August 5, 2021 3:50 am
TOKYO (AP) – The American “A-Team” has advanced to the gold medal match of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament. April Ross and Alix Klineman beat Switzerland at Shiokaze Park to clinch at least a silver medal. It will be the third medal for Ross, who won silver in London and bronze in Rio de Janeiro. Klineman is a first-time Olympian.
Also in Tokyo:
– Ryan Crouser has broken his own Olympic record on his way to defending his shot put title. On his last attempt, Crouser went 23.30 meters to earn the first track and field gold for the American men at the Tokyo Games. U.S. teammate Joe Kovacs finished second. Crouser is already the world-record holder after breaking a 31-year-old mark on June 18 at the U.S. Olympic trials. In the heat at Olympic Stadium, Crouser took the lead on his first attempt and saved his best for his final one.
– A slow exchange left the American 4×100-meter relay team out of medal contention at the Olympics. The team of Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie finished sixth in their qualifying heat to extend a quarter-century of misery for the country that brings the deepest track team to the Games. The United States hasn’t won the Olympic 4×100 since 2000 and hasn’t made it cleanly to the finish line in a final since taking a silver medal in 2012. But they gave that one back because of a doping ban against Tyson Gay. The U.S. got DQ’d for another bad pass in the medal race in 2016.
August 4, 2021 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Najee Harris was drafted to improve the Pittsburgh Steelers’ NFL-worst rushing attack. The rookie set records at Alabama and will see his first preseason action for the Steelers in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game against Dallas. Pittsburgh rushed for more than 100 yards in each of its first five games of 2020, but the offense topped 100 yards just once during its final 12 games. That was a big reason the Steelers lost five of their final six games after an 11-0 start.
August 4, 2021 3:48 am
TOKYO (AP) – American Sydney McLaughlin has broken her own world record to win the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Games in 51.46 seconds. She edged out Dalilah Muhammad, who won silver to make it a U.S. 1-2 finish. McLaughlin set the previous world record of 51.90 seconds in June.
– Canadian Damian Warner was leading the Olympic decathlon with 2,966 points after the first three events. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist is 223 points clear of fellow Canadian Pierce Lepage and 255 ahead of 2018 world junior champion Ash Moloney of Australia. Defending Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam was leading with 2,176 points after two disciplines, 19 points clear of American Erica Bougard.
August 3, 2021 3:46 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run homer and an RBI triple to back up Eric Lauer’s five shutout innings in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Escobar’s two-out triple off Kyle Keller in the sixth extended the Brewers’ lead to 2-0. He followed that up by sending a 421-foot drive to right against Nick Mears in the seventh. Escobar also walked twice to reach base on each of his four plate appearances. This marked his first home game for the Brewers since Milwaukee acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
August 3, 2021 3:44 am
Simone Biles has won a bronze medal in balance beam, her first of the Tokyo Olympics. The American gymnastics star finished behind gold medalist Guan Chenchen and silver medalist Tang Xijing both of China. A week after taking herself out of several competitions to focus on her mental health, Biles drilled a slightly altered routine on Tuesday. Biles, using a routine that ended with a double-pike dismount – no twisting required – posted a score of 14.000. That was good enough for second after four competitors during the eight-woman final.
– German Malaika Mihambo took the top spot in the women’s long jump with a 7-meter leap on her final attempt and edged U.S. veteran Brittney Reese for the gold medal. The 34-year-old Reese now has back-to-back Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo Games and from Rio de Janeiro after winning the title at London in 2012. The four-time world champion had the chance to win with the final jump of the competition but couldn’t improve on her best mark of 6.97 meters.
– Allyson Felix won her first-round heat of the 400 meters as she began her Tokyo quest for a 10th Olympic medal. The 35-year-old Felix is tied with Jamaican great Merlene Ottey for the most women’s track medals in Olympic history. Felix has a chance to medal in the 400 and may have another shot in the women’s 4×400 this weekend.
– April Ross is the last defending medalist standing in the beach volleyball women’s bracket. The American 2016 bronze medalist and partner Alix Klineman ousted defending champion Laura Ludwig of Germany and advanced to the semifinals. Ross and Klineman are the United States’ last hopes for a beach volleyball medal in Tokyo.
August 3, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz is expected to miss 5 to 12 weeks because a broken left foot. Coach Frank Reich says doctors found Wentz had broken the foot years ago, probably in high school, and that a piece of bone came loose when he hurt the foot last Thursday. For now, Indy plans to use Jacob Eason as the starter. Eason was a fourth-round draft pick in 2020 and has not appeared in an NFL game – regular season or preseason.
August 3, 2021 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – Alabama coach Nick Saban will make $11.5 million in the final year under a new eight-year contract that’s worth at least $84.8 million. The university has released details of Saban’s previously announced deal, after the board of trustees’ compensation committee formally approved it. Saban has won a record seven national championships and is set to make $8.7 million this year with annual raises of $400,000.
August 2, 2021 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kyle Gibson pitched into the seventh inning in his Phillies debut and got plenty of support as Philadelphia avoided a series sweep by pounding the Pittsburgh Pirates 15-4. J.T. Realmuto got five of the Phillies’ 20 hits, with two doubles and four RBIs. Bryce Harper hit three of Philadelphia’s nine doubles and Jean Segura doubled twice and drove in three runs. The Phillies got Gibson and pitcher Ian Kennedy from Texas in a deadline deal Friday for rookie right-hander Spencer Howard and two other pitching prospects. The All-Star allowed two runs on five hits and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings.
August 2, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers led the league in sacks last season, largely centered around a three-man rotation at outside linebacker. A key piece in that rotation, Bud Dupree, has since moved on, but T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith remain. Melvin Ingram is seeking a fresh start in Pittsburgh and the Steelers hope the veteran can serve as a key piece in the team’s outside linebacker rotation.
August 2, 2021 4:55 am
TOKYO (AP) – Simone Biles is returning to competition in Tokyo. The 2016 Olympic champion will compete in the balance beam finals on Tuesday. That’s a little over a week after the American superstar stepped away from the meet to focus on her mental health. The 24-year-old Biles won bronze on beam in Rio de Janeiro five years ago and qualified for the eight-woman final at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre on the first weekend of the Games. She opted out of the finals in the all-around, floor exercise, uneven bars and vault.
