Digital Sports Desk

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Archives for September 13, 2019

College Football Desk:

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Kansas Jayhawks at Boston College Eagles

When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, September 13, 2019
Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Mass
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

CHESTNUT HILL – Boston College will try to open the season 3-0 for the second straight year when it hosts Kansas in a non-conference affair tonight. After getting past Virginia Tech in their season and ACC opener, the Eagles were untested in a 45-13 dismantling of Richmond last Saturday.

Junior AJ Dillon ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns as part of a 346-yard effort on the ground for Boston College, which also forced a pair of turnovers and is tied for first among FBS teams with a plus-6 turnover margin. “We have a huge focus on getting the ball out and creating turnovers and I told you before, we are big into the daily double,” coach Steve Addazio told reporters Monday. “The daily double is you want to win the explosive battle and you want to win the turnover battle.” Nearly at the other end of that category are the Jayhawks, who have five more giveaways than takeaways thus far after coughing it up twice and finishing with just 280 total yards in a 12-7 home loss to Coastal Carolina on Saturday. “I’m not happy,” first-year coach Les Miles told reporters after the game. “This is not how I saw it going. This is not how our team saw it going. Our guys played with their hearts on their sleeves and did everything they could possibly do to win this game.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Boston College -21.5

ABOUT KANSAS (1-1): Sophomore running back Pooka Williams Jr. was one of the few bright spots on last year’s 3-9 team with 1,125 yards and seven TDs on the ground, and he was a welcome sight Saturday after missing the opener due to a suspension. Williams had 99 yards on 22 carries versus Coastal Carolina, although he was upstaged a bit by senior Khalil Herbert, who amassed 82 yards on just eight carries, including a 41-yard TD less than four minutes into the game for the Jayhawks’ only score. Senior Carter Stanley threw for just 107 yards with a pair of interceptions after a solid opener in a win over Indiana State.

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (2-0): Dillon had zero receptions during his monster freshman campaign and only eight as a sophomore, but he is becoming more of a factor in the passing game and had a career-high 54 receiving yards against Richmond.

“Honestly, he’s been working at it every single day,” quarterback Anthony Brown told reporters after the win. “When I say every day, I actually mean every day. So I feel his confidence is just through the roof. He feels like he can catch anything.” Brown has five TD passes with zero interceptions through the first two games.

EXTRA POINTS

  1. Eagles WR Zay Flowers has 117 yards and a TD on the ground and 91 yards with one score through the air.
  2. WR Andrew Parchment leads the Jayhawks with 11 catches and 135 receiving yards.
  3. This will be the first meeting between the programs.

USA: Two Straight Losses

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DONGGUAN – Serbia defeated Team USA 94-89 in a consolation game at the FIBA World Cup in China on Thursday, continuing a spiral that will conclude Saturday with no better than a seventh-place finish in the tournament.

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It is guaranteed as the worst showing in international play by the United States, as the top-ranked team in the world will wrap up the World Cup with another consolation game Saturday. In 45 major international competitions, Team USA had never finished worse than sixth and medaled 39 times.

Serbia exploded with a 32-7 advantage in the first quarter when it nailed 8 of 9 attempts from 3-point range and added six free throws courtesy of fouls on 3-point tries. Serbia finished out the victory behind a game-high 28 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento Kings), who was 7 of 14 from 3-point range. 

Team USA came right back in the second quarter, outscoring Serbia 33-12 on 72 percent shooting, but shaky defense and the inability to consistently score allowed Serbia to keep a comfortable cushion.

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The Americans, paced by Harrison Barnes with 22 points, played without Jayson Tatum (ankle) and his Boston Celtics teammate Marcus Smart, who injured his left hand. Tatum has missed the past five games.

Vladimir Lucic scored 15 points for Serbia. Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) added nine points.

The winner of Poland-Czech Republic will face Serbia for fifth place, with the loser taking on Team USA.

–Field Level Media

Oakland, NE Unaware of Charge

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FOXBORO – Neither the New England Patriots nor the Oakland Raiders were aware of rape allegations involving Antonio Brown until a civil sexual-assault lawsuit was filed by Britney Taylor, ESPN reported.

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Representatives for Brown and Taylor have had discussions over the past few months but agreed to keep those discussions confidential before the suit was filed, sources told ESPN.

The confidentiality agreement could provide an explanation for Brown not notifying the Raiders nor the Patriots before he signed with New England on Monday.

The NFL plans to meet next week with Taylor. Taylor, Brown’s former trainer, filed the lawsuit with the Southern District of Florida, accusing the wide receiver of sexually assaulting her on three occasions.

Brown has said the accusations are false, and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, also defended his client Wednesday on ESPN.

“I wouldn’t be doing this interview if I didn’t believe Antonio Brown,” Rosenhaus said.

The league could decide to put Brown on the commissioner’s exempt list, meaning he still would get paid and receive benefits while no longer on New England’s active list, though he would be ineligible to participate in games or practices. Players on the commissioner’s exempt list may go to the team facility but only for individual workouts, medical treatment and any other non-football activities with the team’s approval.

However, that decision might not be made this week.

In matters involving a civil case, a source told ESPN, a player is not obligated to inform a team about his situation before signing a free agent contract. If it’s a criminal case, the matter must be reported to the team.

Brown is expected to meet with the NFL at a time still to be determined.

The Patriots (1-0) visit the Miami Dolphins (0-1) on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

Sox Back in Win Column

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Boston 7, Toronto 4

When: 7:07 PM ET, Thursday, September 12, 2019
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 17,420
Recap for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

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TORONTO – Marco Hernandez hit a two-run double in the second inning, and the visiting Boston Red Sox went on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 Thursday night to end a five-game losing streak.

Brock Holt added two RBIs to help the Red Sox (77-70) salvage the finale of a three-game series and win the season series 11-8.

Red Sox opener Jhoulys Chacin allowed no runs, two hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.

Josh Taylor (2-2) pitched a perfect fourth inning to pick up the win on a night when the Red Sox used nine pitchers.

Brandon Workman got the final out of the eighth with the bases loaded and allowed a ninth-inning run before earning his 12th save.

Blue Jays starter Clay Buchholz (1-5), who spent 10 years with the Red Sox and was facing them for the first time, yielded four runs, seven hits and one walk while striking out four in four innings.

J.D. Martinez led off the second with a walk, and Mitch Moreland singled with one out. Both scored on a two-out double by Hernandez.

Xander Bogaerts stroked his 50th double of the season in the third and scored on a double by Martinez.

Boston led 4-0 when Juan Centeno’s single in the fourth scored Jackie Bradley Jr., who had doubled.

The Blue Jays (57-90) scored twice in the fifth. With two outs, Brian Johnson walked Bo Bichette and allowed Cavan Biggio’s RBI triple. Ryan Brasier replaced Johnson and gave up Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s run-scoring single.

Mookie Betts led off the Boston seventh with a single against Jordan Romano, stole second and scored on a single by Holt, who continued to second on an error by right fielder Anthony Alford. Catcher Reese McGuire’s errant pickoff throw put Holt at third, and Bogaerts delivered an RBI single.

Boston’s Matt Barnes allowed a run in the bottom of the eighth on three walks and an infield single before Workman ended the threat by getting Bichette to fly out.

The Red Sox added a ninth-inning run when Betts singled, continued to third on an error by left fielder Derek Fisher (Toronto’s third miscue of the game) and scored on Holt’s single.

Rowdy Tellez had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.

–Field Level Media

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