The Southeastern Conference has passed a rule banning players who have been drafted by NFL, NBA or WNBA teams or listed on rosters in those leagues. With Tuesday's move, the SEC joins the Big Ten in taking a stand against this month’s unexpected surge of pro players trying to return to college. The Big Ten only included football in its decision. The two conferences issued their new rules in response to court orders that were allowing players who had been on pro rosters, then released, to return back to college. LSU football coach Lane Kiffin has sought to add two such players.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York used an alias when he sent text messages over two days to a woman he believed to be a prostitute before he was arrested in a sting operation in Ohio, according to a police incident report. The report from the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force had more than two pages redacted but provided more details about what led to York’s arrest and ultimately to him pleading no contest to two misdemeanors. The report said he offered to pay $160 for sex before he was caught in the sting operation.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Sky have banned Enes Kanter Freedom from their home games after the former NBA center was ejected from Sunday’s loss to the Indiana Fever. Owner Michael Alter made the announcement in a rare news conference. Alter told reporters Freedom is not allowed inside of Wintrust Arena for Sky games “unless sometime in the future, he’s able to prove to us that he’s able to abide by our rules without being a potential threat.” The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Freedom was removed from Sunday’s game after he was confronted by Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter. Freedom was sitting along the baseline wearing a black shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz are out of the mixed doubles tournament at the U.S. Open. After winning their debut playing together, Williams and Alcaraz got knocked out in the mixed doubles quarterfinals by Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli in straight sets. It was Williams' first match back at the Grand Slam tournament in New York since 2022 as she makes a return to tennis at age 44. Alcaraz had not played since April because of a right wrist injury. Now the question is whether Williams will play women's doubles alongside her older sister, Venus.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jeshaun Jones was issued a three-game suspension by the NFL for violating the league’s substances of abuse policy. The NFL’s announcement of the punishment did not disclose the nature of the violation. Jones spent each of the past two years on Minnesota’s practice squad. Jones went undrafted out of Maryland after totaling 2,040 receiving yards over a six-year career. The 26-year-old was going to have a tough time making the active roster with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings locked into the starting spots and Tai Felton and Myles Price in line for backup roles.
The San Diego Padres says a coaching coordinator in their minor league system is back with his family after being detained by federal immigration officers in Texas. The team said Tuesday that Oswaldo Pirela had been released on bond. Pirela was detained by immigration enforcement at the El Paso International Airport during a work trip for the team on Aug. 16. The Department of Homeland Security has previously said that Pirela came to the U.S. legally in 2014 and “overstayed his welcome” after 2018. DHS did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
NEW YORK (AP) — Five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium to play one last match for fun against longtime rival and friend Andy Roddick. The night billed as "An Icon Returns to New York" included the stands full to watch the 45-year-old from Switzerland face Roddick in a prime time exhibition. Federer reminisced about getting beaten in straight sets by Andre Agassi in his debut on center court in 2001 and then beating the fellow Hall of Famer in the final four years later. Roddick said he agreed to participate because it was about being there for Federer.
NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt certainly got the message sent by manager Pat Murphy on Tuesday night. Murphy, the two-time defending National League Manager of the Year, benched Pratt after he failed to get a bunt down and didn’t run hard out of the batter’s box on a bloop single during a 3-2 loss to the New York Mets in 10 innings. The 22-year-old shortstop was removed for a pinch runner in the fifth. After the game, he said he should have been running full speed and it won't happen again.
SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh homered in his first at-bat against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night and tied a Mariners’ record with homers in four consecutive at-bats. Raleigh led off the second inning against Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola with a 362-foot shot to right field for his 18th homer of the season. The four-homer streak matches the Seattle mark set by Mike Cameron on May 2, 2002. It was Raleigh’s first at-bat after the switch-hitting catcher hit three homers in a 9-2 win against the Phillies on Monday night. His streak ended with a strikeout in the sixth inning. The Mariners beat the Phillies 4-1.
ATLANTA (AP) — The PGA Tour is changing its postseason again and it's typically an uphill battle. Golf was never meant to have a Super Bowl or a World Series. The sport long has been defined by four majors in the middle of the year. But the latest change has a chance because the message is clear. By taking only 32 players and then having match play over seven days on two golf courses, this will be the toughest tournament for which to qualify and perhaps the toughest to be the last one standing. Whether it works depends on how long it lasts.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Boston 7 Miami 3
Final Baltimore 13 St. Louis 1
Final Seattle 4 Philadelphia 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 4 Tampa Bay 1
Final Kansas City 5 Toronto 3
Final Houston 9 N.Y. Yankees 7
Final Chicago White Sox 11 Texas 7
Final Athletics 4 Minnesota 2
Final Cleveland 8 L.A. Angels 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Colorado 3 Washington 1
Final Atlanta 4 L.A. Dodgers 3
Final N.Y. Mets 3 Milwaukee 2
Final Pittsburgh 1 San Diego 0
Final San Francisco 3 Cincinnati 1
Final Arizona 5 Chicago Cubs 4