Monday’s Sports In Brief

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — After fans waited through a 2 1/2-hour rain delay, Major League Baseball postponed the decisive Game 5 of the AL Division Series between Cleveland and New York — and the Yankees announced Nestor Cortes will start on short rest Tuesday against the Guardians.

Cleveland was expected to stay with Aaron Civale for the game, which was rescheduled for 4:07 p.m.

Neither manager spoke with media after Monday night’s rainout, and Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo said Aaron Boone had texted him with the change to Cortes in place of Jameson Taillon.

The game was scheduled to start at 7:07 p.m., and the postponement was announced at 9:38 p.m.

NFL

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2:38 remaining in overtime, and the Los Angeles Chargers rallied for a 19-16 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Hopkins, who injured a hamstring during the first half, grimaced as he kicked the ball and fell to the ground before being picked up by teammates. The ninth-year kicker was inactive for last week’s game against Cleveland due to a quadriceps injury.

The Chargers have won three straight to improve to 4-2. They are tied with Kansas City atop the AFC West.

The game appeared to be headed toward a tie until Denver’s Montrell Washington muffed JK Scott’s punt at the Broncos 32-yard line. It was recovered by Deane Leonard at the Denver 28-yard line. Washington called for a fair catch, but Denver safety P.J. Locke didn’t hear Washington and tried to block Ja’Sir Taylor when Locke bumped into Washington.

Justin Herbert, who completed 37 of 57 for 238 yards and an interception, passed to Mike Williams for 9 yards to get Hopkins closer.

Russell Wilson was 15 of 28 for 188 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos (2-4), who dropped a game in overtime for the second straight week.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa is back, and his return will be a welcome sight for a Miami Dolphins team that has not won a game since he suffered a concussion on Sept. 29.

Tagovailoa will go through practice this week as the starting quarterback and, assuming all goes well, he is expected to start Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tagovailoa returned to practice on a limited basis last week. He had been in the concussion protocols since getting hurt and needing to be taken off the field on a stretcher against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4. Tagovailoa was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday, but was listed as a full participant Friday. Tagovailoa and backup Teddy Bridgewater were medically cleared to return on Saturday after completing all of the return-to-play steps required by the NFL.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — North Carolina surprised just about everyone last year when a talented team led by first-year coach Hubert Davis parlayed a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament into a run to the national title game.

The Tar Heels won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year.

With four starters back from the team that lost to Kansas in New Orleans, the Tar Heels are the runaway pick as the preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 released Monday. They earned 47 of 62 first-place votes from a national media panel to easily outdistance Gonzaga, the top preseason team the past two years.

Gonzaga received 12 first-place votes while No. 3 Houston had one and fourth-ranked Kentucky the other two. Houston has its highest preseason ranking since 1983, when the third of the Cougars’ Phi Slama Jama teams reached its second consecutive title game. Kentucky has its best preseason rank since 2019, when the season ended amid the pandemic.

There was a tie at No. 5 between the Jayhawks, who raised their latest national title banner inside Allen Fieldhouse earlier this month, and Big 12 rival Baylor, which raised its own championship banner the previous season.

It is the 10th time that North Carolina has been preseason No. 1, breaking a tie with Duke for the most in the history of the AP poll.

SOCCER

NEW YORK (AP) — Gabriel Pereira, Maxi Moralez and Heber had second-half goals and New York City FC beat Miami 3-0.

NYCFC, the reigning MLS champions, advances to play at Montreal on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Pereira opened the scoring in the 63rd minute and Moralez made it 2-0 six minutes later. Pereira was left wide open on a breakaway and Santiago Rodríguez found him for a calm finish off the crossbar. Rodriguez also had a back-heel assist on the goal by Moralez.

Heber took advantage of a poor back pass in second-half stoppage time and scored into an empty net.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Alan Velasco scored the game-winner in a shootout and Dallas advanced past Minnesota 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the MLS playoffs.

Dallas moves on to play at second-seeded Austin on Sunday in the Western Conference semifinals.

Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes dove to his right to deny Wil Trapp on Minnesota’s second penalty attempt.

The teams played two 15-minute overtime sessions after ending regulation tied at 1-all. Emanuel Reynoso opened the scoring in the 53rd minute for Minnesota. Facundo Quignon tied it in the 64th.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A few hours after scoring the winning goal in Paris Saint-Germain’s victory over Marseille in the French league, Neymar arrived in court in Spain on Monday to face a trial for alleged irregularities involving his transfer to Barcelona in 2013.

Neymar’s parents, former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu, and representatives of the Spanish club and Brazilian team Santos also appeared in court after a complaint brought by Brazilian investment group DIS regarding the amount of the player’s transfer.

The Brazil forward arrived at the court in Barcelona wearing sunglasses and a black suit and tie. Neymar’s mother and father, who also is his agent, were among those arriving alongside the player.

The defendants, who have denied wrongdoing, sat near each other to hear the opening arguments in the trial that comes nearly a month before the World Cup opens on Nov. 20 in Qatar, and is expected to last until the end of the month.

PARIS (AP) — Karim Benzema won the men’s Ballon d’Or for the first time after a brilliant season with Real Madrid capped by the Champions League and Spanish league titles.

Spanish player Alexia Putellas won the women’s trophy for the second straight year following another standout season with Barcelona.

Benzema had his best season ever at Madrid, being the top scorer in both leagues. He scored 44 times for Madrid, including 15 in Europe’s top competition, and equaled Raúl González as the club’s second-highest scorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Benzema, at 34, became the oldest winner since the first recipient in 1956, Stanley Matthews.

Putellas scored 42 goals and delivered 22 assists last season. She became the first player to win the award twice.

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

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up