AP Sports Summary for September 2nd, 2023.
Novak Djokovic comes back after dropping the first 2 sets to beat Laslo Djere at the US Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic has come all the way back from a two-set deficit to beat Laslo Djere 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of the U.S. Open to avoid what would have been his earliest exit there since 2006. The match began under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night and did not wrap up until more than 3 1/2 hours later, concluding just after 1:30 a.m. on Saturday. Djokovic has won three of his men's-record 23 Grand Slam titles at Flushing Meadows and been the runner-up a half-dozen times, including in 2021. Djere was seeded 32nd and trying to make it to the fourth round at a major tournament for the first time. Both men are from Serbia.
ACC becomes latest super conference, expanding cross-country by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU
The Atlantic Coast Conference has voted to add Stanford, California and SMU next year. The move provides a landing spot for two more schools from the disintegrating Pac-12 and creates a fourth super conference in major college sports. The additions make the ACC the latest power conference to expand its membership and footprint westward. Starting in August 2024, the ACC will increase its number of football schools to 17 and 18 in most other sports. The Pac-12 will be left with just two members, Oregon State and Washington State.
Analysis: Conference realignment has mangled the college sports map, but to what benefit?
The Power Five has been whittled down to a Super Four in college sports. The Pac-12 was the victim. Beyond dollars moving from one bank account to another it's hard to see the overall benefits, but the most destructive round of conference realignment at the highest levels of college sports appears to be over — at least for the near future. The ACC now joins the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC as the super conferences of college sports, all with at least 16 members by August 2024.
Spain opens case against soccer chief for World Cup kiss. Luis Rubiales breaks week-long silence
MADRID (AP) — A Spanish government legal panel is opening a case against suspended soccer chief Luis Rubiales. Miquel Iceta, acting minister of culture and sport, announced the move. Rubiales has come in for a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation for kissing a player on the lips without consent after Spain won the recent Women's World Cup final in Sydney. FIFA has already suspended Rubiales for 90 days while it investigates so the Spanish decision will have little immediate effect. Spain is looking to remove him independently of the FIFA process. Rubiales is the president of the Spanish Football Federation and a vice president of UEFA. He ended a week of silence after the panel's decision by insisting the kiss was consensual.
No spider bite or fainting spell at the US Open for Tommy Paul and his family. Just another win
NEW YORK (AP) — There will be at least one American man in the U.S. Open quarterfinals because two will face each other in the fourth round. Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton each made it to the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows for the first time with victories on Friday and will meet on Sunday. Paul eliminated No. 21 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, and Shelton got past Aslan Karatsev of Russia. Another man from the United States, 2022 semifinalist Frances Tiafoe, reached the fourth round in New York for the fourth consecutive year. Winners on the women's side included Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Caroline Wozniacki and Karolina Muchova.
Coco Gauff comes back to win at the US Open and set up a match against Caroline Wozniacki
NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff has put aside a rough start and grabbed the last 10 games for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over No. 32 seed Elise Mertens in the U.S. Open's third round. Gauff heard plenty of loud support from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd as she turned things around and won for the 14th time in her past 15 matches. That stretch includes the two biggest titles of Gauff's career and made the 19-year-old from Florida one of the players considered a real contender at Flushing Meadows, where she got to the quarterfinals last year.
Acuña homers again and steals another base, Fried stifles Dodgers as Braves win 5th in a row, 6-3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Newlywed star Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his 31st homer and stole his 63rd base, Max Fried tossed seven shutout innings and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3. The Braves won their fifth in a row and lead the Dodgers by six games for the best record in baseball. Fried struck out a season-high 10. The left-hander from nearby Santa Monica allowed three hits and walked two. Pinch-hitter Kolten Wong had a three-run homer in the eighth in his Dodgers debut, but the rally stalled out. Travis d'Arnaud and Marcell Ozuna had solo shots for the Braves, who pounded out 14 hits.
Prized prospect Jasson DomÃnguez becomes youngest Yankees player to homer in 1st big league at-bat
HOUSTON (AP) — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone vividly remembers the poise and confidence a 16-year-old Jasson DomÃnguez displayed when he watched him take batting practice at the team's academy in the Dominican Republic in 2019. Four years later, the highly touted prospect wowed everyone Friday night, hitting a two-run homer off Houston ace Justin Verlander in his first major league at-bat. At just 20 years, 206 days old, DomÃnguez became the youngest Yankees player to homer in his first career game. He is the first Yankees player to go deep in his initial big league at-bat since Aaron Judge on Aug. 13, 2016. The switch-hitting outfielder and another promising youngster, catcher Austin Wells, were called up from the minors by the last-place Yankees when rosters expanded Friday.
Pro Picks: Bengals over Cowboys in Super Bowl 58
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs know winning consecutive Super Bowls is a tough task. They'll have plenty of familiar foes and some new ones standing in their way of a repeat. The NFL's road to Las Vegas starts next Thursday night when the Chiefs host the Detroit Lions after their latest championship banner is revealed high above Arrowhead Stadium. No team has won back-to-back Super Bowls since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did it in 2003-04. Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prevented Mahomes and the Chiefs from winning two in a row three years ago.
Kobe Bryant's daughter Natalia tosses first pitch on Lakers Night at Dodger Stadium
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Natalia Bryant threw out the first pitch before the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Atlanta Braves on a night honoring the Lakers franchise for which her father Kobe starred. The 20-year-old student at the University of Southern California tossed the ball from in front of the mound. It took one bounce and went into the glove of Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts, who was handling catching duties. Betts wore Kobe Bryant's No. 24 jersey over his uniform. Bryant was joined by her mother, Vanessa, and younger sisters. Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna, along with seven others, were killed in a helicopter crash in 2020.
NCAA Football Scores
EAST
Catholic 34, McDaniel 7
Franklin & Marshall 16, Lebanon Valley 12
Hobart 31, Alfred 9
Mass.-Dartmouth 57, Nichols 6
Muhlenberg 53, Moravian 12
Salve Regina 48, Curry 0
Ursinus 38, Alvernia 6
WPI 44, Worcester St. 13
SOUTH
Louisville 39, Georgia Tech 34
Miami 38, Miami (Ohio) 3
UNC-Pembroke 19, Fayetteville St. 17
West Florida 35, Kentucky Wesleyan 3
Wingate 30, Albany St. (Ga.) 7
MIDWEST
Augsburg 52, Northwestern (Minn.) 10
E. Michigan 33, Howard 23
Kansas 48, Missouri St. 17
Michigan St. 31, Cent. Michigan 7
S.D. Mines 24, Valley City St. 14
SOUTHWEST
Hardin Simmons 47, Albright 3
FAR WEST
Stanford 37, Hawaii 24
AP-Scorecard
TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 4 N.Y. Yankees 3
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 6 Washington 1
Final San Francisco 7 San Diego 2
Final Atlanta 8 L.A. Dodgers 7
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TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (14)Utah 24 Florida 11
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Connecticut 84 Phoenix 74
Final Seattle 72 Los Angeles 61
Final Las Vegas 84 Washington 75
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