AP Sports Summary for July 8th, 2024:
Pirates' Skenes an All-Star just 8 weeks after debut, and 7 Phillies are picked for July 16 game
Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes was picked for the All-Star Game just eight weeks after his debut, and major league-leading Philadelphia had a big league-high seven selections. The 22-year-old Skenes made his first big league appearance on May 11 and is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 10 starts. Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga joined Skenes and San Diego outfielder Jackson Merrill as the only rookies for the July 16 game at Arlington, Texas. Philadelphia pitchers Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez, Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm joined three starting teammates: first baseman Bryce Harper, shortstop Trea Turner and third baseman Alec Bohm.
At the Paris Olympics, it will no longer be personal for Ukraine's athletes. This time, it's war
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — For Ukrainian athletes, the Paris Olympics are more than just sports. They're a way to draw attention to their country's fight for survival against Russia — a sort of war on another battlefield. But an Associated Press analysis found Russia's war is making it increasingly difficult for Ukraine, once a post-Soviet sports power, to get those headline-capturing medals. Ukrainian performances began dipping after 2014, the year of Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. Ukraine's haul of 11 medals at the 2016 Rio Games was its smallest as an independent nation and it tumbled to a low of 22nd in the country rankings. Ukraine recovered to 16th at the pandemic-delayed Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 but just one of its 19 medals was gold — another new low.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Coco Gauff loses
LONDON (AP) — Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and top-ranked Jannik Sinner are one win each away from meeting in the Wimbledon semifinals. Both reached the quarterfinals with victories Sunday. Alcaraz beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, and Sinner eliminated Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9). Next for Alcaraz is a match against Tommy Paul. Sinner plays Daniil Medvedev, who advanced when Grigor Dimitrov stopped playing with an injury. French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal when Madison Keys had to retire with a leg injury in the third set. Donna Vekic and Lulu Sun reached the quarterfinals, too.
Antetokounmpo, Greece head to Olympics. Brazil, Spain, Puerto Rico join them in Paris Games field
Giannis Antetokounmpo is now an Olympian. Antetokounmpo is heading to the Olympics for the first time, after he scored 23 points and Greece held off Croatia 80-69 on Sunday in one of the four men's basketball qualifying tournament finals being held to determine the final spots in the 12-team field for the Paris Games. Brazil also is going to the Paris Olympics, after a 19-0 run over the final 3:21 of the first quarter set the tone in what became a surprisingly easy 94-69 victory over Latvia. So is Spain, which held off the Bahamas for its seventh consecutive Olympic berth. And Puerto Rico grabbed the last spot by beating Lithuania.
Kevin Durant has calf strain, USA Basketball considers him day-to-day at Olympic camp
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kevin Durant is dealing with calf soreness that has kept him from being a full participant in USA Basketball's training camp for the Paris Olympics, though he has assured team officials that he does not expect the issue to be a major one. Durant is the second forward who hasn't been able to be a full participant in the U.S. camp that had its second day of on-floor workouts Sunday; Boston forward Jayson Tatum was excused from the first two days of camp workouts for personal reasons and is expected to be on the floor with his U.S. teammates for the first time on Monday.
Ukrainian high jumper keeps her eye on the raised bar, but her mind is fixed on the war
MONTE GORDO, Portugal (AP) — Ukrainian athletes training for the Paris Olympics are torn between their sports demand for complete concentration on the here and now, and the war back home that is never far from their minds. Kateryna Tabashnyk is a 30-year-old high jumper who is training in southern Portugal. Her hometown, the city of Kharkiv, is under daily bombardment and she thinks often of the Russian missiles that have stolen so much: her mother, her apartment, a pain-free childhood for her nephew, even the fields where she trained. Her coach says she is among many Ukrainian athletes who feel the burden not just of being competitive but of using the international stage to draw attention to their country's struggle to survive.
Bronny James scratched from Lakers' 2nd California Classic game because of swelling in left knee
SAN FRANISCO (AP) — Bronny James was scratched from the Los Angeles Lakers' second California Classic game Sunday because of a swelling in his left knee, a day after scoring four points in his NBA Summer League debut. The son of Lakers superstar LeBron James sat in uniform at the end of the bench in the first half against Golden State, with a white wrap covering his left leg. He was seen picking at it a couple of times. On Friday night in a 108-94 loss Sacramento, James was 2 for 9 from field, missing all three of his 3-point attempts, and had two rebounds in 22 minutes. James was drafted by the Lakers with the 55th overall selection after a season at the University of Southern California.
Bowman wraps up a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a win on a rainy Chicago street course
CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Bowman secured a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs when he held on for the victory on a rainy street course in downtown Chicago. It was Bowman's first win since Las Vegas in March 2022 and No. 8 for his career. He is the 12th Cup Series driver to win this year, leaving four remaining spots in the playoffs with six races left in the regular season. The race was stopped for more than 100 minutes because of rain, and NASCAR set a cutoff time of 8:20 p.m. CDT because of the fading sunlight. Tyler Reddick made a late push, but he got into a wall trying to catch up to Bowman. Ty Gibbs was third, followed by Joey Hand and Michael McDowell.
Davis Thompson wins John Deere Classic with lowest score in tournament history
SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Davis Thompson is a PGA Tour winner and it wasn't even close. Thompson opened with five birdies in six holes to pull away. He shot a 64 and set the 72-hole scoring record at the John Deere Classic at 28-under 256, winning by four strokes. The victory gets him in the British Open in two weeks. The Georgia native also goes to the Masters for the first time next April. The real battle was for second place. C.T. Pan tied for second with Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton and Stanford alum Michael Thorbjornsen. Pan gets the British Open spot based on his world ranking.
Alonso to compete in Home Run Derby for 5th time, joins Henderson and Bohm in July 15 field
Pete Alonso will participate in his fifth straight Home Run Derby, with the New York Mets first baseman trying to win for the third time. Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson and Philadelphia's Alec Bohm also have committed to the July 15 event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Ken Griffey Jr. is the only three-time champion of the derby, which started in 1985, winning in 1994, 1998 and 1999. Alonso won the competition in 2019 as a rookie of Cleveland's Progressive Field, then repeated in 2021 at Denver's Coors Field.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Detroit 5 Cincinnati 1
Final Cleveland 5 San Francisco 4
Final Miami 7 Chicago White Sox 4
Final Chicago Cubs 5 L.A. Angels 0
Final Kansas City 10 Colorado 1
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Minnesota 3 Houston 2
Final Texas 13 Tampa Bay 2
Final Baltimore 6 Oakland 3
Final Toronto 5 Seattle 4
Final Boston 3 N.Y. Yankees 0
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Atlanta 6 Philadelphia 0
Final St. Louis 8 Washington 3
Final N.Y. Mets 3 Pittsburgh 2
Final Arizona 9 San Diego 1
Final Milwaukee 9 L.A. Dodgers 2
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Connecticut 80 Atlanta 67
Final Las Vegas 104 Dallas 85
Final Seattle 84 Chicago 71
Final Phoenix 84 Los Angeles 78
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Los Angeles FC 0 Houston 0
Final Sporting Kansas City 3 FC Dallas 2
Final San Jose 1 Chicago 0
Final Colorado 4 St Louis City 1
Final LA Galaxy 2 Minnesota 1
Final Portland 4 Nashville 1
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland at Detroit 6:40 p.m.
Minnesota at Chi White Sox 8:10 p.m.
Texas at L-A Angels 9:38 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
N-Y Mets at Pittsburgh 12:35 p.m.
St. Louis at Washington 4:05 p.m.
Colorado at Cincinnati 7:10 p.m.
Atlanta at Arizona 9:40 p.m.
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