MLB:
In baseball, in the American League, Tampa Bay edged Boston 2-1, the Angels oubled up Toronto 6-3, Texas blanked Cleveland 9-0, the White Sox beat Seattle 7-6, and it was Detroit over Boston 2-1.
In the National League, the Mets beat St. Louis 10-6, Pittsburgh won against Milwaukee 3-2 in 10 innings, Atlanta bested Arizona 3-1, and it was San Francisco over the Dodgers 4-0.
In interleague play, Washington won against Baltimore 4-0 and it was Kansas City over Miami 5-2.
In other moves:
— The NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers have swapped back-up catchers with Philadelphia, getting Carlos Ruiz and trading A.J. Ellis to the Phillies. The Dodgers also get cash while giving up Ellis, minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named or cash. The 37-year-old Ruiz was hitting .261 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 48 games. Ellis hit .194 with one homer and 13 RBIs.
— The Boston Red Sox have placed rookie left fielder Andrew Benintendi on the 15-day disabled list with a left knee sprain. He was hurt in during Boston's loss to the Rays Wednesday night.
Saratoga Race Course:
On Saturday, Saratoga Race Course will feature six Grade 1 stakes including the famous Travers Stakes. Horse Exaggerator is the favorite in the Travers with 3-1 odds. The race begins at 5:44 p.m.
Meanwhile all reserve seating at the course has been sold out for the day. Attendance has been capped at 50,000.
NFL:
In week three of preseason football, Buffalo sees Washington tonight at 7:30 p.m., New England takes on Carolina also at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday the Giants face the Jets at 7:30 p.m.
The NFL players union says Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison and Green Bay Packers defensive players Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers have met with NFL investigators looking into allegations linking them to performance-enhancing drugs. The league had threatened the trio and free agent Mike Neal with indefinite suspensions if they did not meet with investigators. All of them were mentioned in an Al-Jazeera television interview with Charlie Sly, who worked as an intern at an anti-aging clinic. In the December report, Sly made claims of PED use by several athletes, including Harrison, Peyton Manning and the three others, but later recanted his claims.
Backers of a proposed NFL stadium in Las Vegas that would be a potential home to the Raiders say they have identified two possible sites. They also say they refuse to accept any less than $750 million in public funding toward the project. Representatives from Majestic Realty and the Las Vegas Sands casino company lamented that the price tag rises on a daily basis and is now $1.9 billion. They say they'll walk away from the project if state lawmakers don't meet their minimum financial demand.
The Cleveland Browns are sending linebacker Barkevious Mingo to the Patriots for a fifth-round pick next year. The Browns selected Mingo, who played his college ball at LSU, with the No. 6 pick in 2013. He has just seven sacks in three seasons and spent much of last season on special teams.
A restaurant near Gillette Stadium has its autographed Patriots football helmet back. The helmet was stolen two weeks ago but police say it was returned Wednesday to Skipjack's, with the package also including an apology note and $70 to pay the tab the thief also skipped out on. Police are still trying to track the thief.
NCAA:
The University of Vermont has canceled its women's basketball game next season at North Carolina over that state's law on transgender bathroom access. UVM's athletic director tells The Burlington Free Press North Carolina's law is discriminatory.
Texas is giving men's basketball coach Shaka Smart a contract extension through 2023 and a $100,000 pay raise that will earn him $3 million next season. In Smart's first season, the Longhorns finished 23-10 with a loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Rio Olympics:
Brazilian police have charged American swimmer Ryan Lochte with filing a false robbery report over an incident during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. A police statement said Lochte would be informed in the United States so he could decide whether to introduce a defense in Brazil.
Meanwhile Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops is backing Ryan Lochte (LAHK'-tee). The company has signed on as sponsor for the controversial swimmer who lost four other sponsors this week after this lied about being robbed at the Olympics in Rio. Pine Bros. says Lochte should be forgiven. He'll appear in ads that say the company products are "Forgiving of Your Throat."
NHL:
The Colorado Avalanche have found their new head coach. Jared Bednar has been hired to replace Patrick Roy, who abruptly resigned earlier this month. The 44-year-old Bednar won the American Hockey League's Calder Cup championship as coach of the Lake Erie Monsters last season. He also won the East Coast Hockey League's Kelly Cup in 2009 with the South Carolina Stingrays.
PGA:
Patrick Reed and Martin Laird have kicked off the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs with 5-under 66s to share the first round lead at The Barclays. Kevin Chappell, Rickie Fowler, J.D Holmes and Emiliano Grillo are just a shot off the pace. Phil Mickelson opened with a 70 and Jordan Spieth posted a 71.
LPGA:
Three-time champion Lydia Ko is back on the Canadian Pacific Women's Open leaderboard. Ko has won the event three of the last four years. The top-ranked Ko shot a 5-under 67 in the first round delayed for nearly three hours by storms. She is two shots behind leader Chella Choi.
WNBA:
Seattle Storm and former UConn star Breanna Stewart has the top spot on the WNBA's list of best-selling jerseys. Maya Moore is also among the top five in jersey sales.
Tennis:
Defending Connecticut Open champ Petra Kvitova needed just an hour to advance yesterday at this week's tournament, beating Ekaterina Makarova to get to the semifinals. She'll face Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who is the top seed this year and beat Kirstin Flipkens.
Wrestling:
Former pro wrestler Steve Tracey is now a candidate for state lawmaker in Connecticut. The New Haven Register says Tracey announced his bid this week after town Councilor withdrew from the race for state representative for an East Haven district.
Minor League Baseball:
The Eastern League has threatened to pull the Hartford Yard Goats out of the city if there's not immediate action to resume work finishing the team's stadium. The ultimatum came outside Dunkin' Donuts Park. Construction delays have already forced the team to play this entire season on the road.
Little League World Series:
The Little League team from Goodlettsville, Tennessee beat out Bowling Green Eastern last night 8-4 for a trip to the U.S. Championship Title Game against Endwell, New York. The Little League World Series match takes place at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
IndyCar:
IndyCar and Watkins Glen International has reached an agreement for racing at the upstate New York track. An Open Wheel series will be compete at the Watkins Glen through 2018.
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