MLB:
In baseball, — The Boston Red Sox were unable to nail down a division title in the home of their biggest rival. The Bosox's magic number for winning the AL East remains one after Tyler Austin belted a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning of the New York Yankees' 6-4 triumph over Boston. Austin's blast came a half-inning after the Red Sox erased a 4-2 deficit. Toronto bested Baltimore 5-1, Detroit blanked Cleveland 12-0, Kansas City edged Minnesota 4-3 in 11 innings, Houston doubled up Seattle 8-4, the White Sox defeated Tampa Bay 13-6, and it was the Angels over Oakland 8-1. Texas won against Milwaukee 6-4.
The New York Mets continue to lead the two National League wild-card races, a half-game ahead of San Francisco and 1 ½ games in front of St. Louis. Meanwhile the Mets topped Miami 12-1, Atlanta won against Philadelphia 7-6, St. Louis beat Cincinnati 12-5, San Diego defeated the Dodgers 7-1, San Francisco crushed Colorado 12-3, the Cubs bested Pittsburgh 6-4, and it was Washington over Arizona 4-2.
Nationals All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos will miss the upcoming postseason after being diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee. Ramos was injured as he landed awkwardly after making a leaping grab of an errant throw to the plate during Monday's loss to Arizona. Ramos was hitting .307 with 22 home runs and 80 RBIs.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow recorded a pair of hits, scored a run and ended the game with a sliding grab in his final intrasquad game in the New York Mets' instructional league. Tebow, who is scheduled to play his first game today, singled in his final two at-bats in yesterday's simulated game.
In other major league news:
— The Giants have acquired Gordon Beckham from the Braves for a minor leaguer following an injury to infielder Eduardo Nunez.
— Mets lefty Steven Matz is slated for surgery next week to have bone spurs removed from his pitching elbow.
— Blue Jays reliever Joaquin Benoit is expected to miss the rest of the regular season due to a torn left calf muscle.
— Royals hurler Dillon Gee will not pitch again this season because of blood clots discovered while he was hospitalized Sunday.
— Indians ace Corey Kluber has a mild quadriceps strain, which could force the AL Central champions to delay his first playoff start.
— Nationals pitcher A.J. Cole is appealing the five-game suspension he received Tuesday for throwing a pitch near the head of Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang on Saturday.
NHL:
In NHL preseason play, Buffalo beat Ottawa 3-2, the Rangers topped the Islanders 5-2, Philadelphia blanked the Islanders 4-0, Montreal defeated Washington 5-2, Carolina edged Tampa Bay 3-2, Colorado won against Minnesota 4-1, Calgary beat Winnipeg 3-0, Arizona skated by Anaheim 2-1, San Jose beat Vancouver 3-2, Florida won against Nashville 4-1, and it was Nashville over Florida 2-1.
John "Jack" Kirrane Jr., the captain of the U.S. hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics, has died. He was 88. The Bell-O'Dea Funeral Home in Brookline, Massachusetts, said Kirrane died Sunday. At the 1960 Squaw Valley Games, he led a squad of mostly college players to upsets of Canada and the Soviet Union before beating Czechoslovakia for the gold.
NFL:
A person familiar with J.J. Watt's condition tells The Associated Press that the Texans' defensive end has re-injured his back, and the team expects him to be out until at least December, and possibly the entire season. The three-time Defensive Player of the year missed training camp and Houston's four preseason games after surgery in July to repair a herniated disk in his back. He started each of the Texans' three regular-season games and got hurt again last Thursday against the Patriots.
Also in the NFL:
— Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett were both in uniform as the Patriots practiced Tuesday. Garoppolo missed last week's game against Houston with a throwing shoulder injury that occurred during the second quarter of the New England's win over the Dolphins.
— The Arizona Cardinals have released rookie long snapper Kameron Canaday and safety Marqui Christian. Canaday earned the starting job out of training camp, but had glaring errors on snaps twice in three games.
— The Chicago Bears have placed cornerback Kyle Fuller on injured reserve. Fuller hasn't played since undergoing knee surgery in August.
— Jaguars left tackle Kelvin Beachum has been cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol and will practice Wednesday.
— Washington has put center Kory Lichtensteiger on injured reserve with an injured calf and signed free agent center John Sullivan.
— Colts linebacker Trent Cole has been placed on injured reserve after dealing with an injured back.
NCAA:
George Washington has named Maurice Joseph its interim head basketball coach, replacing the fired Jim Lonergan. Joseph had been an assistant on Lonergan's staff for the past five seasons. Joseph played at Michigan State under Tom Izzo before transferring to Vermont. GW won the NIT last season.
The death of Arizona offensive lineman Zach Hemmila has been ruled accidental and a result of the combination of two prescription drugs. The 22-year-old senior was found dead in his apartment on Aug. 8. Authorities say he died in his sleep. A report released Tuesday by the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office says the cause of death was "combined toxic effects" of an opiate painkiller and an anti-anxiety medication.
Hockey – World Cup:
Canada has opened the best-of-3 World Cup of Hockey finals with a victory. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron assisted on each other's goals as Canada downed Team Europe, 3-1. Steven Stamkos also scored and Carey Price turned back 32 shots to help the Canadians improve to 5-0 in the tournament. Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 shots and Tomas Tatar (tah-TAHR') had the lone goal for Europe. Canada can wrap up the tournament Thursday. Game 3 would be Saturday should the Europeans extend the finals.
Olympics:
International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel feels better about the chances of having NHL players compete at the 2018 Olympics in South Korea than he did earlier this year. The league doesn't sound nearly as confident and may be looking six years ahead to China instead. "I think it is 50-50 chance," Fasel said in an interview with The Associated Press. League officials, however, sounded an ominous tone. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said he is "more negative now" than he was two weeks ago that NHL players will compete in the 2018 Games.
The U.S. Olympian who earned worldwide praise when she helped up another runner after the two of them tumbled to the track during a race at the Rio Olympics has been named grand marshal of a parade in her Massachusetts hometown. Abbey D'Agostino has been selected to lead the Topsfield Fair's Grand Parade on Saturday. D'Agostino attended Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield.
A Tokyo government panel reviewing the cost of hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics is set to propose moving more venues outside of the city in order to save money. Among the venues being reviewed are those for volleyball, swimming, rowing and canoe sprint, Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday.
The panel was set up earlier this month by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who is keen to reduce the ballooning costs of the Games. Details of the proposed changes are expected to be made public Thursday at a meeting of a taskforce for metropolitan government reform.
Venues for sports including basketball, taekwondo and cycling have already been shifted outside of Tokyo to maximize existing facilities. Cycling was moved to Izu, some 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the Japanese capital.
Obit:
The Marlins have announced that a public viewing for former pitcher Jose Fernandez will be held Wednesday at a Miami church, preceded by a funeral procession that will start outside the team's ballpark. The procession is scheduled to start at 2:16 p.m., the "16" representing Fernandez's No. 16 jersey. A private funeral will be held Thursday, attended by the Fernandez family and Marlins players and personnel. The 2013 NL Rookie of the Year and two others were killed in a boating accident early Sunday morning.
A spokeswoman for a Miami River bar and restaurant said in an emailed statement that Fernandez was at the establishment the same night of the boat crash. The statement did not say whether Fernandez had been drinking or what time he left. A friend of one of the victims said he warned him against the post-midnight trip. Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna (oh-ZOO'-nuh) said he and at least two other teammates turned down invitations to go and tried to discourage Fernandez from going out. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continues to investigate the accident.
Tennis:
Star tennis player Serena Williams says she "won't be silent" about the killing of black men by police officers.
Williams wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that she was inspired to speak out after asking her black 18-year-old nephew to drive her to a meeting. Their car traveled past a police officer, and Williams "quickly checked to see if he was obliging by the speed limit" so as to avoid an interaction with the officer.
Williams recalled "that horrible video of the woman in the car when a cop shot her boyfriend" — a reference to when Philando Castile was shot by a Minnesota police officer in July — and said she worried about similar fates for members of her family.
Williams also quoted Martin Luther King Jr., saying "there comes a time when silence is betrayal," before ending the post with "I Won't Be Silent."
Williams joins a high-profile group of athletes speaking out about social injustice. San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in the preseason and has been joined by professional, collegiate and high school athletes nationwide.
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