FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau got this highly anticipated Ryder Cup off to a big start. The grandstands behind the first tee at Bethpage Black were filled in the Friday morning darkness. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley came out early to fire them up. But nothing did the trick quite like DeChambeau. He hit driver over the trees with a 344-shot just short of the green, and the Americans converted that into a birdie for an early lead. The foursomes matches in the morning are to be followed by fourballs in the afternoon. And in the middle was a visit by President Donald Trump.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Jason Myers made a 52-yard field goal as time expired, Sam Darnold threw for 242 yards and a touchdown, and the Seattle Seahawks withstood a late rally by Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to beat Arizona 23-20. The Seahawks blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead but still won their eighth straight over their NFC West rivals. The Cardinals trailed 20-6 midway through the fourth. Murray tied it with touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emari Demercado, but left enough time on the clock for Darnold, who hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 22-yard gain to get into Myers' range.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr. soared above a defensive back, snagged the ball at the high point and pulled it down for a key touchdown in Arizona’s comeback attempt. The Cardinals’ second-year receiver didn’t celebrate, opting instead to kneel with an arm over the front of his helmet before jogging off the field. After the first half he had, Harrison seemed more relieved than excited about pulling down a highlight-reel touchdown. Harrison caught a touchdown pass and had a pair of key catches on Arizona’s final drive, but also bobbled a pass that led to a first-half interception in the Cardinals’ 23-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — The Ryder Cup is ready to roar at Bethpage Black and that shouldn't be too difficult on the spectators. The matches get underway on Friday with Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas in the opening foursomes session against fiery Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. DeChambeau says the idea is to send a message. That's what U.S. captain Keegan Bradley has done by sending out his most entertaining and energetic twosome on a course with a reputation for a rowdy gallery. And then add President Donald Trump into the mix and it should be quite a loud start to the Ryder Cup.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau will be leading off in foursomes for the Americans at the Ryder Cup on Friday. Europe counters with the equally fiery Jon Rahm, who has never lost a foursomes match. DeChambeau will have Justin Thomas as his partner in the opening match at Bethpage Black. Rahm is with Tyrrell Hatton again. They were sent off first two years ago in Rome. The other matchups are Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick vs. Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood vs. Collin Morikawa and Harris English, and Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland vs. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh has hit 60 home runs this season, joining an elite group in baseball history. He and Aaron Judge are the frontrunners for the American League MVP award. As of Thursday night, Raleigh was a slight favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Judge, however, leads in advanced stats like wins above replacement. No catcher — and no switch-hitter — has ever hit as many homers as Raleigh in a season. In that sense, he’s had a more historic year than Judge. Now it’s up to the voters to decide if it was more valuable.
Four 2024 playoff teams are already facing a must-win in Week 4. The two-time defending AFC South champion Houston Texans are in the most desperate position. They can’t afford another loss. Only the 1992 Chargers made the playoffs after an 0-4 start. The Texans host the winless Tennessee Titans on Sunday. If they don’t figure things out against a rebuilding team, Houston has a problem. The Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos also are in danger of falling further back with another loss.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have celebrated their 12th NL West title in 13 years, and Clayton Kershaw reflected on his last division championship after an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. Kershaw, an 11-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner, plans to retire at the end of the postseason. Los Angeles has reached 90 wins for the 12th straight full season and will play in a wild card series for the first time since 2022. Manager Dave Roberts has led the team to the playoffs in all 10 years of his tenure. The Dodgers are the defending World Series champions.
NEW YORK (AP) — The race for first place in the AL East is even with three games to go. That means the division title will be determined this weekend by how the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees handle a pair of also-rans. After both teams won at home Thursday night, the Yankees and Blue Jays remain tied for the top spot — and the best record in the American League — at 91-68. New York hosts last-place Baltimore for three games beginning Friday night, while Toronto welcomes fourth-place Tampa Bay north of the border. The Yankees and Blue Jays are both headed to the playoffs regardless of their results over the next three days, but the division winner gets a first-round bye.
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians are both 86-73 and tied atop the American League’s Central Division with three games remaining. The last time the division was remotely close after 159 games was in 2014, when the Tigers had a two-game lead on the Kansas City Royals. The last time the AL Central was tied at this point was 2006 when the Tigers and Minnesota Twins had 95-64 records. The Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over Cleveland on Thursday night and go into Boston in control of their own destiny. Even though the Guardians were unable to sweep the Tigers for the second time in less than two weeks, they still got what they wanted by taking two out of three games. Cleveland hosts Texas beginning Friday.
INTERLEAGUE
Final Seattle 6 Colorado 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 6 Tampa Bay 5
Final Minnesota 4 Texas 0
Final Houston 11 Aletics 5
Final Detroit 4 Cleveland 2
Final Toronto 6 Boston 1
Final N.Y. Yankees 5 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Kansas City 9 L.A. Angels 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 2 Pittsburgh 1
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 Arizona 0
Final Philadelphia 1 Miami 0
Final N.Y. Mets 8 Chicago Cubs 5