August 7, 2021 4:33 am
TOKYO (AP) – It’s a four-peat for the US Olympic men’s basketball team. Kevin Durant scored 29 points and the Americans took the gold medal by defeating the team that beat them in their opening game at the Tokyo Olympics, 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. Saturday’s Olympic action in Tokyo began with the women’s marathon, which gave Kenya a pair of medals and added another to the U.S. total. Peres Jepchirchir led a 1-2 Kenyan finish, finishing in a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, 20 seconds. Her teammate Brigid Kosgei 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.
August 7, 2021 4:31 am
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.
August 6, 2021 3:45 am
CANTON, Ohio (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers followed a stumbling first half with a strong final 30 minutes to beat Dallas 16-3 in the first NFL preseason game in two years. Last season’s exhibition games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So maybe the enthusiastic crowd was an indication that even for a match between teams using very few regulars, the hunger for pro football has not faded. Or maybe it was simply a matter of two of the league’s most popular franchises being on the field in the Hall of Fame game, regardless of how many backups were in action.
August 6, 2021 3:47 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto hit three-run homers in Cincinnati’s six-run second inning, powering the Reds to a 7-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Jonathan India also went deep and pitcher Sonny Gray helped himself with two hits as second-place Cincinnati gained a half-game on idle NL Central-leader Milwaukee and a full game on San Diego, which has a three-game lead over the Reds for the second wild-card slot. The Brewers lead Cincinnati by seven games. Gray gave up six hits and four runs with two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings. Jeff Hoffman and Justin Wilson combined for three scoreless relief innings before Mychal Givens pitched the ninth for his first save.
August 6, 2021 3:50 am
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) – Brittney Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the U.S. beat Serbia 79-59 to advance to the gold medal game of the Olympics. The Americans are now one win away from a seventh consecutive gold medal which would match the U.S. men’s team that won seven Olympic titles in a row from 1936-68. It would also give Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi five gold medals – the most ever by a basketball player in the Olympics. The Americans will face either Japan or France on Sunday.
– American beach volleyball players April Ross and Alix Klineman beat an Australian duo, 21-15, 21-16 in the gold medal match at the Tokyo Games. It’s Ross’ third medal in as many Olympics, to go with the silver she won in London and a bronze from Brazil. Klineman is a first-time Olympian.
August 5, 2021 3:40 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – 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.
August 5, 2021 3:48 am
CANTON, Ohio (AP) – If you’re looking for stars during Hall of Fame enshrinement week, concentrate on the museum itself and the inductions this weekend. You won’t find many, if any, stars playing Thursday night when the NFL preseason begins with Dallas playing Pittsburgh. Indeed, with the number of preseason games reduced from four to three, with the exception of the Cowboys and Steelers, the opportunity to see the big names on the field will be diminished further. For Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, the Hall of Fame game carries importance as a trial for guys on the back end of the roster, and for backups at key positions.
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.
