AP Sports Summary for August 12th.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin ready to suit up for first preseason game since going into cardiac arrest
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills safety Damar Hamlin is preparing for the next step to resume his career by suiting up in Buffalo's preseason-opening game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. The game will mark the first time Hamlin appears in a competitive setting since the 25-year-old went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati in January. Coach Sean McDermott told The Associated Press that Hamlin is scheduled to play. The third-year safety says he's taken a step-at-a-time approach with each milestone which began with him being cleared for practice in April. He says it's too early to express what playing in a game will be like.
Reluctant, but resolute Popovich leads international-rich 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame class
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Gregg Popovich didn't want to be inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame until the players that helped his teams win NBA championships had already gone in. With Tony Parker joining him, the NBA's winningest coach is ready to be celebrated for an impact on the sport that is now global. Popovich, a five-time NBA champion, Olympic gold medal-winning coach and the league's all-time leader in coaching wins, will join fellow NBA champions Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker, along with longtime coaching mentee Becky Hammon as headliners of the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame class. This year's class is also a celebration of how the successes of Nowitzki, Gasol and Parker have had in influencing the influx of international players into the NBA.
Messi scores again, Inter Miami tops Charlotte 4-0 to make Leagues Cup semifinals
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi's goalscoring streak lives on, as does Inter Miami's winning streak. Messi scored in the 86th minute, his eighth goal in five matches with his new club, and Inter Miami rolled past Charlotte 4-0 in a Leagues Cup quarterfinal game on Friday night. Messi has scored in all five of his appearances with Miami. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner who led Argentina to the World Cup crown last year has yet to lose a match with Miami, walking off winners in all five matchups so far in the Leagues Cup, a 47-team event composed of clubs from MLS and Mexico's top league that now is whittled down to the final four.
Lucas Glover with a 64 leads Jordan Spieth by one shot in the PGA Tour playoff opener
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Lucas Glover is handling the mud and slop one day and oppressive heat the next. Glover shot a 64 and has a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Spieth had four bogeys in his round of 68. There are 16 players within four shots of the lead. That includes the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Glover is coming off a win last week in the Wyndham Championship. He's riding momentum while trying to keep it simple and not overthink anything. Glover made three putts of 25 feet or longer.
Singleton homers twice in Verlander's 500th start to lead Astros over Angels 11-3
HOUSTON (AP) — Jon Singleton hit his first MLB home runs since 2015 and Justin Verlander got the win in his 500th career start as the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-3. Singleton homered in his first two at-bats for his first multi-homer game and had a career-high five RBIs in his first game at Minute Maid Park since 2015 after his contract was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday. Verlander, making his second start for the Astros since being traded from the Mets — and first at home — allowed six hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in six innings on a night he became 50th player in major league history to start 500 games. He joins Zack Greinke (536) as the only active pitchers to reach the milestone.
Chiefs say new Commanders coordinator Eric Bieniemy's intense style will pay off eventually
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Many of the Kansas City Chiefs have rushed to the defense of their former offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, after word came out that some of the Washington Commanders were concerned about the intensity he has brought to their team. Bieniemy left Kansas City after last season's Super Bowl title to become offensive coordinator on Commanders coach Ron Rivera's staff. Rivera let it slip that some members of the Commanders were concerned about Bieniemy's style. But several Chiefs, including Patrick Mahomes, say that their old coach is only trying to get the best out of his players.
Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown: 'All good here in Birdland'
SEATTLE (AP) — Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown says all is well between him and team management. Brown has posted on social media in his first public comments since he reportedly was pulled from the air in late July over comments regarding the team's poor record at Tampa Bay before this season. The Orioles have said Brown will be back on the air soon. Brown says that: "We're all good here in Birdland." Brown says media reports have "mischaracterized" his relationship with the Orioles.
Rybakina outlasts Kasatkina in marathon Montreal tennis match that ended at 2:54 a.m.
MONTREAL (AP) — Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan outlasted Daria Kasatkina of Russia 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (8) in a National Bank Open quarterfinal that ended Saturday at 2:54 a.m. With a few hundred hardy fans left, Rybakina finally finished off Kasatkina with an overhand smash on her fifth match point. Rybakina also fended off a match point with an ace to even the tiebreaker at 8. After more than six hours of rain delays Thursday and some long matches Friday backed up the schedule, the third-seeded Rybakina and 10th-seeded Kasatkina started play at 11:27 p.m. They finished 3 hours, 27 minutes later. Rybakina will face 15th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova of Russia in the semifinals. Samsonova beat 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-4, 6-4.
McLaren boss tells team IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou has reneged on 2024 contract
IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou has changed his mind again and informed McLaren Racing he will not be joining the team at the end of this season. In a letter sent to the Arrow McLaren Racing employees by boss Zak Brown, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Brown wrote that Palou "has no intention of honoring his contract with our Arrow McLaren IndyCar team for the 2024 season and beyond." The letter was sent to McLaren employees shortly after Friday's final IndyCar Series on-track session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Giannis Antetokounmpo says he's not physically ready to play in the World Cup
Giannis Antetokounmpo will not play for Greece at the Basketball World Cup that starts later this month. The Milwaukee Bucks star said Friday he and his medical advisers decided that he's simply not ready to compete. Antetokounmpo had surgery on his left knee earlier this summer. Greece will play the U.S., Jordan and New Zealand in group-stage games at Manila in the tournament. The World Cup starts Aug. 25 in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final N.Y. Yankees 9 Miami 4
Final Philadelphia 13 Minnesota 2
Final Chicago Cubs 6 Toronto 2
Final Washington 8 Oakland 2
Final Kansas City 12 St. Louis 8
Final Milwaukee 7 Chicago White Sox 6
Final Texas 2 San Francisco 1
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 9 Cleveland 8
Final Boston 5 Detroit 2
Final Houston 11 L.A. Angels 3
Final Seattle 9 Baltimore 2
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 9 Pittsburgh 2
Final Atlanta 7 N.Y. Mets 0
Final San Diego 10 Arizona 5
Final L.A. Dodgers 6 Colorado 1
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final Atlanta 19 Miami 3
Final Detroit 21 N-Y Giants 16
Final Green Bay 36 Cincinnati 19
Final Pittsburgh 27 Tampa Bay 17
Final Washington 17 Cleveland 15
Final Arizona 18 Denver 17
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final New York 89 Chicago 73
Final Las Vegas 113 Washington 89
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Chi Cubs at Toronto 3:07 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Miami 4:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Philadelphia 6:05 p.m.
Oakland at Washington 7:05 p.m.
St. Louis at Kansas City 7:10 p.m.
Milwaukee at Chi White Sox 7:15 p.m.
Texas at San Francisco 9:05 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland at Tampa Bay 4:10 p.m.
Detroit at Boston 4:10 p.m.
L-A Angels at Houston 7:15 p.m.
Baltimore at Seattle 9:40 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at N-Y Mets 1:10 p.m.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh 7:05 p.m.
Atlanta at N-Y Mets 7:15 p.m.
San Diego at Arizona 8:10 p.m.
Colorado at L-A Dodgers 9:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Indianapolis at Buffalo 1 p.m.
Tennessee at Chicago 1 p.m.
N-Y Jets at Carolina 4 p.m.
Jacksonville at Dallas 5 p.m.
Philadelphia at Baltimore 7 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at L.A. Rams 9 p.m.
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta at Los Angeles 7:30 p.m.
Connecticut at Dallas 8 p.m.
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