in their past four games.
Dodgers 6, Rockies 1
Lance Lynn delivered another strong start for his new team, Freddie Freeman drove in two runs and Los Angeles beat Colorado for a season-high-tying sixth straight win.
Lynn (9-9) gave up one unearned run on four hits with nine strikeouts and one walk over five innings. He has allowed a combined five runs — four earned — in three starts for the Dodgers, winning each of them, after he was acquired from the Chicago White Sox near the trade deadline.
Brendan Rodgers drove in a run for the Rockies in his return to the lineup and left-hander Austin Gomber (9-9) allowed only two runs on eight hits over five innings.
CORTES’ SEASON WITH YANKEES COULD BE OVER AFTER HE GOES BACK ON INJURED LIST
Nestor Cortes’ season with the New York Yankees could be over after he went back on the injured list with a strained left rotator cuff, one start into his return from a two-month layoff.
The 28-year-old left-hander was put on the 15-day IL on Friday, six days after pitching four innings against Houston in his first big league appearance since May 30.
“We haven’t received all the details. I learned of the results when I got to the stadium,” Cortes said before the Yankees played Miami. “The one thing I was told is I cannot throw a baseball for four weeks. After that, we don’t know. It all depends on how I’m feeling with the recovery.”
Cortes is 5-2 with a 4.97 ERA in 12 starts, allowing 11 home runs in 63 1/3 innings. He went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA last year, earning his first All-Star selection.
Cortes made minor league injury rehabilitation appearances for Double-A Somerset on July 23 and 29, then threw 64 pitches against the Astros on Aug. 5. He gave up one hit, a solo homer by Jose Altuve.
“Definitely disappointing. Feeling for Nestor,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He put himself in a really good spot to get back. He was throwing the ball so well and had a great first start coming back off the IL. He just didn’t recover properly.”
Cortes could not throw his scheduled bullpen session on Thursday. The injury is similar to what first landed him on the IL.
“You’re talking three or four weeks of no throw,” Boone said. “Then, essentially starting over from there. We’ll see where we are in a few weeks.”
Cortes was born in Cuba and grew up in Hialeah. He had been scheduled to start Saturday and had reserved 40 tickets for each game of the series for family and friends.
“I was super proud, looking forward on returning to Miami and pitching in front of all the fans,” Cortes said. “This is not how I wanted it to happen but these are setbacks that you encounter in life.”
New York made the IL move retroactive to Tuesday and recalled right-handers Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
BLUE JAYS SEND STRUGGLING RHP ALEK MANOAH TO MINORS FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON
TORONTO (AP) The Toronto Blue Jays optioned right-hander Alek Manoah to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, the second time this season the 2022 AL Cy Young Award finalist has been demoted to the minor leagues.
Manoah (3-9) allowed four runs in four-plus innings in a loss at Cleveland on Thursday. He’s 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA over seven starts since July 7, when he returned from his first demotion.
Toronto has been using a six-man rotation during a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, which ends Sunday. Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu returned from Tommy John surgery Aug. 1 and has made two starts.
“With where we are right now in terms of schedule and other starters, it’s a tough discussion,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of the decision to demote Manoah. “He’s our opening day starter. It’s an unfortunate thing for anyone.”
Manoah has struggled since going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 2022, when he finished third in AL Cy Young voting. He was sent to the rookie-level Florida Complex League in June to work on his mechanics after opening the season 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA.
Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano (back) will begin a rehab assignment at Buffalo on Saturday, Schneider said. If all goes well, Romano could return Tuesday against Philadelphia.
All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette (right knee) ran on the field, hit in the cage and took grounders Friday. Bichette leads the AL with a .321 batting average.
Bichette left a July 31 game against Baltimore after jamming his knee when he pulled up while running the bases.
“Still day-to-day but he’s making good progress,” Schneider said.
The Blue Jays, who hosted the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a three-game series Friday night, replaced Manoah by recalling right-hander Hagen Danner from Buffalo. Danner pitched in 23 games with the Bisons, all but one in relief. He struck out 35 batters and walked seven in 28 1/3 innings.
ANGELS’ TROUT HITS OFF PITCHING MACHINE, MOVING CLOSER TO RETURN FROM INJURY
HOUSTON (AP) Mike Trout hit off a pitching machine Friday for the first time since fracturing his left hamate bone and manager Phil Nevin said the Angels’ star outfielder is moving closer to a return.
Trout has been out since July 3 and Nevin said before the start of a series with the Astros that the team believes he’s close, but that there still isn’t a timetable for his return.
“There’s going to be some hot spots around the wrist,” Nevin said. “It’s natural when these things happen with this surgery. It’s not necessarily … where it was fixed, but the areas around it, it could get sensitive. So, you’ve got to keep swinging.”
Trout hit off a tee earlier this week.
Nevin added that the more swings he gets in, the more he’ll start to feel like he can “let it go, which I don’t think is too far way.”
Nevin said he wasn’t sure whether Trout would go on a rehabilitation assignment before coming off the injured list and said that they’ll discuss that in the next day or two.
ORIOLES ACTIVATE CENTER FIELDER CEDRIC MULLINS FROM 10-DAY IL
SEATTLE (AP) The Baltimore Orioles activated center fielder Cedric Mullins from the 10-day injured list on Friday.
Mullins had been sidelined for most of the past month with a right adductor groin strain. He was in the lineup in center and batting fifth for Friday’s opener of a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.
The IL stint was Mullins’ second this season. He was out from May 30 to June 24 with a right groin strain, and the issue cropped up again a few weeks later. Mullins returned to the IL on July 16.
He’s hitting .269 with nine homers and 47 RBIs in 69 games. The AL-best Orioles have gone 15-9 since Mullins last played on July 15, but their outfield depth has been tested with Mullins and Aaron Hicks both hurt.
The Orioles sent outfielder Ryan McKenna to Triple-A Norfolk. In a separate move, Baltimore optioned right-handed pitcher Joey Krehbiel to Norfolk and recalled left-hander Nick Vespi.
SLUGGER BRYCE HARPER OUT OF LINEUP WITH BACK SPASMS; DAY TO DAY FOR NL WILD CARD-LEADING PHILLIES
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Bryce Harper flexed his legs, his shoulders, doing all he could to stay in the game for the Philadelphia Phillies. But back spasms forced the slugger out of one game, and he will have to sit out for at least one more.
Harper was not in the lineup for Friday night’s game against Minnesota, a day after the two-time NL MVP was sidelined by mid-back spasms. There was some good news for the NL champion Phillies as they try to keep the top spot in the NL wild-card race: Harper is day to day and shouldn’t miss much time.
“I felt better today. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” Harper said.
With Harper out of the lineup, the Phillies started Alec Bohm at first base and moved suddenly streaking shortstop Trea Turner to third in the batting order.
Harper said the spasms were unrelated to back pain that kept him out of games in 2021. He said his issues started in the first inning in Thursday’s win over Washington but he wanted to continue to play.
“I just didn’t feel like it was fair for me to come out of the game in the first,” he said. “I thought I could loosen it up. Just wasn’t able to get it loose to where I wanted it to be.”
Harper said he did not think he would be available to pinch-hit in the opener of a three-game series against the Twins.
“We’ll see how they work it out during the course of the night,” manager Rob Thomson said.
Harper had played his 12th game at first base after starting 70 games at designated hitter following offseason Tommy John surgery that limited him to just eight games in right field in 2022. He had not previously played the infield after 1,446 games as an outfielder or designated hitter.
Harper is hitting .293 with seven homers and 38 RBIs. Bohm has received the majority of Philadelphia’s starts at the position in place of Rhys Hoskins, who was lost late in spring training with a left anterior cruciate ligament tear.
The Phillies entered Friday holding a 2½-game lead over San Francisco for the top wild-card spot They were 5-2 on their current 10-game homestand.
Turner has keyed the run to first with a fantastic week that started with a social media push for Phillies fans to cheer him — often, with standing ovations — on each at-bat. Turner signed an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies in the offseason, but struggled in his first season in Philly and was even dropped from second to eighth in the batting order.
But since the ovations started last Friday against Kansas City, Turner has hit .370 (10 for 27) with two homers, four doubles, eight RBIs and four runs in seven games.
Turner later splashed a thank you message to fans on digital billboards rented by the Phillies.
“He’s been swinging the bat well, now,” Thomson said Friday. ”(He’s) barreling the ball up now and not jumping and hitting the balls off the end of the bat. When he does that, he’s really good.”
Harper had started to find his power groove of late, hitting two homers on the homestand. Through the first seven games of the homestand, the Phillies have hit 18 home runs. The total ties them for most homers over a seven-game span at home since 1901.
REDS DEMOTE VETERAN INF/OF NICK SENZEL TO TRIPLE-A LOUISVILLE AND RECALL HENRY RAMOS
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds optioned infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel, the second overall pick in the 2016 amateur draft, to Triple-A Louisville on Friday.
Senzel had been in the major leagues continuously since 2019, except for rehab assignments. The 28-year-old was hitting .219 in 80 games with nine home runs and five stolen bases.
“Nick’s been with us a long time, he’s been an important part of the team and helped us win a lot of games,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It got to the point where Nick wasn’t going to be playing much over the next 10 days or so primarily because he starts against left-handers and there aren’t a lot of left-handers coming up on the schedule.
“So, we made the choice to send him to Triple-A to get regular at-bats and get back on track.”
The Reds selected the contract of outfielder Henry Ramos from Louisville. The rookie played in 18 games for Cincinnati earlier this season and had a .242 batting average.
Right-hander Eduardo Salazar was designated for assignment to open a spot for Ramos on the 40-man roster.
The Reds entered Friday tied for second with the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, 2 1/2 games behind Milwaukee. Cincinnati also trailed Miami by one-half game for the third NL wild card.
NFL NEWS
NFL ROUNDUP: KENNY PICKETT, STEELERS TOP BAKER MAYFIELD, BUCS
Kenny Pickett connected with George Pickens for an early touchdown and the Pittsburgh Steelers played four quarterbacks en route to a 27-17 win in their preseason opener over the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night.
Pickett finished the game 6-of-7 passing for 70 yards, including his 33-yard scoring strike to Pickens. Mason Rudolph later added a 67-yard touchdown throw to Calvin Austin III, and Tanner Morgan and Mitch Trubisky also saw time at quarterback.
Anthony McFarland added a 14-yard rushing touchdown for Pittsburgh.
Baker Mayfield started the game for the Buccaneers and found Trey Palmer for an 8-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Mayfield went 8-for-9 passing for 63 yards before giving way to Kyle Trask, with whom he is competing for the team’s starting quarterback gig.
Trask finished 6-of-10 passing for 99 yards and one interception. Tampa Bay trailed 27-7 before a 10-point fourth quarter, in which John Wolford (10-for-17, 111 yards) hit Payne Durham for a late 3-yard TD.
Packers 36, Bengals 19
Emanuel Wilson broke off an 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to punctuate Green Bay’s preseason win over host Cincinnati.
Wilson finished with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just six carries.
New Green Bay starting quarterback Jordan Love completed 7 of 10 passes for 46 yards and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs. Sean Clifford spent the majority of the game under center and went 20-for-26 passing for 208 yards and a touchdown.
Clifford also threw two interceptions, one returned 43 yards for a touchdown by Tycen Anderson — the Bengals’ only touchdown.
With Joe Burrow sidelined because of a calf injury, Jake Browning started at quarterback for the Bengals and went 10-for-17 passing for 95 yards. Trevor Siemian played the second half and went 15-for-28 for 121 yards. Each threw an interception.
Evan McPherson made all four of his field-goal attempts for Cincinnati.
Lions 21, Giants 16
Adrian Martinez’s 1-yard rushing touchdown with less than two minutes to play gave host Detroit a preseason win over New York.
Martinez, a rookie quarterback, capped an 11-play drive that milked 6:08 off the clock by scoring on the QB sneak. He also went 4-for-7 passing for 37 yards in relief of Nate Sudfeld, who started the game for Detroit and finished 15-for-28 for 194 yards and two interceptions.
Maurice Alexander returned a punt 95 yards for a score early in the third quarter for the Lions, and Sudfeld followed that with a 2-point conversion pass to Jameson Williams.
The Giants got three field goals from Graham Gano and a second-quarter touchdown hookup from Tommy DeVito to Tommy Sweeney. DeVito played quarterback for New York for most of the game and finished 15-of-24 passing for 155 yards with an interception.
Falcons 19, Dolphins 3
Godwin Igwebuike took 13 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown and Atlanta pulled away from Miami in a preseason contest in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Igwebuike’s 11-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, with a missed extra-point try, stood as the only points for either team until the fourth. Jason Sanders made a 49-yard field goal for the Dolphins before the Falcons put up two non-offensive touchdowns 13 seconds apart.
Dee Alford returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to extend Atlanta’s lead to 13-3, and two plays from scrimmage later, Breon Borders intercepted Skylar Thompson’s pass and took it back 26 yards for another touchdown.
Thompson finished 10-of-16 passing for 104 yards and two interceptions. Myles Gaskin had 57 rushing yards and Erik Ezukanma added 52 rushing yards on just two touches.
Commanders 17, Browns 15
Sam Howell threw a touchdown pass and fellow quarterback Jacoby Brissett ran for a score as Washington outlasted host Cleveland.
Howell connected with Jahan Dotson at the 11-minute mark of the second quarter for a 26-yard score to answer the Browns’ first-quarter safety. Brissett made it 14-2 Commanders with a 12-yard TD run less than five minutes later.
Trailing 17-2, the Browns came to life for the second straight game behind rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The former UCLA quarterback zipped a 7-yard TD pass to David Bell to make it a one-score game at 17-9. Thompson-Robinson completed 9 of 10 passes for 102 yards and had three carries for 11 yards.
Kellen Mond’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Mike Harley Jr. with 1:39 remaining made it 17-15. Mond missed Austin Watkins Jr., who had a game-high six receptions for 71 yards, on the two-point conversion try that would’ve tied the game.
Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson ripped through the Commanders’ defense on the opening drive, ending in a goal-line stand by Washington at its own 1-yard line. Watson completed each of his three pass attempts for 12 yards and had three carries for 20 yards.
Browns rookie safety Ronnie Hickman Jr. intercepted both Commanders backup quarterbacks.
Lightning and heavy rain delayed the start of the game.
SAINTS ADD VETERAN LINEBACKER JAYLON SMITH AS DEMARIO DAVIS CONTINUES TO DEAL WITH A CALF INJURY
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints added veteran one-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jaylon Smith to their roster and he practiced in the Superdome on Friday in advance of Sunday’s preseason opener against Kansas City.
Saints coach Dennis Allen doubted Smith would play against the Chiefs.
“I wouldn’t expect for him to play,” Allen said. “We’ll have him ready in an emergency situation if we need him.”
Smith’s signing comes as starting linebacker and defensive captain Demario Davis tries to work his way back from a calf injury that has sidelined him since late last week.
Smith played at Notre Dame and began his NFL career with Dallas, which selected him in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Smith has played in 87 career regular-season games with 69 starts for three teams: the Cowboys, Green Bay and the New York Giants. He was selected to the Pro Bowl during the 2019 season, when he was still with Dallas and made a career-high 168 tackles.
He moved to the Packers in 2021 and last season played in 13 games with 11 starts for the Giants. He made 88 tackles in 2022 to go with a sack and fumble recovery.
“He’s been a productive player in our league at an off-the-ball position,” Allen said. “So, we felt like he was somebody we’d like to bring into the mix.”
NOTES: LT Trever Penning was involved in a scuffle during 11-on-11 drills. Soon after, Allen huddled the entire team at midfield. Allen has said he likes Penning’s intensity and does not want to dial that back, but he also doesn’t want practice being derailed by fighting after the whistle. Allen said he told the team: “If we want to act like boxers, then we’ll train like boxers and get over on the side and run.” … RT Ryan Ramczyk, WR Michael Thomas and TE Jimmy Graham were given a “veteran day off” from Friday’s practice but all should be available for Sunday’s preseason opener, Allen said. … OL Landon Young left practice with what appeared to be a strained medial collateral ligament, Allen said. … New Orleans cut WR Keke Coutee to make room for Smith on the roster, which stands at the 90-player preseason maximum.
BILLS SAFETY DAMAR HAMLIN READY TO SUIT UP FOR FIRST PRESEASON GAME SINCE GOING INTO CARDIAC ARREST
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Damar Hamlin turned and pointed to the glass-enclosed booth above the end zone tunnel of Highmark Stadium and recalled the last time he attended a Buffalo Bills home game.
“Right up there,” the Bills safety said following the team’s annual “Red and Blue” practice inside the stadium. “It was an emotional day. I felt the love then.”
The setting last week provided Hamlin a chance to reflect on the excitement he felt attending the Bills’ loss to the Bengals in an AFC playoff game on Jan. 22. Raising his arms to urge on a cheering crowd through an open window on a snowy afternoon, it marked Hamlin’s celebrated first public appearance some three weeks after his near-death experience during a regular season game in Cincinnati.
The moment also stirred emotions of uncertainty Hamlin experienced about his future.
Some seven months later, the 25-year-old is preparing to take the next major step in his efforts to resume playing when the Bills open their preseason hosting the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.
After coach Sean McDermott on Thursday said he’s taking a “day at a time” approach to Hamlin’s playing status, he later clarified to The Associated Press by saying Hamlin is “scheduled to play.”
Much like everyone else, McDermott has closely followed each milestone of Hamlin’s recovery, with the game to be the third-year safety’s first appearance in a competitive setting since going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field.
“This is to some extent uncharted territory for me as well, and all of us. So we’re just trying to do the best we can to be there for him,” McDermott told reporters. “I try to keep a close eye on where he is and where he’s showing up and how he’s responding. And he’s done a great job.”
For Hamlin, it’s been a step by step process without peeking too far ahead.
“Trying to look forward, it just creates a lot of anxiety, a lot of unnecessary feelings,” he said. “If you stay in the moment, it allows you to process it when you’re there.”
It’s an approach that began with Hamlin waking up from a medically induced coma in a Cincinnati hospital bed, to being able to breathe on his own, being strong enough to attend the Super Bowl, and eventually announcing he was putting fear aside to resume playing football after being cleared by doctors in April.
Football for Hamlin has ramped up over the past three months, with him taking part in individual drills in May, to team drills in June and finally enduring his first thud of being hit during the Bills’ first session in pads two weeks ago.
Hamlin wasn’t ready to envision what it might be like to play on Saturday, saying: “It’s too soon, man.”
Doctors have referred to Hamlin’s recovery as remarkable since he collapsed on prime-time TV after making what appeared to be a routine tackle. His heart stopped as a result of commotio cordis, which is when a direct blow at a specific point in a heartbeat causes cardiac arrest.
And his comeback bid has been called courageous. After two more preseason games, Hamlin’s next hurdle will come on Aug. 29, when the Bills make their final cuts to establish their regular-season roster.
Hamlin has displayed no signs of a setback or hesitation during training camp in seeking to re-secure one of the backup spots behind returning starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. One of Hamlin’s best moments came during the Bills’ second day of padded practices, when he intercepted a pass from backup quarterback Matt Barkley.
Otherwise, he’s been his playful self, whether it’s skipping out to practice while acknowledging the cheering crowd, dancing on the sideline to the music, and signing as many autographs as time allows.
Stefon Diggs takes joy in seeing Hamlin simply being himself again.
“It’s easy to come in and say, `OK, he’s back on the football field.’ But to see him every day living, breathing, laughing and having a good time is really where you have your eye opening. Like God is good,” Diggs said. “Of course I’m going to be one of the main people cheering for him. From a human standpoint, I’m just happy the guy is alive.”
Hamlin will have friends on the other sideline cheering for him, too.
Receiver Isaiah McKenzie, who signed with the Colts this offseason after spending the previous four-plus years in Buffalo, has already arranged to exchange jerseys with Hamlin following the game.
“Being part of that was scary, and I think it was scary for anyone who plays this gladiator sport,” McKenzie said. “At the same time, I was happy that he came through. Now he’s doing well. He’s progressing. He’s making plays on the football field. And I’m liking what I’m seeing.”
Colts linebacker Rodney Thomas has also kept tabs on Hamlin. The two were high school teammates in Pittsburgh, and again at Pitt, and Thomas drove from Indianapolis to Cincinnati to visit Hamlin in the hospital a day after he collapsed.
“Definitely going to be special, especially with all the things that he went through,” Thomas said. “I’m looking forward to being on the field with him again, just competing, just trying to make a name for ourselves as usual.”
Hamlin is eager to return to normalcy, knowing such a thing may never exist for someone who nearly died, and whose life has changed personally, emotionally and spiritually.
“Man, sometimes it’s like normal don’t exist,” Hamlin said. “But it’s a super-blessed space. To be able to do what I love again. That’s kind of the normal thing.”
RAIDERS WIDE RECEIVER DAVANTE ADAMS LEAVES PRACTICE WITH APPARENT LEG INJURY
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams limped off the practice field Friday with what appeared to be a leg injury, but coach Josh McDaniels said he didn’t “think it was crazy serious.”
Adams, who has made first-team All-Pro each of the past three seasons, was injured during the Raiders’ joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers.
“It was a bang-bang play,” McDaniels said. “Totally clean on their side.”
In his first season with the Raiders last year, Adams caught 100 passes for 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns. He became one of the NFL’s top receivers in his first seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers, before being traded to Las Vegas.
FORMER CAL STAR AND NFL WR SEAN DAWKINS DIES AT 52
Sean Dawkins, a football star at Cal who went on to a nine-year NFL career, died on Tuesday of cardiac arrest, the university announced Friday. Dawkins was 52.
Dawkins was a wide receiver who earned first-team All-America honors in his senior year in 1992. He had 65 catches for 1,070 receiving yards that year, and his 14 receiving touchdowns led the country and still stand as the program’s single-season record. He also holds the Cal record for career receiving touchdowns (31).
The Indianapolis Colts made Dawkins the 16th overall selection in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He spent five season with the Colts before suiting up for the New Orleans Saints (1998), Seattle Seahawks (1999-2000) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2001).
In 140 career games (109 starts) in the NFL, Dawkins finished a productive career with 445 receptions for 6,291 yards and 25 touchdowns.
“Rest in peace, Sean Dawkins,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said in a social media post. “I am shocked and saddened. My prayers and condolences to Sean’s family.”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
LIBERTY FOOTBALL COACH: DEATH OF FRESHMAN LINEMAN WAS NOT FOOTBALL-RELATED
(AP) — The death of a freshman football player at Liberty University was not football-related, first-year Flames coach Jamey Chadwell said Friday.
Chadwell said the team learned of the passing of Tajh Boyd, 19, from Chesapeake, Virginia, on Saturday. He declined to give further details about Boyd’s death, saying he wanted to respect the privacy of the player’s family.
A spokesperson for the Lynchburg police said this week that police had looked into the death and determined a criminal investigation was not necessary.
“It’s been a challenging time not only for our staff, our players and just our whole community trying to comprehend all the different things have been going on,” Chadwell said at a press conference.
Boyd, an offensive lineman who enrolled in January, had already blended in well, not only with fellow linemen, but the team in general, Chadwell said.
“He made a huge impact on the team. He was very quiet as far as an outwardly quietness. But when he was one on one with his teammates, he lit up the room,” the coach said. “He had a very giving heart and if there was something that anybody was going through on the team, he was always there.”
In his first season with the Flames, Chadwell and his staff are using their fall camp to make player evaluations and create a depth chart, “but that’s not the most important thing that we’re doing now,” he said. “Obviously we’re trying to get a team ready, but also we’re trying to make sure that we’re understanding the different feelings that different groups might have and how to navigate that.”
The Flames are scheduled to open the season at home against Bowling Green on Sept. 2.
Funeral arrangements have not been made yet, and Chadwell said when they are, the coaching staff will rearrange the Flames’ schedule to be a part of it.
Many members of the team have availed themselves of counseling services made available by the university, Chadwell said. The team also had a service the day after learning of Boyd’s death, “and let some of our players share their hearts, and then it started raining and one of our players, after the rain, he said, `You know, rain brings growth.’”
After the showers, Chadwell said, a rainbow appeared over the stadium.
IOWA COACH: ‘DEALBREAKER’ IF PLAYERS BET ON HAWKEYES’ GAMES
Head coach Kirk Ferentz plans to take a hard-line position on any players proven guilty of placing bets on Iowa games.
Ferentz said Friday that the ongoing investigation into illegal gambling activity by student-athletes at Iowa and Iowa State produced new revelations about players on his Hawkeyes’ roster betting on Iowa games.
“I think the key point there is betting on our games,” Ferentz said. “… It’s a deal breaker if that is, in fact, proven to be true. So, we’ll deal with that when we get there. But, I think as we move forward, I think, at least in my opinion, it’s been a learning process.”
Twenty-six athletes in five sports were part of an investigation into betting announced in May. Three more were added to the list by prosecutors this week.
Sports betting, gaining legal approval in more than 30 states, is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 in Iowa. NCAA rules prohibit athletes and most university-affiliated employees, including coaches, staff, trainers and support staff, from wagering on college sports and most professional sports, regardless of age.
Investigators revealed last month that electronic gambling accounts connected to players under names of parents or family members tipped off authorities of the widespread nature of the betting trend among state university athletes.
The NCAA revealed an organized but independent investigation into the matter, which includes Iowa defensive tackle Noah Shannon. Shannon said he’s part of the NCAA investigation but unlike most of the other Iowa athletes named, Shannon hasn’t been charged by Iowa authorities and is over the age of 21. Ferentz said on Friday that Shannon’s issue is largely related to injury.
“It’s really not that big of a deal right now, quite frankly. I’m not trying to be coy, but it just isn’t,” Ferentz said. “Noah is injured; he would be the most prominent player, to my knowledge, that’s involved in this. Let’s say he was 100 percent healthy, which he’s not. If we got closer to games, that’s something we’d have to weigh and measure.”
Ferentz said he doesn’t have a timeline for when any NCAA decision or legal ruling might take place. He asked the NCAA last month at Big Ten Media Days to take into account the climate around sports betting, which has become omnipresent in and around sports. Regardless, he said there is accountability for athletes, too.
“As I stand here right now, the one thing it doesn’t — it can’t be compromised, the integrity of the game, that’s first and foremost. That’s got to be protected, and that’s where everything should start,” Ferentz said. “We will continue to cooperate. I think everybody involved has done a good job of that. That will be ongoing, and as we move forward, just hope that whoever is making decisions, they’re thoughtful. Hopefully they’re making appropriate decisions, and then being timely would be appreciated, as well.”
WISCONSIN TRANSFER GRAHAM MERTZ WINS FLORIDA QB BATTLE
Graham Mertz will be the guy for the Gators when Florida opens the 2023 season at Utah.
“We’ve seen enough,” Florida head coach Billy Napier declared Friday. “I think the big thing I’ve been impressed with is just his ability to come in and learn the system, translate what he knows and apply that to our system. Probably has worked as hard as any player on our team.”
Mertz, who is wearing Tim Tebow’s No. 15 jersey with the Gators, started 32 games at Wisconsin before entering the transfer portal in January and quickly aligning with Napier and the Gators, who were in the early stages of learning starting quarterback Anthony Richardson was on his way to the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts made Richardson the No. 4 pick in the draft in April.
At that time, Mertz was locked in a tight competition at quarterback with redshirt sophomore Jack Miller, a former transfer from Ohio State.
“My biggest thing is I want to be coached, and I want to be coached hard,” Mertz said of choosing Florida instead of staying at Wisconsin following a coaching change. “The standard here is exactly where you want it to be. It was nice to have that plan and hear that. They were 100 percent honest with me, telling me what they saw in my game, what I needed to improve, and how they would improve it. That was very refreshing. For me, it was a no-brainer.”
The Gators were informed of the QB call by Napier on Friday, with 20 days left to prepare for the game at Salt Lake City on Aug. 31.
Mertz, a redshirt junior, would be in line to make his debut at The Swamp in Gainesville on Sept. 9 against McNeese State.
MENS GOLF NEWS
LUCAS GLOVER STAYS ON A ROLL, LEADS FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP
After nearly missing the FedEx Cup playoffs altogether, Lucas Glover is making the most of his opportunity.
Glover’s bogey-free, 6-under-par 64 on Friday pushed him into the lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the three-week playoffs, in Memphis, Tenn.
Glover is 10-under 130 through two rounds, one shot better than first-round leader Jordan Spieth, who had a 68 Friday.
The 43-year-old Glover entered last week’s regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship, ranked No. 112 in the FedEx Cup points standings. His victory Sunday catapulted him to No. 49, punching his ticket to TPC Southwind, where only the top 70 players in the standings qualified.
Glover would leap to No. 3 if the current results were to hold.
Playing the back nine first on Friday, Glover’s 32 1/2-foot eagle putt at the par-5 16th hole gave his round a boost. He made three of his four birdies on the front nine.
Five players are tied for third at 8 under: Taylor Moore (66 on Friday), South Koreans Sungjae Im (65) and Tom Kim (68), Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (66) and Argentine Emiliano Grillo (67).
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Scottie Scheffler, who finished one-two at last year’s Tour Championship, have each opened 67-66 to get to 7-under par. Xander Schauffele (6 under), Max Homa (6 under) and Collin Morikawa (5 under) are among the other notable players lurking behind.
There is no 36-hole cut at the St. Jude for the first time this year. That helps the likes of Spaniard Jon Rahm, who improved on Thursday’s 73 with a 67 Friday to get to even par.
CAMERON SMITH SHOOTS 66 TO LEAD LIV BEDMINSTER
Cameron Smith of Australia shot a 5-under-par 66 to set the pace after one round of LIV Golf Bedminster on Friday in Bedminster, N.J.
Smith, who won his first LIV title last month at London, leads Charles Howell III by one stroke heading into the weekend at Trump National Golf Club.
The 2022 Open Championship winner from Australia is ranked No. 8 in the world and No. 2 in the LIV standings, just 15 points behind three-time winner Talor Gooch.
“I don’t go to bed thinking about it, but I know (where I stand),” Smith said. “That was part of the reason for the work, the extra work this week. It’s to be the best at the end of the season. That’s what you want to be.
“Sure, you want to win tournaments, but I think proving it over 13 tournaments is much better than one.”
Smith was not yet a member of the Saudi-funded league when Sweden’s Henrik Stenson won last year’s event at Trump National. That didn’t stop him from piling up six birdies and recording only one bogey in his introduction to the course.
“The rough is pretty gnarly,” Smith said. “I think if these greens were firm and fast, it would be a really tough test of golf, and it would be tough to break par.”
Howell’s roller-coaster round featured an eagle 2 at the ninth hole, six birdies and four bogeys.
Tied for third at 3 under are two 4Aces teammates, Patrick Reed and captain Dustin Johnson. Reed made three birdies in a bogey-free round, while Johnson overcame a double bogey with five birdies.
4Aces have led the team competition for most of the season, but their advantage was trimmed to seven points last week when 4Aces finished dead last out of 12 teams.
“Definitely shocked, of course,” Reed said. “Our team is way better than finishing last in a golf tournament. But at the same time, you just kind of go to one of those golf courses that doesn’t really fit your eye, and it happens not to fit a couple other guys on the team’s eye, either, you can just kind of get in one of those funks.
“I think that’s all it was last week, was more of a funk.”
As for the team competition at Bedminster, Smith’s Ripper GC has a narrow lead at 4 under. Marc Leishman shot an even-par 71 and Jediah Morgan posted a 1-over 72 for the all-Australian squad.
4Aces (Johnson, Reed and Peter Uihlein’s 3-over 74) are tied for second with Stinger GC at 3 under. Dean Burmester leads the all-South African Stinger with a 2-under 69.
BASKETBALL NEWS
TOP PROSPECT COOPER FLAGG RECLASSIFYING TO 2024
Five-star prospect Cooper Flagg announced Friday he is reclassifying from 2025 to the Class of 2024.
That would also make the 6-foot-8 forward from Florida’s Montverde Academy eligible for the 2025 NBA Draft.
Prior to the switch, Flagg was ranked No. 2 overall in the 247 Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2025.
Flagg, a native of Maine, won’t turn 17 until December. His Instagram post on Friday had the year 2025 crossed out and replaced by 2024.
He played for the gold medal-winning U.S. squad at the 2022 FIBA U-17 World Cup and made the all-tournament team.
Duke reportedly leads the recruiting chase, with offers from UConn, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Texas and others also on the table.
TEXAS LANDS COMMITMENT FROM 5-STAR SG CAM SCOTT
Cam Scott, a sought-after shooting guard in the Class of 2024, committed to Texas on Friday.
The native of Lexington, S.C., is rated as a five-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite rankings — No. 24 overall and the No. 5 shooting guard in his class. He’s a high-end four-star in 247Sports’ own in-house rankings, but still fifth at his position.
Scott chose Texas over Oregon and a host of Southeastern Conference schools — Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and South Carolina.
“It was a hard choice, I’m not going to lie,” Scott told the Columbia (S.C.) State. “But I felt (Texas) was always going to be home. From the beginning, I always had thoughts about Texas in the back of my head. … I want to take them back to the Final Four.”
Scott is listed at 6-foot-5, 165 pounds and will play his senior year of high school at local Lexington High.
He is the first Class of 2024 recruit to commit to Texas and coach Rodney Terry, who was given the full-time appointment after serving as the Longhorns’ interim coach in the wake of Chris Beard’s firing.
UCLA’S MAC ETIENNE LANDS AT DEPAUL
Big man Micawber Etienne landed at DePaul via the transfer portal from UCLA.
The Blue Demons confirmed “Mac” Etienne’s addition following a social media post from the 6-foot-10 forward, who was a top-50 recruit in the Class of 2021.
After early enrollment during his planned high school senior season, Etienne played in 13 games and made one start as a true freshman. He appeared in 32 games with the Bruins last season, which followed a redshirt season in 2021-22 recovering from a torn ACL.
“Mac is joining us from a very strong program in UCLA,” DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield said Friday. “He’s spent the last three years developing under one of the best coaching staffs in the country and been a part of a program with great culture and success. Mac has played at the highest level with the Bruins and only begun to scratch the surface of his abilities. We look forward to his continued growth and him being an integral piece to our team this year.”
While recovering from his knee surgery, Etienne was cited after a February 2022 road game at Arizona for “for assault with intent to injure, insult or provoke” after he allegedly spit toward unruly fans. Etienne resolved the matter by completing a diversion program.
Etienne averaged just under two points and two rebounds per game in 2022-23 and said he was still feeling his way back from knee surgery.
He played behind Bruins big men Adem Bona and Kenneth Nwuba last season.
COLLEGE SPORTS NEWS
REPORT: FOUR ACC SCHOOLS OPPOSE ADDING CAL, STANFORD
Talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference expanding is reportedly “on life support,” with Clemson and Florida State among four schools that oppose adding Cal and Stanford.
The ACC presidents have not scheduled a call to resume discussions of expansion, and there is no definitive deadline to make a decision, ESPN reported, adding that talks continued into Friday night.
Twelve of the 15 schools most vote to approve of expansion, and ESPN reported that a vote won’t be called unless the affirmative votes are assured.
North Carolina and North Carolina State were the other schools not wanting to add the two Pac-12 programs, which have seen their conference gutted by defections to the Big Ten and the Big 12.
Also hanging over the ACC are the comments from Florida State’s president last week that the school would have to “very seriously” weigh leaving the conference unless its revenue distribution model is revamped.
An element of opposition to ACC expansion has been that it wouldn’t enhance the conference’s bottom line.
The Mountain West Conference was reported on Thursday to be awaiting word on Cal and Stanford, as well as Oregon State and Washington State, which also remain from the collapsed Pac-12.
Multiple media outlets reported earlier this week that the ACC was considering SMU of the American Athletic Conference.
2023 RSC VOLLEYBALL COACHES’ PRESEASON POLL: IU KOKOMO A FAMILIAR FAVORITE
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Indiana University Kokomo is in familiar territory as the favorite in the 2023 River States Conference Volleyball Coaches’ Preseason Poll. The Cougars led the polling of the league’s head coaches with 10 of the 14 first-place votes cast.
IU Kokomo won its fifth RSC Championship postseason title in a row last year. The Cougars put up a 30-win season at 30-7 overall, 16-2 RSC with another trip to the NAIA National Championship. IU Kokomo, which received 152 total votes in the preseason poll, won the RSC West Division crown in 2022 on its way to another playoff title as well.
Point Park (Pa.) University, last year’s RSC regular-season champion, came in second in the poll with 142 votes and three of the first-place votes. The Pioneers posted a 25-7 overall record and staked their way back to NAIA nationals with an undefeated 17-0 RSC campaign and an RSC semifinals trip.
Indiana University East grabbed a first-place vote as well and placed third in the poll. The Red Wolves received 135 votes in all coming off a 26-6, 15-3 RSC record and conference semifinals appearance.
Next in the poll were University of Rio Grande (Ohio) in fourth with 110 votes, St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College in fifth with 107 votes, 2022 RSC runner-up Midway (Ky.) University in sixth with 103 votes and Indiana University Southeast in seventh with 89 votes. All of those were playoff qualifiers a year ago.
The final predicted playoff team is RSC newcomer Shawnee State (Ohio) University coming in eighth in the poll with 87 votes. The top eight teams in the RSC volleyball points system will qualify for the RSC Championship.
There are 14 teams in RSC volleyball this year. Seven teams each make up the RSC East & West Divisions. Shawnee State is in the RSC East while other newcomer Indiana University Purdue University Columbus is in the RSC West. IU East has moved to the RSC East to even out the divisions with the departure of Carlow (Pa.) University.
2023 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL COACHES’ PRESEASON POLL (AUG. 11)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU Kokomo (10) | 152 |
| 2. Point Park (Pa.) (3) | 142 |
| 3. IU East (1) | 135 |
| 4. Rio Grande (Ohio) | 110 |
| 5. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | 107 |
| 6. Midway (Ky.) | 103 |
| 7. IU Southeast | 89 |
| 8. Shawnee State (Ohio) | 87 |
| 9. Ohio Christian | 64 |
| 10. WVU Tech | 61 |
| 11. Oakland City (Ind.) | 49 |
| 12. Brescia (Ky.) | 35 |
| 13. IUPUC | 30 |
| 14. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 19 |
2023 RSC MEN’S SOCCER COACHES’ PRESEASON POLL: RIO GRANDE A STRONG FAVORITE
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — University of Rio Grande (Ohio) is once again a strong favorite in the 2023 River States Conference Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll. The RedStorm received nine of a possible 10 first-place votes in the polling of the league’s head coaches.
Rio Grande, which won its third RSC Championship postseason title in a row last year, earned 99 out of a possible 100 votes from the other 10 head coaches. The RedStorm followed up its conference title with a run to the NAIA National Championship semifinals in 2022. Rio Grande ended the year 12-3-2 overall and 8-0-1 RSC.
WVU Tech came in second in the preseason poll with 92 total votes and the remaining two first-place votes. The Golden Bears won the RSC regular season title last year after drawing Rio Grande in the regular season. WVU Tech was the conference playoff top seed after a tiebreaker on goals conceded and ended the year at 13-2-3, 8-0-1 RSC.
Point Park (Pa.) University placed third in the poll with 77 votes. The Pioneers moved up one spot from their fourth-place finish a year ago. Oakland City (Ind.) University also moved up taking fourth in the poll with 68 votes. The Mighty Oaks placed fifth last year and were an RSC semifinalist.
New RSC member Shawnee State (Ohio) University came in fifth in the poll with 64 votes. Next was Indiana University East (53 votes) and Brescia (Ky.) University (46 votes), a couple of playoff teams from last year. There will be eight postseason qualifiers this year with the final one predicted as St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College with 37 votes.
The RSC features 11 men’s soccer teams this year with Midway (Ky.) University, new member Indiana University Purdue University Columbus and Ohio Christian University rounding out the preseason polling. See below for the complete poll.
2023 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN’S SOCCER COACHES’ PRESEASON POLL (AUG. 11)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. Rio Grande (Ohio) (9) | 99 |
| 2. WVU Tech (2) | 92 |
| 3. Point Park (Pa.) | 77 |
| 4. Oakland City (Ind.) | 68 |
| 5. Shawnee State (Ohio) | 64 |
| 6. IU East | 53 |
| 7. Brescia (Ky.) | 46 |
| 8. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | 37 |
| 9. Midway (Ky.) | 28 |
| 10. IUPUC | 26 |
| 11. Ohio Christian | 15 |
2023 RSC WOMEN’S SOCCER COACHES’ PRESEASON POLL: IU KOKOMO ON TOP
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — The 2023 River States Conference Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll has Indiana University Kokomo on top with three teams splitting the 11 first-place votes. The voting was conducted by the head coaches in the RSC.
IU Kokomo, last year’s RSC Championship postseason winner, led the poll with 93 total votes. The Cougars received four first-place votes as did Point Park (Pa.) University, which was second in the polling with 87 total votes and received four first-place votes of its own. Shawnee State (Ohio) University, a new member to the RSC this year, placed third in the poll with 85 total votes and the remaining three first-place votes.
IU Kokomo won the conference title last year advancing to the NAIA national tournament at 12-2-3 overall and 8-1-1 RSC. Point Park was 10-6-2 overall and came away with the RSC regular-season title at 9-0-1 RSC. Shawnee States comes over from the Mid South Conference bringing a 10-8-1 overall record from last year.
There will be 11 teams in RSC women’s soccer this year. Indiana University East placed fourth in the poll with 77 votes coming off an RSC semifinals appearance a year ago. Last year’s postseason runner-up University of Rio Grande (Ohio) came in fifth in the poll with 63 votes. The final three of the eight predicted playoff teams in the poll were Brescia (Ky.) University (46 votes), St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College (39) and Midway (Ky.) University.
See below for the complete poll.
2023 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE WOMEN’S SOCCER COACHES’ PRESEASON POLL (AUG. 11)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU Kokomo (4) | 93 |
| 2. Point Park (Pa.) (4) | 87 |
| 3. Shawnee State (Ohio) (3) | 85 |
| 4. IU East | 77 |
| 5. Rio Grande (Ohio) | 63 |
| 6. Brescia (Ky.) | 46 |
| 7. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | 39 |
| 8. Midway (Ky.) | 35 |
| 9. Ohio Christian | 31 |
| 10. WVU Tech | 28 |
| 11. IUPUC | 21 |
WNBA NEWS
BREANNA STEWART LEADS LIBERTY PAST SKY
Breanna Stewart collected 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as the host New York Liberty never trailed and pulled away in the fourth quarter for an 89-73 victory over the Chicago Sky on Friday night.
The Liberty (23-6) led by as many as 23 and won their season-high fifth straight game after being unable to extend four-game winning streaks on four previous occasions. New York also won for the ninth time in 10 games and dominated the final 10 minutes by outscoring Chicago 25-18 with the Fire getting the game’s final seven points.
Stewart scored at least 20 points for the 19th time and New York improved to 16-3 in those games. The forward also shot 8 of 16 from the field and notched her 14th double-double this season.
Sabrina Ionescu added 19 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Ionesscu also sank five of New York’s 13 3-pointers.
Jonquel Jones contributed 18 as the Liberty shot 51.5 percent overall. It was the fourth time New York shot at least 50 percent.
Alanna Smith scored 19 points for the Sky (12-17), who dropped their second straight following a recent three-game winning streak. Marina Mabrey added 12 and Courtney Williams added 10 but Kahleah Cooper and Elizabeth Williams were held to eight apiece as Chicago shot 41.4 percent and committed 17 turnovers, resulting in 27 New York points.
After a 3-pointer by Mabrey evened the game at 14 with 4:57 remaining, New York ripped off 12 straight points and ended the opening quarter on a 14-2 run to get a 28-16 lead on a layup by Ionescu with two seconds left.
Ionescu’s 3-pointer opened a 34-20 lead with 6:41 left in the first half and another trey by the guard made it 39-29 a little over three minutes later. Chicago scored the next eight points to get within 39-37 on a jumper by Williams with 2:10 remaining but New York ended with a 9-3 spurt for a 48-40 halftime lead.
Jones hit a 3-pointer for a 52-40 lead with 8:41 left in the third and Chicago made another dent, getting within 57-53 on a 3-pointer by Smith with 2:42 left. New York closed out well again and took a 64-55 lead into the fourth.
NHL NEWS
CANUCKS SIGN F PIUS SUTER TO TWO-YEAR CONTRACT
The Vancouver Canucks signed center Pius Suter on Friday to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.6 million.
Suter, 27, had played the previous two seasons for the Detroit Red Wings, where his contract had a $3.25 million annual cap hit. The Switzerland native made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2020-21 season.
He posted career lows with 14 goals and 10 assists in Detroit last season while appearing in 79 games. Well regarded for his defensive play, Suter also won 46.8 percent of his faceoffs.
In three seasons, Suter has career totals of 43 goals and 44 assists in 216 games and a 46.7 percent win rate in the faceoff circle.
TOP INDIANA NEWS/RELEASES FROM ORGANIZATIONS
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Brebeuf Jesuit senior guard Evan Haywood made his college Friday, committing to Butler. Haywood chose Butler over Appalachian State, Eastern Illinois, IUPUI, LeMoyne, Miami of Ohio, Middle Tennessee, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Southern Indiana and Vermont.
Haywood averaged 14.3 points as a junior for Brebeuf and shot 37.1% from the 3-point line.
INDY ELEVEN SOCCER
INDY COMING OFF 4-0 WIN OVER BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC
#MIAvIND Preview
Indy Eleven at The Miami FC
Saturday, August 12, 2023 – 7:00 p.m. ET
FIU Stadium – Miami, Fla.
Follow Live
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Stats: #MIAvIND MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com
2023 USL Championship Records
The Miami FC: 6W-9L-8D (-3), 26 pts; 9th in Eastern Conference
Indy Eleven: 7W-9L-7D (2), 28 pts; 8th in Eastern Conference
Community Health Network Sports Medicine Indy Eleven Injury Report
OUT: DF B. Rebellon (adductor), DF J. Vazquez (leg), Y. Oettl (ankle), M. King (hip)
QUESTIONABLE: None
SETTING THE SCENE
The Boys in Blue return to action Saturday when they hit the road for the first game of a three-match road trip against The Miami FC. This is the first of two meetings this season (9.2).
The Eleven are coming off a 4-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC and are 2-2-1 in their last five games. With a 7-9-7 record, Indy is eighth in the USLC Eastern Conference. Miami is 3-1-1 in its last five matches and is coming off a 4-0 win over El Paso Locomotive FC. MIA is ninth in the Eastern Conference at 6-9-8.
| MIA | IND | |
| 23 | Games | 23 |
| 28 | Goals | 28 |
| 31 | Goals Conceded | 26 |
| 15 | Assists | 18 |
| 87 | SOT | 73 |
| 100 | Shots Faced | 89 |
| 5 | Clean Sheets | 7 |
SERIES VS. MIAMI
Saturday marks the third meeting between the two teams, with Miami holding the 1-0-1 all-time advantage in USL Championship action. The is the first meeting of the season (9.2).
MIA leads: 1-0-1 | GF 1, GA 2
Recent Meetings
7.2.22 | home | L, 1-0
6.8.22 | at MIA | D, 1-1
USL Championship Regular Season
Indy Eleven 0:1 The Miami FC
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis
Scoring Summary
MIA – Joshua Perez (Lamar Walker) 58′
20,000 AND BEYOND…
Aodhan Quinn became the USL Championship’s leader in regular-season minutes played against Tampa Bay on July 22.
Minutes | 20,456 | 1st
Appearances | 246 | 7th
Assists | 49 | 4th
Quinn has 53 goals, becoming the 24th player in USL Championship history to hit 50 goals. He is one of only seven players to have a combined 100 career goals and assists with 53 goals and 49 assists.
Quinn has recorded 24 penalty kick goals in 27 attempts in his career in the league, the most of any individual player on record in league history.
ALLOW ME TO ASSIST YOU
Solomon Asante recorded three assists in a match for the third time in his USL Championship career in the win over Birmingham (8.9). This is the third consecutive season for the accomplishment and second time he has done so against Birmingham (9.10.22). His three assists give him a combined 103 goals and assists (51G/52A), placing him tied for fourth all-time in the USL Championship, while also making him the first player to split 50-50. His assist total places him second all-time. Asante also had three assists in the 3-1 U.S. Open Cup victory over Michigan Stars FC on April 5.
Aodhan Quinn had a three-assist performance while at Phoenix (10.16.21) and sits T2 and T4 in the USLC with five- and four-match assist streaks, respectively.
USLC regular season assists
Solomon Asante | 52 | 2nd
Aodhan Quinn | 49 | 4th
GO 4 MORE
Indy has scored four goals on seven occasions through six USL Championship seasons, most recently in a 4-0 win over Birmingham on August 9. The Eleven outscored opponents 28-10 in these matches and have multiple four-goal performances over Charleston (3x) and Birmingham (2x).
LAST TIME OUT
IND 4:0 BHM
AUGUST 9, 2023
Indy Eleven exploded for four goals, fueled by a pair from Sebastian Guenzatti and Solomon Asante’s three assists, to shut out Birmingham Legion FC 4-0.
Asante recorded three assists in a match for the third time in his USL Championship career. This is the third consecutive season for the accomplishment and second time he has done so against Birmingham (9.10.22). His three assists give him a combined 103 goals and assists (51G/52A), placing him tied for fourth all-time in the USL Championship, while also making him the first player to split 50-50. His assist total places him second all-time.
Guenzatti scored goals in the 24th and 63rd minutes, both off headers, to bring his season total to six and USLC career total to 63. The total moves him to ninth all-time in the league.
Indy’s third goal came from Douglas Martinez in the 65th minute off yet another perfectly placed service from Asante. The final strike came from Roberto Molina who subbed on in the 89th minute and promptly scored 19 seconds later off a Sebastian Velasquez helper.
2023 USL Championship Records
Indy Eleven: 7W-9L-7D (2), 28 pts
Birmingham Legion FC: 9W-11L-2D (-9), 29 pts
Scoring Summary
IND – Sebastian Guenzatti (Solomon Asante) 24’
IND – Sebastian Guenzatti (Solomon Asante) 63’
IND – Douglas Martinez (Solomon Asante) 65’
IND – Roberto Molina (Sebastian Velasquez) 89’
Discipline Summary
IND – Douglas Martinez (caution) 41’
BHM – Enzo Martinez (caution) 49’
BHM – Diba Nwegbo (caution) 49’
BHM – Neco Brett (caution) 62’
BHM – Collin Smith (caution) 90+1’
BHM – Bench (caution) 90+1’
INDIANS BASEBALL
HOMERS NOT ENOUGH IN FRIDAY NIGHT LOSS
INDIANAPOLIS – Malcom Nuñez and Domingo Leyba each went yard as the Indianapolis Indians lost their sixth straight game and fourth to the Nashville Sounds on Friday night at Victory Field, 7-5.
Leyba led the Indians (50-60, 17-19) offense with the first multi-hit performance for the home team since Tuesday. With one out and down 2-0 in the second inning, he roped his first three-bagger of the season to the deepest part of the ballpark and came in to score on a Vinny Capra sacrifice fly.
After Nashville (60-50, 20-16) scored two more runs in the third inning, the Indians used one of two long balls to narrow the deficit back to one run. Following a one-out single by Ryan Vilade, Nuñez sent a towering fly ball out onto the left-field concourse for his fifth Triple-A dinger of the season.
Down by three runs following another two-spot by the Sounds in the sixth inning, Leyba launched his own solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to tighten the gap again. The two teams then traded runs in the ninth inning, with Indy’s half inning highlighted by Leyba’s third hit of the game. Ethan Small (S, 2) induced a long fly ball by Chris Owings to strand the game-tying run at the plate.
The first six Sounds runs came against Indians starter Cam Alldred (L, 7-5), who matched career highs in both walks (five) and strikeouts (eight) over 5.1 innings. Southpaw Robert Gasser (W, 7-1) countered with nine strikeouts over 6.0 three-run innings.
Leyba finished the game with a team-leading three hits, two of which came for extra bases. He joined Malcom Nuñez – who went 2-for-4 – in driving in a pair of runs apiece.
The Indians will look to break their season-high tying six-game losing streak on Saturday at 7:05 PM ET at Victory Field. Indianapolis will send RHP Luis Ortiz (3-4, 4.40) to the mound against RHP Janson Junk (6-6, 4.44).
INDIANA FOOTBALL
LUCAS SELECTED TO WALTER CAMP PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A third national watch list has tabbed Indiana football sophomore Jaylin Lucas as a preseason candidate for its award, this time the Walter Camp Football Foundation has the running back/return specialist among the 45 preseason candidates for the national player of the year award.
Lucas is now among the preseason candidates for the Paul Hornung Award, given to the nation’s most versatile player in major college football, and the Doak Walker Award, which recognizes the nation’s most outstanding collegiate running back. Earlier this year, Lucas was tabbed first-team All-America by Walter Camp on its preseason All-America Team.
A first-team All-America selection as a true freshman, Lucas was the first Hoosier in program history and first freshman in Big Ten history to earn the conference’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year. The running back/return specialist was the only player in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with multiple kickoff returns for a touchdown in 2022.
He led the Big Ten in combined kick return yardage (591) and kickoff return yards per game (28.1 ypg) and was among the top 16 in the conference in all-purpose yards per game (85.8 ypg). His game-opening kickoff return for a touchdown at Rutgers was the first kickoff return score at IU since Tevin Coleman in 2012 (at Northwestern). His two kickoff returns each went 90-plus yards and he added a 71-yard touchdown run for three scores of 70-plus yards. He was the first Hoosier since Coleman in 2014 with three 70-yard scoring plays in a single season.
The first-team All-Big Ten selection at kick returner, Lucas rushed for 141 of his 271 yards over his last three games (at Ohio State, at Michigan State, vs. Purdue). His best game from scrimmage came against the Boilermakers with 110 yards rushing on nine carries to go along with five receptions.
The 2022 watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in mid-November. The 2023 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 133 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show in December. The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 57th annual national awards banquet in New Haven, Connecticut, in early 2023.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
PURDUE WOMEN’S SOCCER
MATCHUP WITH BOWLING GREEN CONCLUDES PRESEASON
By: Charlie Healy
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue soccer team welcomes Bowling Green to West Lafayette for a preseason exhibition game on Saturday, August 12.
Kickoff is at 2 p.m. ET and the game will be played on the Purdue Soccer Practice Field, adjacent to Folk Field. Fans can enter the training field through the gates at the southwestern corner of the facility.
Saturday’s contest is the second of two preseason games for the Boilermakers before the regular season commences on August 17 at Folk Field. Purdue began the preseason with a 1-1 draw against Indiana State on Wednesday afternoon at home.
Admission will be free for all fans on Saturday along with every regular-season home game in 2023.
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
PURDUE BLOWS PAST SKN ST. POLTEN IN THIRD GAME IN THREE DAYS
ST. POLTEN, Austria – Purdue jumped out to a 15-0 lead and never looked back in rolling past SKN St. Polten, 108-45, on Friday evening in Austria.
Purdue’s 63-point margin of victory was its largest in a foreign-tour game during the Matt Painter era.
The Boilermakers dominated from the outset, leading 33-5 after one quarter and 61-18 at halftime. The lead after three quarters swelled to 84-37.
Purdue shot 44-of-73 (.603) from the field and 11-of-28 (.393) from long distance. It went 9-of-12 (.750) from the free throw line and had 33 assists to just eight turnovers.
Mason Gillis became the third different player to lead the team in scoring with 19 points, making 8-of-12 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Trey Kaufman-Renn had 17 points on 8-of-9 field goals with four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Myles Colvin had 15 points, and Caleb Furst and Will Berg each had 13 points. Berg led the team with nine rebounds.
Point guard Braden Smith was scoreless, but had 11 assists and now has 34 assists against just five turnovers in the three games. Kaufman-Renn leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 16.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Purdue is shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from deep in the three games.
The Boilermakers will play BK Brno in the Czech Republic on Monday, Aug. 14, at 9:30 a.m. ET.
PURDUE SWIMMING AND DIVING
SWIM-DIVE SCHEDULES UNVEILED FOR 2023-24
By: Ben Turner
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The return of the women’s Big Ten Championships to the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center and the three-day, co-ed Purdue Invitational being held in November for the third season in a row headline Purdue swimming & diving’s 2023-24 schedules.
The Boilermakers have eight home meets on their schedule. Six of the seven home weekends feature multiple days of action.
A notable name has been added to Purdue’s first large meet of the season. The in-state showcase on Saturday, Oct. 21 will be known as the Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate going forward, with the moniker recognizing the longtime head coach of the Boilermakers who retired in June after 42 years as a staff member. Ross introduced the Indiana Intercollegiates meet for the 2001-02 season as the Boilermakers moved into the Burke Aquatic Center. For more than 20 years, Ross’ inclusive philosophy has led to the meet annually featuring a bevy of Indiana-based teams of all sizes and divisions (NCAA and NAIA) – all competing alongside each other on an October Saturday at one of the state’s premier facilities.
View Full Schedules at PurdueSports.com: MEN / WOMEN
The women are set to host the Big Ten Championships (Feb. 21-24) for the first time since 2017 and fourth time since the Burke Aquatic Center opened. The men have also hosted four times since 2002, most recently in 2022.
Meanwhile, the three-day, six-session Purdue Invitational (Nov. 16-18) is being held for a third consecutive season for the first time ever. It’s back to a Thursday to Saturday schedule this year after featuring a full weekday slate last season due in part to a home football game Saturday.
The Boilermakers are set to host the midseason showcase for the 11th time as a co-ed meet since the Burke Aquatic Center opened. The Purdue Invite was also held in November of 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022. It debuted as a men’s only meet in November 2003. Louisville, Northwestern, Missouri State, Illinois, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Marshall and McKendree are expected to have student-athletes in attendance. The Purdue men have won the meet last two seasons.
It’s also the Boilermakers’ turn in the triennial rotation to host the two-day Big Ten Triple Duals and Quad. Minnesota, Northwestern and the Iowa women will visit West Lafayette for the final weekend (Feb. 2-3) of racing before the Big Ten Championships. Purdue’s Senior Day ceremony will be held before the Saturday morning session.
The home-opening weekend (Oct. 20-21) and the first weekend of November (Nov. 3-4) also feature action on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. UIndy is the opponent for the home opener again on Friday, Oct. 20. The Greyhound men won the NCAA Division II national title and the women finished second nationally last year. Oakland and the Rutgers women are in town two weeks later.
Purdue also hosts Missouri and the Illinois women on Saturday, Jan. 13 for a one-day dual. Both opponents return the trip following visits from the Boilermakers a year ago.
The men’s Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships will both be contested at familiar aquatic centers this season. Ohio State is hosting the conference meet and the IU Natatorium in Downtown Indianapolis serves as the host of NCAAs. After the cancellation in March 2020, the national championship meet has not been held in the state’s largest facility since the men’s meet in 2017. Ohio State also hosted the men’s Big Ten Championships during the pandemic-impacted 2021 campaign and should be in line to host the women’s meet next year.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
• Home Meets: 8 (6 Co-Ed)
• Season Opener: at Notre Dame (Oct. 13)
• Home Opener: UIndy make the trip up again for the first Friday of the home season (Oct. 20)
• Senior Day: Day 2 of the Big Ten Triple Duals/Quad as Purdue hosts the annual two-day meet with Minnesota, Northwestern and Iowa for the first time since January 2020 (Feb. 2-3)
• Purdue Invitational on the schedule for the third year in a row, fourth time since 2019 (Nov. 16-18)
• Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate: Boilermakers host schools from around the state for large Saturday meet (Oct. 21)
• Co-Ed Meets Featuring a Women’s Triple Dual: Boilermakers host Oakland and Rutgers (Nov. 3-4), Missouri and Illinois (Jan. 13)
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
• Big Ten Championships: Women at Purdue’s Burke Aquatic Center (Feb. 21-24), Men at Ohio State (Feb. 28-March 2)
• Zone C Diving Championships: Louisville hosts co-ed NCAA Championships qualifier (March 14-16)
• CSCAA National Invitational Championships (March 14-16 in Ocala, Florida)
• NCAA Championships: Georgia hosts Women (March 20-24), Indiana Sports Commission hosts Men in Indy (March 27-30)
NATIONALS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON
• USA Swimming’s Toyota U.S. Open: Selected men race in Greensboro, N.C. (Nov. 30-Dec. 3)
• USA Diving Winter Nationals: Annual end of year showcase in Knoxville, Tenn. (Nov. 28-Dec. 6)
• CSCAA Open Water Nationals: Selected Men & Women race outdoors in South Florida (Dec. 17)
LONG COURSE TIME TRIALS FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ACHIEVE OLYMPIC TRIALS CUTS
• Sunday, Nov. 19 at the Burke Aquatic Center
• Sunday, Feb. 25 at the Burke Aquatic Center (Primarily Women)
• Sunday, March 3 in Columbus, Ohio (Primarily Men)
2023 PURDUE INVITATIONAL FIELD
• Co-Ed: Purdue, Louisville, Northwestern, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, McKendree
• Women: Illinois, Illinois State, Marshall
2023 DAN ROSS INDIANA INTERCOLLEGIATE FIELD (More TBA)
• Co-Ed: Purdue, Ball State, IUPUI, Southern Indiana, Anderson, Bethel, Franklin, Indiana Wesleyan, Rose-Hulman
• Men: Wabash
ALL HOME MEETS
• Oct. 20: UIndy
• Oct. 21: Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate
• Nov. 3-4: Two-day dual vs. Oakland (Co-Ed) & Rutgers (Women)
• Nov. 16-18: Purdue Invitational
• Jan. 13: Missouri (Co-Ed) & Illinois (Women)
• Feb. 2-3: Two-day Big Ten Triple Duals/Quad: Minnesota (Co-Ed), Northwestern (Co-Ed) & Iowa (Women)
• Feb. 21-24: Women’s Big Ten Championships
• March 2-3: Women’s Boiler-Make-It NCAA Last Chance
IUPUI MEN’S SOCCER
JAGS PREPARE FOR 2023 SEASON WITH THREE EXHIBITION MATCHES
INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI men’s soccer team looks to build on its 7-7-6 season a year ago where they fell in the final of the Horizon League Tournament. The 2023 campaign features three exhibitions, beginning at Northwestern on Sunday (Aug. 13).
“It has been a great first few days of training,” second year head coach Sid van Druenen stated. “We had a very high percentage of guys pass the fitness test which was important for us as a coaching staff. It shows the hard work the players put in over the offseason, builds trust and allows us to jump right into tactics. Everyone is excited because the level of play is very high for this early in the season.
“Overall, the quality of the roster is extremely high. We have lots of exciting new pieces and everyone is gelling well. The newcomers are all good guys, but they have earned the respect of the upperclassmen by proving they belong at this level.”
A handful of newcomers have stood out through the first few training sessions. There were high expectations coming in for three first-year players—Jose Antonio Herrera, Jago Thompson-Roberts and Gijs Velings—and they have all lived up to they hype. Herrera, a two-time All-Conference and All-Sectional Team honoree in Illinois, has impressed up front, while Thompson-Roberts, who comes to IUPUI from Frome Town FC, has been solid in the back line. Velings, who played for FC Eindhoven’s professional youth academy in Netherlands, is a great playmaker in the midfield.
“These players have played at high levels and have proven that they will deliver when called upon,” continued van Druenen. “We have also had some other newcomers step up early and we are very excited to see their progression.”
The Jags also return eight starters from a year ago, including All-Horizon League honorees Edgar Correia, Josemir Gomez and Lukas Hackaa. Hackaa led the team with 25 points (8G, 9A) last season, leading the league in assists and ranking second in total points. Gomez, the team’s leading scorer in 2022 with nine, looks to be even better in his second season. Fellow sophomore, Correia, also hopes to build upon an outstanding freshman campaign that was cut short due to injury towards the end of the season.
Captains Logan Finnegan and Lucas Morefield, who featured on the 2022 Horizon League All-Tournament team, also return for the Jags. Both have been mainstays in the starting lineup during their careers and their leadership will be vital in helping the team return to the conference championship.
“Pressure is a privilege,” Morefield declared. “We want to be where the expectations are high, and we are super excited for the challenge.”
After being picked last in the Horizon League preseason poll a year ago, IUPUI shocked the conference by finishing third overall with a 4-2-3 conference record. The team ultimately fell short in the conference tournament final after knocking off No. 2 seed Wright State in the semis.
“The goal is clear. Win the conference tournament,” exclaimed van Druenen. “We have to build on our success from last year and we have the guys to do that.”
“We have all the right pieces to bring home the Horizon League Championship,” added graduate transfer Kyle Healy. “Talent is very high and training is super competitive which makes things fun.”
With three exhibition matches before the regular season gets underway van Druenen is excited to see everyone get a chance to see the field. “It will give us a better idea of best positions and relationships on the pitch,” he said. “We also hope to see steady progress tactically and find out who can we rely on to lay their bodies on the line and give 100 percent when we need it.”
No live stats or video will be available for preseason contests, but recaps will be posted to IUPUIJags.com afterwards.
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
JOE ALT, SAM HARTMAN SELECTED FOR WALTER CAMP AWARD WATCH LIST
University of Notre Dame graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman and junior left tackle Joe Alt have been selected for the 2023 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List. The award is presented annually to the top college football player in the nation.
Alt earned first-or-second team All-America honors from 12 different outlets at the end of the 2022 season and finished the year as the top rated offensive tackle in the country according to Pro Football Focus.
Alt helped the 2022 Irish offensive line pave the way for 2,457 rushing yards in 2022, a 4.6 yards-per-carry average, 25 rushing touchdowns and seven 200-yard rushing performances.
Hartman, who announced his decision to graduate transfer to Notre Dame in January of 2023, is the active FBS leader in career touchdown passes (111) and passing yardage (12,967). He is poised to become just the 12th FBS quarterback to throw for over 13,000 yards and 110 touchdowns in a career.
Over the last two seasons, Hartman leads all FBS quarterbacks in touchdown passes (77) and yards per completion (13.9) while ranking in the top five for passing yards (second, 7,929), red zone touchdown passes (third, 45) and fourth-quarter passing yards (fifth, 1,114).
In 2022, Hartman required just 270 completion to rack up 38 touchdown passes, which was the best pass-completion-to-touchdown-ratio among Power 5 quarterbacks.
INDIANA STATE FOOTBALL
THREE SYCAMORES HONORED ON THE BLUEBLOODS 2023 PRESEASON MVFC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Three Indiana State players were honored on the Bluebloods 2023 Preseason MVFC All-Conference team as announced by the organization earlier this week.
Defensive back Rylan Cole was named to the organization’s All-MVFC First Team, while Justin Dinka (RB) and Geoffrey Brown (LB) were both honored as Second Team selections.
Cole returns as one of the more heralded players in the MVFC after earning 2022 HERO Sports Sophomore All-American honors. The junior safety finished among the conference leaders in solo tackles per game (5.2) and passes defended per game (1.1), while tying for the team lead with 84 tackles on the year. He posted a season-high 18 tackles against North Dakota State, while adding a two-interception game against North Alabama.
Dinka was a 2022 MVFC Second Team All-Conference selection after finishing fourth in the MVFC in total rushing yards (895), while adding a 5.77 yards per carry average. The redshirt junior posted a career-high 177 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns against Youngstown State and finished the season with nine games with at least 50 rushing yards.
Brown tied for the ISU lead with 84 total tackles, while adding 7.0 TFL and 3.5 sacks. The rising junior opened the season with a career-high 15-tackle game against North Alabama, while adding 10 tackles, 2.0 TFL, and 2.0 sacks at Northern Iowa. He finished the year with five double-digit tackling efforts on the season.
The Sycamores continue the U.S. Lawns Fall Football Camp this week as they continue to prepare for the 2023 season opener on Thursday, August 31, against Eastern Illinois in Memorial Stadium. Kickoff between ISU and the Panthers is set for 6 p.m. ET.
Season Tickets, Single Game, and Group Tickets On Sale Now
For more information on season tickets, fans can contact Assistant Manager of Athletic Ticketing Austin Bishop by phone at 812-237-8972 or via email at Austin.Bishop@indstate.edu. Fans can also call 877-ISU-TIXS or email ISU-Tickets@indstate.edu. Fans have the opportunity to also buy or renew season tickets online by clicking HERE.
Indiana State will employ mobile ticketing as the default option for all home games during the 2023 football season, enabling contactless entry into athletics venues. Offering greater convenience and safety, fans can access their ticket online and transfer to family and friends. Fans will also have the option to get their tickets printed for an additional $5 charge.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S SOCCER
PURDUE FORT WAYNE HEADS TO KENT FOR EXHIBITION
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne women’s soccer will play its final exhibition of 2023 on Saturday when the Mastodons take on Kent State at 3 p.m. in Kent, Ohio.
Game Day Information
Who: Kent State Golden Flashes
When: Saturday, August 12 | 3 PM
Where: Kent, Ohio | Dix Stadium
Live Stats: None
Watch: None
Know Your Foe
Kent State was 4-7-7 last year and 4-2-5 in the Mid-American Conference. The Golden Flashes return three of the four players that scored three goals last season: Alisa Arthur, Siena Stambolich and Kelsey Salopek. Sarah Melén is also back as the primary keeper from a year ago. She recorded a 1.35 goals against average.
Series History
The ‘Dons and Golden Flashes have met just once in 2004. Kent State won that contest 3-2 thanks to two goals in the final 20 minutes.
All Eyes on Sam
Samantha Castaneda was selected to the United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch List in early August. She was one of nine goalkeepers in the country on the list.
Touching Up The Record Book
The following Mastodons are ranked in the top-10 in the Purdue Fort Wayne career record book.
Rylee Vruggink – Points Per Game, Assists, Assists Per Game
Morgan Reitano – Goals, Game-Winning Goals
Bella Reitano – Goals Per Game
Kelsey Gallagher – Game-Winning Goals, Assists, Assists Per Game
Samantha Castaneda – Saves, Saves Per Game, Goals Against Average, Shutouts
What Happened Last Year?
The Mastodons finished second in the Horizon League in 2022, their best finish in program history. Samantha Castaneda was named Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year and Jason Burr was Coach of the Year.
Coming Up
Purdue Fort Wayne will open the regular season on Thursday (Aug. 17) at Chicago State at 7 p.m.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE SOFTBALL
AMBER BOWMAN ANNOUNCES SOFTBALL COACHING STAFF FOR 2024
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne softball coach Amber Bowman has announced her coaching staff for the 2024 season. Part-time assistant coach Courtney Holm will move into a full-time role, while Tracy Coffman joins the staff. Brian Tackett remains on staff as a volunteer.
Holm has been with the Mastodons since the 2022 season. She has worked under Bowman for four years, two at Purdue Fort Wayne and two at Davenport prior to returning to the Summit City. Holm is an alumna of the Mastodon softball program, playing two years in 2017 and 2018. She played in 83 games for the ‘Dons. As a member of the coaching staff at Purdue Fort Wayne, Holm helped the Mastodons to a 17-32 record in 2023, improving by 10 wins from the year before. She has been serving as the first base coach in her two years with the Mastodons.
Coffman, no stranger to Fort Wayne, joins the Mastodon staff after spending nine years as the head coach of NAIA member Northwestern Ohio. She led UNOH to seven seasons of .500 or better as the first coach in program history. The best year UNOH had under Coffman’s leadership was a 32-win season in 2017. She coached 60 All-WHAC selections in her time at UNOH.
Coffman will head up the pitching staff at Purdue Fort Wayne. Her pitchers at UNOH threw two no-hitters and a perfect game under her leadership.
“I am excited for this season, not only do we have great incoming and returning student-athletes, we also have a very complete coaching staff,” Bowman said. “Courtney is returning with a lot of experience with our outfield and offense. I’m thrilled to have her in a full-time role. Tracy is a tremendous addition to our staff with an incredible background in coaching and pitching. Brian is back too with his great background in hitting.”
Bowman, Holm, Coffman and the Mastodons will kick off the 2024 season in February.
EVANSVILLE WOMEN’S SOCCER
WOMEN’S SOCCER CLOSES EXHIBITION SLATE SATURDAY AT #21 SAINT LOUIS
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s soccer team will play its final exhibition match of the 2023 season on Saturday evening, as the Purple Aces will travel to St. Louis, Missouri to take on #21 Saint Louis University. Kick-off at SLU’s Robert R. Hermann Stadium is set for 6 p.m. There will be no streaming or live stats for the match.
Evansville opened its exhibition season with a 0-0 draw with reigning Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion SIUE on Monday. The Purple Aces out-shot the Cougars in a match played just five days into the pre-season training cycle. Evansville returns 22 players from last season’s squad, led by third-team all-MVC defender Rachel Rosborough (Mt. Brydges, Ontario/Strathroy District CI).
The Billikens of Saint Louis welcome back 17 players, including nine starters, from last season’s squad which won both the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament titles. SLU finished the 2022 season with a school-record 20 wins, while playing in their fifth-straight NCAA Championship. Saint Louis is currently ranked #21 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches preseason national poll.
SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETIC SITES:
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
“SPORTS EXTRA”
MLB STANDINGS
| American League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Baltimore | 71 | 45 | .612 | – | 36 – 23 | 35 – 22 | 24 – 14 | 18 – 7 | 11 – 10 | 6 – 4 | L 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 70 | 48 | .593 | 2 | 39 – 21 | 31 – 27 | 20 – 14 | 19 – 5 | 11 – 11 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Toronto | 65 | 53 | .551 | 7 | 30 – 25 | 35 – 28 | 11 – 23 | 18 – 8 | 14 – 11 | 6 – 4 | L 2 |
| Boston | 61 | 55 | .526 | 10 | 34 – 27 | 27 – 28 | 16 – 14 | 15 – 9 | 12 – 10 | 5 – 5 | W 3 |
| NY Yankees | 60 | 56 | .517 | 11 | 35 – 28 | 25 – 28 | 15 – 21 | 12 – 10 | 16 – 13 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Minnesota | 60 | 58 | .508 | – | 33 – 24 | 27 – 34 | 12 – 17 | 22 – 18 | 11 – 8 | 5 – 5 | L 4 |
| Cleveland | 56 | 61 | .479 | 3.5 | 31 – 28 | 25 – 33 | 9 – 11 | 18 – 18 | 13 – 12 | 3 – 7 | L 1 |
| Detroit | 52 | 64 | .448 | 7 | 26 – 33 | 26 – 31 | 4 – 19 | 21 – 13 | 9 – 13 | 5 – 5 | L 1 |
| Chi White Sox | 47 | 70 | .402 | 12.5 | 25 – 31 | 22 – 39 | 8 – 17 | 19 – 17 | 9 – 17 | 4 – 6 | L 1 |
| Kansas City | 38 | 80 | .322 | 22 | 22 – 36 | 16 – 44 | 6 – 18 | 13 – 27 | 4 – 11 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Texas | 69 | 47 | .595 | – | 40 – 20 | 29 – 27 | 14 – 11 | 17 – 5 | 19 – 14 | 9 – 1 | W 1 |
| Houston | 67 | 50 | .573 | 2.5 | 32 – 25 | 35 – 25 | 10 – 10 | 11 – 11 | 25 – 13 | 7 – 3 | W 1 |
| Seattle | 63 | 52 | .548 | 5.5 | 34 – 26 | 29 – 26 | 12 – 13 | 12 – 11 | 19 – 11 | 9 – 1 | W 8 |
| LA Angels | 58 | 59 | .496 | 11.5 | 31 – 28 | 27 – 31 | 12 – 11 | 14 – 8 | 16 – 19 | 2 – 8 | L 1 |
| Oakland | 33 | 83 | .284 | 36 | 18 – 41 | 15 – 42 | 7 – 19 | 7 – 11 | 6 – 28 | 3 – 7 | L 1 |
| National League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Atlanta | 73 | 41 | .640 | – | 37 – 20 | 36 – 21 | 23 – 6 | 16 – 6 | 11 – 9 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Philadelphia | 65 | 52 | .556 | 9.5 | 34 – 22 | 31 – 30 | 15 – 17 | 11 – 8 | 14 – 13 | 7 – 3 | W 3 |
| Miami | 60 | 57 | .513 | 14.5 | 34 – 25 | 26 – 32 | 14 – 19 | 13 – 10 | 10 – 12 | 3 – 7 | L 1 |
| NY Mets | 52 | 63 | .452 | 21.5 | 28 – 25 | 24 – 38 | 16 – 15 | 7 – 15 | 15 – 13 | 2 – 8 | L 1 |
| Washington | 51 | 66 | .436 | 23.5 | 23 – 34 | 28 – 32 | 11 – 22 | 12 – 14 | 14 – 14 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Milwaukee | 63 | 54 | .538 | – | 33 – 27 | 30 – 27 | 10 – 9 | 24 – 12 | 10 – 16 | 6 – 4 | W 2 |
| Chi Cubs | 60 | 56 | .517 | 2.5 | 32 – 28 | 28 – 28 | 11 – 17 | 21 – 14 | 9 – 8 | 7 – 3 | W 1 |
| Cincinnati | 61 | 57 | .517 | 2.5 | 29 – 31 | 32 – 26 | 13 – 16 | 15 – 22 | 16 – 9 | 2 – 8 | W 1 |
| Pittsburgh | 52 | 64 | .448 | 10.5 | 28 – 31 | 24 – 33 | 9 – 8 | 13 – 18 | 16 – 15 | 4 – 6 | L 1 |
| St. Louis | 51 | 66 | .436 | 12 | 25 – 33 | 26 – 33 | 10 – 9 | 13 – 20 | 10 – 16 | 4 – 6 | L 1 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| LA Dodgers | 69 | 46 | .600 | – | 36 – 20 | 33 – 26 | 11 – 7 | 16 – 14 | 21 – 12 | 9 – 1 | W 6 |
| San Francisco | 62 | 54 | .534 | 7.5 | 33 – 25 | 29 – 29 | 10 – 12 | 18 – 9 | 18 – 11 | 4 – 6 | L 3 |
| Arizona | 57 | 59 | .491 | 12.5 | 28 – 31 | 29 – 28 | 13 – 15 | 11 – 10 | 18 – 17 | 1 – 9 | L 9 |
| San Diego | 56 | 60 | .483 | 13.5 | 30 – 28 | 26 – 32 | 13 – 13 | 8 – 15 | 16 – 17 | 4 – 6 | W 1 |
| Colorado | 45 | 71 | .388 | 24.5 | 25 – 30 | 20 – 41 | 14 – 17 | 11 – 13 | 7 – 23 | 3 – 7 | L 3 |
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1921 In the nightcap of a twin bill, Phillies’ right-hander George Smith gives up 12 hits but manages to pitch a shutout, blanking the Braves in Boston, 4-0. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Philadelphia hurler wasn’t as fortunate, leaving in the second inning after yielding three runs on four hits.
1927 The PCL’s Oakland Oaks trade infielders Lyn Lary and Jimmie Reese to the New York Yankees for $125,000. Reese will become Babe Ruth’s roommate, famously quipping he really “roomed with Ruth’s suitcase.”
1948 The Indians set a major league record when 14 different players get a hit in the 26-3 rout of the Browns. The Tribe finishes the Sportsman’s Park contest with 29 hits, including nine extra-base hits.
1964 At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle goes deep from each side of the plate in the same game, helping rookie pitcher Mel Stottlemyre win his big league debut. The ‘Mick’ has homered batting left-handed and right-handed in the same game ten times, extending his major league record.
Amazon The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood
1965 At Candlestick Park, right fielder Jesus Alou homers in the sixth inning. Two innings later, another Giants outfielder playing right field, also named Alou, goes deep when Jesus’ older brother, Matty, hits the decisive dinger in San Francisco’s 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh in the first game of a twin bill.
1966 In a contest that featured 11 home runs, the Reds’ Art Shamsky, who came in as a defensive replacement, hits three round-trippers in a 14-11, 13-inning loss to the Pirates at Crosley Field. Cincinnati’s new left fielder’s eighth-inning home run put the team ahead, and his shots in the 10th and 11th inning equaled the major league mark for dingers hit in extra innings
1969 Ed Kranepool becomes the Mets’ all-time home run leader for the young franchise when he goes deep off Don Wilson in the fourth inning of the team’s 8-7 loss to Houston at the Astrodome. The 24-year-old first baseman passes Jim Hickman, who had 60 round-trippers for the Amazins from 1962-66.
1973 Reaching Yankee closer Sparky Lyle and Tom Buskey for six runs, the A’s knot the score at 11 in the top of the seventh inning. Oakland scores the eventual winning runs in the team’s 13-12 victory in the next frame when New York commits its fifth error of the game.
1974 Angels’ right-hander Nolan Ryan, en route to a 4-2 victory over the Red Sox, strikes out 19 batters, matching the modern-day record of Steve Carlt (1969) and Tom Seaver (1970). The right-hander’s outing is the second of three 19-K performances this season for the fireballer from Alvin, Texas.
1976 The Directors of the new American League franchise in Toronto announce the team will be known as the Blue Jays. The selection comes from a list of ten names presented by a 14-member jury that garnered their nominations from the 4,000 suggestions and 30,000 entries submitted in the club’s “Name the Team” contest.
1980 At Tiger Stadium, 48,361 fans witness the return of an injury-plagued Mark Fidrych. The Bird, giving up 11 hits and three earned runs in eight innings of work, loses the game against the Red Sox, 5-4, in a game that will mark his last real attempt at a comeback.
1984 The Hall of Fame inducts Dodger right-hander Don Drysdale, Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, and perennial All-Star shortstop Luis Aparicio, the players selected by the BBWAA. Inductees also include the Veterans Committee’s choices of catcher Rick Ferrell and Brooklyn’s captain Pee-Wee Reese.
1984 The stage is set for a literal ‘slugfest’ when the first pitch of Atlanta’s 5-3 victory, thrown by Braves’ hurler Pascual Perez, hits Padres leadoff hitter Alan Wiggins. The fighting begins in the second inning when Ed Whitson throws behind the starter’s head, with more brawls in the fifth, which includes several fans, eighth, and ninth innings when the Friars continue to use Perez for target practice every time the pitcher steps to the plate.
1986 The Angels retire jersey #29, making Rod Carew the first player recognized with the gesture in franchise history. The perennial All-Star first baseman, who batted .314 in seven seasons and collected his 3000th hit with the team, joins Gene Autry as the second person to receive the honor.
1987 At Veterans Stadium, Juan Samuel hits a leadoff triple to right field off Rick Sutcliffe in the Phillies’ 13-7 victory over Chicago. The Philadelphia second baseman’s three-bagger makes him the first player to reach double digits in doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases during his first four seasons in the major leagues.
1987 The Tigers obtain Doyle Alexander from the Braves for right-handed prospect John Smoltz. The exchange will be ideal in the short run for Detroit when their new hurler goes 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA down the stretch to help the team win the AL East, but the minor leaguer they trade away will compile 213 wins and 154 saves during a stellar 21-year major league career.
1988 The Red Sox beat the Tigers 9-4 for their 23rd consecutive win at Fenway Park, establishing a new major league record [the streak will end after one more home victory]. The 1931 Philadelphia Athletics set the league mark with 22 straight home victories.
1990 The postponement of the White Sox-Rangers game occurs after a seven-and-a-half-hour rain delay, believed to be the longest in baseball history. Although owner Jerry Reinsdorf did not regret making fans wait for a game that never resumed, the team announces rain checks remained valid regardless of the team playing, serving drinks and sandwiches for five hours to the few hundred remaining fans.
1994 Baseball suffers its eighth and worst work stoppage in 22 years. The 232-day player strike will lead to the cancellation of the World Series and the delayed opening of next season.
1997 In tribute to Rex Barney, who died of cancer today, the Orioles play their game against Oakland at Camden Yards without a public address announcer. The team’s beloved PA announcer, who became well-known for such phrases as “Give that fan a contract!” after a patron caught a foul ball on the fly and for saying “Thank youuuuu” to the fans at the end of the game, had entertained Baltimore patrons for 24 years.
2000 At Shea Stadium, the Giants get two unusual runs in the fourth inning as the Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani catches what he thinks is the third out and gives the ball to a kid in the stands. The mental lapse of not knowing his grab was the second out allows both runners on base to score, but the Mets will prevail, beating San Francisco, 3-2.
2000 The Expos induct Tim Raines, who broke in with the team in 1979 and represented Montreal in All-Star Games from 1981-1987, into their Hall of Fame. The BBWAA selects the 21-year veteran outfielder for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017.
2001 When Braves’ manager Bobby Cox orders an intentional walk to Steve Finley, Greg Maddux’s National League record of consecutive frames without giving up a base on balls ends at 72⅓ innings. The major league record is 84.1 innings, set in 1962 by A’s hurler Bill Fischer.
2006 The Beavers honor Rodney McCray, the former Vancouver Canadian who gained everlasting notoriety in 1991 when he literally ran through the right-field plywood fence trying to catch Chip Hale’s fly ball in Portland’s Civic Stadium. The PCL team commemorates the memorable play with a bobblehead promotion, which features the moment of impact and renames the right field area of their current ballpark, “McCray Alley.”
2007 Bobby Jenks breaks David Wells’s American League record (38) and ties the 1972 Giants right-hander Jim Barrmajor league mark when he retires his 41st straight batter. The White Sox closer reached the record book by pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Mariners.
2007 The Astros honor Craig Biggio with a pregame ceremony for collecting 3,000 hits and his 20-year tenure with the team. The scrappy second baseman, who announced he plans to retire at the end of the season, adds to the special day by homering in the fifth inning of Houston’s 6-4 victory over the Brewers.
2008 Over a thousand fans attend Skip Caray’s public tribute at Turner Field on the day the play-by-play announcer would have celebrated his 69th birthday. Known for his witty and sometimes sarcastic style, the Braves’ longtime nationally acclaimed broadcaster, who started broadcasting games for Atlanta in 1976, died on August 3rd.
2008 After the Red Sox tally ten times in the first inning, powered by a pair of three-run homers by David Ortiz, the Rangers rally back and take a 15-14 lead with eight runs in the fifth and five in the sixth. Kevin Youkilis’s eighth-inning three-run homer over Fenway Park’s Green Monster gives Boston an eventual 19-17 victory, with the slugfest’s 36 runs tying an American League record.
2010 Milwaukee’s Casey McGehee’s last hit, a seventh-inning single, during his 4-for-4 performance in the team’s 8-4 victory over Arizona at Miller Park, establishes a franchise record. The Brewer infielder’s ninth consecutive hit breaks the club mark set by teammate Ryan Braun in 2008 but is three shy of the major league record of 12, accomplished by Pinky Higgins (1938) and Walt Dropo (1952).
2010 Major League Baseball suspends Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto for seven games for his “violent and aggressive actions” when he kicked at players with his spikes after being pushed against the backstop during a recent brawl with the Cardinals. Other penalties include the suspensions of managers Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker, with fines being handed out to the Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips and pitcher Russ Springer and Redbird backstop Yadier Molina and right-hander Chris Carpenter.
2011 It’s V-Day for Detroit when the Tigers’ 4-3 victory in Cleveland snaps a 13-game losing streak at Progressive Field. The team avoids being swept by the Tribe thanks to starter Justin Verlander’s 100th career win and Jose Valverde’s 33rd consecutive save, breaking a team record established in 1984 by Guillermo Hernandez.
2012 The Rangers retire uniform #7 to honor Ivan Rodriguez, considered one of the best catchers in the game who spent his prime years with the club from 1991-2002. The 1999 American League MVP teammates called Pudge appeared in ten All-Star games representing Texas and won 10 of his 13 Gold Gloves and six of his seven Silver Slugger Awards wearing the Rangers cap.
2013 Charlie Manuel, the winningest pilot in 130 years of Phillies baseball, became the 58th manager in baseball history to win 1,000 games. During his 12-year managerial career, the 69-year-old skipper, who Ryne Sandberg will replace in six days, has compiled 780 wins with Philadelphia and had another 220 with the Indians to reach the plateau.
2014 Tim Pinkard, attending his first game at Minute Maid Park, catches two home runs balls, both off the bat of the Astros’ DH Chris Carter, getting his first souvenir of the night when the ball rebounds off a sign in left field in the third inning of Houston’s 10-4 victory over the Twins. Against astronomical odds, the Springfield (VA) resident catches the second round-tripper stroked by the same batter, a laser shot hit directly at his seat in the fifth frame.
2014 The Giants honored longtime fan and friend Robin Williams, a cultural icon who died yesterday. The team pays tribute to the 63-year-old legend of screen and stage by having a moment of silence before the game against the White Sox and playing a clip from the movie Mrs. Doubtfire on the AT&T Park scoreboard.
2015 Hisashi Iwakuma no-hits the Orioles, facing 29 batters in the Mariners’ 3-0 victory at Safeco Field. The 34-year-old Japanese right-hander’s 116-pitch gem is the franchise’s fifth no-hitter and the first since Felix Hernandez threw a 1-0 no-no against the Rays in 2015.
2017 In a pre-game ceremony, the Mariners retire the #11 worn by Edgar Martinez, who spent his entire 20-year career with Seattle, making the team’s former designated hitter only the second player in franchise history to be honored with the distinction. The future Hall of Famer’s (2019) digits join Ken Griffey Jr.’s No. 24 on Safeco Field’s center-field fence.
2018 David Bote hits a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam, the first Cub player to accomplish the feat since Earl Averill’s blast in 1959, delivering a Ryan Madison 2-2 pitch over the center-field wall in a nationally televised Sunday Night ESPN game. The 25-year-old infielder’s sayonara slam, a walk-off round-tripper with the bases loaded and the home team down by three runs, gives Chicago a 4-3 victory over the Nationals in front of a frenzied crowd at Wrigley Field.
2021 The Romines become the first siblings to be battery mates since Dodgers’ Norm and Larry Sherry (1960-62) when Andrew, an infielder by trade, takes the mound in a mop-up role, throwing the ball to his younger brother, Austin, in the Cubs’ 17-4 loss to the Brewers at Wrigley Field. The sons of Kevin, an outfielder with the Red Sox (1985-1992), join Jim & Ed Bailey (1959 Reds) and Bobby & Billy Shantz (1954-55 A’s), who also appeared in the same major league game as pitcher and catcher, playing at the same time in the contest.
2021 “But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.” – TERRACE MANN, a recluse author assuring farmer Ray Kinsella people will come to the ballpark built in the cornfield.
The Field of Dreams Game, the most-watched regular-season contest in 16 years, pays homage to the 1989 movie classic where farmer Ray Kinsella turns his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true. In Dyersville (IA), just a few feet from the filming site, the White Sox beat the Yankees, 9-8, thanks to Tim Anderson’s two-run walk-off home run into the corn stalks.
BASEBALL HALL OF FAME
TOM SEAVER
Pitcher
Perhaps no single player is identified more with one team than Tom Seaver is with the New York Mets. Simply put, Seaver helped turn baseball’s lovable losers into champions.
Hall of Fame outfielder and Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner recalled: “Tom Seaver was the driving force behind the players, always pushing the team to be better than they were, never letting them settle.”
In 1969, the Mets captured their first World Series championship behind the powerful right arm of “Tom Terrific.” Seaver took home his first National League Cy Young Award that year, leading the major leagues in victories with 25, which accounted for one quarter of the Mets’ wins.
Teammate Cleon Jones said: “Tom does everything well. He’s the kind of man you’d want your kids to grow up to be like. Tom’s a studious player, devoted to his profession, a loyal cat, trustworthy – everything a Boy Scout’s supposed to be. In fact, we call him ‘Boy Scout.’”
Seaver signed with the Mets in 1966 following a lottery that resulted from an eligibility mix-up at the University of Southern California. One year later, Seaver was in the big leagues – and captured the 1967 National League Rookie of the Year Award after going 16-13 with a 2.76 ERA.
Following his Cy Young Award-winning season in 1969, Seaver won NL earned-run average titles in three of the next four seasons, capturing his second Cy Young Award in 1973 while leading the Mets to the NL pennant.
In 1970, Seaver tied a major league record, striking out 19 San Diego Padres in a game that included a record 10 consecutive strikeouts to end the game. In 1975, Seaver won his third NL Cy Young Award.
From 1967-1977, “The Franchise” was selected to 10 All-Star teams, lead the league in strikeouts five times, put together five 20 win seasons and threw five one-hitters and won three Cy Young Awards. He was traded to the Reds on June 15, 1977, finishing third in the Cy Young Award voting that year with a record of 21-6 and a big league-leading seven shutouts.
Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, who managed Seaver with the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 and ‘78, recalled: “My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work.”
After several near-misses during his career, Seaver no-hit the Cardinals in 1978 – and in 1981 became the fifth player in history to record 3,000 strikeouts. He returned to the Mets for the 1983 season, then won a total of 31 games for the White Sox in 1984 and 1985 before officially retiring during the 1987 season.
A 12-time All-Star, Seaver finished his career with a record of 311-205 with a 2.86 ERA and 3,640 strikeouts.
Seaver was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992. He passed away on Aug. 31, 2020.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
August 12, 1949 – The 16th annual NFL Chicago College All-Star Game was played at Soldier Field as the Champion Philadelphia Eagles blanked the All-Stars 38-0 in front of 93,780 paying fans. The MVP award, always given to the college player team, happened to be Bill Fischer. the offensive lineman from Notre Dame.
August 12, 1950 – The very first time that an NFL team played outside of the United States as the New York Football Giants defeat the CFL’s Ottawa Roughriders, 20-6 at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Stadium.
August 12, 1955 – The 24th annual NFL Chicago College All-Star Game was played at Soldier Field as the Champion Cleveland Browns fall to the All-Stars 27-30 with 75,000 in paid attendance. The MVP award, always given to the college player team, happened to be Ralph Guglielmi, the quarterback from Notre Dame.
August 12, 1960 – The 27th NFL Chicago College All-Star Game was played at Soldier Field as the Champion Baltimore Colts flatten the All-Stars 32-7 with 70,000 in paid attendance. The MVP award, always given to the college player team, happened to be Jim Leo, an end from the University of Cincinnati.
August 12, 1967 – The New Orleans Saint earn their first franchise win in the preseason game against the St. Louis Cardinals 23-14.
August 12, 1978 – We were all reminded about the dangers of playing football as New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley collided with Oakland Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum during a preseason game at Oakland Coliseum per Yahoo.com. Stingley’s helmet collided with Tatum’s shoulder, and the impact compressed Darryl’s spinal cord and breaking his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae. Although Stingley regained some movement in his right arm, he spent the rest of his life as a quadriplegic.
USC and UCLA Barred from ’81 Rose Bowl: Five Pac-10 Schools Cited for Violations of Academic Rules
This is our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day for August 12, 1980 as written in the Los Angeles Times. Five PAC-10 schools were ruled to be ineligible to participate in post season play or for conference titles as punishment for transcript and school curriculum abuses. According to the article in addition to USC and UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State and Arizona State each were also called out by the Presidents and Chancellors of the Pac-10 Conference and all would be ineligible for post season and any bowl games connected to the 1980 season in football. Falsified transcripts and unwarranted intrusions of athletic department interests were violated as found in the rulings by the Conference for the punishments handed down.
August 12, 1994 – The first NFL game to appear on the FOX Network is a preseason tilt between the 49ers and the Broncos.
HALL OF FAME BIRTHDAY FOR AUGUST 12
August 12, 1915 – Alex Wojciechowicz was a two way player (center & linebacker) from Fordham University. He is celebrated both in the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mr. Wojciechowicz is the founder and the first president of the NFL Alumni Association. He was only the third player in history to receive the Order of the Leather Helmet, which is a prestigious salute for individuals that have made significant contributions to the game of professional football. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1938 and played there until 1946 when the Lions sold his rights to the Philadelphia Eagles. Wojciechowicz went on to earn two NFL Championships with his Eagle teammates in 1948 & 1949.
August 12, 1930 – Jack Scarbath was a quarterback from the University of Maryland. Mr. Scarbath finished second in the 1952 Heisman Trophy voting. His accomplishments under center earned him a place in the College Football Hall of Fame in the induction ceremonies of 1983. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 1953 draft and played two seasons there. He went north of the border in the 1955 season playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders before returning to the NFL in 1956 to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
NOT YET IN THE HALL OF FAME BIRTHDAYS INCLUDE:
August 12, 1977 – Norfolk, Virginia – Former Michigan State University wide out Plaxico Burress was born. The 6′-5″ tall 232 speedster, Burress was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2000 NFL Draft. Plaxico played five seasons in the Steel City before moving on to the Big Apple to play with the New York Giants and helped them to win a Super Bowl Title in his four seasons there. He later moved across town to play with the Jets and had a return trip with the Steelers before retiring after the 2012 season. For his pro career Burress had 553 receptions for 8499 yards and 64 touchdowns.
FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
HARRIS BARTON
Position: Offensive Tackle
Years: 1983-1986
Place of Birth: Sandy Springs, GA
Date of Birth: April 19, 1964
Jersey Number: 67
Height: 6-4
Weight: 283
High School: Dunwoody HS (Dunwoody, GA)
An NFF National Scholar-Athlete in 1986, Barton matched his success in the classroom by becoming one of the most dominant offensive linemen in North Carolina history. The Atlanta native becomes the sixth Tar Heel to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
A First Team All-American in 1986, Barton was named the ACC’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman after helping the Tar Heels finish sixth in the nation and first in the conference with 436 yards of total offense per game. The 1986 First Team All-ACC selection was also part of an offensive unit that finished 10th in the nation with 252.5 rushing yards per game. A four-year starter, Barton began his career at center before being switched to tackle as a sophomore to take better advantage of his skills. After leading UNC to berths in the 1983 Peach Bowl and the 1986 Aloha Bowl, he concluded his stellar collegiate career in the Japan Bowl all-star game.
In addition to being an NFF National Scholar-Athlete, Barton was an Academic All-ACC selection, and he received the 1987 Jim Tatum Award as the conference’s top football scholar-athlete. A member of the 2007 ACC Legends Class, he is one of 27 players to have his jersey honored at Kenan Stadium. During his freshman year, Barton played alongside College Football Hall of Famer William Fuller.
Selected in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Barton spent his entire career with the franchise from 1987-98. A 1993 Pro Bowler, he led the team to victories in Super Bowls XXIII, XXIV and XXIX.
After both of his parents passed away from brain tumors, Barton founded Champion Charities in 2004 with fellow College Football Hall of Famer and former 49ers teammate Ronnie Lott. The non-profit has contributed significantly to treating and researching brain tumors while helping those afflicted with the disease. Barton is also a board member of the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, a venture philanthropy that invests exclusively in social enterprises that employ and empower people overcoming barriers to work. He is the founder and managing director of H. Barton Asset Management, where he specializes in providing investment capital to up-and-coming VC-backed technology startups.
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
6 – 7 – 30 – 16 – 3 – 8 – 53 – 1 – 11 – 14 – 18 – 48
August 12, 1963 – Stan Musial, the long-time Number 6 of the St Louis Cardinals, announced he would retire at end of season. Stan the Man came up into the Redbird organization in 1941, helped the franchise earn 3 World Series Titles, while becoming a 3 time League MVP and taking 7 batting titles during his Hall of Fame career.
August 12, 1964 – Mickey Mantle, Number 7 of the New York Yankees pounded two home runs over the wall of Yankee Stadium, that is special in and of itself but it is even more spectacular when one finds out that he hit one from each side of the plate. It was a switch-hits HR record as Mantle did it for 10th time in his career and final time in a single game. It is amazing to think that Mantle always said he was a better right handed hitter when he put more out of the park from the left side of the plate.
August 12, 1965 – The Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, Inc applied for a National League franchise after the cities former team the Braves left for Atlanta.
August 12, 1974 – Nolan Ryan, Number 30 struck out 19 batters and walked only 2 as the Angels doubled up the Boston Red Sox, 4-2
August 12, 1974 – New York Yankees Mickey Mantle (Number 7) and Whitey Ford (Number 16) became the first teammates inducted to Hall of Fame on same day
August 12, 1984 – Harmon Killebrew (Number 3), Rick Ferrell (Number 8), Don Drysdale (Number 53), Pee Wee Reese (Number 1), and Luis Aparicio (Number 11) were all inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
August 12, 1985 – Baltimore Orioles Wayne Gross, Number 14 and Larry Sheets wearing Number 18 were sixth pair to hit consecutive pinch home runs in Major League Baseball history.
August 12, 1986 – The American League has had a Designated Hitter since a January 11, 1973 decision at the League meetings. That is what makes this next story so amazing. The Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Lollar, Number 48 got a pinch-hit single.