COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Will Howard has won Ohio State’s quarterback battle against Devin Brown and will be the starter when the No. 2 Buckeyes open against Akron on Aug. 31, coach Ryan Day said Thursday. Howard transferred from Kansas State after starting 28 games over four seasons, and he graded out the highest through nearly 30 practices over the spring and preseason. Brown is the No. 2 quarterback, but Day said Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Air Noland would be given an opportunity to continue competing for the top backup job. Howard led Kansas State to the 2022 Big 12 championship and set the school career record with 48 touchdown passes. He tied the K-State single-season record with 24 TD passes last season. He also rushed for 921 yards and 19 TDs in his career for the Wildcats.
PARIS (AP) - American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that dropped her out of the bronze medal position in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “significant blow” in a message posted on social media Thursday. The International Olympic Committee, in light of the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, announced it would reallocate the bronze to Ana Barbosu of Romania. Barbosu is scheduled to receive the medal on Friday at a ceremony in Bucharest. Chiles initially finished fifth in the eight-woman final before Team USA coach Cecile Landi appealed Chiles’ score, asking to receive credit for a maneuver that would boost her score by .1. The appeal was granted, moving Chiles into third. She was awarded the bronze and participated in the medal ceremony following the competition.
SYDNEY (AP) — Australian breaker Rachael Gunn said the backlash to her much-ridiculed Olympic performance has been “devastating,” adding Thursday that she took the competition seriously and gave her best effort. The 36-year-old b-girl known as Raygun said in a video posted to social media that she wasn’t prepared for the level of negative attention she has received since judges awarded her zero points in her Olympic debut. Meanwhile, the Australian Olympic Committee criticized an anonymous online petition attacking the Paris Games competitor, saying it was “vexatious, misleading and bullying.” The sport of breaking made its Olympic debut in Paris, and one of the lasting images was the performance of Gunn, a 36-year-old university professor from Sydney — who did a “kangaroo dance” among other questionable moves during her routine — and did not receive a single point from any of the nine judges in either round.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Just in case Weston Wilson needed a reminder on the hit he needed to complete the cycle — Phillies fans chanted “Double! Double!” for his at-bat as a noisy cue — Bryce Harper offered a helpful tip. “Harper was at the top (step) letting me know,” Wilson said, laughing. “If you hit it, keep running. Don’t stop until second.” With the Phillies ahead in a rout against the Washington Nationals, Wilson lined a shot to right field that was nearly caught by right fielder Alex Call. He fell short on a diving attempt, the ball smacked off his glove and rolled toward center, giving Wilson the opening he needed to take up Harper on his advice. Wilson hustled to second base, becoming the first rookie to hit for the cycle in Philadelphia history. Philadelphia defeated Washington 13-3.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — If Colin Kaepernick wants to join the Los Angeles Chargers, it will not be until next year at the earliest. And it will only be as a member of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff. “I love Colin, but he’s not going to be on the coaching staff, which is set for this year. And he’s not going to be playing on the roster either,” Harbaugh said after Thursday’s practice. Harbaugh — who coached Kaepernick in San Francisco from 2011 through ’14 — told USA Today Sports earlier this week that he reached out to Kaepernick about joining his Chargers’ staff shortly after being named coach on Jan. 24. Harbaugh said on Thursday that it wasn’t the first time he has touched base with Kaepernick about coaching, and that he mentioned it a couple times when he was the coach at Michigan.
THURSDAY'S SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 2, Seattle 1
Baltimore 5, Boston 1
Minnesota 3, Texas 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee 6, LA Dodgers 4
San Francisco 6, Atlanta 0
Philadelphia 13, Washington 3
INTERLEAGUE
Oakland 7, NY Mets 6