MLB-TRADES
Cardinals get veteran lefty Jon Lester from rebuilding Nats
UNDATED (AP) — The Washington Nationals completed their final trade of a dizzying sell-off, sending veteran left-hander Jon Lester to the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline. Lester becomes the second experienced lefty to join St. Louis, which also acquired J.A Happ from the Minnesota Twins.
The Nationals have entered a full rebuild less than two years after winning the World Series, also trading away Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Brad Hand, Daniel Hudson, Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison in a 24-hour span. The 37-year-old Lester was 3-5 with a 5.02 ERA in 16 starts during his first season with Washington.
In other trade action:
—The New York Mets have acquired flashy shortstop Javier Báez and pitcher Trevor Williams from the Chicago Cubs for outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong. Báez, a two-time All-Star and 2020 Gold Glove winner, gives the NL East leaders an immediate fill-in for injured buddy Francisco Lindor at shortstop. Báez, who can become a free agent after the season, is batting .248 with 22 home runs and 65 RBIs. He also leads the National League with 131 strikeouts and has made 18 errors in 88 games.
— The playoff-chasing Toronto Blue Jays have won the pursuit for All-Star pitcher José Berríos, acquiring the Minnesota right-hander for two minor leaguers. The Twins got infielder/outfielder Austin Martin and righty Simeon Woods Richardson for their top pitcher. Berríos was 7-5 with a 3.48 ERA in 20 starts for the Twins this season, and attracted interest from several contenders. Toronto began the day at 51-48, in the fifth spot chasing two AL wild-card slots.
—The New York Yankees have acquired Los Angeles Angels starter Andrew Heaney, adding a pitcher after making two big trades for sluggers. The Yankees got the 30-year-old lefty and cash for minor league right-handers Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero. New York began the day at 53-48, fourth in the AL wild-card race for two spots.
—The Indians capped a whirlwind few hours before the trading deadline by sending outfielder Jordan Luplow and right-hander DJ Johnson to the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league pitcher Peyton Battenfield. It was Cleveland’s third trade of the day and fourth in 24 hours after they sent second baseman Cesar Hernandez to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
— The Braves again bolstered their depleted outfield by acquiring Adam Duvall from the Miami Marlins for catcher Alex Jackson. The 32-year-old Duvall is returning to Atlanta, where he played parts of the last three seasons. Atlanta’s playoff hopes were hurt when it lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury on July 10.
— The Chicago White Sox have acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the crosstown Cubs. The move should should give the AL Central-leading White Sox a fearsome bullpen for their playoff push. The White Sox sent second baseman Nick Madrigal to the Cubs along with right-handed reliever Codi Heuer.
— The NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers have made another move to boost their roster for a playoff push, acquiring left-handed reliever Daniel Norris from the Detroit Tigers for minor league pitcher Reese Olson. The move comes two days after the Brewers added All-Star third baseman Eduardo Escobar in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 28-year-old Norris is 1-3 with a 5.89 ERA in 38 relief appearances this season, but he hasn’t allowed a run or a hit over his last five outings.
—Freddy Galvis is back with the Philadelphia Phillies, returning to the franchise where he started his career in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles acquired minor league right-hander Tyler Burch from the Phillies for Galvis and cash. The 31-year-old Galvis has been Baltimore’s starting shortstop for most of the season. He’s batting .249 with nine homers and 26 RBIs in 72 games and is currently on the 10-day injured list with a right quadriceps strain. The Phillies also acquired pitchers Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy from the Texas Rangers on Friday.
— The Baltimore Orioles have traded right-hander Shawn Armstrong to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash. The right-handed reliever has spent parts of seven seasons in the majors. The Rays have been both buyers and sellers ahead of the trade deadline, acquiring slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins and shipping right-hander Diego Castillo to the Seattle Mariners for reliever JT Chargois and a minor league infielder. Tampa Bay trails first-place Boston by 1 1/2 games in the AL East and leads the AL wild-card race.
MLB-NEWS
Castro banned 30 games under MLB policy; Nats to release him
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals infielder Starlin Castro has been suspended for 30 games without pay and fined an undisclosed amount for violating Major League Baseball’s policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Castro will also be ineligible for the postseason under the terms of the suspension and will be required to undergo evaluation and treatment.
Shortly after MLB announced the suspension, the Nationals said they would release Castro when it concludes.
The 31-year-old Castro is a 12-year major league veteran and four-time All-Star who was in his second season with Washington.
OLYMPICS
Djokovik can’t win ‘Golden Slam’
TOKYO (AP) — There will be no Golden Slam for Novak Djokovic.
The top-ranked Serb lost to Alexander Zverev of Germany 1-6, 3-6, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament.
Djokovic was attempting to become the first man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic gold in the same year. He won the Australian and French Opens as well as Wimbledon this year and needed the Olympic and U.S. Open titles to complete the collection.
Steffi Graf in 1988 remains the only tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam.
In other Olympic action:
— The Tokyo games have their first individual swimming world record. Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa won the women’s 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 18.95 seconds. The United States claimed the other two medals. Lilly King set a blistering pace early in the race and held on for a silver in 2:19.92. Annie Lazor grabbed bronze in 2:20.84.
— American swimmer Caeleb Dressel is the top qualifier in the men’s 50-meter freestyle preliminaries at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Dressel touched in 21.32 seconds to lead the field heading into Saturday’s semifinals.
— Emma McKeon of Australia is the fastest qualifier in the women’s 50-meter freestyle heats at the Tokyo Olympics. American Simone Manuel, the silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Games, advanced in 11th.
— American backstroke star Ryan Murphy suggested that his Olympic races were “probably not clean,” seeming to take aim at Russian swimmers who beat him in two events. Murphy made the comments after taking the silver medal behind Evgeny Rylov in the 200-meter backstroke. Three days ago, he settled for bronze in the 100 back, touching after both Rylov and another Russian, Kliment Kolesnikov.
— The U.S. Olympic mixed relay team has been reinstated after originally being disqualified and will compete in Saturday’s final. The team had been DQ’d for what officials said was an illegal pass. The U.S. team appealed and was reinstated and placed directly into the final. The decision could give Allyson Felix a chance to win her record-setting 10th Olympic medal.
— Megan Rapinoe converted the deciding penalty in a shootout and the United States advanced to the semifinals of the women’s Olympic soccer tournament 4-2 following a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands. The United States will next face Canada in the semifinals in Kashima on Monday.
— A’ja Wilson scored 20 points and Breanna Stewart added 15 to help the U.S. beat Japan 86-69 in the women’s basketball tournament. The U.S. has now won 51 consecutive games going back to the bronze medal game in the 1992 Olympics.
— In the baseball opener for the U.S. team, speedskating silver medalist Eddy Alvarez put the U.S. ahead with the first of his two RBI doubles, and the Americans beat Israel 8-1. Tyler Austin hit a two-run homer, doubled twice and drove in three runs in his home ballpark.
— American beach volleyball players Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne have lost for the first time in Tokyo. The U.S. men fell to a duo from Qatar — but Gibb and Bourne had already clinched a spot in the round of 16.
— Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman have moved on to the Olympic beach volleyball knockout round after having just a little bit of trouble against the Netherlands. They pulled away in a tiebreaking set to beat a winless Dutch pair.
— U.S. women’s water polo captain Maggie Steffens broke the Olympic scoring record with a goal in the third period against the Russian Olympic Committee. Steffens was all alone in front for her 48th career goal in the Olympics, snapping a tie with Italy’s Tania Di Mario for the top spot. Steffens scored again on the next possession to help the U.S. open a commanding 13-3 lead.
— American BMX racer Connor Fields is awake, stable and awaiting further medical evaluation at the hospital, according to a statement issued by the chief U.S. Olympic medical officer. Fields was injured in a violent crash on the first lap of his qualifying heat at the Tokyo Olympics. The reigning gold medalist slammed into the turn coming off a jump and was hit by two other riders.
— Japan has broken its own record for gold medals at a single Olympic Games. The host nation still has nine days of competition to go. A gold medal in fencing was the 17th won by Japan in these Olympics.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT
With college sports in flux, NCAA set to overhaul itself
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA Board of Governors is calling for a constitutional convention in November.
The goal is to launch dramatic reform in the governance of college sports. The NCAA said it wants to “reimagine” how to more effectively manage the needs of its more than 450,000 athletes at more than 1,100 schools. The willingness to discuss an overhaul of the NCAA comes about a month after the Supreme Court ruled against it in an antitrust case. It threw open the door for more legal challenges to the NCAA’s rules.
NFL-NEWS
NFL allowing some unvaccinated players to unmask at practice
UNDATED (AP) — The NFL is updating its COVID-19 protocols and no longer requiring participating unvaccinated players to wear masks during outdoor practice sessions.
In a memo to the 32 teams sent by the NFL Management Council and obtained by The Associated Press, the league said that beginning with the stretching portion of the workout through the end of practice, such players now can work unmasked. Once the practice concludes, they must put on a mask. The same will be true for practices in a team’s “bubble,” the indoor practice facility.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
— Tom Brady says his surgically repaired knee feels good and he’s happy to be back to work with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The seven-time Super Bowl champion revealed recently that he played all of last season with a torn medial collateral ligament that required surgery. Brady has shed the black sleeve he’s worn since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in 2008 and practicing without it.
— Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, who has requested a trade via Instagram, did not practice Friday because of an ankle injury. Howard, an All-Pro selection in 2020 after leading the NFL in interceptions with 10, jogged off the field after the team’s warmup Thursday before resurfacing some 40 minutes later and watching the end of practice from the sideline. Howard took to Instagram on Tuesday night to request a trade over his displeasure about his contract.
—Zach Wilson began his first training camp practice on a good note by heaving a pretty 40-yard pass to fellow rookie Elijah Moore for a big gain. The New York Jets quarterback spent much of the rest of his day shaking off the rust in a mostly shaky performance Friday after signing his contract Thursday.
— The Indianapolis Colts practiced Friday without two injured starters: quarterback Carson Wentz and center Ryan Kelly. Offensive coordinator Marcus Brady says Wentz injured his foot late in practice Thursday. It’s not clear when Wentz will return because Brady says he is still being evaluated. Kelly has been diagnosed with a hyperextended elbow and is expected to miss a couple weeks.
CFL-OBIT-SPIEGEL
Sidney Spiegel, co-owner of CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, dies
MONTREAL (AP) — Sidney Spiegel, a co-owner of the Montreal Alouettes who never got to see his team play because of the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season, has died.
He died Wednesday in Toronto, and his death was confirmed by the league and the Alouettes. His age was not disclosed but he was listed as 89 when he and son-in-law Gary Stern bought the Alouettes from the CFL in January 2020. The CFL purchased the Alouettes in 2019. The club had been previously owned by American businessman Robert Wetenhall from 1997 to the time of its sale to the league. The CFL canceled the 2020 season because of the pandemic and is scheduled to begin a 14-game season Aug. 5. Montreal opens Aug. 14 in Edmonton.
NBA-NEWS
Bucks GM: No knee procedure necessary for Antetokounmpo
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst says Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) doesn’t need any type of offseason procedure for the left knee that the two-time MVP hyperextended during the team’s NBA title run.
Antetokounmpo hurt his knee in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. He sat out the last two games of that series but came back later in the postseason and earned NBA Finals MVP honors.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
Jazz deal Derrick Favors to Thunder for cash, 2027 pick
— The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired forward Derrick Favors and a future first-round draft pick from the Utah Jazz in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and cash considerations.
The 6-foot-10 Favors is a 12-year NBA veteran. He has averaged 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.23 blocks in 24.7 minutes per game.
NHL-NEWS
Werenski signing heartens Blue Jackets in a year of change
UNDATED (AP) — The Blue Jackets hope signing defenseman Zach Werenski to a long-term contract extension will help dispel the notion the club isn’t able to retain elite talent. Werenski was locked in with a six-year, $57.5 million extension that will keep him in Columbus through 2027-28 and make him one of the league’s highest-paid defenders. Werenski says he saw no reason to leave after spending the first five years of his career in the city. His deal came after veteran forward Boone Jenner was inked to a four-year, $15 million extension.