Going into the final day of group play at the World Cup, there are essentially eight teams vying for four spots in the round of 32. Tournament co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico have all advanced. Same with France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Norway and others. The U.S. will face Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California, while Canada heads to Southern California to face South Africa on Sunday. Other marquee matchups are set, including Morocco versus the Netherlands, Japan versus Brazil and Norway versus Ivory Coast.
SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix has ended in controversy after Mercedes’ George Russell was credited with pole position despite a yellow flag for a dramatic crash by Max Verstappen. Russell sped through the final two corners seconds after Verstappen went spinning off the track toward the barrier. That caused a yellow flag which means drivers must slow down. Until then Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were set to end Mercedes’ run of pole positions in each grand prix this season. The stewards marked Russell's lap as “no further investigation”. It wasn’t immediately clear if other teams planned to protest.
HOUSTON (AP) — Cape Verde completed an improbable run through the group stage with a third straight World Cup draw to become the smallest country to earn a spot in the knockout round following a 0-0 result against Saudi Arabia. The small island nation off the western coast of Africa is making its debut on soccer’s grandest stage and already held 2010 champion Spain to a 0-0 draw and then came from behind to get a 2-2 result against Uruguay. Cape Verde’s three points put the team in second place behind Spain, which beat Uruguay on Friday night and won the group.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lionel Messi will not start when defending World Cup champion Argentina plays its group finale. Coach Lionel Scaloni said Friday that Messi will be on the bench at the start of Saturday night's game against Jordan, but he indicated the World Cup career goal scoring leader could come in as a substitute. Messi, who turned 39 on Wednesday, has scored all five goals for Argentina in the first two games of this tournament. He has 18 career World Cup goals. This is his sixth World Cup.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs have selected Penn State forward Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 NHL draft pick. The 18-year-old McKenna is from Yukon’s capital of Whitehorse, has been a prolific scorer on both sides of the border, with McKenna’s selection validating the projections of the left winger being his age group’s top prospect more than two years ago. For Toronto, McKenna represents a major plank in the rebuilding process of a team suddenly in transition under new general manager John Chayka. Toronto finished last in the Atlantic Division last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since Matthews’ arrival.
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler was 25 feet away from his second sub-60 round on the PGA Tour. The world's No. 1 player missed a birdie putt on the final hole of the Travelers Championship and had to settle for a 60. He was trying to join Jim Furyk as the only players with two sub-60s rounds in tour history. Furyk shot 58 at the Travelers in 2016 to go along with a 59 at the BMW Championship in 2013. Scheffler shot 59 as a PGA Tour rookie in 2020 at the TPC Boston in The Northern Trust. Scheffler was at 16-under 124, two shots ahead of Viktor Hovland. Needing to birdie the final two holes for a 59, Hovland settled for two pars and a 61,
LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic has told Serena Williams her tennis comeback is “inspirational” and “epic.” The 44-year-old Williams is the buzz of the championships as she prepares to play her first Wimbledon singles match in four years Tuesday by facing No. 53 Maya Joint in the first round. Williams had been away from the sport since her farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open but accepted a wild-card entry to play women’s doubles with her sister Venus, who is 46. And then she accepted another to play singles.
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) — Ina Yoon stretched her lead at the Women’s PGA Championship with a second-round 69 that put her five strokes up on the second-place pack after another strong South Korean showing. Yoon had two bogeys with one birdie on the back nine to finish 12 under. The 23-year-old is seeking her first LPGA Tour victory. Nasa Hataoka, Brooke Henderson, A Lin Kim and Hae Ran Ryu were tied for second. Ryu shot a 64. LPGA Tour leader Nelly Korda had a 68 to climb into a tie for sixth place with Dongeun Lee at 6 under.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Walker Buehler usually pitched superbly against the San Diego Padres during the near-decade he spent wearing Dodger Blue. In his first chance to pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his still-new Padres uniform, Buehler was a star in this NL West rivalry once again. Buehler beat the Dodgers for the first time since he left the World Series champions 1 1/2 seasons ago, pitching three-hit ball into the sixth inning of the Padres’ 7-1 win. The veteran right-hander played a significant role in building the baseball-dominating powerhouse he faced from the Petco Park mound in the opener of this weekend rivalry series.
LONDON (AP) — No. 1 Jannik Sinner has limited a media appearance as a prize-money protest by top players continues at Wimbledon. But he deflected questions about it, saying he wants to “talk about tennis.” The grass-court Grand Slam increased prize money by 20% after top players began their protest at the recent French Open, arguing they deserve a bigger share of revenues. The protest involves players limiting their media appearances. Defending Wimbledon champion Sinner says it's “getting better” but declined to go in-depth on more questions, saying “I’m here now to talk about tennis.”
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 6 Arizona 1
Final Baltimore 3 Washington 1
Final Minnesota 9 Colorado 8
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 8 Houston 0
Final Boston 6 N.Y. Yankees 1
Final Seattle 3 Cleveland 1
Final Texas 5 Toronto 4
Final Chicago White Sox 22 Kansas City 1
Final Athletics 9 L.A. Angels 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 2 N.Y. Mets 1
Final Cincinnati 6 Pittsburgh 4
Final Milwaukee 6 Chicago Cubs 2
Final Miami 4 St. Louis 0
Final San Diego 7 L.A. Dodgers 1