Rested Argentina versus rushed Samoa in key Rugby World Cup pool match
This Date in Baseball, September 22 - Alfonso Soriano became baseball’s 1st 40-40-40 player, HRs, Doubles, and SBs
Police say banned New Zealand Olympic runner Zane Robertson has been arrested at his home in Kenya over allegations of sexual assault and possession of an unlicensed AK-47 assault rifle. Police obtained a court order to hold Robertson in custody for five days while they question him and investigate. He appeared in court on Thursday for a short hearing and police said he would be charged after the investigation is complete. He was arrested Wednesday. The 33-year-old Roberston is serving an eight-year ban from track and field for doping offenses.
This Date in Baseball-Week Ahead for September 22 - September 28. Take 2
Ronan Kelleher will start at hooker for Ireland in its Rugby World Cup blockbuster against defending champion South Africa on Saturday at the Stade de France. Ireland is rugby’s form team and on a run of 15 straight wins since July last year. But Ireland has never been past the quarterfinals at the Rugby World Cup while South Africa is looking to win a record fourth title. Ireland coach Andy Farrell picked Kelleher ahead of Dan Sheehan. Sheehan was in contention to start but is among the reserves after spraining a foot ligament four weeks ago in the warmup win over England in Dublin. Scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park displaces Conor Murray in the only change from the side that defeated Tonga 59-16.
It was already clear that Manchester City and Real Madrid are the best teams in Europe right now. The first round of Champions League games this week confirmed it. Even if the standout performer was an unheralded goalkeeper in Italy. Man City and Madrid had five straight wins to lead their domestic leagues and now have three points to start the Champions League. Defending champion Man City beat Red Star Belgrade 3-1. Madrid beat debutant Union Berlin with a stoppage-time goal from Jude Bellingham. He's the stellar player in Europe this season. Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel's headed goal against Atletico Madrid was the most memorable moment.
Portugal goes for its first win at a Rugby World Cup without winger Vincent Pinto after his red card in the team’s pool opener ruled him out of Saturday’s match against Georgia. Pinto has been replaced by Raffaele Storti in one of four changes by Portugal coach Patrice Lagisquet for the game in Toulouse. It represents the team’s best chance of a victory in Pool C that also contains Wales, Australia and Fiji. Portugal opened by losing 28-8 to a weakened Wales. Georgia started with a 35-15 defeat to Australia and make eight changes.
England women’s players appear to have reached an agreement with the country’s soccer federation regarding a dispute over bonuses and commercial structures. England captain Millie Bright says at a news conference that the players “feel really confident moving forward about the structure we now have in place” with the Football Association. Exact details of the agreement have yet to be officially announced. The England squad expressed disappointment at the dispute having not been resolved before the recent Women's World Cup. The players decided to pause talks with the intention of revisiting them.
The United States wants to avoid making the wrong kind of history against Europe at the Solheim Cup this weekend in Spain. The Americans have never lost three straight editions of the top team event in women’s golf. The biennial competition is the equivalent of the Ryder Cup in men’s golf, and for the first time both events will be held in back-to-back weeks with the Ryder Cup taking place in Rome. A talented but young American team in the Solheim Cup will try to end its losing streak against an experienced European squad at the Finca Cortesin resort-style course along the southern coast of Spain, which is hosting the event for the first time. The matches will be played Friday through Sunday.
Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigns, says he has to take care of his health and family
When England soccer player Leah Williamson addressed the United Nations in New York this week she spoke of her recent visit to the world’s biggest Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. She spoke of the power of sport and soccer in particular to change lives after witnessing the work being done by Save The Children and The Arsenal Foundation within the camp. She says girls became empowered after being introduced to the sport and male attitudes were changed as a result. But Williamson’s message goes beyond one laudable project with refugees in Jordan. She is using her status to challenge gender stereotypes that she says continue to hold women and girls back and is calling for parity in soccer.
Argentina and Samoa meet in a key pool clash at the Rugby World Cup on Friday in Saint-Etienne. Argentina is one of 12 fortunate teams to have a long break of 12-14 days between games at some point during the pool stage. Samoa is not one of them. Argentina goes into it after a 13-day break — timely, considering all of the issues revealed in the dismal 27-10 defeat to England on the opening weekend. The Pumas are in a tight spot in just their second pool game. They can’t afford to lose to Samoa as well. Samoa will operate on a mere six-day turnaround after beating Chile 43-10 last Saturday. Samoa could take a big step toward a first quarterfinal since 1995 by winning on Friday.
Jude Bellingham has surpassed all expectations since arriving at Real Madrid by scoring big goal after big goal to keep his team with a perfect six wins across all competitions. Bellingham has scored in all but one of his appearances with Madrid. The 20-year-old England midfielder will now face his first derby on Sunday at Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league when the hosts will aim to stop him increasing his tally of six goals in as many games. Barcelona hosts Celta Vigo on Saturday with João Félix thriving after scoring three times in two appearances since his loan move from Atletico. Girona plays Mallorca also on Saturday.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Once a heated Atlantic Coast Conference rivalry, the Florida State-Clemson series has become a lopsided affair. The Tigers have won seven in a row against the Seminoles, including five by double digits and four in Death Valley. No one needs to remind No. 4 Florida St…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA's D'Anton Lynn is among a group of new coordinators in the Pac-12 who are making an early impact. Lynn is in his first season in Westwood as the defensive coordinator after spending his entire coaching career in the NFL. Lynn has the 22nd-ranked Bruins playing at a hi…
UNDATED (AP) — Defense has played a vital role in making the Big Ten one of the toughest conferences in the country. Nothing has changed early this season. Eight of the league’s 14 teams are within the top 50 overall defenses in the country; No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Ohio State are in the top…
UNDATED (AP) — Oklahoma vs. Cincinnati sounds like a dream bowl matchup — the blueblood Sooners against one of the most consistent Group of Five powers. In this wacky world of realignment, it’s a conference game. No. 16 Oklahoma is one of the Big 12’s two ranked teams, making this the kind o…
UNDATED (AP) — The number of unbeaten teams in the mighty SEC already is down to five with conference play beginning, and that number could be down to two by the end of the weekend. Missouri plays fellow unbeaten Memphis while Mississippi is an underdog heading to Alabama and Auburn an under…
Alabama is outside the AP top 10 for the first time in eight years and facing the team that bumped the Crimson Tide out back then. The 13th-ranked Tide hosts No. 15 Ole Miss. Rebels coach Lane Kiffin was the Tide's offensive coordinator in that 2015 game. Alabama is turning back to Jalen Milroe again as the starting quarterback. The unbeaten Rebels are trying to snap a seven-game losing streak in the series. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is coming off a huge game against Georgia Tech.
No injury was going to stop Florida State quarterback Travis Jordan from doing all he could to keep the fourth-ranked Seminoles undefeated and on track for its ACC showdown at Clemson on Saturday. Jordan hurt his non-throwing shoulder last week at Boston College. But he returned in the second half to keep the Seminoles perfect at 3-0. He says he feels good and is primed to end a seven-game, series win streak by the Tigers. A win by Florida State would also likely eliminat preseason favorites Clemson from an eighth ACC title since 2015.
The Pac-12 has three Top 25 matchups in the same week for the first time and just the 10th time in any conference. No. 19 Colorado at No. 10 Oregon tops the bill. The Buffaloes has been college football's biggest surprises and will face a stiff road test against a Ducks team that's won 29 of their last 31 home games. No. 11 Utah is hoping quarterback Cameron Rising can make his 2023 debut in what should be a tough game against No. 22 UCLA. No. 14 Oregon State also is at No. 21 Washington State in the teams' first meeting as ranked teams in 108 all-time games.
Playing at Baylor is the first of many lasts for the No. 3 Texas Longhorns this season. It's the first Big 12 game in Texas' final season in the league. And it's the last game in a rivalry that has been played 112 times since 1901 and every year since 1944. A Saturday night game in Waco promises to bring the first several hostile crowds hoping to send the Longhorns to the Southeastern Conference with an emphatic loss. Baylor coach Dave Aranda has even said some Bears fans have pleaded with him to win this game above all others.
First-year UAB coach Trent Dilfer says preparing to play No. 1 Georgia takes him back to his days as an NFL quarterback. Dilfer, who won the 2000 Super Bowl with Baltimore, says two-time defending national champion Georgia has players who show NFL-like skills. Georgia is favored by 41 1/2 points and will put its 20-game winning streak on the line. The Blazers are 1-2 under Dilfer, who says “it can't get any harder” than playing at Georgia. The Bulldogs are coming off a 24-14 win over South Carolina last week.
I wish I had not been startled by the words. Alas, the modern announcer has been trained to be inoffensive above all.
The Los Angeles Dodgers open a four-game series at home against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.
Rookie Reese Olson won for the third time in his last four starts, combining with two relievers on a three-hitter to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 and avoid a sweep in the three-game series. Olson allowed one run on two hits in six innings Wednesday. His only mistake came in the sixth inning when Max Muncy drove an elevated slider into the stands in right-center to trim the Tigers’ lead to 2-1. The 24-year old right-hander has given up just five runs in 30 innings over his last five starts. Will Vest worked 1 2/3 innings for his second save.
The Asian Games are an attention grabber. They involve more participants than the Summer Olympics. Organizers say about 12,500 competitors will be entered as the opening ceremony takes place Saturday in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. This is more than the 10,500 expected for next year’s Paris Olympics. And the array of events is staggering with many regional specialties, sports, and games you won’t find in the Olympics. And there’s also cricket, which appears headed to the Olympics as soon as 2028 in Los Angeles, and certainly for 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.
If you are bored with day-in, day-out sports like basketball or swimming or volleyball, then check out the Asian Games when they open in Hangzhou, China. Of course, the games will have the regular Olympic menu of events with some offering qualifying for next year’s Paris Olympics. But much of the focus will be on sports that are popular in a region that represents 45 nations and territories. About 12,500 are participating, more than the Summer Olympics. The Asian Games will also feature so-called “mind sports” that include bridge, chess, xiangqi (known as Chinese chess) and several others. Esports, offered as a demonstration sport five years ago, is official this time.
