ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and former Cardinal Dylan Carlson drove in two runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays avoid a sweep by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4. Brent Rortvedt added three hits for the Rays. Richard Lovelady (3-4) pitched one inning for the win and Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 24 opportunities. Nolan Arenado drove in a run, scored twice and had three hits for St. Louis. Paul Goldschmidt drove in two runs for the Cardinals. JoJo Romero (5-2) took the loss.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have fired manager Pedro Grifol, two days after the team ended a 21-game losing streak that tied the American League record. The White Sox began Thursday 28-89. They ended the losing streak with a 5-1 victory at Oakland on Tuesday night, then wasted a two-run lead in a 3-2 loss on Wednesday. White Sox general manager Chris Getz said the team's “performance this season has been disappointing on many levels.” Major league coach Grady Sizemore will take over as interim manager. Chicago also fired bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Tommy DeVito replaced an injured Drew Lock late in the first quarter and led New York on two first-half scoring drives that Eric Gray capped with runs of 48 and 1 yard as the Giants beat the Detroit Lions 14-3 in a preseason opener limited to mostly backups. With the game played in a light rain Thursday night, neither Dan Campbell of the NFC North champion Lions nor Brian Daboll of the Giants was going to risk their starters in the contest at MetLife Stadium, close to where the teams held two of fight-filled joint practices on Monday and Tuesday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, played one series in his debut with New England on Thursday night, and the Patriots played their first game in 24 years without Bill Belichick as coach, beating the Carolina Panthers 17-3 in a preseason game. New England’s new coach, 38-year-old Jerod Mayo, dressed in a white short-sleeved Patriots’ pullover, became the NFL’s youngest coach when he was hired on Jan. 12, one day after Belichick agreed to depart as coach and left the organization. It was the first time since Jan. 2, 2000, that the Patriots played without Belichick on the sideline. He led them to six Super Bowl titles. Carolina also played its first game under a new coach, with Dave Canales making his debut as the franchise’s seventh.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears will use their starters in Saturday's preseason game at Buffalo, which means the first NFL action for quarterback Caleb Williams. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft and the other starters were held out of the Hall of Fame Game last week. There will be a limited number of plays for the first-team offense. Coach Matt Eberflus called it a good time for Williams to face a live rush and to try to run the offense without penalties or other mistakes. The team's offensive line health has improved since earlier in the week and the only O-line starter who appears unlikely to play is right guard Nate Davis.
OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' declaration that he “doesn't have any urgency” to resolve a contract dispute with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb drew an immediate response, with Lamb posting “lol” on social media. Lamb is holding out of training camp as he seeks a new deal. The 25-year-old Lamb is in the final year of his rookie contract after leading the NFL in receptions last season. Quarterback Dak Prescott — going into the final year of his own contract — delivered pointed support of Lamb following Jones’ remarks. Following his press conference, Prescott said to reporters in a joking manner, “I know y’all want to ask, I got urgency for it to happen.”
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas running back CJ Baxter injured a knee in practice this week and will miss the 2024 season. Baxter will have surgery, but the team provided no other details about the injury in a statement Wednesday. Baxter in 2023 was the first Longhorn freshman tailback to start a season opener since Ricky Williams in 1995. But he was limited by rib and foot injuries in the first two games, and then sat out the third game. Baxter finished the 2023 season with 659 yards rushing and five touchdowns as Texas won the Big 12.
UNDATED (AP) — Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, a Hall of Fame golfer whose antics on the greens and inspiring life story made him among the sport’s most popular players during a long professional career, died Thursday. He was 88. Rodriguez’s death was announced by Carmelo Javier Ríos, a senator in Rodriguez’s native Puerto Rico. Rodriguez said he learned to play golf by hitting tin cans with a guava tree stick and then found work as a caddie. He He served in the U.S. Army from 1955-57 and joined the PGA Tour in 1960 and won eight times during his 21-year career, playing on one Ryder Cup team.
OLYMPICS
PARIS (AP) — With six points in two seconds, the U.S. Olympic team was on its way. To a comeback. To a win. And to another Olympic gold medal game. Stephen Curry scored 36 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:16 left, and the U.S. will play for gold in the Paris Olympics on Saturday night after beating Serbia 95-91. The U.S. trailed by 17 points in the first half, plus faced an 11-point halftime deficit — the biggest one successfully overcome by an American team since NBA players were added to the Olympic mix in 1992. Curry says “that was a special one.”
PARIS (AP) — Guerschon Yabusele scored 17 points and France beat Germany 73-69 to advance to the men’s Olympic basketball gold medal game. Isaia Cordinier added 16 points and Victor Wembanyama finished with 11 points and seven rebounds to help France – which won the silver medal in Toyko three years ago --- reach its second straight Olympic final. The Paris Games host nation will play the winner of Serbia and the U.S. on Saturday.
PARIS (AP) — Someone is going to have a very difficult task on Saturday. Someone is going to have to place a medal around the neck of a man who is every bit of 7-foot-4 and looks to still be growing. Victor Wembanyama has a new accolade. He’s an Olympic medalist. The only question is whether it’ll be gold or silver, something that’ll be determined Saturday night in the final game of the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Games. France is headed back to its second consecutive Olympic gold-medal contest, after beating Germany 73-69 in the first of two semifinals on Thursday.
SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Noah Lyles lost the Olympic 200 meters, falling to Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, then collapsing on the track and being carted off in a wheelchair. Later, wearing a mask, Lyles told reporters he had COVID. After crossing the line third, Lyles fell to his back and writhed around in pain, staying down for nearly 30 seconds before getting up, asking for water and getting to the wheelchair. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own record and won gold again in the women's 400 hurdles; Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts went 1-2 for the U.S. in the 110 hurdles. Tara Davis-Woohall of the U.S. won gold in the long jump.
PARIS (AP) — Karch Kiraly’s reigning Olympic champion U.S. women’s volleyball team will get its shot at a repeat gold medal. And it took every extra hustle play by every American on the floor against the mighty Brazilians. As Brazil's fans waved flags, chanted and sang from every corner of South Paris Arena, the U.S. women outdueled their fellow world powerhouse to win a five-set thriller in a compelling rematch of their Tokyo final won in straight sets by the U.S.
THURSDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 6 St. Louis 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 7 Baltimore 6
Final L.A. Angels 9 N.Y. Yankees 4
Final Seattle 4 Detroit 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final San Francisco 9 Washington 5
Final San Diego 7 Pittsburgh 6
Final Milwaukee 16 Atlanta 7
Final N.Y. Mets 9 Colorado 1
Final Cincinnati 10 Miami 4
Final Philadelphia 6 Arizona 4
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final N-Y Giants 14 Detroit 3