A surprise-filled Day 1

The Derrick

21 July 2023

With three goals in four minutes in the middle of a lopsided first half, Spain shattered Costa Rica’s resistance and created the foundation of a resounding 3-0 win that sent a warning to rivals at the Women’s World Cup. Speculation that Spain was a team weakened by injuries was misleading. They had more than 80% of possession by halftime, 12 corners, 15 shots on goal and had put to rest any concerns over injured players left behind. Spain began its campaign with a performance that demanded attention and brightened a bitter winter’s night in Wellington.

Real Sociedad midfielder David Silva has injured his left knee. The San Sebastian-based club said late Thursday that Silva sustained the injury during practice. In a statement it said “the results of the MRI studies revealed an anterior cruciate ligament injury.” Silva will be evaluated by a specialist next week. No further information about the extent of the injury was given. The 37-year-old Silva has played for Sociedad for three seasons after his successful stint at Manchester City. He also helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup. Sociedad will play in the Champions League this season after finishing fourth in the Spanish league.

LAS VEGAS — The media workouts are cosmetic in nature. Among the final pieces of the promotional pie.

MINNEAPOLIS — Mike Muscala was traded on his first night as an NBA player. He has been traded five more times since then, most recently in June, which certifies him as a basketball nomad.

SAN FRANCISCO — Jeff Chinn says Bruce Lee saved his life.

PITTSBURGH — One day, J.J. and T.J. Watt hope to become the first brothers enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For now, though, they are delighted to be the first brothers on a Wheaties box together.

CHICAGO — Under the lights Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field, 30 of the nation’s most elite Black and brown high school baseball players lined up along the first- and third-base lines for the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and the national anthem before the annual Double Duty Classic.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gary Stokan was biding his time Wednesday morning amid the radio crews and TV reporters at SEC Media Days, as is his wont this time of year. The CEO and president of Peach Bowl, Inc., Stokan spends every July touring the power conferences’ preseason media events to visit w…

Brian Harman is quickly setting the new target at the British Open. The American opened with a 67. And now he has run off three straight birdies starting on the second hole. That puts Harman at 7-under par. Harman has never won a major. He once had the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills in 2017. Adrian Otaegui of Spain made all pars on the front nine and was at 4 under among those playing in the chilly breeze and occasional light rain. Rory McIlroy has just now teed off after opening at 71.

The United States begins its journey to a record third consecutive Women’s World Cup title with the same confidence it had in winning the last two tournaments. The top-ranked Americans open play against Vietnam, which is no doubt considering the U.S. a daunting challenge in its World Cup debut. The teams meet on Saturday in Auckland at Eden Park. As opponents, the Vietnamese are similar to Thailand, which the Americans thumped 13-0 in the opener at the World Cup four years ago in France.

UNDATED (AP) — From high school to the professional leagues, hazing is ingrained in teams sports in the United States. Studies have shown that almost half of all students say they experienced hazing in high school. At Northwestern, allegations of hazing in the football program led to the fir…

England captain Millie Bright has been cleared to start the Lionesses’ Women’s World Cup opener against Haiti. Bright injured her knee in Chelsea’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg with Lyon in March but has provided coach Sarina Weigman a boost by recovering in time for the start of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Injuries have plagued the England squad in the lead up to the tourament. Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and Leah Williamson have all been ruled out. Bright replaced Williamson as captain for the World Cup.

The British Open can still deliver a surprise or two. Christo Lamprecht is the first amateur in 12 years to share the lead. Joining him is local hero Tommy Fleetwood and Emiliano Grillo. But this opening round at Royal Liverpool for so many was about hanging in there. Rory McIlroy salvaged an even-par 71 with a fortunate par on the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Justin Thomas made a 9 on the last hole for his highest round in a major at 82. Avoiding the pot bunkers was the key to scoring.

Live updates | Rain and wind greet Day 2 of British Open

The Milwaukee Brewers open a three-game series at home against the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

The Los Angeles Angels host the Pittsburgh Pirates to start a three-game series.

The Cincinnati Reds host the Arizona Diamondbacks to start a three-game series.

The Tour de France is a big traveling circus, a well-oiled machine going through rural France at full speed over three weeks.

UNDATED (AP) — Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips says he never “condoned or tolerated inappropriate conduct” against athletes as Northwestern’s athletics director in the wake of that school’s hazing scandal. The scandal has led to at least three lawsuits and the firing of f…

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Men’s and women’s basketball teams in the expanded Big 12 will still play 18 conference games each during the 2023-24 season. The conference will have 14 schools for the upcoming season before the departures of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC next summer. Each team will pl…

The Seattle Storm take on the Chicago Sky in out-of-conference action. Saturday's meeting is the first of the season for the two squads. Seattle is 2-10 at home, and Chicago is 4-6 on the road.

Ramona Bachmann drilled the ball into the left side of the net on a penalty kick moments before halftime to help Switzerland to a 2-0 win over Philippines in the Women’s World Cup opener for both teams. Switzerland’s Seraina Piubel added a second-half goal, scoring on the rebound from a missed shot by Coumba Sow that ricocheted off Philippines goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel. The Group A encounter was the first game inside Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, the tournament’s only indoor venue. The crowd’s cheers echoed around the walls of the roughly half-full stadium, with an attendance of 13,711 in a venue that can fit over 30,000.

Atlanta will try to keep its four-game home win streak alive when the Dream take on Connecticut. The teams meet Saturday for the fourth time this season. Atlanta is 7-6 against the Eastern Conference, and Connecticut is 9-3 against conference opponents.

Minnesota and Las Vegas will play in a matchup of Western Conference opponents. Saturday's meeting will be the fourth of the season between the two teams. Minnesota is 8-6 against the Western Conference, and Las Vegas is 12-1 against conference opponents.

Dallas aims to continue its four-game win streak with a victory against Los Angeles. Saturday's meeting will be the fourth of the season between the two teams. Dallas is 7-5 against the Western Conference, and Los Angeles is 6-9 against conference opponents.

Zambia’s coach is under investigation for sexual assault, its star player got banned from a key African tournament and at 77th the team has the lowest ranking of any at the Women’s World Cup. And yet the Copper Queens are coming off a surprise win over Germany and know how to score. Heading into its opener Saturday against Japan, Zambia's team doesn’t see itself as a lost cause but as one with more than a chance. Zambia coach Bruce Mwape says “As far as I’m concerned, we cannot consider ourselves as underdogs. Others will look at us as underdogs, not ourselves."

England goalkeeper Mary Earps says Nike’s decision to not sell her jerseys during the Women’s World Cup is “hugely disappointing.” After trying to negotiate behind closed doors for months, Earps went public ahead of England’s opener Saturday against Haiti in Brisbane. Earps says “I can’t really sugar-coat this, so I am not going to try. It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful.” Earps says its unfair on young goalkeepers who want to buy an England shirt. Instead they'll have to choose another position. Earps decided to launch her own line of shirts and people are calling it “Mearps Merch.”

Olympic champion Canada has been held to a 0-0 draw by Nigeria in its Women’s World Cup opener after Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie made several key saves, including one on a penalty from Christine Sinclair. It was a crucial miss for the Canadian veteran, who is the leading all-time scorer in international soccer, men or women, with 190 goals. Sinclair lined up for the shot in the 50th minute but couldn't beat a diving Nnadozie.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A’ja Wilson had her 15th double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 79-63 Thursday night to match the WNBA record for the best start to a season.

A’ja Wilson had her 15th double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 79-63 to match the WNBA record for the best start to a season. The Aces improved to 20-2 and matched the 1998 Houston Comets and 2016 Los Angeles Sparks for the finest opening to a season. Las Vegas improved to 3-0 against the Storm (4-17), who lost their eighth straight. Jackie Young scored 22 points and Kelsey Plumb 20 for the Aces. Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor had 12 points apiece and Jordan Horston added 11 for the Storm.

Rookie J.P. France struck out five while pitching into the eighth inning for the first time this season to win his third straight decision, Kyle Tucker hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth, and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1. Alex Bregman homered in the ninth to help secure the win for France (5-3). The right-hander has a 2.05 ERA over the first eight road starts of his career, which is lowest in the majors by a starting pitcher with a minimum of 40 innings. France walked one and allowed one run on six hits for the Astros, starting the final series of a nine-game road trip.

Jordan Walker and Paul DeJong each hit a two-run homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2 for their sixth straight victory. Nolan Arenado drove in two runs and Steven Matz pitched five effective innings as St. Louis won for the the ninth time in 11 games overall. Paul Goldschmidt had two hits and scored two runs. Marcus Stroman pitched just 3 2/3 innings in possibly his final home start for the Cubs. The right-hander was charged with five runs — four earned — and seven hits. He struck out four and walked four.

CHICAGO — The Cardinals continued their red-hot start coming out of the All-Star break behind a strong outing from left-hander Steven Matz, and closed the gap between them and their rivals the Chicago Cubs in the process.

The most punchable face in the NBA hits back.

Napheesa Collier scored eight points in a late 12-0 run and finished with 22 points as the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 73-70. Collier scored 10 of her points in the fourth quarter as the Lynx (10-12) won despite squandering a 20-point lead and completed a season sweep of Los Angeles (7-14), which matched a franchise record with its seventh straight loss. Rookies Dorka Juhasz and Diamond Miller played key roles in the win. Juhasz scored a career-high 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. Miller added 13 points, a career-high nine assists and eight rebounds. Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks with 19 points.

Annette O’Malley helped her husband Peter O’Malley promote baseball globally during his family’s ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team says she has died in Los Angeles. The couple married in 1971 in Annette's hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark. She made many trips aboard with her husband to promote the sport, including visiting Japan over 25 times. In 1984, Annette threw out the first pitch for Game 7 of the Korea Championship Series in Seoul. Besides her husband of 52 years, she is survived by three children. Annette O'Malley was 81.