Tennis – U.S. Open:
Serena Williams began her bid for a third consecutive U.S. Open title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over American teen Taylor Townsend last night. Five-time champion and No. 2 seed Roger Federer won his first-round match at the U.S. Open.
The biggest upset of the day was authored by CiCi Bellis, who ousted women's 12th seed Dominika Cibulkova in three sets. The 15-year-old Bellis became the youngest player to win a U.S. Open match since 1996.
Winners on the women's side include third seed Petra Kvitova, seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard, No. 8 Ana Ivanovic and No. 16 Victoria Azarenka.
Americans Madison Keys, Varvara Lepchenko, Shelby Rogers, Christina McHale and CoCo Vandeweghe also won their opening-round matches.
MLB:
In Major League Baseball, in the American League, the Los Angeles Angels are back atop the AL West, one game ahead of Oakland when the Angels topped Miami 8-2 in interleague play. The Detroit Tigers stayed within 1 ½ games of AL Central-leading Kansas City while dropping the New York Yankees seven games behind the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. Porcello picked up his career-high 15th win by allowing two runs and nine hits in eight innings of the Tigers' 5-2 downing of New York.
The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-7 last night in extra innings. Mike Napoli and Allen Craig both homered in a seven-run 11th inning, and Dustin Pedroia homered and had four RBIs. Boston broke away from a 4-all tie for its second straight victory following an eight-game losing streak.
Elsewhere Baltimore doubled up Tampa Bay 4-2, Cleveland beat the White Sox 8-6 in 10, Kansas City edged Minnesota 2-1, Houston won against Oakland 4-2, and it was Seattle over Texas 5-0.
In the National League, the Mets topped Atlanta 3-2, the San Francisco Giants were 3-0 winners over Colorado as Madison Bumgarner struck out 13 in a one-hitter, Philadelphia edged Washington 4-3, the Cubs blanked Cincinnati 3-0, Pittsburgh bested St. Louis 5-2, the Dodgers trumped Arizona 9-5, and it was San Diego over Milwaukee 4-1.
NFL:
The New York Jets have suspended cornerback Dimitri Patterson for the rest of the preseason after he left the team last week for 48 hours without speaking to anyone in the organization.
The New York Giants have placed safety Cooper Taylor and receiver Marcus Harris on injured reserve in reducing their roster to 75 players. Taylor hurt his left foot in Indianapolis on August 16th, and Harris sustained a hip injury against the Jets on Friday night
Ravens running back Ray Rice is sitting out two games for domestic violence. A positive marijuana test, meanwhile, means Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon will miss a full year.
Critics of the NFL's arbitrary policy toward domestic violence point to the contrast between the punishments and say it's time for the league to crack down on players who hurt women.
Three members of Congress wrote NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking him to reconsider Rice's suspension, the governor of Maine says he'll boycott the league, and numerous groups that advocate for women and families condemned the penalty as too lenient.
League officials may soon take action on the matter. A person familiar with the NFL's plans says the league is looking into increasing punishments for players involved in domestic violence. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made on such a decision.
WNBA:
In the WNBA, Chicago edged Atlanta 81-80.
Golf – PGA:
The Liberty National golf course in Jersey City, New Jersey, will host the 2017 Presidents Cup as part of a 25-year partnership with the PGA Tour. Having a major event is nothing new to Liberty National as the course hosted The Barclays, the opening FedEx Cup playoff event, in 2009 and 2013. The partnership means the tour will bring up to 10 more tournaments to the course that was built on a former landfill and is across from the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan.
The announcement means the New York area will get the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup in a seven-year span. The Ryder Cup is to be played at Bethpage Black on Long Island in 2024.
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