Update on the latest sports
APOLYMPICS
Track records fall fast in Tokyo
TOKYO (AP) — The world records keep falling on the track at the Tokyo Olympics.
A day after the men’s 400-meter hurdles staged possibly one of the greatest races ever run, the women put on their own show. Sydney McLaughlin smashed the world record and Dalilah Muhammad broke it as well in a sensational American 1-2 finish in the women’s 400 hurdles.
McLaughlin set the previous world record of 51.90 seconds in June.
Also in Tokyo:
— Andre de Grasse of Canada won gold in the men’s 200-meter race, five years after finishing second to Usain Bolt. De Grasse powered past a pair of Americans — Kenny Bednarek and the favorite, Noah Lyles — to finish in 19.62 seconds and take one of the titles that Bolt had owned for the last three Olympics. Erriyon Knighton, the youngest member of the U.S. men’s track team at 17, placed fourth in 19.93.
— Breanna Stewart scored 20 of her 23 points in the first half to help the U.S. women’s basketball team beat Australia, 79-55 in the quarterfinals. Trailing 5-2, Stewart scored seven consecutive points to start a 19-1 run. The Americans will face Serbia on Friday in the semifinals looking to advance to their seventh consecutive gold medal game.
— The U.S. women’s volleyball team has made it to the semifinals for the sixth time in the past eight Olympics by beating the Dominican Republic in straight sets. The Americans advanced despite playing without injured starters Jordyn Poulter and Jordan Thompson.
— Triston Casas hit his third home run of the Olympics and the United States beat the Dominican Republic 3-1 to stay in gold medal contention. Tyler Austin added a solo home run in the fifth and Scott Kazmir got the win. Casas’ homer came off Boston Red Sox Double-A teammate Denyi Reyes. The U.S. plays next on Thursday night against defending South Korea for a berth in the gold medal game against Japan. The Dominicans will play Thursday night’s loser for the bronze medal.
— American shotput silver medalist Raven Saunders says her mother has died. Media reports say that Clarissa Saunders died in Orlando, Florida, where she had been attending Olympic watch parties.
— Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden got off to a hot start in women’s golf at the Olympics. She played a bogey-free round for a 66. That gives her a one-shot lead over top-ranked Nelly Korda of the United States and Aditi Ashok of India.
— Italy broke its own world record to win the gold medal in men’s team pursuit cycling at the Tokyo Olympics, edging world champion Denmark in a dramatic final. Over the last five laps, the Italians wiped out a deficit of nearly a half-second to win the gold medal.
— Russia’s Svetlana Romashina claimed her record sixth Olympic gold medal in artistic swimming, teaming with Svetlana Kolesnichenko to win the duet.
— Peruth Chemutai of Uganda won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final. American Courtney Frerichs took silver. Emma Coburn of the United States was disqualified for what was listed as a lane infringement after finishing behind the field.
— A pair of teenagers gave China a 1-2 finish in the preliminaries of women’s 10-meter platform diving. Chen Yuxi, a 15-year-old who is the current world champion, and her 14-year-old teammate, Quan Hongchan, led 18 women into the semifinals. American Delaney Schnell was third at 360.75. Her teammate, Katrina Young, squeaked into the semifinals in 17th place.
— A Polish diplomat says Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has arrived in Warsaw on a humanitarian visa after leaving the Tokyo Olympics. She had sought refuge saying she feared for her safety after her Olympic team officials ordered her to return to Belarus for criticizing her coaches’ decisions on social media.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Rays beat Mariners 4-3 to avoid season series sweep
UNDATED (AP) — Randy Arozarena (ah-roh-zah-RAY’-nuh) had a two-run triple during a three-run third and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 to avoid a season series sweep. The Rays went 1-6 overall against Seattle and lost the first two games of the three-game set.
Josh Fleming allowed two runs and five hits, and Mike Zunino hit his 21st homer for the Rays. Mariners rookie Logan Gilbert gave up three runs and four hits over five innings. Seattle had won 11 consecutive games, dating to May 25, when Gilbert started. The right-hander was 5-0 during the stretch.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez launched a three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to put the Milwaukee Brewers ahead for good in a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Devin Williams worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to earn his first career save. Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds went 2 of 2, walked twice and scored both of the Pirates’ runs. The Brewers won two of three from the Pirates and remained 7 1/2 games ahead of Cincinnati in the NL Central.
— Luis Castillo pitched six effective innings, Tyler Stephenson homered to give the Reds a cushion they ended up needing, and Cincinnati held on to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5. Jonathan India had three hits and Joey Votto drove in two runs for the Reds, who came in trailing first-place Milwaukee by 7 1/2 games in the NL Central. Castillo allowed Jorge Polanco’s first-inning solo homer but settled in nicely from there. Stephenson went deep in the seventh to give the Reds a 6-1 lead. The Twins rallied with four runs in the eighth before Michael Lorenzen came in for a five-out save.
MLB-NEWS
Brewers’ Axford out for year after 1 game; Lauer on COVID list
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching staff has taken a couple more hits with John Axford now out for the season with elbow trouble and Eric Lauer joining the COVID-19 injured list.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Axford has significant elbow damage and is going over his options after an injury foiled the 38-year-old’s comeback attempt.
NBA-NEWS
AP source: Kemba Walker headed home to play for Knicks
UNDATED (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says Kemba Walker and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a buyout of the final two years of his contract. Once that’s completed, the four-time All-Star guard will sign with the New York Knicks.
Walker and the Thunder have been working on the buyout parameters in recent days. Walker is owed nearly $74 million for the next two seasons, including a $37.6 million option that he held for 2022-23. Walker was born in the Bronx. He never played for the Thunder.
In other NBA news:
— A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that power forward John Collins has agreed to a $125 million, five-year deal to remain with the Atlanta Hawks. The deal includes a fifth-year option for Collins, who was a restricted free agent. The agreement comes one day after point guard Trae Young agreed to a five-year, $207 million rookie extension. Collins averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds this season.
— The Philadelphia 76ers have signed nine-year veteran center Andre Drummond. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Drummond joins Philadelphia after splitting the 2020-21 season with Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers. The 6-foot-10, 279-pound Drummond will wear No. 1 for the Sixers. He was one of just three NBA players, including new teammate Joel Embiid (joh-EHL’ ehm-BEED’), to average a point-rebound double-double as well as one steal and one block.
— The New Orleans Pelicans say veteran former NBA coach Mike D’Antoni is joining the club as a coaching adviser and Jarron Collins has been hired as an assistant coach. The moves come on the heels of the Pelicans’ decision to hire Willie Green as their third head coach in three seasons. D’Antoni was an assistant with Brooklyn last season and has compiled a 672-527 record as a head coach.
NHL-NEWS
Jets sign QB Josh Johnson to give them experienced backup
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Jets have signed well-traveled veteran quarterback Josh Johnson, giving them an experienced backup behind rookie Zach Wilson. Undrafted free agent linebacker Brendon White from Rutgers was waived to make room for Johnson. The 35-year-old Johnson fills a void in the Jets’ quarterbacks room, which had just Wilson, Mike White and James Morgan. None of that trio has taken a regular-season snap in an NFL game.
The Jets are Johnson’s 14th NFL team. He was most recently with San Francisco last year where current Jets coach Robert Saleh was the defensive coordinator.
Elsewhere around the NFL:
— Jadeveon Clowney is making a strong impression in his first training camp with the Cleveland Browns. The former No. 1 overall pick, whose career has been slowed by injuries, is healthy and happy with his fourth team in four years. The Browns signed him to a one-year, $8 million free agent deal in April.
— The Chicago Bears have signed veteran linebacker Alec Ogletree to a one-year contract. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Ogletree has started all but one of the 95 games he has played in since the St. Louis Rams drafted him with the No. 30 overall pick in 2013. Ogletree was signed to the Jets’ practice squad in Week 1 last season, then got released after recording three tackles in two games.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NEWS
AAC’s Aresco: Did not plot with ESPN to poach other leagues
UNDATED (AP) — American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco says his league has never “plotted” with ESPN to undermine another conference by poaching its schools and says the league is not actively looking to add schools.
Last week the Big 12 accused ESPN of encouraging at least one other conference to raid that conference as it tries find a way forward with Texas and Oklahoma on their way to the Southeastern Conference. The AAC was reported to be the conference ESPN was incentivizing to woo Big 12 teams. Aresco denied that.
In other college football news:
— Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor has been added to the College Football Playoff selection committee, replacing Texas AD Chris Del Conte. The CFP’s announcement comes less than a week after Texas and Oklahoma announced they would be leaving the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference in 2025.
PENN STATE-ABUSE
Penn State ex-president Spanier leaves jail after 2 months
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — The former president of Penn State is out of jail after serving nearly two months for endangering the welfare of children by his response to a report that Jerry Sandusky had been seen physically abusing a boy on campus.
Centre County Correctional Facility Warden Christopher Schell said Wednesday the 73-year-old Graham Spanier served 58 days. Spanier still faces two months of electronic monitoring at home and two years of probation.
NASCAR-MASKS
NASCAR to require masks in enclosed areas going forward
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Beginning this weekend at Watkins Glen International, NASCAR will require all personnel to wear a face mask in enclosed areas at all times, regardless of vaccination status. Enclosed areas include haulers and buildings, including media centers, restrooms, the infield care center, race control and suites.
