NEW YORK (AP) – Pushed back a day by last week’s rain in New
York, the men’s final of the U.S. Open is under way. It features
the top two players in the world.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic (JOH’-koh-vihch) of Serbia is taking on
defending champion and second seed Rafael Nadal (rah-fay-ehl
nah-DAHL’) of Spain.
Nadal holds a 16-12 advantage in head-to-head meetings, but
Djokovic has won all five of their matches this year and is 63-2 on
the season.
TENNIS-WILLIAMS FINED
She’ll never miss it
NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams has been fined $2,000 by the
U.S. Open for berating the chair umpire during Sunday’s 6-2, 6-3
loss to Samantha Stosur in the U.S. Open women’s final.
The USTA also says Williams’ conduct did not rise to the level
of a major offense under the Grand Slam Code of Conduct. She was
under probation because of an outburst at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Williams earned $1.4 million at the year’s final major tennis
tournament: $900,000 for reaching the final, plus a $500,000 bonus
for finishing first in the standings of the U.S. Open Series, which
takes into account results at hard-court tune-up tournaments.
NFL-WEEK 1 FINALES
A Monday Night Football twofer
UNDATED (AP) – An AFC East matchup kicks off tonight’s NFL
doubleheader that brings down the curtain on the opening week of
the 2011 regular-season.
The New England Patriots are in south Florida to face the Miami
Dolphins. The Pats beat the Fins twice last season on their way to
the division title, outscoring them 79-21.
New England is looking to start 1-0 for an eighth straight year.
Game No. 2 takes place in Denver, where the Broncos and Raiders
get together for an AFC West clash. Oakland scored the most points
in their history the last time they visited the Mile High City,
thrashing the Broncos 59-14.
Hue Jackson is making his Raiders head coaching debut. The
Silver and Black are hunting an eighth straight win over a division
opponent.
John Fox makes his Broncos coaching debut after coming over from
Carolina.
NFL-NEWS
Berry and Kaeding suffer season-ending injuries
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A person familiar with the situation
tells The Associated Press that Chiefs safety Eric Berry has a torn
ACL in his left knee and is done for the year.
Berry was hurt in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to Buffalo
when he was blocked by Bills receiver Steve Johnson, according to
the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Chiefs
have not disclosed details of the injury.
The second-year strong safety made the Pro Bowl last year and
was being counted on heavily by the defending AFC West champions,
who were hammered 41-7 at home by the Bills in their opener.
Also:
– Chargers coach Norv Turner says kicker Nate Kaeding is out for
the year after injuring his left knee during the season’s opening
kickoff. Kaeding entered the season as the most accurate kicker in
NFL history, having made 86.5 percent of his field goal attempts in
the previous seven seasons. Turner says the Chargers already have a
list of possible replacements..
MLB-SCHEDULE
Rays and Yanks with an opportunity
UNDATED (AP) – With the slumping Red Sox not on the schedule,
Tampa Bay has a chance to make up ground in the AL wild-card race
and the Yankees can put more distance between themselves and Boston
atop the East standings.
The Rays enter their series opener at Baltimore on a four-game
winning streak and are 3 1/2 games behind the Bosox for the wild card
after sweeping Boston over the weekend.
New York holds a 3 1/2-game lead over the Red Sox ahead of its
game at Seattle.
AL Central leader Detroit has a magic number of seven headed
into its outing in Chicago against the second-place White Sox. The
Tigers are riding a nine-game winning streak into the Windy City.
And the L.A. Angels are 2 1/2 games behind West leader Texas as
they prepare for this evening’s game at Oakland.
The wild-card chase is the tightest playoff race in the NL, with
Atlanta holding a 4 1/2-game lead over St. Louis. The Braves will be
looking to end a three-game losing streak this evening when they
host Florida. The Cardinals’ five-game winning streak is on hold
until tomorrow, when they open at Pittsburgh.
Elsewhere tonight in the senior circuit, East leader
Philadelphia is at Houston, West-leading Arizona is in L.A. to play
the Dodgers, Cincinnati is home to the Chicago Cubs, Washington is
at the New York Mets and San Francisco hosts San Diego.
MLB-NEWS
Getting close
NEW YORK (AP) – A person familiar with the negotiations says
pitcher Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals are closing in
on a $21 million, two-year contract.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on condition
of anonymity because negotiations are not yet complete.
St. Louis has a $15 million option for next season as part of a
$63.5 million, five-year contract agreed to in December 2006. That
deal carries a $1 million buyout.
Carpenter is 9-9 with a 3.75 ERA in 30 starts this year. The
36-year-old right-hander won the 2005 NL Cy Young Award, then
missed most of the following two seasons due to elbow and shoulder
injuries.
Elsewhere:
– The Chicago White Sox activated slugger Carlos Quentin from
the 15-day disabled list ahead of their series opener against
visiting Detroit. The veteran right fielder sprained his left
shoulder while making a diving catch against Texas on Aug. 20. He
was hitting .255 with 24 home runs and 77 RBIs at the time.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-MINNESOTA-KILL
Kill improving
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota’s team physician says coach Jerry
Kill is “doing very well” as he recovers from a seizure suffered
late in the game against New Mexico State on Saturday.
Doctor Pat Smith says Kill is alert, eating and all tests have
come back normal. He wouldn’t put a timetable on Kill’s return, but
says his gut feeling is the coach “absolutely” will be on the
sidelines this weekend against Miami of Ohio.
Kill collapsed on the sidelines in the closing seconds of the
loss to the Aggies. It’s the third time in his coaching career he
has had a seizure on game day.
Smith says team trainers will work harder to keep him hydrated
to try to avoid a recurrence.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BIG 12 FUTURE
Sooners contemplating pulling up stakes
A person with knowledge of the situation tells the AP that Texas
and Oklahoma officials met over the weekend amid speculation that
the Sooners are considering bolting the Big 12.
Oklahoma officials are reportedly considering the move in the
wake of Texas A&M’s recent decision to leave the conference with
hopes of joining the Southeastern Conference.
T25-TEXAS-QUARTERBACK
Longhorns making changes
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Garrett Gilbert is out as the starting
quarterback at No. 24 Texas. The Longhorns will go with Case McCoy
and David Ash at UCLA.
McCoy and Ash came off the bench last week and rotated snaps in
leading Texas to a come-from-behind 17-16 win over BYU. McCoy led
the drive for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
McCoy is a sophomore and the younger brother of former Texas
quarterback Colt McCoy. Ash is a freshman.
Gilbert won the starting job in camp, but threw two early
interceptions against BYU and was booed by the home crowd.
And quarterback isn’t the only change for the Longhorns.
Freshman Malcolm Brown is listed as the starting tailback after
leading Texas in rushing the first two games.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS-PAYING PLAYERS
Report says top college athletes worth six figures
WASHINGTON (AP) – A report by the National College Players
Association and a Drexel University professor obtained by The
Associated Press says the average fair market value of top-tier
college football and men’s basketball players is over $100,000.
And, the report by the advocacy group says the athletes are
entitled to at least a portion of that.
The report, which will be released Tuesday, says that, instead,
players receive athletic scholarships that don’t cover the full
cost of attending school, leaving many of them living below the
poverty line.
The NCAA replies in a statement that President Mark Emmert and
college presidents have made it clear they support grants that
cover the full cost of attending school, though Emmert opposes
paying college athletes.
NBA-JORDAN FINE
NBA fines MJ
NEW YORK (AP) – Michael Jordan has been fined by the NBA for
making comments about the league’s ongoing collective bargaining
process.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed the penalty, but doesn’t
comment on the total. ESPN.com reports the fine was $100,000.
In an interview last month with Australia’s Herald Sun, Jordan
said the NBA’s current model was “broken” and called for revenue
sharing for small market teams such as his Bobcats and the
Milwaukee Bucks, whom Australian Andrew Bogut plays for. The Hall
of Famer added that he knows “owners are not going to move off
what we feel is very necessary for us to get a deal in place where
we can coexist as partners.”
The NBA prohibits owners from speaking publicly about the labor
situation.
OLYMPICS-LONDON 2012-DOPING
Dope at tour own risk
BRADFORD, England (AP) – The director of London’s anti-doping
lab says next year’s Olympics will be the “riskiest” for drug
cheats.
Professor David Cowan says “huge advances” have been made in
recent years to detect prohibited substances and methods.
Authorities also are using intelligence gathering to crack down on
doping.
Cowan heads the doping lab at King’s College London, which will
analyze more than 5,000 samples during the 2012 Olympics.
HOCKEY-RUSSIA-CRASH
Crash toll mounts
MOSCOW (AP) – The only member of a top Russian hockey team to
survive last week’s plane crash that killed 44 people has died of
his injuries in a Moscow hospital.
The hospital says 26-year-old Alexander Galimov died of the
severe burns that covered about 90 percent of his body, despite the
best efforts of doctors in a burn unit considered one of the best
in Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia’s sports minister says Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
will not take part in this year’s Kontinental Hockey League season.
He says the club will participate in a lower league as part of a
gradual rebuilding program.
Top hockey officials had earlier expressed hopes Lokomotiv could
be revived in time to play this season by drafting in players from
other KHL teams. Those plans appear to have been shelved in favor
of longer-term reconstruction.
