NFL:
If Tom Brady and the Patriots were suffering from a Super Bowl hangover, it looks as though a trip to New Orleans pulled the defending champions out of it. The 40-year-old Brady hasn't often looked better in his long, illustrious career. Bouncing back with a vengeance from a season-opening loss, Brady threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter for the first time in his career, eclipsed 300 yards passing in the first half for only the second time, and New England scored 30 first-half points en route to a 36-20 victory over the winless Saints.
Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons picked up where they left off against the Green Bay Packers, building a big halftime on the way to a dominating 34-23 victory. The rematch of last season's NFC championship game was essentially a repeat: Ryan threw for 252 yards, Devonta Freeman ran for a couple of touchdowns and Desmond Trufant scored off an attempted pass by Aaron Rodgers that was ruled a fumble.
The Denver Broncos crush the Dallas Cowboys 42-17 behind four touchdown throws from Trevor Siemian. The Broncos limited star running back Ezekiel Elliott to nine carries for 8 yards rushing, his lowest output of his career. Aqib Talib capped the rout with a 103-yard interception return for a TD. It was Talib's 10th pick-6, just two shy of Darren Woodson's NFL record.
Kirk Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grant with 1:49 to play to give the Washington Redskins a 27-20 victory against the Los Angeles Rams and their former offensive coordinator, Sean McVay. Cousins capped the winning 70-yard drive by finding Grant in the front left corner of the end zone.
Marshawn Lynch ran for a touchdown in his first home game with Oakland and Derek Carr threw three TD passes to Michael Crabtree to lead the Raiders to a 45-20 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.
Russell Wilson avoided two potential sacks and found Paul Richardson in the front corner of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown with 7:06 left. The Seattle Seahawks held on for an unsightly 12-9 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Carson Palmer's late rally got the Arizona Cardinals into overtime Sunday and Tyrann Mathieu's interception set up Phil Dawson for a 30-yard field goal to help them leave Indianapolis with a 16-13 win. Dawson made the most of his second chance after pushing a 42-yarder wide right as time expired.
Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt reached the end zone twice, Travis Kelce took a shovel pass 15 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and Kansas City held on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 on Sunday. Kelce's touchdown catch with 6:25 left and Hunt's second TD scamper appeared to have put the game away.
Carolina's defense allowed only three points for the second straight week, and Graham Gano converted three field goals as the Panthers held on to defeat the Buffalo Bills 9-3 on Sunday. The Panthers (2-0) held Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy in check all day, limiting the Bills (1-1) to 176 yards and 10 first downs. McCoy had 9 yards on 12 carries and Taylor had 125 yards passing.
Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes, Le'Veon Bell ran for 87 yards and the Pittsburgh Steelers kept the Minnesota Vikings in check during a 26-9 victory on Sunday. Roethlisberger hit Martavis Bryant for a 27-yard score in the first quarter and flipped a shovel pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that the rookie turned into a 4-yard score . Roethlisberger finished 23 of 35 for 243 yards and the two scores as the Steelers (2-0) improved to 10-1 in home openers under Mike Tomlin.
The Ravens are making a habit of converting turnovers into victories. Baltimore relentlessly harassed two Cleveland quarterbacks, Joe Flacco ramped up his production with a pair of touchdown passes and the Ravens breezed past the Browns 24-10 on Sunday. The win came at a stiff price. Six-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda fractured his left ankle and will be lost for the season.
Cody Parkey hit his fourth field goal from 54 yards with 1:05 to play, and the Miami Dolphins rallied in the fourth quarter to spoil the Los Angeles Chargers' home opener with a 19-17 victory. Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with 5 seconds left after Philip Rivers maneuvered the Chargers into scoring range in the final minute of their first home game since relocating to the Los Angeles area after 56 seasons in San Diego.
Jameis Winston threw for 204 yards and one touchdown Sunday, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers return from an unscheduled bye week forced by Hurricane Irma to open the season with a 29-7 rout of the mistake-prone Chicago Bears. Winston completed 18 of 30 passes without an interception. The defense stymied former teammate Mike Glennon with four turnovers.
Derrick Henry, Delanie Walker and Jalston Fowler each ran for touchdowns, and the Tennessee Titans dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second half for a 37-16 victory. Henry finished with a career-high 92 yards on the ground for the Titans (1-1), including 87 in the final two quarters.
NFL NEWS:
Seattle Seahawks fans gave Michael Bennett a loud ovation when he was introduced before the 49ers game. Outside protesters supported the player, who says he was subjected to racial profiling and excessive force when Las Vegas police detained him last month. Bennett again sat for the national anthem.
Outside the stadium, a small group of fans also showed support for quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is still without a job after his anthem protests a year ago.
MLB:
Stephen Strasburg ended his club-record scoreless streak at 35 innings, but two home runs from Ryan Zimmerman helped the All-Star win his fourth consecutive start as the Washington Nationals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1. Strasburg allowed a run in the second inning on Logan Forsythe's double, the first against the right-hander since Aug. 19. The Nationals avoided a three-game sweep against the NL front-runners. The Dodgers ended the series six games ahead of Washington in the race to secure home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.
In action elsewhere:
Pablo Sandoval homered and drove in three runs, rookie Chris Stratton pitched six strong innings and the San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2. The Diamondbacks had won 20 of 25 games and nine straight on the road. Their magic number for clinching a playoff berth was six going into Sunday.
— Corey Kluber strengthened his Cy Young chances with seven dominant innings as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2, a day after clinching their second straight AL Central title. Kluber allowed three hits in seven innings and is 10-1 in his last 12 starts. Edwin Encarncion hit a two-run homer for Cleveland.
— Justin Verlander struck out 10 in seven strong innings and Derek Fisher and Marwin Gonzalez both homered to put Houston on top in a big fifth inning as the Astros clinched the American League West title with a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. George Springer and Carlos Correa also homered for the Astros, who won their first division title since 2001 and the seventh overall
— Rockies closer Greg Holland dropped the ball trying to tag Matt Szczur on Austin Hedge's squeeze bunt in the ninth inning, allowing the San Diego Padres to finish their rally and beat Colorado 4-3. Hedges bunted back to Holland with runners at the corners and one out, but after making a nice play to scoop up the ball, Holland lost control trying to tag a sliding Szczur.
— Joey Gallo hit a monster home run and Miguel Gonzalez pitched well to lead the Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the Angels on Sunday at Angel Stadium. Gallo hit the second-inning home run 490 feet according to Statcast. The Angels dropped two games behind Minnesota for the second AL wild card, a day after closing within one game of the Twins.
— Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett hit two-run home runs in the sixth inning to back Robert Stephenson's impressive pitching and the Cincinnati Reds completed their second three-game sweep of the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates this season with a 5-2 win. Tucker Barnhart added a run-scoring triple in the sixth as the Reds sent the Pirates to their fifth straight loss and 10th in 11 games.
— Eddie Rosario homered twice, Joe Mauer hit a grand slam and the Minnesota Twins overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-7 and maintain control for the second AL wild card. Rosario and Byron Buxton hit consecutive homers to start the Twins' rally as Minnesota burst ahead with a seven-run second. Minnesota began the day one game ahead of the Los Angeles Angels for the second wild card and closed within four games of the Yankees heading into a series at New York.
— Travis Shaw, Jesus Aguilar and Manny Pina each had two hits in Milwaukee's eight-run fourth inning, lifting the Brewers to a 10-3 victory over the hurricane-displaced Miami Marlins. The Brewers are chasing the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and the Colorado Rockies for the final NL wild-card spot. Miami played as the home team in Milwaukee in the final game of a series that was relocated from Marlins Park because of Hurricane Irma.
— Robert Gsellman didn't allow an earned run over seven innings, pinch-hitter Asdrubal Cabrera had a two-run, pinch-hit homer and the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1. Atlanta, at 67-81, was eliminated from postseason contention and must win its remaining 14 games to avoid a losing record in four straight seasons for the first time since seven in a row from 1984-90.
— Jason Heyward hit a tiebreaking RBI single with two out in the seventh, and the Chicago Cubs swept the St. Louis Cardinals with a 4-3 victory. Ben Zobrist drove in two runs and Kyle Schwarber hit his 27th homer as the NL Central-leading Cubs closed out a 6-3 homestand with their sixth consecutive victory. They stayed four games ahead of Milwaukee and increased their advantage over third-place St. Louis to six games.
— David Price returned from a nearly two-month layoff by pitching two hitless innings for the Boston Red Sox in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner was activated Thursday and pitched for the first time since July 22 after being sidelined by left elbow inflammation.
— Joey Wendle hit a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning to lift the Oakland Athletics to a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Wendle was one of three rookies to hit a home run for the Athletics.
— Ubaldo Jimenez struck out 10 in just five innings, Tim Beckham hit a three-run homer and the skidding Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 6-4. The Orioles had lost nine of 10 before halting a team that had hammered them all season. Didi Gregorius homered for the third straight day as New York's four-game winning streak ended. The Yankees remained three games behind AL East-leading Boston, and hold a comfortable lead atop the wild-card race.
— Matthew Boyd's no-hit bid ended when Tim Anderson doubled with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Detroit left-hander closed out a 12-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday for the first nine-inning complete game of his professional career
FBC-TOP 25
Clemson moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll, jumping Oklahoma and closing in on Alabama after beating a team ranked in the Top 15 for the second straight week. The Tigers received 15 first-place votes, the most the defending national champions have received this season, and 1,446 points after beating Louisville 47-21 on the road. Alabama remains No. 1.
GOLF:
Given another opportunity to win, Marc Leishman didn't give anyone much of a chance in the BMW Championship. Leishman closed with a 67 for a five-shot victory at Conway Farms.
Staked to a five-shot lead, Leishman seemed determined to not let another FedEx Cup playoff event get away from him. And when Justin Rose made a late run and closed within two shots, Leishman made back-to-back birdies to put away the final challenge, and then added one more for a 4-under 67 to set the tournament scoring record.
PGA Tour rookies Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay made late birdies to get into the Tour Championship.
PLANE CRASH-NASCAR DRIVER:
Authorities have identified the second person killed in a Connecticut plane crash that claimed the life of NASCAR modified champion racer Ted Christopher.
Police said Sunday that 81-year-old Charles Dundas, a resident of New York and Florida, was killed in the Saturday crash in woods near North Branford. Federal officials say the plane had left Plainville's Robertson Airport headed for Long Island.
Dundas and the 59-year-old Christopher were the only two aboard the Mooney M20-C plane when it crashed.
Christopher was to have competed Saturday night at Long Island's Riverhead Raceway. North Branford police Lt. James Lovelace confirmed in an email Sunday that Dundas was the pilot and Christopher was the passenger.
Police found no evidence of fire or an explosion accompanying the crash.
The cause is under investigation.
UAlbany:
The University at Albany is taking steps to address reports of discrimination within its athletics department following a federal investigation into complaints and practices over the last three years.
A federal investigation has found UAlbany Athletics in violation of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination.
The Times Union reports that the investigation conducted by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the athletic department did not provide equal participation opportunities for male and female athletes over a three year period.
UAlbany athletic director Mark Benson told the newspaper that the school has “entered a resolution to be 100 percent compliant.”
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