Seattle’s Russell Wilson seeing specialist for finger injury
RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was seeing a hand specialist on Friday regarding his injured right middle finger suffered in the Thursday night loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll declined to go into many specifics regarding the injury until after Wilson saw a specialist in the Los Angeles area. Carroll said Wilson did have an initial set of X-rays after the 26-17 loss the Rams.
“I want him to go to the specialist and make sure he tells us,” Carroll said. “But there’s something going on. There’s definitely something going on and we’ve got to figure out what the extent of it is and what is the next step to deal with it.”
Wilson was injured in the third quarter when his fingers hit the arm of defensive tackle Aaron Donald on the follow through of a pass attempt. Wilson tried to play one more series and threw one more pass before giving way to Geno Smith in the fourth quarter.
Carroll said Wilson simply didn’t have the strength in the finger to control the ball as needed to throw.
“Nobody should question his toughness. Nobody should question his resolve to get in the game,” Carroll said. “He’d have gone in if he could have thrown the football and held on to it, he would have done it.”
Wilson has not missed a game in his career, starting all 149 in the regular season and 16 playoff games since being drafted by the Seahawks in 2012. He’s only missed a handful of plays during that time.
UCLA’s Emily Bessoir to miss upcoming season with ACL injury
LOS ANGELES — UCLA’s Emily Bessoir will miss the upcoming season after she tore her left ACL at practice.
The sophomore forward from Germany played in 22 of 23 games last season and started two. She averaged 7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds and earned Pac-12 all-freshmen honors.
Bessoir announced on social media that she got hurt this week.
“Although I’m not going to be on the court physically, know that I’m still there, cheering on and supporting my rockstar teammates,” she wrote. “I’ll be back…”
Coach Cori Close said she had expected a fitter Bessoir to take a major step forward this season.
“I have great confidence in how she’ll return and I know that she’ll be a major impact player for us this year, just in a different role,” Close said.
Irving could join Nets at practice after ruling from city
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving could join the Brooklyn Nets at practice this weekend after a ruling that their practice facility doesn’t fall under a New York coronavirus vaccination mandate.
The Nets were told Friday that the training center is considered a private facility. The city’s vaccine mandate requires pro athletes practicing or playing in public venues to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Irving still wouldn’t be able to play in home games if he doesn’t meet the vaccination requirement, but at least he can be with the Nets when they are practicing at home.
“My first kind of thought is that it’s positive,” coach Steve Nash said. “We have him around the team for a larger period of our season.”
Irving was listed as ineligible for the Nets’ exhibition home opener Friday against Milwaukee. But Nash said it was likely that the All-Star guard could be at their outdoor practice Saturday at Brooklyn Bridge Park and Sunday inside their facility was “hopefully even more likely.”
McKennie, Steffen, Robinson left off US roster for Panama
AUSTIN, Texas — Midfielder Weston McKennie, goalkeeper Zack Steffen and defender Antonee Robinson were left behind when the United States traveled to Panama on Friday for a World Cup qualifier.
McKennie has a sore right quadriceps after playing 90 minutes in the 2-0 victory over Jamaica on Thursday night. An MRI was negative.
Steffen plays for Manchester City and Robinson for Fulham, and they would have had to quarantine when returning to Britain next week because Panama is on the U.K.’s red list of nations with high rates of COVID-19.
The three players will head to Columbus, Ohio, where the U.S. team arrives Monday, a day after the game in Central America. The Americans play their third match of the FIFA window against Costa Rica at Lower.com Field on Oct. 13.
McKennie played 90 minutes in the U.S. qualifying opener, a 0-0 draw at El Salvador. He was held out of the 1-1 tie against Canada after violating team COVID-19 protocols, then was sent home before the 4-1 victory at Honduras.
Swiatek easily wins at Indian Wells; Murray, Raducanu begin
INDIAN WELLS — Iga Swiatek needed just 71 minutes to dispatch Petra Martic 6-1, 6-3 on Friday in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.
The last time the tournament was played in 2019, Swiatek lost in qualifying. Now, she’s the No. 2 seed and the 2020 French Open champion.
Swiatek won nine of the first 10 games against Martic before the Polish star got broken twice and fell behind 0-3 in the second set. Swiatek rallied to win the next six games and close out the match.
“In 2019, I wasn’t playing that confident, but I’m really happy that times have changed now,” Swiatek said. “In the second set, I lost focus for one game and she broke me pretty fast, so I knew I just had to keep going and not stop for a second time.”
No. 4 seed Elina Svitolina beat Tereza Martineova 6-2, 7-5. Ninth-seeded Anatasia Pavlyuchenkova topped Madison Keys 6-3, 6-1.
No. 11 seed Simona Halep beat Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Victoria Azarenka advanced via walkover when Magda Linette quit trailing 7-5, 3-0. Shelby Rogers routed Kristina Kucova 6-2, 6-2.
Former men’s No. 1 Andy Murray, U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu and runner-up Leyla Fernanda played night matches.
On the men’s side, Americans Jenson Brooksby and Ernesto Escobedo won their first-round matches. Brooksby beat Cem Ilkel 7-6 (5), 6-4, and Escobedo defeated Holger Rune 6-4, 6-1.
Broncos hoping to play Teddy Bridgewater at Pittsburgh
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Teddy Bridgewater is trending toward starting Sunday against the Steelers one week after suffering a concussion in the Denver Broncos’ loss to Baltimore.
He could be without his top target, however. Wide receiver Courtland Sutton turned an ankle at practice Friday and was added to the injury report as questionable.
The Broncos began the season with enviable depth at wide receiver, which even allowed them to trade Trinity Benson to the Lions. But they’ve lost Jerry Jeudy (high ankle sprain) until November and KJ Hamler (ACL) for the season.
Sutton is tied for the team lead with 18 receptions for 257 yards in his comeback from a torn ACL in Week 2 last season.
Bridgewater was cleared for a full practice Friday and met with medical staff afterward. He hopes to get the green light Saturday morning before the Broncos (3-1) fly to Pittsburgh (1-3).
Panthers’ McCaffrey doubtful for Sunday’s game vs Eagles
The Panthers have listed running back Christian McCaffrey as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The news comes after McCaffrey practiced all three days on a limited basis this week. He missed last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys with a strained hamstring. If McCaffrey doesn’t play he will have missed 15 of Carolina’s last 21 games due to injury.
“Nothing much more to add,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said Friday. “He’s been going. It’s doubtful he’ll play on Sunday. That could change. I’m not going to play any games.’’
The team has also listed left tackle Cam Erving (neck) and linebacker Shaq Thompson (foot) as out for Sunday.
Rhule said earlier in the week the Panthers have several options at left tackle, including starting rookie Brady Christensen, veteran Trent Scott or even moving right tackle Taylor Moton to the left side. It’s unclear who will start for Thompson.
Browns star Garrett misses second practice, expects to play
BEREA, Ohio — Browns star defensive end and NFL sacks leader Myles Garrett expects to play Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers despite missing his second practice of the week Friday due to soreness.
“I’m confident I’m going to play,” he said.
Garrett is listed as questionable — 50/50 chance of playing — by the Browns (3-1), who are dealing with numerous injuries across their second-ranked defense and continue to downplay quarterback Baker Mayfield’s shoulder injury.
While his teammates went through the portion of practice open to media members, Garrett worked on his conditioning to the side with starting rookie cornerback Greg Newsome, who will miss his second straight game with a calf injury.
Mercury’s Nurse out for rest of playoffs with torn ACL
PHOENIX — Phoenix Mercury starting wing Kia Nurse will miss the remainder of the playoffs after tearing her ACL in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals.
The Mercury announced an MRI revealed the tear Friday, a few hours before the Mercury faced Las Vegas with a spot in the WNBA Finals on the line.
Nurse was injured 39 seconds into the game in Phoenix when she went down hard after getting her shot blocked by A’Ja Wilson. The Aces went on to win the game 93-76 to force a decisive Game 5 in Las Vegas.
Phoenix also was without guard Sophie Cunningham after she strained her calf in Game 3.
Nurse started all 32 games during the regular season, averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds.
NHL tracking pucks this season, opening up gambling options
DETROIT — The latest generation of NHL pucks have six circles on both sides covering tubes that allow infrared cameras to constantly connect the vulcanized rubber with a puck and player tracking system.
After a bumpy start last season with microchipped pucks that didn’t slide right, the latest versions have worked so well that at least one coach wasn’t sure if they were in play yet.
“I’m not aware that we have used those pucks yet this season,” Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “I wish we would so we could feel them.”
That seems to be a good sign. The NHL attempted to track pucks last January, but took them off the ice six days into the season.
“We went away from it because the puck didn’t glide right,” Blashill recalled. “It didn’t feel like a real puck. Obviously, that’s the trick. I think puck tracking is a great thing that will really help the analytics a lot.”
That is indeed the key: Data generated by the pucks and from sensors about the size of a thumb on the backs of players will be used by teams to develop their players and to scout opponents. Passing, puck possession, takeaways, giveaways and more can be accurately recorded without the potential subjectivity of a scoring crew in an arena.
Reported racist comment from Jon Gruden draws NFL rebuke
A report that Jon Gruden used a racist comment about NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith in an email 10 years ago drew a strong and quick rebuke Friday from the NFL.
A Wall Street Journal story noted that Gruden, then working for ESPN and now coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, referred in a racist way to Smith’s facial features.
“The email from Jon Gruden denigrating DeMaurice Smith is appalling, abhorrent and wholly contrary to the NFL’s values,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. “We condemn the statement and regret any harm that its publication may inflict on Mr. Smith or anyone else.”
The league is looking into the matter and a person familiar with that probe told The Associated Press that disciplinary action is possible for Gruden. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of any league probe are not made public.
“Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin tires,” Gruden wrote in the email reviewed by the newspaper.
Gruden’s comment in an email to then-Washington Football Team President Bruce Allen came during the 2011 lockout of the players by the NFL. Gruden told the newspaper he was angry about the lockout during labor negotiations and he didn’t trust the direction the union was taking. He also apologized for the remark, the Journal reported.
During a review of emails regarding workplace misconduct at the Washington Football Team that was completed during the summer, “the league was informed of the existence of emails that raised issues beyond the scope of that investigation,” McCarthy added.
Jin Young Ko leads LPGA Tour’s foggy Founders Cup
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. — Jin Young Ko had a three-stroke lead with four holes left Friday when second-round play in the LPGA Tour’s Cognizant Founders Cup was suspended because of darkness.
Play was delayed at the start because of fog for the second straight day at Donald Ross-designed Mountain Ridge, with 63 players unable to finish.
“In front nine, I had a lot of miss shot, but I made a lot of good saves, so it’s fine,” Ko said. “I had a lot of good opportunity for birdies and left four holes for tomorrow. I will just take a rest tonight and then I will get better for tomorrow.”
The second-ranked Ko was 10 under. She opened with an 8-under 63 on Thursday for a three-shot lead. She has 11 consecutive rounds in the 60s, three short of the record that Annika Sorenstam set in 2005.
In six starts since losing the top spot in the world to Nelly Korda at the KPMG Women’s PGA, Ko has won twice, been runner-up and had two other finishes in the top 10. The 26-year-old South Korean star had control of the ShopRite LPGA Classic last week in southern New Jersey until she missed a series of putts from the 10-foot range, including the last hole to finish one shot behind Celine Boutier.
Lindsey Weaver, So Yeon Ryu and Perrine Delacour were tied for second at 7 under. Weaver shot a 67, while Ryu had four holes left, and Delacour seven to go.
All in: Panthers, Barkov agree on 8-year, $80M extension
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov was just a teenager when he arrived in Florida from Finland to start his NHL career back in 2013, spent a few weeks in his sunny new surroundings and came to the following conclusion.
“I could live here,” Barkov said.
He hasn’t left since. And the Panthers have ensured he won’t be leaving anytime soon.
Choosing loyalty over the chance to be an unrestricted free agent next summer and play somewhere else, Barkov has agreed to an eight-year extension with the Panthers, the team announced Friday. The deal is worth $80 million, with a $10 million average cap value, two people with direct knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press on Friday. They spoke on of anonymity because financial terms were not announced.
UConn coach positive for COVID-19, will miss UMass game
STORRS, Conn. — UConn interim coach Lou Spanos, two assistant coaches and two Huskies players have tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Saturday’s game against UMass, the school announced Friday.
UConn said Spanos, offensive coordinator Frank Giufer, tight ends coach Corey Edsall, senior offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark and freshman offensive lineman Will Meyer are all in a 10-day quarantine as a result of positive tests.
The school says all five are fully vaccinated and doing well.
Two unvaccinated team members were identified as close contacts and also immediately quarantined. Their names were not released.
All other players who were identified as close contacts are fully vaccinated, have produced multiple negative tests and will be able to play Saturday when the Huskies (0-6) visit the Minutemen (0-5), the school said.
Defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter, who served as Delaware’s interim coach for five games in 2016, will assume head coaching duties during Spanos’ absence.
LSU ends vaccination, testing requirements for Tiger Stadium
BATON ROUGE, La. — Citing the state’s sharp declines in COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations, Louisiana State University announced Friday it will no longer require proof of coronavirus vaccinations or negative tests to enter Tiger Stadium for football games.
The change will start with LSU’s next home game, Oct. 16 against Florida. While the vaccination and testing requirements are ending, fans still will have to wear masks in any indoor areas of the stadium as required under Gov. John Bel Edwards’ statewide mask mandate.
Dr. Catherine O’Neal, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital and a coronavirus advisor to the university, said the state is seeing fewer than 5% of COVID-19 tests returning positive statewide as Louisiana exits its fourth and worst surge of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 hospitalizations that once topped 3,000 in mid-August have steeply fallen, with the state health department reporting 592 people hospitalized with the coronavirus illness Friday.
Netherlands and Germany battle to wins in WCup qualifying
The Netherlands is back in control of its World Cup qualifying group but hardly in convincing style.
A 1-0 win over Latvia with a volley from Davy Klaassen lacked the swagger from last month’s 6-1 dismantling of Turkey. Still, it was enough to build a two-point lead at the top of Europe Group G as second-placed Norway, missing injured striker Erling Haaland, drew with Turkey 1-1.
Other big teams had to work for their wins, too. Germany was a goal down before recovering to beat Romania 2-1. The 2018 World Cup runner-up, Croatia, had only a one-goal lead over Cyprus with 11 minutes to go before pulling away to win 3-0.
Only the group winners directly qualify for the World Cup. Second-placed finishers face a playoff.
NFL: Cowboys lineman Collins bribed drug-testing official
FRISCO, Texas — The NFL accused Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman La’el Collins of trying to bribe a drug-testing official before the player was suspended five games for a violation of the substance-abuse policy, according to court documents released Friday.
The allegation surfaced in a federal court case after Collins sued the league, its management council and Commissioner Roger Goodell while seeking an injunction to stop the suspension with two games remaining.
The NFL said the person who collects specimens for testing wrote in his notes that in November 2020, Collins asked to meet with him “man to man” and said he felt he was “being tested too much because (they) were seeing each other every day.”
The collector said Collins asked if there was something “we could do” and offered $5,000, and later $10,000, according to the NFL’s filing in response to Collins’ request for an injunction.
Player agent Peter Schaffer, one of Collins’ representatives, strongly denied the allegations of bribery against Collins, who was recovering from hip surgery at the time and didn’t play in 2020.
Barcelona to play away from Camp Nou during stadium overhaul
BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona will play at another stadium for up to a year when the club starts its planned modernization of Camp Nou stadium, president Joan Laporta said Friday.
Laporta said that he wants to begin the long-delayed overhaul of Camp Nou in the summer of 2022. He added that the work will last three to four years, but that the team will only need to find another home for a maximum of 12 months.
“We are considering different possibilities, but the strongest candidate is the Johan Cruyff Stadium,” Laporta told Catalan radio Rac1 on Friday.
Johan Cruyff Stadium is where the women’s team plays and forms part of the club’s training complex on the outskirts of Barcelona.
With a capacity to seat only 6,000 spectators, Laporta said the club wants to increase that to 50,000 if the men’s team plays there.
Another option, Laporta said, would be for the team to play at the city’s Montjuic Stadium. The municipal facility hosted the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Summer Olympics and was home to Barcelona rival Espanyol for several years.
Camp Nou is already Europe’s largest soccer stadium with 99,000 seats. The club wants to increase its capacity to 110,000 while also refurbishing its surrounding area, which includes a pavilion for the club’s other sports, the museum and stores.
Leafs, Senators, Raptors allowed to host capacity crowds
TORONTO — Ontario’s major indoor professional sports teams have been given the green light to host capacity crowds.
The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors will be able to play in front of full arenas when their seasons start this month, Ontario Sports Minister Lisa MacLeod announced Friday.
The indoor capacity limits will be lifted in the arenas beginning Saturday at 12:01 a.m. Proof of vaccination will be required to attend.
The move leaves the Vancouver Canucks as the only NHL team without full-capacity crowds. COVID-19 protocols in British Columbia still limit indoor crowds to 50% of capacity.
Fire at Andorra’s stadium a day before England match
ANDORRA — A fire broke out at Andorra’s national stadium on Friday, a day before England plays the tiny nation there in a World Cup qualifier.
The government of Andorra said the blaze was put out by firefighters not long after it started.
The president of the Andorran Football Association, Félix Álvarez, said they were hoping the incident would not stop the game from going ahead as planned.
“The main thing is that there weren’t casualties or injuries,” Álvarez said. “There is only material damage. We are working on it so the game can be played tomorrow. Planning continues same as before.”
The fire consumed a lower part of the stadium very close to the touchline near midfield between the two dugouts. Billowing dark smoke streamed up from red flames under a platform for television cameras.
England had just trained on the artificial surface and left when they fire started.
The national stadium for the principality tucked in the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France can hold 3,300 spectators.
Jets sign defensive end Franklin-Myers to contract extension
WARE, England — The New York Jets rewarded defensive end John Franklin-Myers with a four-year contract extension. He just wishes his young son was there to share the big news with him.
Franklin-Myers immediately wanted to speak to 2-year-old Kyler after signing the deal that will keep him with the Jets through the 2025 season.
“He didn’t get a chance to be there, but I just wanted to talk to him,” Franklin-Myers said at a press conference Friday at the team hotel outside London.
Franklin-Myers, who was cut by the Los Angeles Rams before the 2019 season, then paused, bowed his head and shed some tears.
All eyes on Eichel and ongoing stalemate with Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jack Eichel has switched agents, been stripped of his captaincy and likely played his final game for the Buffalo Sabres.
Eichel’s future, however, remains in limbo due to a stalemate over how to treat a herniated disk that has sidelined him since March.
What began with Eichel revealing in May he felt “a disconnect” between him and the team over treating the injury has five months later developed into an open sore with the new season opening next week. The situation this week alone drew attention from the NHL’s highest level, its players and legal scholars debating whether Eichel is being treated fairly.
Without fixing blame, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman weighed in by calling it “a terrible situation,” during an interview on Sportsnet 590-The Fan radio in Toronto. Vegas goalie Robin Lehner, a former Sabre, took to Twitter and questioned the NHL and the Sabres by writing: “Is it good to keep a generational player out of the league? His body his choice. Do what’s right.”
Lehner then took on the NHLPA by tagging the union in a note asking why the union and fellow players remained silent in defending Eichel’s freedom of choice.
Sam Burns back at it and takes early 36-hole lead in Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Sam Burns won the Sanderson Farms Championship five days ago and is trying to put it behind him. He is playing as though last week never ended.
Burns made a pair of 6-foot par putts on the only two greens he missed in regulation, ran off eight birdies for an 8-under 63 and grabbed a two-shot lead among the early starters Friday in the Shriners Children’s Open.
Not only has Burns won twice in the last six months, he also lost in a playoff at a World Golf Championship and finished one shot out of a playoff at Riviera this year. He is comfortable at the top, and it’s showing.
Key to this week was not to let last week linger.
“What we tried to do is just last week is last week,” he said. “This week is Shriners and preparing for this week, trying to make sure Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday that we are giving ourselves the best opportunity to play well this week.
“Obviously, incredible honored that I won last week and such a fun time, but just trying to kind of leave that there.”
Burns was at 13-under 129, two shots ahead of a group of five players that included Matthew Wolff (67), who lost in a playoff last year at the TPC Summerlin. Also in the group at 11-under 131 were Honda Classic winner Matt Jones (67), Adam Hadwin and Andrew Putnam (each with 64) and Slovakian silver medalist Rory Sabbatini (66).
Ex-NBA guard Smith set to play 1st golf tourney for N.C. A&T
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former NBA guard J.R. Smith is set to make his debut next week as a golfer for North Carolina A&T.
The school announced Smith will play his first collegiate tournament Monday and Tuesday at the Phoenix Invitational hosted by Elon. The tournament will take place at the par-71, 6,867-yard Alamance Country Club golf course.
Smith enrolled at N.C. A&T over the summer after 16 seasons in the NBA and joined the golf team as a freshman walk-on. All team golfers must qualify for each tournament in practice unless he has finished first or second in the previous tournament. Smith qualified for next week’s tournament by one stroke.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown tests positive for COVID-19
BOSTON — Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and will miss the team’s exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors.
The Celtics said he was asymptomatic and entering isolation.
The third overall pick in the 2016 draft, Brown averaged nearly 25 points and six rebounds last season.
Asked about vaccines at media day last month, Brown said: “I have my own thoughts about it. I respect my teammate’s decisions and things like that. I know everybody has their own opinion on it. I think it’s a personal choice.”
Devils sign Frederik Gauthier to 2-way contract after tryout
NEWARK. N.J. — The New Jersey Devils signed forward Frederik Gauthier to a two-way contract Friday after he attended training camp on a tryout agreement.
The Devils said Gauthier would earn $800,000 at the NHL level and $175,000 at the AHL level. General manager Tom Fitzgerald said Gauthier is guaranteed to receive at least $200,000.
Gauthier, 26, skated in two games with the Arizona Coyotes and 18 games with Tucson in the AHL last season. He previously played parts of five seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Gauthier has 13 goals and 18 assists in 170 career regular-season NHL contests. The Canadian has appeared in eight playoff games.
Hamilton tops both practice sessions at Turkish GP
Racing with a new engine on Friday, Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time in both practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix.
The championship leader led the first session ahead of title rival Max Verstappen and the second from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who drove impressively in both.
“The (engine) changes were OK,” Hamilton said. “I’m not sure it felt as good in the second session.”
Hamilton is F1’s record holder with 101 pole positions and he needs a strong performance in Saturday’s qualifying to limit the damage from a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change.
Xavier Foster no longer on Iowa State basketball team
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State announced Friday that center Xavier Foster is no longer a member of the basketball team as police investigate a sexual assault claim.
Coach T.J. Otzelberger said in a statement that the program holds its student-athletes up to “high standards” on and off the court, the Des Moines Register reported.
“After much consideration,” he said, “I have decided that this is necessary as we continue to build our culture.”
Foster has not been charged with a crime, but Ames police spokesperson Jason Tuttle said that he is a “target” of an investigation into an 18-year-old woman’s report that she was sexually assaulted at an October 2020 party. A search warrant naming Foster was executed in June, and Foster’s DNA was collected through cheek swabs.
Tuttle said that he couldn’t discuss specifics about why Foster’s DNA wasn’t collected until eight months after the party.
Rahm a shot off the lead entering weekend at Spanish Open
MADRID — Jon Rahm had a lackluster second round at the Spanish Open on Friday, carding a 4-under 67 to stay one shot behind leader Wil Besseling going into the weekend.
Rahm, who opened with a 63, was one shot ahead of fellow Spaniard Adri Arnaus and first-round leader Ross McGowan of England.
Rahm made two birdies in his first nine holes and finished with an eagle on the par-5 14th, a bogey on the par-4 16th, and a hard-fought birdie on the last hole after hooking his tee shot behind the packed grandstands near the 18th green.
“I made a really bad swing, I was trying to hit it so hard,” said Rahm, who was able to hit it close after getting relief from the grandstands. “I was looking for a chance for birdie, but hitting it to almost tap-in was a real bonus.”
His tee shot went wayward after he was bothered by noise from the huge crowds following him at Clube de Campo Villa de Madrid.
“It is wonderful how many fans we have out here and it’s great that they are so passionate about it. I just wished they would remember to put their phones in silence, that’s it,” he said.
“I mean, for two days every single shot there’s four or five cameras going off. They are all so golf hungry, and it’s great, I love playing in front of them, it’s just sometimes you are by the par putt and there’s cameras going off. I wouldn’t like to lose focus because of something like that.”
Several thousand fans have been trying to see Rahm up close in his return home after nearly two years. The U.S. Open champion and No. 1-ranked golfer in the world is the two-time defending champion at the Spanish Open and has a chance to tie Spanish great Seve Ballesteros as a three-time winner.
Andy Murray recovers missing ‘stinky’ shoes, wedding ring
INDIAN WELLS — Andy Murray has recovered his “stinky” sneakers and wedding ring that went missing after the former top-ranked tennis player left them under his car to air them out.
The three-time major champion posted a video to Instagram on Thursday seeking help to find the items. The ring was tied to his shoelaces.
Murray’s caption to accompany his plea read: “Yes I know I’m an idiot and in hindsight it seems like a terrible idea but I need some help.”
Homecoming game at Detroit-area school scratched; no refs
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — The football homecoming game at a suburban Detroit school was canceled because of a lack of referees.
Mount Clemens was supposed to play Friday night against Potterville, a school southwest of Lansing.
Homecoming games are a big date on any school’s schedule, with community events and other traditions.
“My boys are really hurt, especially the seniors,” Mount Clemens coach Marcus Cribbs told The Macomb Daily.
Indeed, senior Eazari Chestang told WDIV-TV: “This game really meant something to us.”
The school plans to hold a homecoming dance Saturday and other events next week. The high school and middle school were closed Friday because of an unrelated threat.
Phil Mickelson, Matt Gogel share Furyk & Friends lead
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Phil Mickelson shot a 6-under 66 on Friday for a share of the first-round lead with Matt Gogel in the PGA Tour Champions’ Constellation Furyk & Friends Invitational.
Trying to win for the third time in four career starts on the 50-and-over tour, Mickelson had seven birdies and a bogey at Donald Ross-designed Timuquana Country Club in the round interrupted by a rain delay.
“Because of the rain, a little bit of some balls that would plug or maybe get a little mud, but it was really in great shape,” Mickelson said. “They did a great job of getting the course ready, and draining it so quickly for us to go back out and play, that was really nice.”
Mickelson played the front nine in 5-under 31 and added birdies on the two back-nine par 5s before dropping a shot on the par-4 18th.
“I wasn’t quite on when we got back out there, I just was a little bit off,” Mickelson said. “I hit a few wayward shots. I just didn’t feel great, but fought to for finish the round off and try to regroup for tomorrow. It’s a good start, though. I didn’t do any damage and made some good birdies on that front nine and I’ll try to get that level of play back for tomorrow.”
The 51-year-old Mickelson won the PGA Championship in May at Kiawah Island for his 45th PGA Tour title and sixth major championship. Last year, he opened his senior career with consecutive victories in Missouri and Virginia. Lefty tied for 20th in Tucson, Arizona, in February in his lone Champions event this year.
Judge delays depositions for Ferentzes in racial bias case
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s head football coach, Kirk Ferentz, and offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will not have to spend the team’s bye week answering questions from lawyers for Black former players who say they suffered discrimination, a federal judge ruled.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Helen Adams granted a motion Thursday to quash subpoenas that had asked the longtime Hawkeyes coach and his son to appear for depositions on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20. She said the depositions can be delayed until the football season is over in January, as the Ferentzes and lawyers for the university had requested.
FIFA plans to postpone Club World Cup until 2022
LONDON — FIFA plans to postpone the Club World Cup until early next year due to hosting challenges linked to the pandemic, people familiar with the planning said.
Coronavirus restrictions led to Japan withdrawing from staging the seven-team tournament this December, and South Africa then abandoned a bid due to the need to get more of the country vaccinated.
FIFA is now exploring staging the event in January or February, the people told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing talks.
Qatar is an option — like in February when Bayern Munich won the delayed 2020 edition in Doha — to help the Gulf nation test venues for the men’s national teams’ World Cup that starts in November 2022.
Algeria, Egypt back to winning in World Cup qualifying
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Riyad Mahrez scored twice as African champion Algeria romped to a 6-1 win over Niger to return to winning ways in World Cup qualifying on Friday.
Egypt took top spot in its group from Libya by edging their encounter 1-0.
Ivory Coast claimed the other most significant result of the day as Max-Alain Gradel thumped in a volley to send the Ivorians on their way to a 3-0 victory in Malawi.
Manchester City’s Mahrez opened the scoring for Algeria in the 27th minute in Blida but the other five Algerian goals came in the second half, including Mahrez’s second from the penalty spot.
Islam Slimani also scored a late brace as the Algerians rebounded from a draw in their last qualifier in Burkina Faso. Algeria and Burkina Faso are tied on seven points at the top of Group A after Burkina Faso won in Djibouti 4-0.
Mohamed Salah was back on home soil with his national team after missing Egypt’s first home game of the qualifying campaign because of British travel regulations, which would have forced him to quarantine for 10 days before returning to action with Liverpool. Those rules have now been eased for travelers from Egypt.
