SYRACUSE, UALBANY:
Syracuse University and the University at Albany have agreed to a future non-conference football game, the schools announced in a joint release today. The Orange will host the Great Danes at the Carrier Dome in the first-ever meeting between the programs to open the 2021 season.
The addition of Great Danes to the 2021 itinerary gives the Orange three home non-conference games. In addition to Albany, Syracuse is scheduled to host Wisconsin and Liberty in non-league action. The home portion of Syracuse's 2021 ACC schedule includes visits by Boston College, Clemson, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest.
"This is a great matchup for college football fans in New York," Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack said. "Albany has been a competitive FCS program for a numbers of years. Both teams have outstanding support across Upstate New York and it's an exciting opportunity to engage both fan bases."
MLB:
Going, going ... Gone!
Another home run in Major League Baseball Tuesday evening, but this wasn't just any long ball.
Kansas City's Alex Gordon hit MLB's record 5,694th home run of 2017, breaking a season record set in 2000 at the height of the Steroids Era. Gordon's home run off Toronto's Ryan Tepera, which cut the Royals' deficit to 5-2, was his eighth this season and the 159th of his 11-year big league career.
It was the 17th of the night and came just after Detroit's Alex Presley tied the record when he connected at home against Oakland's Daniel Gossett.
There were 5,610 homers last year, an average of 2.31 per game, and this year's average of 2.53 entering Tuesday's action projects to 6,139. That would be up 47 percent from 4,186 in 2014.
Power subsided after the start of drug testing with penalties in 2004. The home run average dropped in 2014 to its lowest level since 1992, then started rising during the second half of the 2015 season.
When the previous record of 5,693 was set in 2000, Sammy Sosa led the major leagues with 50 home runs and Barry Bonds hit 49. Miami's Giancarlo Stanton leads the major leagues with 55 home runs this year, followed by New York Yankees rookie Aaron Judge with 44.
Also in MLB games Tuesday evening:
— Marcus Stroman pitched seven innings to win for the first time in six starts, Darwin Barney hit a two-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 in the game in which Alex Gordon hit a record-setting home run.
— Mike Montgomery took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, Kyle Schwarber hit his 28th home run and the Chicago Cubs extended their winning streak to a season-high seven by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1. For Cubs manager Joe Maddon, it was his first trip back to Tropicana Field in Tampa, where he managed for several years.
— Chase Anderson had eight strikeouts in six innings, Domingo Santana homered and the Milwaukee Brewers shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second straight day, 1-0. The Brewers won for the ninth time in 11 games, keeping pace in the NL Central and wild-card races.
—Ryan Zimmerman drove in two runs to reach 101 rbis for the season and Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon chipped in with two hits apiece as the Washington Nationals defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-2. The Nationals have clinched the Eastern Division title in the National League.
—J.T. Realmuto homered in the 10th inning and the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 5-4 after rallying for three runs in the ninth against former teammate A.J. Ramos. With one out, Realmuto hit a 1-1 pitch from Paul Sewald (0-6) into the Mets' bullpen for his 17th homer. Miami trailed 4-1 in the ninth before coming back against Ramos, who faced the Marlins for the first time since they traded him to New York on July 28.
—Jackie Bradley Jr. scored the game's lone run on a wild pitch by Brad Brach in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox used six pitchers to silence the Baltimore Orioles' bats in a 1-0 victory. Boston has won 10 of 13 to move a season-high 23 games over .500 (87-64) and draw closer to clinching a postseason berth. The Red Sox started the day with a three-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.
—CC Sabathia recovered from a shaky start to pitch six innings, Brett Gardner had a pair of tying hits and the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 to ensure their sixth straight series win. With their ninth victory in 11 games, the Yankees remained three games behind AL East-leading Boston and opened six-game lead over the Twins for the top AL wild card. At 84-67, the Yankees are 17 games over .500 for the first time since September 2015.
—Rhys Hoskins had four RBIs, including a tiebreaking, three-run double off Pedro Baez in seventh inning that led the Philadelphia Phillies over Los Angeles 6-2 and prevented the Dodgers from moving closer to the NL West title. Los Angeles' magic number to clinch its fifth straight division title remained at three. The Dodgers have lost three consecutive games and 19 of 24.
—Jed Lowrie hit a go-ahead grand slam against Alex Wilson, and the Oakland Athletics overcame a four-run deficit to beat the Detroit Tigers 9-8. Detroit trailed 3-0 in the third inning, then took an 8-4 lead into the seventh, when Ryon Healy hit a bases-loaded grounder to shortstop Jose Iglesias, who bobbled the ball for an error as Lowrie scored.
—Dexter Fowler hit a tying homer in the eighth inning and a go-ahead double in the 10th, helping the St. Louis Cardinals knock off the Cincinnati Reds 8-7. Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong also connected for St. Louis, which was swept by NL Central-leading Chicago over the weekend and had dropped four of five overall. Juan Nicasio (4-5) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win and Tyler Lyons got two outs for his third save.
—Jose Altuve homered, Alex Bregman hit an RBI double and the AL West champion Houston Astros extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Collin McHugh (3-2) allowed one run and five hits with five strikeouts in five innings for Houston. It was the right-hander's first outing since detaching a fingernail on his pitching hand Sept. 8.
— Charlie Blackmon had a two-run double in the second inning for his first career 200-hit season, but the contending Colorado Rockies couldn't hold their early lead and lost 4-3 to the San Francisco Giants. Hunter Pence hit a game-ending sacrifice fly with Colorado playing a five-man infield. The Rockies' slim cushion over the Brewers for the second NL wild card dropped to one game after Milwaukee won at Pittsburgh.
— Shin-Soo Choo's sacrifice fly broke a tie in the eighth inning, Elvis Andrus followed with an RBI single and the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1 to boost their slim playoff chances. The Rangers won their second straight after a five-game losing streak and pulled within 3½ games of Minnesota for the second American League wild card.
— Jay Bruce had a triple and a double among his three hits, Austin Jackson singled four times and the incredible Cleveland Indians rolled on by beating the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 for their 25th victory in 26 games. Roberto Perez added a solo home run for the AL Central champions to support a strong outing by Mike Clevinger.
— The Padres' Travis Wood went from being a punching bag to landing a few blows himself. Wood beat the Diamondbacks 6-2 with an outing that looked nothing like his recent ones. Wood was down and nearly out of the rotation after a pair of sour turns. In his last two starts, he was punished for 16 runs (15 earned), 16 hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings.
NHL-HOCKEY
Connor Brickley had two goals and an assist, helping the Florida Panthers beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 in a preseason split-squad game on Tuesday night.
Henrik Haapala, Michael Matheson and Denis Malgin also scored for Florida. Starting goaltender James Reimer stopped all 15 shots he faced, and reserve Harri Sateri allowed three goals on 19 shots.
Cody McLeod, Emil Pettersson and Viktor Arvidsson scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros finished with 23 saves on 27 shots.
In other games:
—Austin Czarnik's penalty shot goal late in the second period lifted the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 victory over Detroit. Ryan Fitzgerald, Danton Heinen and Teddy Purcell also scored for Boston, which received a 20-save performance from Anton Khudobin. Petr Mrazek made 19 saves for the Red Wings on 21 shots, while reserve Jared Coreau made 11 saves.
—Nick Schmaltz and Cody Franson each had a goal and an assist, powering the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Laurent Dauphin, Jan Rutta and Vinnie Hinostroza also scored for Chicago, and Anton Forsberg made 38 stops. Columbus starter Joonas Korpisalo allowed all five goals on 21 shots. Reserve Matiss Kivlenieks stopped both shots he faced.
—Jack Eichel's goal 25 seconds into overtime lifted Buffalo to a 4-3 exhibition victory in overtime over the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Jason Pominville scored twice for the Sabres. Matt Tennyson also scored, and Chad Johnson made 14 saves. Jay McClement, Zach Aston-Reese and Olli Maatta scored for the Penguins.
NFL CONCUSSION SETTLEMENT
Lawyers representing former NFL players now eligible for payments under the league's $1 billion concussion settlement say they've found evidence that unscrupulous third-party providers are trying to take advantage of players with significant brain damage.
At a hearing in Philadelphia on Tuesday, lawyers who represented the class of more than 20,000 former NFL players told the judge some players entered contracts with exorbitantly high interest rates for advances on their eventual claims. Others agreed to high fees.
Lawyers Christopher Seeger and TerriAnne Benedetto have been investigating groups like claims service providers and lenders at U.S. District Judge Anita Brody's request.
They told the court one firm even touted itself as being able to coach former players on how to take neurological tests to get inaccurate results to qualify them for payments.
DOLPHINS-TIMMONS
AWOL linebacker Lawrence Timmons wanted to rejoin the Miami Dolphins.
Instead, they suspended him indefinitely and traded for a replacement, moves that signal his disappearance from the Dolphins' defense may be permanent.
The Dolphins announced Timmons' suspension in a one-sentence news release Tuesday, a day off for the team.
They also acquired linebacker Stephone Anthony from the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round draft pick in 2018.
Anthony, who has been nursing a sprained ankle, fell out of favor with the Saints after they took him with the 31st overall pick in the 2015 draft.
Timmons' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, declined to comment on the suspension. Coach Adam Gase was angered by the disappearance of the 11th-year veteran, which occurred Saturday in Los Angeles the day before Miami's season opener at the Chargers.
NBA-MORRIS BROTHERS-ASSAULT
The aggravated assault trial of NBA players Marcus and Markieff Morris resumed Tuesday with the testimony from the man the brothers are accused of beating.
Erik Hood testified that his relationship with the twin brothers became strained because of a misinterpreted text message.
Hood stressed his relationship with them was not based on the Morris twins making it to the NBA.
Defense attorney Timothy Eckstein repeatedly asked Hood to answer only yes or no to his questions.
Hood also testified there was nothing "improper" happening with him and the players' mother despite their perception that there was.
The Morris brothers are accused of helping three other people beat Hood on Jan. 24, 2015.
The brothers could face prison time and discipline from the NBA if convicted.
Magic Johnson has been subpoenaed as a witness in a civil lawsuit accusing Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green of assault, according to court documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers' president of basketball operations, and Green both played basketball for Michigan State, and the plaintiff played football at MSU.
Warriors forward Draymond Green is being sued for an incident last July in which he allegedly slapped a former Michigan State football player.
Jermaine Edmondson and his girlfriend, Bianca Williams, filed suit July 25 in response to an altercation in July 2016 that culminated in Green allegedly striking Edmondson in the face at a restaurant in East Lansing, Michigan.
Johnson is being asked to appear because of a tweet he posted after the incident, in which he indicated he'd had a conversation with Green and that Green was very apologetic.
The subpoena asks that Johnson testify Oct. 4 at the Lakers' practice facility in Los Angeles. The documents indicated Johnson has agreed to appear.
Green, who was arrested for allegedly slapping Edmondson and faced a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail, reached a plea deal that reduced the charges to a noise violation and a civil infraction, which carried a $500 fine and $60 in jail restitution.
Also in the NBA:
— Doug Collins has returned to the Chicago Bulls. Just not on the sideline this time around.he rebuilding Bulls hired Collins on Tuesday to serve senior adviser of basketball operations, providing "an expert resource" for the front office and coaching staff. Collins will report directly to executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson. General manager Gar Forman and coach Fred Hoiberg remain in their jobs.
— A person familiar with the situation says the New Orleans Pelicans and forward Dante Cunningham have agreed on a one-year contract worth $2.3 million.The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the agreement, which was first reported by Yahoo, has not been announced. The 6-foot-8 Cunningham spent the past three seasons in New Orleans, where he averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in about 25 minutes per game last season.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-CHICK-FIL-A-KICKOFF
There will be a second Chick-fil-A Kickoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2021 — the first-ever meeting between Louisville and Mississippi.
Officials made the announcement Tuesday. The game is normally held over the Labor Day weekend, though an exact date is still to be determined.
Atlanta's other kickoff game in 2021 will pit Alabama vs. Miami.
Two games were held this year to mark the opening of $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alabama defeated Florida State and Tennessee beat Georgia Tech in overtime.
Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason is back at practice but it's not known if he'll be cleared to play Saturday when the 11th-ranked Bulldogs host No. 17 Mississippi State.
Eason started in 2016 as a freshman but strained a ligament in his left knee in Georgia's season-opening victory over Appalachian State. Touted freshman Jake Fromm has played well since taking over, most notably leading Georgia (3-0) to a victory at Notre Dame in his first college start.
When Eason is ready to play, there is no guarantee he will be the starter. Coach Kirby Smart says "a lot of that is determined by how Fromm is playing. We'll make that decision when the time comes."
PHELPS:
Michael Phelps says he has "no desire" to return to competitive swimming, but he's eager to stay involved with the sport and cheer on those who follow in his enormous wake.
In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press while promoting a healthy pet food campaign, Phelps said he's excited about the birth of his second child and numerous opportunities away from the pool. It was about this time four years ago when he got serious about ending his first retirement, but he now seems very content with his post-swimming life.
His wife, Nicole, is about four months pregnant. The couple already has a 16-month-old son, Boomer.
Phelps says flatly, "I've got no desire, no desire to come back." He's attended a couple of swim meets since winning five golds and a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but says "they truly didn't kick anything off or spike any more interest in coming out of retirement again."
BOXER-CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT
A former heavyweight boxing champ who was defeated by Larry Holmes has died in a construction accident in New Jersey.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says David Bey of Philadelphia was struck by a piece of metal on Thursday while working on a mixed-use real estate development project in Camden.
His union says the 60-year-old was a second generation pile driver.
Bey made his professional boxing debut in 1981 and he went on to defeat Greg Page in 1984 for the United States Boxing Association's heavyweight championship.
He went 10 rounds with Holmes for the International Boxing Federation title in 1985, losing to Holmes by technical knockout.
Bey left the ring in 1994 and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame this year.
JARBOE
According to the Times Union, Mike Jarboe, a classic curmudgeonly journalist whose rumpled exterior covered an expansive heart, keen intellect and passions that extended from fiddle music to horse racing, died Monday after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 63 and recently had moved from hospice care to the home of his daughter Shennie Jarboe as his health declined.
