Update on the latest sports
APOLYMPICS
Durant leads US to 4th straight gold
TOKYO (AP) — It’s a four-peat for the US Olympic men’s basketball team, gold in women’s golf and bronze in the women’s marathon at the Tokyo Games.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and the Americans took the gold medal by defeating the team that beat them in their opening game, 87-82 over France. He joined Carmelo Anthony as the only men’s basketball players with three gold medals.
Durant sealed it with two free throws with 8.8 seconds left, making the outcome academic.
Jayson Tatum finished with 19 points, while Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday each chipped in 11 for the U.S.
The U.S. wound up sweeping gold in golf as Nelly Korda followed Xander Schauffele’s (SHOW’-fleez) victory last weekend.
Korda two-putted for par on the final hole for a one-shot victory. She led by as many as three shots on the back nine before closing with a 2-under 68.
The 23-year-old Korda won her first major championship six weeks ago and rose to No. 1 in the world for the first time. Now she has an Olympic gold medal and leaves no doubt who’s the best in women’s golf.
Saturday’s Olympic action in Japan began with the women’s marathon, which gave Kenya a pair of medals and added another to the U.S. total.
Peres Jepchirchir (PEH’-rehz jehp-CHEER’-cheer) led a 1-2 Kenyan finish, finishing in a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, 20 seconds.
Her teammate Brigid Kosgei (BRIH’-jihd KAHZ’-gy) was second and American Molly Seidel took home the bronze.
The race was transferred to Sapporo from Tokyo and moved up an hour to avoid the heat. There were 88 runners entered in the field and more than a dozen recorded a did not finish.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Phillies pass Mets for NL East lead
UNDATED (AP) — There’s a new leader in the National League East.
Kyle Gibson worked six innings and broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the fifth to help the Phillies down the Mets, 4-2 in Philadelphia. Gibson worked around four hits and four walks to win for the second time since being traded to the Phillies.
Bryce Harper slammed a two-run homer and Didi Gregorius (DEE’-dee greh-GOHR’-ee-uhs) hit a solo shot in the Phillies’ sixth straight win, which gives them a half-game lead over New York. Philadelphia was 4 1/2 games out of first place when the winning streak began last Sunday.
The Mets have dropped seven of nine to lose the division lead they had held since May 8.
Checking out Friday’s other major league action:
— The Braves turned a catcher’s interference call into a three-run rally in their fourth straight win, 8-4 versus the Nationals. Adam Duvall drove in three runs with two hits to help Atlanta match their season-high winning streak. Freddie Freeman hit a two-run single and scored twice for the Braves, who are within a game of the NL East lead.
— Rowdy Tellez (TEH’-lehz) singled home Avisaíl (av-ih-sah-EEL’) García in the 10th inning to give the Brewers a 2-1 victory over the Giants. Tellez hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer to put Milwaukee ahead for good in Thursday’s 4-2 decision over the Pirates. Reliever Brent Suter struck out two and retired the side in order in the top of the 10th for his 11th win.
— San Francisco’s lead in the NL West remains four games over Los Angeles after the Dodgers dropped a 4-3 decision to the Angels on an RBI double by José Iglesias in the 10th inning. Iglesias also homered for the Halos, who have won three of the four games in this year’s Freeway Series. Jack Mayfield tied it at 2 with a solo shot in the sixth and added an insurance run in the 10th with a bloop RBI single to right.
— The Padres enjoyed a 5-0 lead until the Diamondbacks scored six times in the fourth inning of Arizona’s 8-5 victory. Matt Peacock hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the fourth and pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the win. Nick Ahmed’s two-run single capped the fourth-inning rally as the Diamondbacks left San Diego 2 1/2 games ahead of Cincinnati for the second NL wild card.
— The Reds rolled to a 10-0 rout of the Pirates as Mike Moustakas (moos-TAH’-kahs) went 3-for-4 with three doubles and two RBIs in his return from the injured list. Tucker Barnhart hit a three-run homer for Cincinnati, which also received solo shots from Jesse Winker and Jonathan India. It’s the sixth time the Reds have scored at least 10 runs for Wade Miley, who scattered six hits over seven innings.
— Tyler O’Neill had a career-high four hits, including a solo home run as teh Cardinals doubled up the Royals, 4-2. Paul Goldschmidt also connected to help St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak. Wainwright allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings for his 10th victory.
— C.J. Cron homered twice, including a three-run drive while the Rockies exploded for nine runs in the fourth inning of a 14-2 laugher against the Marlins. Ryan McMahon, Charlie Blackmon and Elias Diaz also homered to back German (hehr-MAHN’) Marquez , who limited Miami to two hits over six shutout innings.
— Nelson Cruz homered and drove in five runs as the Rays won for the sixth time in eight games, 10-6 over the Orioles. Cruz tied it in the fifth with a three-run shot and added a two-run double in the eighth. Manuel Margot had three hits and an RBI to help the AL East leaders move 2 1/2 games ahead of Boston.
— The Blue Jays erupted for nine runs in the fifth inning of a 12-4 pounding of the Red Sox. The Jays had nine hits in the inning, seven of them for extra bases after Boston built a 2-0 lead. Lourdes Gurriel hit a two-run homer, and Teoscar Hernandez had three hits and three RBIs as Toronto improved to 7-1 at home since returning to Canada.
— The Yankees came away with a 3-2 win over the Mariners on Brett Gardner’s RBI single in the bottom of the 11th. Aaron Judge hit a tying sacrifice fly in the eighth and Giancarlo Stanton pulled New York even again with a two-out single in the 10th. The Yankees have won seven of eight since the trade deadline to move a season-high 11 games over .500.
— Mitch Garver homered early and Josh Donaldson had an RBI single in the 11th inning of the Twins’ 5-4 victory at Houston. The Twins got the homer from Garver in a two-run fifth and tied it on an RBI single by Luis Arraez in the sixth. Rookies Taylor Jones and Chas McCormick went deep to put the Astros ahead.
— The Athletics are within three games of the AL West-leading Astros after Starling Marte crushed a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to complete their 4-1 win over the Rangers. It’s Oakland’s second straight walk-off win and their 10th overall, tying Colorado for most in the majors. Acquired from the Marlins before the trade deadline, Marte also reached on a bunt single in the sixth inning of the Athletics’ sixth win in eight games.
— The White Sox blew a late 4-1 lead before Brian Goodwin led off the 10th inning with a two-run homer to lead an 8-6 win over the Cubs. Goodwin came through after Craig Kimbrel surrendered a three-run lead in the eighth. Gavin Sheets and Tim Anderson added RBI singles to make it 8-4.
— Cal Quantrill struck out a career-high 10 and allowed four hits over seven innings of the Indians’ 6-1 whipping of the Tigers. Bobby Bradley’s two-run double keyed Cleveland’s four-run third off Matt Manning. Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera went 1 for 3 with a walk and remained at 498 career homers.
MLB-NEWS
Laureano pinched for PED use
UNDATED (AP) — The Oakland Athletics’ postseason chances have taken a hit due to a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug.
Major League Baseball has given A’s outfielder Ramón Laureano an 80-game suspension without pay after he tested positive for Nandrolone. Laureano has appeared in 88 games this season, batting .246 with 14 home runs, 39 RBIs and 43 runs scored.
Also in the majors:
— Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is unlikely to return to the mound until September as he continues to deal with lingering soreness in his left elbow. The Los Angeles left-hander has been on the injured list since July 7.
— Pitcher Adrian Houser has become the latest Brewers player to test positive for the coronavirus. However, Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich (YEH’-lihch) is eligible to come off the COVID-19 injured list and says he’s feeling fine.
— The Cubs have placed five-time Gold Glove outfielder Jason Heyward on the 10-day injured list because of inflammation in his left index finger. Manager David Ross says the injury had been bothering Heyward for a while and was aggravated while taking batting practice this week. He is batting .198 with six homers and 22 RBIs.
NFL-NEWS
Bills’ Allen accepts 6-year extension
UNDATED (AP) — The Buffalo Bills have secured their future at quarterback, agreeing with Josh Allen on a six-year contract extension that locks him up through the 2028 season.
The agreement comes a few days after general manager Brandon Beane said he wanted to get a deal done before the start of the season or put talks off until next year.
Allen was under contract through the 2022 season. In May, the Bills picked up the player’s fifth-year option, worth nearly $23 million.
In other NFL news:
— Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been activated from the COVID-19 list. He missed the team’s first practice July 28, and coach John Harbaugh announced afterward that the star quarterback had tested positive for COVID-19. This is a crucial camp for Jackson after the Ravens tried to boost their passing game in the offseason.
— Dolphins coach Brian Flores says the team has no intention of trading Xavien Howard despite the All-Pro cornerback’s desire to play elsewhere. Howard is unhappy about his contract. Flores says talks with Howard and his agent to resolve the dispute are ongoing. Howard requested a trade via Instagram on July 27, the day Dolphins reported for training camp.
— Rams backup quarterback John Wolford is expected to miss up to two weeks because of appendicitis. Wolford started the NFC wild-card playoff game at Seattle this past season after impressing coach Sean McVay with his mobility and willingness to throw down the field in the regular season finale against Arizona.
— Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib said he has received “nothing but love and support” from his teammates after he came out as gay earlier this summer. Nassib came out publicly on Instagram in June, saying he felt representation and visibility were important. He said that during the first couple of days “my body felt like Jell-O” but he has felt better each subsequent day.
— Even with a pandemic forcing empty stadiums in most franchise cities, NFL team values increased by 14% in the past year. According to Forbes, they are now worth an average of nearly $3.5 billion. The Dallas Cowboys have the highest value for the 15th straight year: $6.5 billion.
NBA-NEWS
Nets deal with Suns
UNDATED (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have acquired backup guard Jevon Carter and the draft rights to center Day’Ron Sharpe from the Phoenix Suns for guard Landry Shamet (SHAM’-eht).
Shamet was acquired by the Nets from the Clippers in November before averaging 9.3 points in 61 games. Carter spent three seasons with Phoenix and Memphis, averaging 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Sharpe was the 32nd pick overall in the draft after playing one year at North Carolina.
In other NBA news:
— The Bucks have announced the signings of guard George Hill, guard/forward Rodney Hood and forward Semi Ojeleye (OH’-zhuh-ly). The Bucks also officially announced they had re-signed forward Bobby Portis.
— The Cavaliers have signed Jarrett Allen to a five-year, $100 million contract, securing the 23-year-old center as one of their foundational players. Allen came over from Brooklyn in a midseason deal and was a restricted free agent before coming to terms with Cleveland earlier this week. He started 45 of huis 63 games last season, posting career highs with 12.8 points and 10 rebounds.
— The Hawks have re-signed backup point guard Lou Williams to a one-year, $5 million pact. Williams will return as Trae Young’s backup next season after averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 assists in 66 games.
— Free agent forward Nemanja Bjelica (NEH’-mahn-yah bee-uh-LIHT’-sah) signed a one-year, league-minimum contract with the Warriors. The veteran big man from Serbia is set to earn $2,089,448 given his six years of NBA experience.
NHL-NEWS
Islanders, Pelech agree to 8-year contract
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Islanders have begun to announce contracts for their restricted and unrestricted free agents.
The Isles have worked out an eight-year package with Adam Pelech (PEH’-lehk), who provided four goals and 16 points in 56 games last season. Newsday cites an NHL source who says the package does not include any signing bonus money and carries an average value of $5.75 million.
Pelech and Ryan Pulock (POO’-lahk) have forced New York’s top defensive pairing. Pelech turns 27 later this month and has compiled a +42 in 303 NHL games.
In other NHL news:
— The Oilers and defenseman Darnell Nurse have worked out an eight-year extension with an average annual salary of $9.2 million. Nurse ranked second among all NHL blueliners with 16 goals last season and finished with 36 points with a +27. He was second among Oilers defensemen in points, assists, hits and blocked shots.
— Brandon Hagel is staying in Chicago after his solid rookie season, agreeing to a three-year contract that has an average annual value of $1.5 million. The former sixth-round pick from the 2016 draft contributed nine goals and 24 points in 52 games this past season.
PGA-ST. JUDE
English retains lead
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Harris English shot a 5-under 65 at TPC Southwind to hold onto the lead through two rounds of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
English withstood strong challenges from Cameron Smith and Abraham Ancer (AN’-sur) to retain the top spot at 13-under 127, two ahead of his nearest opponents. Smith had a 62 that required only 18 putts, tying a PGA Tour record for fewest putts in a round.
Sam Burns fired a 64 that puts him in a fourth-place tie with Ian Poulter and Scottie Scheffler.
