SPORTS HEADLINES

LSU leaves former pros Wright, Harris off opening-day roster, AP source says

LSU did not place one-time pros Dae’Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris on its roster in advance of its season opener. A person familiar with the situation confirmed it to The Associated Press on Friday. The move appears to avoid an immediate confrontation with the Southeastern Conference, which had passed a rule forbidding former pros on rosters, only to see that rule put on hold by a court in Louisiana. It means LSU will open its season against Clemson on Saturday without Wright and Harris on the roster, according to the person who spoke to AP. The person did not want to be named because the school had not released the details publicly.

Serena and Venus Williams lose in a match tiebreaker in their return to the US Open

NEW YORK (AP) — Serena and Venus Williams are out of the U.S. Open women’s doubles after losing in a match tiebreaker. The sisters blew a 5-0 lead in the 10-point tiebreaker and lost 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-7) on Friday night to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint. It was the first U.S. Open match since 2022 at the Grand Slam tournament the sisters won twice. They pulled out the second set in a tiebreaker, battled back from 4-1 in the third set to tie it, but then faltered late. Serena came back to tennis this year at 44. Venus has continued to play on tour at 46.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to retire in December after transformative and tumultuous tenure

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring at the end the year, bringing to a close her seven-plus years at the helm of the league and a stewardship that has been transformative and at times tumultuous. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Engelbert’s decision on Friday. Engelbert, who turns 62 in November, is the second-longest tenured WNBA president or commissioner. She helped negotiate a lucrative collective bargaining agreement this past spring that resulted in the league’s first set of million-dollar player salaries. Along with the financial gains, however, turmoil, tension and a strained relationship with players also have been a part of her tenure.

Pro Football Hall of Fame cuts selection panel nearly in half in the latest overhaul of the process

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is overhauling the selection process by eliminating a separate category for senior players, cutting the selection committee nearly in half and returning to in-person meetings. The Hall announced the new procedures that were approved by the Hall of Fame board following discussions with Hall of Fame staff, members and people on the selection committee. The changes will be in place for the Class of 2027 and come after the voting process came under heavy scrutiny for the most recent class, when six-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Belichick failed to get enough support for induction.

Mensah throws 5 TD passes, Toney sets record in No. 7 Miami’s 45-6 win over Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Darian Mensah threw five touchdown passes in his Miami debut, Malachi Toney set a school-record with 234 yards receiving and the seventh-ranked Hurricanes opened their season with an 45-6 victory over Stanford. Mensah and Toney connected on touchdown passes on the first two drives of the game for Miami and then again on a 47-yarder in the third quarter that broke Eddie Brown’s school record of 220 set in 1984. Davis Warren threw for 204 yards for Stanford but couldn’t get the Cardinal in the end zone.

Maiava passes for 349 yards, hits frosh Mosley for 2 TDs in No. 14 USC’s 39-0 rout of Fresno State

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jayden Maiava passed for 349 yards and threw two of his three touchdown passes to freshman Trent Mosley, and No. 14 Southern California rolled to a 39-0 victory over Fresno State. Tanook Hines also made a TD catch for the unbeaten Trojans, who followed up their Week 0 win over San Jose State by streaking to a 32-0 lead through three quarters over the Bulldogs. USC’s defense allowed just 49 yards in the first three quarters while recording two safeties and forcing two turnovers under new coordinator Gary Patterson. Jayden Mandal passed for 77 yards with an interception in his second career start for the Bulldogs.

McVay says entire Rams roster is traveling to Australia, but Aaron Donald’s playing status still TBD

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams’ entire roster will travel to Australia for their regular-season opener next week. Coach Sean McVay still isn’t sure whether unretired defensive tackle Aaron Donald will play, however. The Rams were initially equivocal on whether Donald would make the long trip for the NFL’s first international game in Australia. The 35-year-old superstar only ended his retirement last weekend and rejoined the Rams after 2 1/2 years away. McVay said the Rams still haven’t decided whether Donald will suit up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground alongside Myles Garrett, but Donald has clearly made significant progress in his return to game shape.

Feeling good in return from injury, Carlos Alcaraz plans to take more long breaks from tennis

NEW YORK (AP) — Feeling better than he expected after a four-month absence, Carlos Alcaraz is planning to take more breaks during the tennis season. Alcaraz returned to play at the U.S. Open after being sidelined since April by a right wrist injury. The defending champion advanced to the fourth round Friday with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Wu Yibing. He said his body feels good and he’s had no setbacks after his matches. Alcaraz said the injury that forced him to withdraw during the Barcelona Open wasn’t caused by playing too much, so taking time off would be for mental, not physical reasons.

Former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith is sued by investor over wind farm project

NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith is being sued by a Native American investment company over claims that the former Dallas Cowboys running back and his business partners misappropriated a $2.5 million loan that was supposed to fund a wind farm project in Texas. Kituwah LLC claimed in a lawsuit filed this week in Delaware that 4 13 Solutions used the money to repay an investor from previous dealings with Smith’s company. Kituwah’s attorneys said Smith misrepresented efforts to secure a U.S. Department of Energy loan that would have triggered repayment to Kituwah.

Williams sisters reunite their iconic doubles team, losing narrowly but thrilling the New York crowd

NEW YORK (AP) — Venus and Serena Williams returned to the U.S. Open for a doubles match for the first time in four years, thrilling fans with their performance. Despite losing to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint in a close three-set match, the sisters put on a magical show. After losing the first set, they won a second-set tiebreak to force a decider, then almost won that set, blowing a 5-0 lead in the final tiebreak. The match came 25 years after they first faced each other in the U.S. Open final.

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