NFL:
Denver's dominant defense came up big against Cam Newton again and the Broncos escaped with a 21-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl rematch when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal with four seconds remaining. Trevor Siemian, Peyton Manning's successor, finished 18 of 26 for 178 yards, one TD and two interceptions and managed the game just well enough for the Broncos to continue their hex on the Panthers.
On Sunday, Buffalo takes on Baltimore at 1 p.m., the Giants are in Dallas at 4:25 p.m., then at 8:30 p.m. New England is in Arizona.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has had surgery on his severely injured left knee, the first step toward what will undoubtedly be a long, arduous recovery. "Thanks for the thoughts (and) prayers," Bridgewater said on Twitter. "I'll be back!"
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin has tweeted that the team "will honor the country and flag" in a "demonstration of unity" prior to Sunday's season opener against Miami. Former Green Beret and one-time Seahawks long-snapper Nate Boyer later tweeted that he had spoken with the Seahawks players about their plans and wrote, "what the team will do is a powerful sign of unification + respect for the Anthem + those that fight for our Freedom!" Sunday is the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick has recently drawn attention for refusing to stand for the playing of the national anthem before games as a protest of minority injustice. Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, a college teammate of Kaepernick, took to a knee during the playing of the national anthem before Denver's season opening win over Carolina.
MLB:
In baseball, the Yankees beat Tampa Bay 5-4, Cleveland won against Houston 10-7, and it was Seattle over Texas 6-3.
In the National League, Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 4-1, Philadelphia topped Washington 4-1, Milwaukee bested St. Louis 12-5, and it was San Diego over Colorado 14-1.
A retired Major League Baseball pitcher is embracing a Wrigley Field replica that's being constructed in Maine. Lee Smith was on hand Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony held by the Alfond Youth Center in Waterville for the refurbished Purnell Field. The former player considered one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time says the field reminds him of home.
The Blue Jays are hoping a return to Rogers Centre will help them bounce back after a three-game sweep in New York knocked Toronto out of first place in the American League East. The division race is the tightest in Major League Baseball. Toronto, Baltimore and the Yankees are all within striking distance of the first-place Boston Red Sox and there are several divisional games to come down the stretch.
Tim Tebow has signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets. The Mets announced Thursday that the former quarterback will take part in the Instructional League in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The 29-year-old aspiring outfielder went through drills at the University of Southern California's field last week in front of dozens of major league scouts and reporters. Tebow won the 2007 Heisman Trophy at Florida and played on the 2006 and 2008 national championship teams with the Gators. Tebow played for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets in the NFL from 2010 to 2012. He was with the New England Patriots in 2013 preseason and Philadelphia Eagles in the 2015 preseason.
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has a strained flexor mass in his right elbow, and there is no timetable for his return. Washington director of athletic training Paul Lessard says the injury is not season-ending and the ligament Strasburg had repaired with Tommy John surgery in 2011 is unaffected. Strasburg, who is 15-4, left his start Wednesday after feeling a pinch in the back of his elbow.
Tennis:
Serena Williams is out at the U.S. Open. The top seed fell to 10th seed Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic 6-2, 7-6. The loss prevents Williams from earning her seventh championship at Flushing Meadows and 23rd major title overall, which would both have been Open-era records. Pliskova plays Germany's Angelique Kerber in Saturday's U.S. Open women's final.
NBA:
Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson headline the Class of 2016 which will be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame tonight. The 10-member class includes NBA and international star Yao Ming, longtime Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes and executive Jerry Reinsdorf. NAIA coaching legend John McClendon, former referee Darrell Garretson, ABA star Zelmo Beaty and early African-American pioneer Cumberland Posey are going into the hall posthumously.
The Masters has its green jacket. Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame get a yellow one. Now inductees to the basketball Hall of Fame will be presented with a "Naismith Orange" blazer when they are enshrined in hoops immortality. The Hall unveiled the new jackets Thursday before presenting a 2016 class of inductees that includes Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming. Basketball hall inductees have long been presented with a blue blazer.
NCAA:
The UConn men's basketball team will split its home schedule this season between the on-campus Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center in Hartford. The Huskies open the season on campus with a November 11th game against Wagner College. The team's first game in Hartford will be November 30th against Boston University.
Trustees at the University of Illinois have approved a contract with football coach Lovie Smith that will pay him at least $21 million over six years. They approved initial terms for Smith after he was hired in March that were backloaded to pay him $10 million in salary over his final two years. The final contract now moves $2 million of that money to earlier years in his contract. In addition to his salary, Smith is eligible for up to $8 million in bonuses.
Hockey:
Nathan MacKinnon scored on a third-period penalty shot for his second goal of the game in Team North America's 4-0 victory over Team Europe on Thursday night in a World Cup of Hockey exhibition game. MacKinnon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Johnny Gaudreau scored in a 4:43 span of the second period for the team made up of Canadian and U.S players age 23 or under as of October 1st. Matt Murray made 23 saves. The teams will meet again Sunday night in Montreal.
WNBA:
In the WNBA, Atlanta won against Lost Angeles 86-81.
Swimming:
A night of wrongdoing in Rio has already cost Ryan Lochte quite a bit of money in lost endorsements. Now comes word that he has accepted at 10-month ban from swimming related activities for the gas-station incident in Rio. Fellow swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were each given a four-month suspension. Lochte is banned from swimming through next June and will forfeit $100,000 in bonus money that went with his gold medal at the Olympics.
PGA:
Roberto Castro has fired a 7-under 65 to take the clubhouse lead in the opening round of the BMW Championship. His only bogey of the day came on the final hole. That leaves him a shot in front of Brian Harman in the third of the four FedEx Cup playoff tournaments. The round was held up for 3 1/2 hours due to inclement weather. They will resume the first round this morning, but more bad weather is in the forecast for Indiana.
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