UNDATED (AP) — Georgia is No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight year. The Bulldogs received 46 first-place votes to finish comfortably ahead of No. 2 Ohio State, which got 15 top votes. Oregon is No. 3 while Texas is fourth and Alabama is fifth. Conference realignment created an unprecedented preseason poll with just four conferences represented: The SEC has nine ranked teams. The Big Ten has six, the Big 12 has five and the ACC has four. Notre Dame, an independent, is ranked seventh.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown did not need surgery for the shoulder injury he suffered in the team’s preseason opener in Jacksonville. Brown spent Saturday night in a Jacksonville hospital before being released Sunday morning and was not present for Monday’s practice. “They were able to get the joint back in place without surgery, which is a positive,” Reid said. “We’ll just see on the recovery. He’s back in Kansas City now. He stayed over in Jacksonville until they got that thing situated.”
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Willi Castro had a three-run home run and Royce Lewis hit a two-run shot in a six-run second inning for the Minnesota Twins on the way to an 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Twins improved to 6-2 against the Royals this season in opening a key series between the division rivals and close wild card competitors. The Twins are 6-2 against the Royals this season. They remained 3½ games behind American League Central leader Cleveland after splitting a four-game series with the Guardians over the weekend. The third-place Royals dropped to five games back.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mookie Betts welcomes a return to right field even though he believes he has shown he also can do a fine job at shortstop. The eight-time All-Star came off the injured list Monday at Milwaukee, playing right field and batting second for the Los Angeles Dodgers after missing nearly two months with a broken left hand. The former leadoff hitter belted a two-run homer off Freddy Peralta with two outs in the third inning.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer homered in consecutive at-bats and drove in five runs, and Elly De La Cruz hit his team-leading 21st homer as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1. Andrew Abbott allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings to snap his three-game losing streak. The left-hander was tagged for 12 earned runs over his previous 13 1/3 innings. Cardinals starter Sonny Gray struck out nine in five innings, but is winless in three career starts against his former club. He gave up six runs and five hits, including three homers. Abbott escaped bases-loaded jams in the second and third. He finished with six strikeouts and retired 11 straight batters during one stretch.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have suspended Jarren Duran for two games without pay after he shouted a homophobic slur to a fan behind home plate who heckled him in a loss to the Houston Astros. The exchange, caught on a live mic Sunday during the broadcast of the game, occurred when Duran was at the plate in the sixth inning. Duran issued an apology through the team Sunday night and again in the clubhouse Monday. The Red Sox said in a statement that Duran’s salary during the suspension will be donated to the Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — As the Olympics close in Paris, Los Angeles has now taken the torch. The city will become the third to host the games three times. The last was in 1984, when Los Angeles was as much a star as Olympians Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton. Olympic organizers will take advantage of a recent building boom in the city. The nearly new SoFi stadium will host an opening ceremony that will also incorporate the century-old Memorial Coliseum. The region has much more public transportation than it did in '84, but is looking to build much more by 2028.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Austin Dillon won for the first time in nearly two years in the NASCAR Cup Series. The race seemed out of reach before he spun Joey Logano out of the way and then sent Denny Hamlin into the wall as well. That all happened in the final few seconds at Richmond on Sunday night. Once the initial celebration ended, Dillon had quite a bit to answer for. But becoming a NASCAR villain for a few days may be a small price to pay for such a desperately needed victory.
UNDATED (AP) — Jason Kelce was destined for a career in the media long before he partnered with his brother, Travis, to co-host a popular podcast. It was evident early on after Andy Reid selected Kelce in the sixth round of the 2011 draft that his dynamic personality would play well on the other side of the microphone. Kelce became a go-to source for reporters throughout his 13-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s insightful, eloquent and funny. Kelce has the skills to succeed in television and he brings credibility to the studio where he’ll be part of ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” broadcast team.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says in a soon-to-be published book that he should have handled discussing his COVID-19 immunization status differently. The New York Jets quarterback was still with the Green Bay Packers in 2021 when he told reporters he was “immunized” against the virus and then tested positive for COVID-19 three months later and had to be sidelined for 10 days. Rodgers unsuccessfully appealed to the league that his homeopathic treatment regimen should qualify him as vaccinated. ESPN reported the four-time NFL MVP says in the book “Out Of The Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers” that it's one thing he wishes could have gone differently.
MONDAY SCORES
AMERICAN LEAGUE
INTERLEAGUE
Final Cleveland 9 Chicago Cubs 8
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Houston 6 Tampa Bay 1
Final Minnesota 8 Kansas City 3
Final Boston 5 Texas 4
Final Chicago White Sox 12 N.Y. Yankees 2
Final Toronto 4 L.A. Angels 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 6 St. Louis 1
Final L.A. Dodgers 5 Milwaukee 2
Final Arizona 5 Colorado 4
Final San Diego 2 Pittsburgh 1