Tuesday’s Sports In Brief

SOCCER

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Saudi Arabia scored one of the biggest World Cup upsets ever by beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday.

Messi’s quest to win the one major title to elude him got off to a shocking start and brought back memories of Cameroon’s 1-0 win over an Argentina team led by Diego Maradona in the opening game of the 1990 World Cup.

Goals by Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari in a five-minute span in the second half gave the Saudis the win. Argentina took an early lead with a 10th-minute penalty by Messi.

The Argentina loss rivals other World Cup upsets like Senegal’s 1-0 win over titleholder France 1-0 in the 2002 tournament opener and the United States beating England by the same score in 1950.

Argentina’s 36-match unbeaten run ended at the Lusail Stadium in Messi’s fifth —and likely last— World Cup.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Manchester United’s American owners confirmed Tuesday they would consider putting the iconic Premier League club up for sale.

United said the Glazer family was exploring outside funding to enhance growth — a move that could pave the way to a potential buyout.

American investment bank the Raine Group has been enlisted to handle any sale or fresh investment.

Raine earlier this year handled the sale of Premier League club Chelsea to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, successfully securing 2.5 billion pounds ($3 billion) plus a commitment of 1.75 billion pounds ($2 billion) of further investment.

While there is no guarantee the Glazers will cede complete control of United, the news will provide hope to the team’s supporters who have long-campaigned to drive out the American family, which also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

LSU moved up to fifth and Southern California was sixth Tuesday night in the College Football Playoff rankings behind Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU.

The top four remained the same for the third straight week, but the chasing teams changed order after Tennessee lost to South Carolina last Saturday night.

Selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan, who is also the athletic director at North Carolina State, said there was a lot of discussion about LSU (9-2) and USC (10-1) this week.

Two games this weekend could create more clarity.

Michigan (11-0) is at Ohio State (11-0) on Saturday and USC hosts Notre Dame (8-3), which checked in at 15th in the selection committee’s rankings.

There are two more rankings left. The final ones on Dec. 4 set the field for the College Football Playoff. The semifinals will be played Dec. 31 in the Peach and Fiesta bowls. The national championship game will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a verdict that could affect countless claims by athletes who sue sports organizations for head injuries, a Los Angeles jury on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit seeking $55 million by the widow of a former USC football player who said the NCAA failed to protect him from repeated head trauma that led to his death.

Matthew Gee, a linebacker on the 1990 Rose Bowl-winning squad, endured an estimated 6,000 hits as a college athlete, lawyers for his widow said. They alleged those impacts caused permanent brain damage, and led to cocaine and alcohol abuse that eventually killed him at age 49.

The NCAA, the governing body of U.S. college sports, said it had nothing to do with Gee’s death, which it said was a sudden cardiac arrest brought on by untreated hypertension and acute cocaine toxicity.

Hundreds of wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits have been brought by college football players against the NCAA in the past decade, but Gee’s was the first one to reach a jury. The suit alleged that hits to the head led to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease known by the acronym CTE.

Judge Terry Green told jurors in Los Angeles Superior Court they “made history” in the first case of its kind.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols won baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards Tuesday night.

Verlander, the American League recipient, returned from Tommy John surgery to lead Houston to its second World Series championship. He had the lowest ERA in the majors and was a unanimous winner of his third Cy Young Award — becoming the first player to earn the prize after not pitching in the previous season.

Pujols, honored in the National League, came back to St. Louis for his farewell season and posted his biggest numbers in years at age 42. The three-time MVP compiled an .895 OPS for the NL Central champions and became the fourth major leaguer to reach 700 career home runs.

The winners were chosen in voting by the 30 team beat reporters at MLB.com.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels acquired power-hitting outfielder Hunter Renfroe in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for three young pitchers Tuesday night.

Milwaukee received right-handers Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero, and minor league lefty Adam Seminaris.

Renfroe batted .255 with 29 home runs, 72 RBIs and an .807 OPS in 125 games this season, his first with the Brewers. He led major league right fielders with 11 assists and ranked 10th in the National League with a .492 slugging percentage.

Renfroe, who turns 31 in January, is eligible for arbitration again and likely to get a raise after earning a $7.65 million salary this year. He can become a free agent after next season.

He joins an Angels team looking for offense to support superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in a top-heavy lineup that struggled overall this year. Los Angeles went 73-89 and finished third in the AL West.

Milwaukee, with a limited budget, was second in the NL Central at 86-76 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017 after four consecutive appearances.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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