AP Sports Summary for Joe 15th, 2024:
Doncic scores 29, Mavericks roll past the Celtics 122-84 to avoid a sweep in the NBA Finals
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21 points and the Dallas Mavericks emphatically extended their season on Friday night, fending off elimination by beating the Boston Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Mavs' stars were done by the end of the third quarter, with good reason. It was all Dallas from the outset, the Mavs leading by 13 after one quarter, 26 at the half and by as many as 38 in the third before both sides emptied the benches. The Celtics still lead the series 3-1, and Game 5 is in Boston on Monday.
Aberg takes 1-shot lead into weekend at Pinehurst in US Open debut
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Ludvig Aberg might be playing in his first U.S. Open. But the sensational Swede is certainly no stranger to the big stage. He shot a 69 in the second round at Pinehurst No. 2 and goes into the weekend with a one-shot lead. Aberg already has been runner-up in the Masters and played in the Ryder Cup in the year since leaving college at Texas Tech. He leads by one over Bryson DeChambeau, Thomas Detry and Patrick Cantlay. Scottie Scheffler made the cut on the number after his first birdie-free round in two years. Tiger Woods missed the cut.
Scheffler goes without a birdie for a 74 and narrowly avoids an early exit from US Open
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler has gone from overwhelming favorite at the U.S. Open to barely making it to the weekend in a major. Scheffler went birdie-free at Pinehurst No. 2. He hasn't had any round without a birdie in just over two years. It led to a 74 and left him outside the cut line with the afternoon taking on extremely hot conditions. Most of the damage came one one hole. Scheffler hit driver and a 3-wood just left of the green into a sandy area. That's where his problems started. It took three shots to get on the green and he made double bogey.
Florida Panthers are calm and businesslike on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup in a sweep
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Florida Panthers are calm and collected on the verge of ending the NHL season and winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Players are approaching Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers like it's Game 44 of the regular season. That businesslike approach and the experience of facing elimination in the final last year against Vegas have them poised to finish off the sweep on the road Saturday night. The league has not had a 4-0 Stanley Cup Final since Detroit swept Washington in 1998 to go back to back.
Host Germany gives Euro 2024 liftoff by outclassing 10-man Scotland 5-1
MUNICH (AP) — Host Germany has opened the European Championship with a confidence-boosting 5-1 win over 10-man Scotland in Munich. Goals from Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala had Germany firmly in control after less than 20 minutes. The first half ended in the worst possible way for Scotland when defender Ryan Porteous was sent off and Kai Havertz converted the resulting penalty kick. Substitute Niclas Füllkrug came off the bench to score Germany's fourth in the 68th minute and Emre Can netted in stoppage time as the hosts recorded the largest margin of victory in a European Championship opener. An Antonio Rudiger own goal gave Scotland something late to cheer about after not having a shot on goal all match.
MLB umpire Pat Hoberg appealing discipline following sports betting investigation
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball plans to discipline umpire Pat Hoberg following an investigation into a potential violation of sports gambling policies. In a statement Friday, the commissioner's office said Hoberg has decided to appeal the penalty. MLB did not disclose the nature of the violation or the extent of the punishment. MLB said its probe "did not find any evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way," but the league determined that "discipline was warranted." MLB said it could not comment further until the appeal process is completed. MLB says it began investigating Hoberg during spring training this year and he was removed from the field while the probe was ongoing.
Spain's David Puig rallies after first round to make US Open cut, secure spot at the Paris Olympics
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Spain's David Puig rallied after a poor first round at the U.S. Open with a second-round 68 on Friday, which allowed him to make the cut and earn one of his nation's two spots at the Paris Olympics. Two-time major winner Jon Rahm already was assured of the other one for Spain. Puig had to overcome Jorge Campillo, who began this week ahead of him in the world ranking but did not qualify for the U.S. Open. Puig finished the day 4 over for the championship while the cut fell at 5 over. The world's No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler, made the cut on the number. Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas were among those who missed the cut.
US cricket team advances to second round in Twenty20 World Cup debut at Pakistan's expense
LAUDERHILL, Fla. (AP) — The United States cricket team has made more history by qualifying for the second round in its Twenty20 World Cup debut after its last group game against Ireland was washed out in Florida. Rain meant the match was abandoned without a ball bowled on Friday. That advanced the U.S. to the Super Eight stage and automatically qualified the Americans for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. The U.S. qualified for this T20 World Cup only as a co-host with the West Indies, but it has used home advantage to make a stunning first impression in its first global cricket tournament.
Astros release José Abreu with $30.8 million remaining on his contract
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros have released José Abreu, cutting ties with the former AL MVP less than halfway through a three-year, $58.5 million contract. The 37-year-old Abreu was batting .124 with two homers and seven RBIs this season, during which he spent time in the minors trying to fix his swing. The Astros still owe him $30.8 million from the deal he signed before last season. A three-time All-Star during his nine years with the Chicago White Sox, Abreu was named MVP during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2014 after defecting from his native Cuba the previous year.
Nelly Korda misses 2nd straight LPGA Tour cut after winning 6 of 7 events
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Nelly Korda missed her second straight cut after winning six of seven events, rallying Friday but falling a stroke short of advancing to weekend play in the Meijer LPGA Classic. The top-ranked Korda followed an opening 4-over 76 in windy conditions Thursday with a 67 to get to 1 under at Blythefield Country Club, where she won in 2021 at a tournament-record 25 under. Ally Ewing and Grace Kim shared the lead at 11-under 133. Ewing had a 63. She chipped in for eagle on the par-5 eighth. Kim shot 65. Two weeks after making a 10 on a hole in a first-round 80 at the U.S. Women's Open in Pennsylvania, Korda opened double bogey-bogey-bogey Thursday afternoon in strong wind.
Charles Barkley said Friday that next season will be his last on TV, no matter what happens with the NBA's media deals.
DALLAS (AP) The Hall of Fame player has spent the last 24 years working as a studio analyst for TNT, which could lose the rights to broadcast NBA after next season.
But no matter where the games end up, Barkley won't be following.
“There’s been a lot of noise around our network the last few months and I just want to say I’ve talked to all the other networks, but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT,” Barkley said while working on NBA TV's NBA Finals postgame show.
The NBA's current deals with ABC-ESPN and Turner Sports expire after next season and the league has been talking with NBC, ESPN and Amazon, among other networks and platforms, about what comes next. Commissioner Adam Silver said last week he hopes new long-term deals will be completed shortly.
Barkley and broadcast teammates Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith have discussed their uncertain future on their popular “Inside the NBA” studio show. Barkley would seemingly draw interest from any network televising NBA, but the 61-year-old has decided that 25 years will be enough and he will “pass the baton,” hopefully, to a TNT teammate such as Vince Carter or Jamal Crawford.
“But I have made the decision myself no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television," he said.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Atlanta 7 Tampa Bay 3
Final Philadelphia 5 Baltimore 3
Final Arizona 7 Chicago White Sox 1
Final L.A. Dodgers 4 Kansas City 3
Final L.A. Angels 8 San Francisco 6
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Cleveland 3 Toronto 1
Final N.Y. Yankees 8 Boston 1
Final Houston 4 Detroit 0
Final Minnesota 6 Oakland 5
Final Seattle 3 Texas 2
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 3 Chicago Cubs 0
Final Washington 8 Miami 1
Final N.Y. Mets 2 San Diego 1
Final Cincinnati 6 Milwaukee 5
Final Pittsburgh 5 Colorado 2
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Dallas 122 Boston 84
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Minnesota 81 Los Angeles 76
Final Washington 83 Chicago 81
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Columbus 3 New York City FC 2
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
L-A Angels at San Francisco 4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at Baltimore 4:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta 4:10 p.m.
Kansas City at L-A Dodgers 9:10 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Arizona 10:10 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland at Minnesota 2:10 p.m.
Cleveland at Toronto 3:07 p.m.
Detroit at Houston 4:10 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Boston 7:15 p.m.
Texas at Seattle 7:15 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis at Chi Cubs 2:20 p.m.
Miami at Washington 4:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Milwaukee 4:10 p.m.
San Diego at N-Y Mets 4:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Colorado 9:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Florida at Edmonton 8 p.m.
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut at Dallas 1 p.m.
New York at Las Vegas 3 p.m.
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Houston at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
D.C. United at Charlotte FC 7:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at CF Montréal 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver at New England 7:30 p.m.
Nashville at New York 7:30 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Orlando City 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Toronto FC 7:30 p.m.
St Louis City at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m.
Austin FC at Colorado 9:30 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at LA Galaxy 10:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at San Jose 10:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Seattle 10:30 p.m.
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