TENNIS
NEW YORK (AP) - Rafael Nadal and Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu are U.S. Open champions.
Nadal edged Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 to win his fourth U.S. Open title and 19th Grand Slam trophy overall.
The second-seeded Nadal’s victory Sunday moves him within one major championship of Roger Federer for the most by a man in tennis history.
This one did not come easily, even though Nadal took the first two sets and was ahead by a break at 3-2 in the third.
Medvedev came back by shifting styles and breaking Nadal in the last game of each of the next two sets to force a fifth.
But Medvedev couldn’t quite become the first man in 70 years to win a U.S. Open final after trailing two sets to none.
Andreescu upset Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5 in the final for her first Grand Slam title.
Andreescu’s victory Saturday prevented Williams from claiming what would have been her record-tying 24th major singles championship.
This is the second year in a row that Williams has lost in the U.S. Open final.
She has now been the runner-up at four of the seven majors she has entered since returning to the tour after having a baby two years ago.
The 19-year-old Andreescu is the first woman to win the trophy at Flushing Meadows in her tournament debut in the Open era, which began in 1968 when professionals were allowed to enter the majors.
NFL
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - Antonio Brown agreed to terms with the New England Patriots hours after the Oakland Raiders cut him, going from the NFL’s cellar to the defending Super Bowl champions on Saturday despite wearing out his welcome with two teams in one offseason.
Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press. Brown had been scheduled to earn up to $50 million from Oakland over the three-year deal. Instead, the Patriots guaranteed him $9 million this season, with the potential to earn up to $15 million.
Brown posted a picture of himself in a Patriots uniform on Instagram shortly after ESPN reported the signing. The post was soon liked by New England receiver Julian Edelman.
A Patriots spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New England opens the season against the Steelers on Sunday night, when the Patriots will raise their sixth Super Bowl championship banner.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) - Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones got his long-awaited contract extension Saturday, agreeing to a three-year, $66 million deal one day before the season opener.
The extension is nearly fully guaranteed when he signs. It locks in Jones through the 2023 season and removes a potentially major headache for the Falcons before Sunday’s game at Minnesota.
The deal was announced as the team was departing for Minneapolis.
Jones first sought a new contract more than a year ago. He reported for training camp when the Falcons enhanced his current deal and agreed to discuss a lucrative new extension before this season.
Negotiations dragged on far longer than expected, putting in doubt whether Jones would suit up against the Vikings.
BASEBALL
BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Red Sox have parted ways with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski
Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg made the announcement Sunday night, shortly after the New York Yankees beat Boston 10-5.
A veteran baseball executive who built a World Series champion in Miami and helped the Tigers reach the Series twice, Dombrowski was brought in to steady the Red Sox front office in 2015 with the team in the middle of back-to-back last-place finishes.
The Red Sox won three straight AL East titles for the first time in franchise history, winning a club-record 108 games last season and their fourth World Series since 2004.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota Twins pitcher Michael Pineda was suspended for 60 games Saturday for taking a diuretic, a big blow to the rotation of a first-place team heading toward the postseason.
Major League Baseball said Pineda tested positive for the banned substance and the suspension takes effect immediately.
Pineda, 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds, said in a statement he took an over-the-counter medication given to him by an acquaintance to help manage his weight. The pills contained hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic that can mask other substances.
Pineda apologized to the organization, teammates, family and fans for his “error in judgment” and said he “never intended to cheat the system, other players or opposing teams.”
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Báez has a hairline fracture in his left thumb, putting the rest of his season in jeopardy.
An MRI in Chicago on Saturday revealed the extent of Báez’s injury, suffered when he slid headfirst into second base last Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. He’ll undergo further examination with a hand specialist on Monday.
The Cubs haven’t announced a timeline for his possible return.
AUTO RACING
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Kevin Harvick’s nearly flawless run Sunday ruined any chance of Jimmie Johnson executing his in-and-in playoff strategy.
A crash with 55 laps to go made it official: Johnson’s perfect postseason record is over.
On a day Harvick won the pole, led all but 42 laps and raced to his second Brickyard 400 victory, Johnson pulled his familiar No. 48 car through pit road and parked it in Gasoline Alley - without a playoff spot for the first time since NASCAR introduced the format in 2004.
MONZA, Italy (AP) - Charles Leclerc ended Ferrari’s nine-year wait for victory at its home circuit as he held off the Mercedes duo to win Formula One’s Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Leclerc secured his second successive F1 race win in the process.
Leclerc, who started from pole position, was roared on by the passionate Ferrari tifosi as he crossed the line 0.8 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas and 35.1 ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari’s last win at Monza came in 2010 through Fernando Alonso.
GOLF
HOYLAKE, England (AP) - Cole Hammer finally got a point with the shortest match. John Pak completed a perfect week. John Augenstein delivered the clinching point.
And for the first time in 12 years, the Americans celebrated a Walker Cup victory away from home.
Facing a two-point deficit at the start of Sunday, the Americans picked up a point in morning foursomes and then overwhelmed Great Britain & Ireland by taking eight of 10 singles matches for a 15 1/2-10 1/2 victory at Royal Liverpool.
Team USA won the Walker Cup for the second straight time, and the first time overseas since winning at Royal County Down in 2007.
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) - Ryder Cup star Paul Casey carded a 6-under 66 to win the European Open by one shot on Sunday for his first European Tour title in five years.
Casey started the day a stroke behind overnight leaders Bernd Ritthammer and Robert MacIntyre and held his nerve with a bogey-free round to claim his 14th European Tour victory at 14-under 274 overall.
It was Casey’s first European Tour title since he won the KLM Open in 2014.
MMA
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Khabib Nurmagomedov stopped Dustin Poirier by submission in the third round Saturday night at UFC 242, retaining his lightweight title and unbeaten record.
After dominating Poirier with wrestling and grappling throughout the bout at Yas Island, Nurmagomedov (28-0) landed a rear naked choke and forced Poirier to tap midway through the third.
The Dagestan-born Russian fighter returned almost flawlessly for his first fight since beating Conor McGregor in October 2018. Nurmagomedov has stopped three of his last five opponents by submission, and he is challenging Jon Jones and Amanda Nunes for unofficial pound-for-pound supremacy in mixed martial arts.
OBITUARY
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Al Carmichael , the running back who scored the first touchdown in the old American Football League while playing for Denver in 1960, has died. He was 90.
The Broncos said Sunday that Carmichael died Saturday in Palm Desert, California.
Carmichael caught a 59-yard touchdown pass from Frank Tripucka on Sept. 9, 1960, in the Broncos’ 13-10 win over the Boston Patriots at Nickerson Field on the Boston University Campus in the AFL’s inaugural game.
Carmichael, a halfback, played for Denver in 1960 and ’61 after a six-year stint in Green Bay, which selected him in the first round (seventh overall) after he served in the U.S. Marine Corps following his college career at USC.
Carmichael, who set an NFL record with a 106-yard kick return in 1956 and was elected to the Packers Hall of Fame in 1974, also worked as a Hollywood stuntman and double in dozens of movies.
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