Update on the latest sports
APGOLF-BRITISH OPEN
Oosthuizen takes 1-shot lead into final round
SANDWICH, England (AP) — Louis Oosthuizen (OOST’-hay-zehn) is the 54-hole leader of the British Open after hanging on over the back nine at Royal St. George’s.
Oosthuizen made an 8-foot birdie on the 16th hole and a long two-putt par on the closing hole for a 69. That gives him a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa going into the final round.
Morikawa started poorly with two bogeys in the opening five holes. He was bogey-free the rest of the way and shot 68.
Jordan Spieth (speeth) was tied for the lead until he hit a poor wedge into the 17th for bogey and then shockingly missed a 2-foot par putt on the 18th. He had to settle for a 69 and now is three shots behind.
Eight players are separated by five shots. That includes U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm. He made a 15-foot par putt on the last hole for a 68 and was five behind.
Oosthuizen has been runner-up in the last two majors and will be trying to win his first major since the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews.
NBA FINALS
Series a tossup heading into Game 5
PHOENIX (AP) — The NBA Finals seemed very much in the Suns’ control when they left Phoenix a week ago. Then the Bucks won their two games in Milwaukee and the Suns return to Arizona for Game 5 Saturday night with the series tied.
The Bucks overcame a 2-0 deficit in the second round against Brooklyn and now are trying to become the fifth club to do it in the NBA Finals.
Suns point guard Chris Paul is looking to bounce back from a rough Game 4 when he finished with 10 points, seven assists and five costly turnovers, including a crucial one in the final minute that led to a 109-103 loss.
NHL-STARS-HEISKANEN
Stars sign Miro Heiskanen to $67.6M, 8-year contract
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Stars have signed defenseman Miro Heiskanen (MEER’-oh HYS’-kah-nehn) to an eight-year contract worth $67.6 million.
The deal puts the 21-year-old Finn among the highest-paid defensemen in the NHL. Heiskanen will count $8.45 million against the salary cap through 2028-29. Only five defensemen currently count more against the cap than that next season.
Heiskanen had 27 points last season and ranked ninth in the league in ice time at just under 25 minutes a game. He has 95 points in 205 regular-season games and 30 points in 40 playoff games with Dallas, including a trip to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
Heiskanen, the third pick in the 2017 draft, was fourth in Calder Trophy voting as rookie of the year his first season and 12th in Norris voting in 2019-20. He became a restricted free agent this summer.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Twins play Tigers after 5-day break
UNDATED (AP) — The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are playing a doubleheader in Detroit after having their All-Star break extended by a day when Friday’s doubleheader was rained out. That made them the only major league clubs to get a five-day midsummer respite.
The teams will make up the other postponed game on Aug. 30.
Minnesota swept Detroit in a four-game series at Target Field before the break.
Elsewhere on Saturday’s schedule:
— Nathan Eovaldi (eh-VAHL’-dee) and the Boston Red Sox try to improve to 8-0 against the rival New York Yankees this season when they face Gerrit Cole in a prime-time matchup of AL All-Stars in the Bronx. With slugger Aaron Judge and five of his teammates sidelined due to a coronavirus outbreak, the fourth-place Yankees were held to three hits Friday night in a 4-0 loss to Boston that dropped them nine games behind the AL East-leading Red Sox. New York is also minus first baseman Luke Voit, who went on the injured list with a bone bruise in his left knee.
— The Houston Astros send Jake Odorizzi (oh-duh-REE’-zee) to the mound against Lucas Giolito (jee-oh-LEE’-toh) and the Chicago White Sox as the AL division leaders continue their weekend set. Odorizzi is 2-1 with a sparkling 1.04 ERA over his last five appearances. He is 3-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 11 career starts against Chicago. Giolito struck out nine over 5 1/3 innings in an 8-3 win at Baltimore last Saturday. The 6-foot-6 right-hander is 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA in four career starts versus the Astros.
— Angels second baseman David Fletcher tries to extend his hitting streak to 26 games, which would break a tie with Hall of Famer Rod Carew for the second-longest in franchise history behind Garret Anderson’s 28-game run in 1998. Fletcher and his Los Angeles teammates face Seattle lefty Yusei Kikuchi (YOO’-say kih-KOO’-chee).
— Saturday’s game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo, New York, was rained out. It will be made up as part of an afternoon doubleheader on Sunday, with both games seven innings. The Rangers say left-hander Kolby Allard will start the opener followed by Mike Foltynewicz (fohl-tih-NAY’-vihch). Toronto is currently in third place in the AL East, 4 ½ games behind first-place Boston. Texas has lost seven of 10 and is last in the AL West. The Blue Jays received approval from the Canadian government yesterday for an exemption on border restrictions that would allow them to play in Canada this month.
MLB-NEWS
Braves swing another deal, get catcher Vogt from Arizona
UNDATED (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have acquired veteran catcher Stephen Vogt from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league first baseman Mason Berne.
The 36-year-old Vogt, a two-time All-Star with Oakland, batted .212 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 52 games for the major league-worst Diamondbacks this season. He has thrown out 10 of 30 runners attempting to steal.
The move came one night after the depleted Braves obtained Joc Pederson in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, bolstering their outfield after recently losing star slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury. Atlanta, hoping to chase down the New York Mets and win its fourth straight NL East title, has struggled to replace injured catcher Travis d’Arnaud this year.
In other MLB news:
— For the first time in months, COVID-19 is creating chaos around Major League Baseball. The Yankees and Rockies are dealing with outbreaks that have sidelined a total of 10 players and two coaches as baseball resumes play following the All-Star break. The Red Sox and Yankees played Friday night after their series opener Thursday was postponed due to New York’s outbreak. Boston won 4-0 with the Yankees down six players including slugger Aaron Judge. The Rockies were without manager Bud Black and five other team members Friday night as they lost to the Dodgers 10-4.
— The New York Mets are waiting for news on Francisco Lindor (lihn-DOHR’), who left Friday night’s 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh with soreness on his right side. New York manager Luis Rojas (ROH’-hahs) had no further update after the game other than to say the star shortstop would be examined in the morning. Lindor is in his first season with the first-place Mets after being acquired from Cleveland in a January trade. The four-time All-Star agreed to a $341 million, 10-year contract just before opening day. He is hitting .228 with 11 home runs in 88 games.
— Shohei Ohtani (SHOH’-hay oh-TAH’-nee) has donated his earnings from this week’s Home Run Derby to members of the Los Angeles Angels’ support staff. That’s according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who says Ohtani donated the $150,000 he received to more than a couple dozen people, including clubhouse staff, trainers and members of the media relations department. The two-way Japanese sensation handed out the checks before last night’s game against the Seattle Mariners, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press. Ohtani hasn’t commented on it.
OLYMPICS-NEWS
First positive COVID-19 test in Olympic Village
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo Olympic organizers say the first resident of the Olympic Village has tested positive for COVID-19. Officials say it was not an athlete.
Tokyo officials including the president of the organizing committee confirmed the case. They said the positive test was Friday, one week before the Olympics open.
The person is identified simply as a “games-concerned personnel.” The person is also listed as a non-resident of Japan. Tokyo officials said the person was placed in a 14-day quarantine.
In other Olympics news:
— Japan’s massive security apparatus for the Olympics is raising complaints that the nation will look more like authoritarian North Korea or China than one of the world’s most powerful, vibrant democracies. The worry for many Japanese, however, isn’t too much Big Brother. It’s that all the increased precautions won’t be nearly enough to stop the estimated 85,000 athletes, officials, journalists and other workers coming into Japan from introducing fast-spreading coronavirus variants to a largely unvaccinated population struggling with mounting cases. So far, the majority of athletes and others are exempted from typical quarantine requirements. The Japanese press is filled with reports of Olympic-related people testing positive, breaking mask rules and drinking in public.
— Germany’s Olympic soccer team walked off the field Saturday during a preparation match for the Tokyo Games in response to alleged racist abuse from an opposing Honduras player toward German defender Jordan Torunarigha. The German soccer federation says Torunarigha “was racially insulted” and that the players walked off with five minutes remaining in the game. Germany coach Stefan Kuntz says Torunarigha was “terribly upset” and that the Honduras team later apologized. The friendly game in Wakayama, Japan was Germany’s last preparation match before it plays Brazil in Yokohama on Thursday.
— South Korea’s Olympic committee says it has removed banners at the athletes’ village in Tokyo that referred to a 16th-century war between Korea and Japan. It followed an intervention from the International Olympic Committee, which saw the banners as provocative. In agreeing to take down the banners, the South Koreans said they received a promise from the IOC that the displaying of the Japanese “rising sun” flag will be banned at stadiums and other Olympic venues. The flag is resented by many people in South Korea and other parts of Asia who see it as a symbol of Japan’s wartime past.
CYCLING-TOUR DE FRANCE
Pogacar poised to win 2nd Tour de France title
SAINT-EMILION, France (AP) — Tadej Pogacar (TAH’-day pah-GAH’-char) is all but guaranteed to win a second straight Tour de France after completing the second-last stage unscathed. The Slovenian cyclist has an unsurmountable lead of more than five minutes heading into Sunday’s final ride into the heart of Paris.
Saturday’s Stage 20 time trial marked the last serious test after nearly three exhausting weeks. Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the 31-kilometer stage while Pogacar played it safe and finished eighth.
F1-BRITISH GP
Verstappen wins sprint race to take pole for Sunday’s British GP
SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Max Verstappen out-dragged Lewis Hamilton at the start of Formula One’s experimental first sprint qualifying race to take the pole for the British Grand Prix.
It was a disappointing outcome for Hamilton at his home track. Verstappen stretched his lead over Hamilton by winning the sprint and now takes a 33-point advantage over the beloved local driver into Sunday. Verstappen will be seeking his fourth consecutive win from the pole.
F1 leaders tried a new format at Silverstone by setting the starting field with a 70-lap race.
NFL-BUCCANEERS-WHITE HOUSE
Official: Super Bowl champs to visit White House Tuesday
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will celebrate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl title when the team visits the White House on Tuesday.
No other details about the visit were provided by a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the event has not been formally announced.
Biden has resumed the tradition of opening the White House to championship sports teams after an uneven record of such visits under the Trump administration. Biden welcomed the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month.
Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl in February by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9.
NFL players report to training camp for the 2021 season later in July.
