AP Sports Summary for September 16th, 2023.
Jets' Rodgers using doubters as motivation and indicates he'll play again after torn Achilles tendon
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he'll use doubters as motivation in his rehabilitation from Achilles tendon surgery and indicates he'll play football again and perhaps even this season. Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon on the fourth snap of his debut with his new team last Monday night, a 22-16 overtime victory over Buffalo. The four-time NFL MVP had surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles. He said in an appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday that everyone can doubt him but "watch what I do." Rodgers says his rehab plan will "shock some people."
Deion Sanders makes most of rival coach's comments about him always wearing sunglasses and a hat
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders didn't like Jay Norvell's comments about wearing sunglasses and a hat in media interviews. He's making the most of it to motivate the 18th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes ahead of their game against Colorado State. Norvell said on his radio show that when he sat down with ESPN to talk about the game, he didn't wear shades or a hat like Sanders does because his mother taught him better. Sanders responded by handing out his signature shades to his players and to ESPN personalities who are in Boulder to cover the game.
Shohei Ohtani's locker has been packed up at Angel Stadium, and the Angels decline to say why
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani's locker has been mostly cleared out at Angel Stadium, and the Los Angeles Angels declined to say why. The two-way superstar missed his 11th consecutive game with an oblique muscle injury Friday night when the Angels lost 11-2 to Detroit. Although Ohtani was at the stadium before the game, his locker was largely empty afterward. An Angels spokesman said the team will give more information about the development Saturday.
History suggests 0-2 start is too difficult to overcome in the NFL
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two losses in five days already puts the Minnesota Vikings in a big hole that's been difficult for NFL teams to overcome. Since 1990, only 31 of the 270 clubs that began a season 0-2 advanced to the playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals recovered from losing their first two last season to finish 12-4 and reached the AFC championship game. The Vikings have to buck the losing trend after another sloppy effort in a 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night. They had four costly fumbles, including Justin Jefferson losing the ball out of bounds in the end zone. That followed up a mistake-filled 20-17 loss at home to Tampa Bay in Week 1.
Zach Eflin and the Rays limit the Orioles to 2 hits, win 7-1 to pull even in AL East
BALTIMORE (AP) — Zach Eflin and two relievers combined on a two-hitter, Brandon Lowe and Harold RamÃrez homered, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 to pull into a virtual tie atop the AL East. Tampa Bay has won nine of 11 and 18 of 24. The Rays erased a season-high four-game deficit in a span of six days thanks in part to winning the first two of a four-game series against Baltimore. The Orioles have dropped four straight, matching their longest skid of the season. Baltimore's Heston Kjerstad homered leading off the sixth for his first major league hit.
Rubiales has been given a restraining order after denying wrongdoing in front of a Spanish judge
MADRID (AP) — Spain's National Court says the former president of the country's soccer federation has been given a restraining order and is prohibited from contacting the player he kissed on the lips last month at the Women's World Cup. Luis Rubiales kissed Spain forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Australia. He appeared in front of a judge and denied wrongdoing. Rubiales has said Hermoso consented to the kiss. She has denied that repeatedly. State prosecutors formally accused Rubiales last week of sexual assault and an act of coercion.
Thomas moves back into contention at Fortinet Championship
NAPA. Calif. (AP) — Justin Thomas committed to a driver change, tinkered a little with his swing and got immediate results with a 5-under 67 that left him four strokes off the pace Friday in the Fortinet Championship. It was exactly what the former top-ranked player needed after going winless during the FedEx Cup season, taking some time off and then struggling through the first round in Napa. One of four U.S. Ryder Cup team members at Silverado Resort, Thomas feels much better about his game than he did a short time ago. S.H. Kim played in the afternoon and made six birdies and one bogey for a 67 and a share of the lead with Sahith Theegala (64) at 12-under 132.
Martin Truex Jr. is staring down elimination from NASCAR playoffs after winning regular-season title
Regular-season NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. is in a slump going into Saturday night's race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. Two bad races to open the playoffs has left him on the brink of elimination. Also below the cutline are Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell. NASCAR moved the start of the race up by one hour because of expected bad weather. Four drivers will be cut from the 16-driver field after the race.
Vikings RB Mattison calls out racial slurs directed at him on social media after loss to Eagles
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison said he received more than 60 "disgustingly disrespectful messages" through social media that included racial slurs and encouraged suicide in the aftermath of the team's recent loss. Mattison is Black. He revealed on an Instagram story post that he was taunted through direct messages and comments sections regarding his performance in defeat Thursday at Philadelphia. Mattison urged the 60-plus users to "really reflect" on their words and how that could truly affect a person. The Vikings and the NFL also issued statements of condemnation.
The Vikings are focusing on fumble-proofing the rest of their season after slippery 0-2 start
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings started the season just six days ago. It's literally slipping away. The Vikings have already taken two frustrating losses thanks to the costly fumbles that have accounted for six of their seven turnovers. They were beaten 34-28 by Philadelphia after losing fumbles by punt returner Brandon Powell, running back Alexander Mattison, wide receiver Justin Jefferson and quarterback Kirk Cousins. Coach Kevin O'Connell said his staff is working on new ways to practice ball security. The Vikings play the Los Angeles Chargers next.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final N.Y. Yankees 7 Pittsburgh 5
Final San Diego 8 Oakland 3
Final L.A. Dodgers 6 Seattle 3
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 3 Boston 0
Final Tampa Bay 7 Baltimore 1
Final Cleveland 12 Texas 3
Final Minnesota 10 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Kansas City 4 Houston 2
Final Detroit 11 L.A. Angels 2
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 9 Atlanta 6
Final Cincinnati 5 N.Y. Mets 3
Final Milwaukee 5 Washington 3
Final Colorado 3 San Francisco 2
Final Philadelphia 5 St. Louis 4
Final Arizona 6 Chicago Cubs 4
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final New York 90 Washington 75
Final Dallas 94 Atlanta 82
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
San Diego at Oakland 4:07 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Pittsburgh 6:35 p.m.
L-A Dodgers at Seattle 9:40 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston at Toronto 3:07 p.m.
Texas at Cleveland 6:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore 7:05 p.m.
Houston at Kansas City 7:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Chi White Sox 7:10 p.m.
Detroit at L-A Angels 9:07 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco at Colorado 2:10 p.m.
Atlanta at Miami 4:10 p.m.
Cincinnati at N-Y Mets 7:10 p.m.
Washington at Milwaukee 7:10 p.m.
Philadelphia at St. Louis 7:15 p.m.
Chi Cubs at Arizona 8:10 p.m.
San Francisco at Colorado 8:10 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(7)Penn St. at Illinois 12 p.m.
(15)Kansas St. at Missouri 12 p.m.
(14)LSU at Mississippi St. 12 p.m.
(3)Florida St. at Boston College 12 p.m.
Weber St. at (12)Utah 2 p.m.
Cent. Michigan at (9)Notre Dame 2:30 p.m.
W. Michigan at (25)Iowa 3:30 p.m.
San Diego St. at (16)Oregon St. 3:30 p.m.
Northwestern at (21)Duke 3:30 p.m.
(19)Oklahoma at Tulsa 3:30 p.m.
(10)Alabama at South Florida 3:30 p.m.
South Carolina at (1)Georgia 3:30 p.m.
Minnesota at (20)North Carolina 3:30 p.m.
W. Kentucky at (6)Ohio St. 4 p.m.
(8)Washington at Michigan St. 5 p.m.
NC Central at (24)UCLA 5 p.m.
N. Colorado at (23)Washington St. 5 p.m.
(11)Tennessee at Florida 7 p.m.
Georgia Tech at (17)Mississippi 7:30 p.m.
Bowling Green at (2)Michigan 7:30 p.m.
Wyoming at (4)Texas 8 p.m.
Hawaii at (13)Oregon 8 p.m.
Colorado St. at (18)Colorado 10 p.m.
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New York at New York City FC 3:30 p.m.
Miami at Atlanta 5 p.m.
D.C. United at Charlotte FC 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at CF Montréal 7:30 p.m.
Columbus at Orlando City 7:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Toronto FC 7:30 p.m.
Seattle at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m.
Saint Louis City SC at Houston 8:30 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at Minnesota 8:30 p.m.
New England at Colorado 9:30 p.m.
LA Galaxy at Los Angeles FC 10:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at San Jose 10:30 p.m.
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