Reddick rides a fast car and good fortune into the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Tyler Reddick knows you need to have speed to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship. Denny Hamlin knows just as well that you need to have breaks go your way.

Reddick had both going for him Sunday at Kansas Speedway, taking advantage of a late caution and four fresh tires to breeze by six other drivers in the final two laps for the win. It ensured that Reddick would be in the round of 12 of the playoffs for the first time, taking almost all the pressure off the No. 45 team heading to next week's cutoff race at Bristol.

Aaron Rodgers carted off the field with a right leg injury suffered during his first series for the New York Jets.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina athletic and administrative leaders huddled Monday in a closed session of the UNC board of trustees to discuss how to best handle the eligibility situation with wide receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker.

For Games of Tuesday, September 12

For Games of Tuesday, September 12

Former AL MVP Josh Donaldson is back in the big leagues attempting to help the Milwaukee Brewers in their push toward an NL Central title. The Brewers announced Monday that they had recalled the veteran third baseman from Triple-A Nashville while optioning infielder Owen Miller. The NL Central leaders had signed Donaldson to a minor league contract on Aug. 31, two days after the New York Yankees released him. Donaldson hit .142 with a .225 on-base percentage and .434 slugging percentage in 33 games with the Yankees this season.

European soccer body UEFA has hosted a storied group of women players and coaches for a conference to help shape a brighter future for their game. It was held one day after Spanish official Luis Rubiales resigned from his leadership jobs on Sunday including as a UEFA vice president. And when the event was over UEFA thanked the now-former vice president “for his many years of service.” It was UEFA's first major public statement since Rubiales’ conduct at the Women’s World Cup final three weeks ago that is now under criminal investigation in Spain. Rubiales denies any wrongdoing.

Kevin Pillar and Orlando Arcia each had run-scoring hits in the 10th inning to move the Atlanta Braves closer to an NL East title with a 10-8 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader. The Braves pulled out after the extra-inning victory after Bryce Harper slugged a two-out, two-run tying homer off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth for the NL wild-card leaders. The Braves need to win two of three in the rest of the series to clinch their sixth straight division title. The teams play the second game of the doubleheader on Monday night.

The silver lining in the Denver Broncos' latest loss to the Las Vegas Raiders is the improved play of Russell Wilson under new coach Sean Payton. Wilson completed all but seven of his 34 passes in the Broncos' 17-16 loss at home on Sunday. The problem is that only threw for 177 yards. Wilson was without receiver Jerry Jeudy, who was inactive with a pulled hamstring. He lost tight end Greg Dulcich to a leg injury on the opening drive of the second half. Without them, Wilson faced a heavy dose of shell coverage that prevented any downfield attack.

Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested Monday and charged with assault and strangulation after allegedly attacking his girlfriend at a New York City hotel. Porter, 23, is accused of hitting the woman several times and putting his hands around her neck. The woman, 26, was taken to a hospital with a cut to the right side of her face. Police said the incident happened around 6:45 a.m. at the Millennium Hilton near the United Nations in Manhattan. Porter remained in police custody as of Monday afternoon. It wasn’t immediately known if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. A message seeking comment was left for his agent.

After a routine win over Rice to start the season, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian lamented no one seemed to be talking about how good the No. 4 Longhorns’ defense could be. A road win at No. 10 Alabama might be changing the conversation. The Longhorns were dominant at times against the Crimson Tide as they chased, sacked and intercepted Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe all night. Texas had five sacks, two interceptions and nine total tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Longhorns held Alabama to 107 yards rushing.

Mike Tomlin said something about Kenny Pickett last week in a Steelers.com story that jumped off my computer screen:

The medals had barely been hung on the necks of the German, Serbian and Canadian teams when word began to circulate about Team USA's savior assembling an Avengers-style group of colleagues to fix American basketball in the upcoming Olympics.

Tyreek Hill has been meeting with his fellow Miami Dolphins receivers after practice to work on being in the right spots for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins' performance in Sunday's opener suggests that extra work is paying off. Hill had 11 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Hill set career highs in receptions and yards last year while admitting he hadn't fully grasped coach Mike McDaniel's system. McDaniel says all of Hill's catches Sunday probably would have gone for half as much yardage a year ago.

About that Super Bowl talk by Brandon Staley …

Jalen Hurts slogged through an offensive performance that reminded no one of the dynamic play last season that stamped him as an MVP candidate and led the Eagles to the Super Bowl. He had only 170 yards passing and a fumble that nearly cost Philadelphia its season-opening win. The Eagles still pulled out a 25-20 victory Sunday at New England. They play their home opener Thursday against Minnesota. The Eagles’ track record suggests this sluggish offense won’t be a long-term problem. Hurts threw for 333 yards and a touchdown and ran for 57 yards and two more scores in last season’s win over the Vikings.

Retired Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton is teaming up with the organization RIP Medical Debt to help eliminate $10 million in medical bills for residents around the state. The program is set to start later this month, with recipients around Colorado receiving letters that notify them their medical bills have been paid in full. Medical expenses have been among the leading causes for bankruptcy in the United States. Helton retired in 2013 and is the franchise’s all-time leader in many statistical categories. He said in a release that he drew inspiration from his friend and philanthropist Ryan ‘Jume’ Jumonville.

New Zealand is in no rush to clear its list of injured players even though it must win its remaining pool games to reach the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals. Forwards coach Jason Ryan says none of the injured are in contention to play against Namibia on Friday in Toulouse. Neither is back-rower Ethan Blackadder, who has arrived in France as an emergency call-up. He will be given time to settle in. The injured All Blacks include captain Sam Cane, fellow back-rower Shannon Frizell, prop Tyrel Lomax and inside center Jordie Barrett. The All Blacks are taking the long view to get them healthy. After Namibia, they have a weekend off then a crucial match with Italy on Sept. 29.

The Carolina Panthers knew there’d be some growing pains with rookie quarterback Bryce Young. They didn’t have to wait long to feel them. Young was 20 of 38 for 146 yards passing and one touchdown in his NFL debut, but threw two interceptions that led to 10 Atlanta points in a 24-10 road loss to the Falcons on Sunday. Despite those costly turnovers, Panthers coach Frank Reich said he felt Young “played well” after studying the film. Reich took blame for the first interception, saying he put the No. 1 overall pick in “a bad position” by failing to get the play call in on time just before the pick, resulting in a 5-yard delay of game penalty.

Joe Burrow wasn't himself in the Bengals' 24-3 opening-week loss to the Cleveland Browns. Whether it was the miserable, rainy conditions in Cleveland, a calf injury that wiped out training camp for him, or the distraction of contract negotiations, the Pro Bowl quarterback came out flat and never came around. He finished with a career-low 82 passing yards. Burrow, who signed a contract extension that made him the NFL's highest-paid player, is again in the position of telling everyone to relax, the Bengals will be OK. Cincinnati welcomes the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs are optimistic that All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce will be back from a knee injury for Sunday's game at Jacksonville. Kelce hyperextended the knee in practice last week and missed the Chiefs' season-opening loss to Detroit. Coach Andy Reid said Monday that “Travis is getting better” and that “we'll see how he does the rest of today or tomorrow and go from there.” Meanwhile, Reid had no update on All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones' holdout, other than to say the two sides continue to communicate. Jones has racked up millions in fines while trying to get a new contract. He watched the 21-20 loss to the Lions from a suite in Arrowhead Stadium last Thursday night.

Croatia climbed atop its European Championship qualifying group by beating Armenia 1-0 away thanks to Andrej Kramarić’s goal in a first half that saw the game briefly delayed because of a drone carrying a political message. The striker tapped in at the far post after a 13th-minute corner from Luka Modric deflected off an Armenia player and went straight to Kramaric. The match in Yerevan was delayed for about 70 seconds when a drone carrying the flag of Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan, flew over the field. The incident comes amid soaring tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan and will likely lead to a UEFA disciplinary case.

Sports betting company DraftKings has apologized after using the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to entice people to bet on baseball and football games. The Boston-based company offered users a 9/11-themed promotion titled “Never Forget.” It required the Yankees, Mets and Jets to win their games Monday. That is the 22nd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the downing of a passenger jet in a field in Pennsylvania. The tragedy killed nearly 3,000 people. An outcry on social media from people offended by the promotion followed. DraftKings later took it down and apologized.

This weekend, C.J. Stroud became the second rookie quarterback in franchise history to start an opener and first since David Carr in Houston’s first game in 2002. And he, like Carr, took a beating. Carr was sacked six times in the Texans’ inaugural contest, setting the tone for a season where the No. 1 overall pick was taken down an NFL-record 76 times. Stroud, the second pick in this year’s draft, was sacked five times behind a makeshift offensive line as the Texans fell to the Ravens 25-9.

The Falcons' 24-10 win over Carolina in their opener was not a great showing for their passing game. Desmond Ridder threw for only 115 yards. The running game led by rookie Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier and the bolstered defense led by Jessie Bates was enough to beat the Panthers. Falcons coach Arthur Smith insists he doesn't worry about statistics. The Falcons finished 7-10 in each of Smith’s first two seasons. Based on that context, the impressive debut by the first-year coordinator Ryan Nielsen’s defense and the production of Robinson and Allgeier were ample reasons for encouragement.

Tyler Reddick took advantage of good speed and good fortune, perhaps the two things most needed for success in the NASCAR Cup Series, to win at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. The win clinched his spot in the second round of the playoffs for the first time. Meanwhile, second-place finisher Denny Hamlin was missing the luck element, with a late caution spoiling what appeared to be a stress-free win. And Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex Jr. were also fast but both blew tires and sustained damage that not only ruined their chances Sunday but put them in peril heading to the last race in the first round of the playoffs.

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has tested positive for testosterone. Italy’s anti-doping agency announced the positive test. The test was carried out after Juventus’ game at Udinese on Aug. 20. Pogba did not play in the Serie A match but was on Juve’s bench. Nado Italia says Pogba was suspended provisionally with immediate effect. Pending a trial and testing of a backup “B” sample the 30-year-old Pogba risks a suspension of up to four years. It’s another negative note for a player who has been bothered by injuries ever since rejoining Juventus from Manchester United a little over a year ago. There’s also been a police investigation ongoing in France into allegations that Pogba was targeted by extortionists.

Jack Conklin's season ended before the Browns' season opener was over. Conklin will miss the rest of 2023 after suffering a major left knee injury in the first half of Sunday's win over Cincinnati. Conklin tore two ligaments when he was accidentally hit from the side by Bengals end Trey Hendrickson. It's the latest injury for the 29-year-old Conklin. He came back earlier than expected to play last season after sustaining a serious injury to his right knee in 2021. The Browns signed Conklin to a four-year extension in December. On Sunday, he was replaced by rookie Dawand Jones, who is expected to stay in the starting lineup.

UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee will miss Saturday's home game against Villanova and likely remain sidelined beyond the start of the Knights’ Big 12 schedule due to a leg injury suffered during last weekend’s 18-16 victory at Boise State. Coach Gus Malzahn said Plumlee will miss a “few weeks” but not require surgery. The team expects the fifth-year senior to return before the end of the season. Redshirt  sophomore Timmy McClain will replace Plumlee, who’s in his second season as UCF’s starter after transferring from Ole Miss. After hosting Villanova, UCF will begin its inaugural Big 12 season at Kansas State on Sept. 23.

Josh Allen essentially earned a pay raise in Week 1. He might have to wait until March to cash in, though. The seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft had three sacks in Jacksonville’s season opener at Indianapolis and gave himself early leverage in future contract negotiations. Allen is in the final year of his rookie deal, playing on a fifth-year option that guarantees him $10.9 million in 2023. He took a huge step toward convincing the Jaguars to keep him, and if not, surely increased his value in free agency.