AP Sports Summary for Saturday Morning, June 10th, 2023
Nuggets now in full command of NBA Finals, top Heat 108-95 for 3-1 lead
MIAMI (AP) — Aaron Gordon scored 27 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 and the Denver Nuggets moved one win away from their first NBA championship by beating the Miami Heat 108-95 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the title series. Bruce Brown scored 21 off the bench for the Nuggets, who took both games in Miami to grab complete command. They'll have three chances to win one game for a title, two of those in Denver, the first of them coming there in what's sure to be a raucous atmosphere for Game 5 on Monday night. Jimmy Butler scored 25 points for Miami, which has now fallen into 3-1 holes in each of its last three finals appearances.
Secretariat Triple Crown celebration at Belmont subdued by death and air quality
This was supposed to be the year thoroughbred horse racing celebrated the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's magnificent Triple Crown triumph. It would come as the current crop of 3-year-olds finished their act on center stage. Heading into the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, the racing has become almost an afterthought. The public is focused on a recent spike in deaths of horses at racetracks and air quality problems that have surfaced in the northeast because of wildfires in Canada. Forte, a 2-year-old champion, is the favorite in the highly-competitive Belmont. The good news is the bad air has blown out to sea.
At the French Open, Iga Swiatek seeks her 4th Grand Slam trophy and Karolina Muchova seeks her 1st
PARIS (AP) — As the top-ranked woman and the defending champion, Iga Swiatek was favored all along to win the French Open for the third time. As someone who never has been to a major final and is ranked 43rd, Karolina Muchova was not on the list of expected title winners. They will meet on Saturday to decide the trophy at Roland Garros. Swiatek is a 22-year-old from Poland who has led the WTA rankings for more than a year — and is assured of staying at the top next week no matter what happens in Paris. She can become youngest woman since Monica Seles from 1990-92 to claim consecutive titles at Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic eyes history with a 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open; Casper Ruud seeks 1st
PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic has pursued Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for quite some time. They were the guys he measured himself against. The players who established the standards he sought to surpass. Now Djokovic can stand alone atop the men's Grand Slam trophy list for the first time by earning his record 23rd championship in the French Open final on Sunday. Djokovic will be playing in his 34th major title match against Casper Ruud, a 24-year-old from Norway. Ruud was the runner-up at Roland Garros and the U.S. Open last year but still is seeking his first Grand Slam trophy.
In finally competitive Stanley Cup Final, Vegas may still have edge on Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Stanley Cup Final finally looks like a competitive series. The Florida Panthers assured that by rallying to beat Vegas in overtime in Game 3 and cut the Golden Knights' lead to 2-1. And while it may have stunted momentum, there's little doubt Vegas has been the better team so far. The Western Conference champions as a result of that don't figure they'll change much of their approach for Game 4. The Panthers, on the other hand, are riding high after Matthew Tkachuk tied it late and Carter Verhaeghe scored to keep them unbeaten in OT this postseason.
Whitlock pitches Red Sox over Yanks 3-2 in rivals' 1st meeting this year
NEW YORK (AP) — Garrett Whitlock got his second win since replacing Corey Kluber in the Red Sox rotation, Rafael Devers and Kiké Hernández homered, and Boston beat the New York Yankees 3-1 in the first meeting this year of a rivalry cut to 13 games by the new balanced schedule. Gerrit Cole (7-1) lost for the first time this season after going unbeaten in his first 13 starts. Whitlock (3-2) allowed two runs _ one earned _ and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and one walk.
Champions League final set to reach 450 million broadcast viewers worldwide
ISTANBUL (AP) — UEFA estimates a global audience of 450 million viewers will watch at least some part of the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan. The live, minute-by-minute average audience of about 150 million is expected for the game in Istanbul that is being shown in more than 200 territories worldwide. Average audience is a longtime gold standard in the broadcasting industry. It includes in-home TV viewers, fans streaming the game plus watching in bars, restaurants and fan parks. The Champions League record is 184 million for the 2014 final when Real Madrid beat city rival Atlético Madrid.
PGA Tour rookie Carl Yuan leads by 1 at Canadian Open; McIlroy 3 back
TORONTO (AP) — Carl Yuan has moved into position to turn around a forgettable rookie year on the PGA Tour. He shot a 5-under 67 in cool, rainy conditions on Friday to take a one-shot lead at the midway point of the RBC Canadian Open. Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy gave himself a chance heading into the weekend at Oakdale. He shot 67 and was three shots back of Yuan's two-day total of 9-under 135. Corey Conners shot 69 and was one shot back alongside Tyrrell Hatton, C.T. Pan and Aaron Rai. Conners is seeking to become the first Canadian to win his national open since 1954.
Blue Jays cut pitcher Anthony Bass after latest anti-LGBTQ+ comments
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays cut pitcher Anthony Bass on Friday, one day after the right-handed reliever said he didn't think an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post he shared last month was hateful. The team now has seven days to trade Bass or put him on waivers. The move came hours before Bass was set to catch a ceremonial first pitch from an LGBTQ+ activist before Friday's game against Minnesota as the Blue Jays begin their Pride Weekend. Bass apologized before a May 30 game after sharing a post on his Instagram calling for boycotts of Target and Bud Light over support they showed for the LGBTQ+ community.
Rookie star Corbin Carroll hits 1st grand slam, Diamondbacks pound Tigers 11-6
DETROIT (AP) — Arizona rookie Corbin Carroll hit his first grand slam in a seven-run seventh inning for his second homer of the night and the Arizona Diamondbacks handed the Detroit Tigers their seventh straight loss, 11-6 on Friday. Carroll also doubled in the ninth. On Wednesday night in a 6-2 victory in Washington in NL West-leading Arizona's previous game, the speedy outfielder was 4 for 5 with a homer and two RBIs. He's hitting .307. Merrill Kelly (8-3) improved to 7-0 in his last six starts, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out five. Jake Rogers homered twice for Detroit, and Javier Báez homered in the ninth.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Arizona 11 Detroit 6
Final Chicago White Sox 2 Miami 1
Final Oakland 5 Milwaukee 2
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 8 Texas 3
Final Boston 3 N.Y. Yankees 2
Final Baltimore 3 Kansas City 2
Final Minnesota 3 Toronto 2
Final Cleveland 10 Houston 9
Final L.A. Angels 5 Seattle 4
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 14 N.Y. Mets 7
Final Philadelphia 5 L.A. Dodgers 4
Final Atlanta 3 Washington 2
Final St. Louis 7 Cincinnati 4
Final San Diego 9 Colorado 6
Final Chicago Cubs 3 San Francisco 2
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Denver 108 Miami 95
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final New York 106 Atlanta 83
Final Indiana 71 Minnesota 69
Final Dallas 90 Phoenix 77
Final Los Angeles 77 Chicago 62
Final Washington 73 Seattle 66
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Arizona at Detroit 1:10 p.m.
Miami at Chi White Sox 2:10 p.m.
Oakland at Milwaukee 4:10 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota at Toronto 3:07 p.m.
Kansas City at Baltimore 4:05 p.m.
Texas at Tampa Bay 4:10 p.m.
Houston at Cleveland 6:10 p.m.
Boston at N-Y Yankees 7:35 p.m.
Seattle at L-A Angels 10:07 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cincinnati at St. Louis 2:15 p.m.
San Diego at Colorado 3:10 p.m.
L-A Dodgers at Philadelphia 4:05 p.m.
N-Y Mets at Pittsburgh 4:05 p.m.
Washington at Atlanta 4:10 p.m.
Chi Cubs at San Francisco 7:35 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Vegas at Florida 8 p.m.
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
D.C. United at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
Seattle at Charlotte FC 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at CF Montréal 7:30 p.m.
Miami at New England 7:30 p.m.
Colorado at Orlando City 7:30 p.m.
Nashville at Toronto FC 7:30 p.m.
Columbus at Chicago 8:30 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Houston 8:30 p.m.
Austin FC at Sporting Kansas City 8:30 p.m.
New York City FC at Real Salt Lake 9:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Jose 10:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at Vancouver 10:30 p.m.