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Archives for September 2026

Seahawks Rally to Defeat Patriots, 17-10

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SEATTLE – (Wire Service Report) – Josh Jobe intercepted Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the end zone with 21 seconds remaining as the Seahawks beat New England 13-10 in a Super Bowl rematch Wednesday night.

Seattle picked off Maye on New England’s final three possessions to overcome a 10-0 deficit and the early exit of starting quarterback Sam Darnold.

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Well within the field-goal range of Andy Borregales, who connected on a 50-yarder earlier in the game, the Patriots went for the win in the final minute rather than taking the game to overtime. New England converted on fourth down twice on the final drive. Maye hit wide receiver Mack Hollins for 11 yards on fourth-and-9 on the first play after the two-minute warning to move the chains, after the QB ran for 5 yards on fourth-and-2 earlier in the possession.

His third-and-5 toss was underthrown, and Jobe was in front of Hollins one step into the end zone.

Backup quarterback Drew Lock helped save the day for Seattle. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.

The Seahawks turned the tide in the fourth quarter with three interceptions and three sacks of Maye, who was rarely pressured in the first half. His first gamble of the game early in the fourth quarter was a deep pass intended for Romeo Doubs that was tipped in the air and intercepted by Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett.

Seattle turned the first takeaway of the game into points when Lock hooked up with Smith-Njigba on a short fourth-down completion. A play-fake froze the Patriots’ defense, and Lock fired to Smith-Njigba for a short gain, and the receiver turned upfield to open turf to do the rest for a game-tying 45-yard touchdown with 11:28 to play.

On the ensuing possession, Maye tried to go deep over the middle, but safety Julian Love leapt in front of wide receiver DeMario Douglas for another pick. The play came after Doubs dropped a pass for what would have been a clear first down on a crossing route.

The Seahawks drove inside the New England 5, but two incompletions and a delay-of-game penalty led to Seattle settling for a chip-shot field goal from Jason Myers with just under six minutes left in the game.

The Patriots lost wide receiver A.J. Brown to a right ankle injury early on their first drive in the third quarter.

Five plays into their title defense, Seattle had its script shredded. Darnold left the game with a hip injury after being dragged down for a sack by Dre’Mont Jones and didn’t return.

Seahawks first-time play-caller Brian Fleury was caught in the whirlwind with Lock, who played 38 total snaps last season, pushed into the primetime spotlight. Fleury was hired after Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

With the Seahawks trailing 10-0 and 5:30 left in the third quarter, Lock floated a pass down the right sideline to Cooper Kupp for the longest gain of the game to that point, a 24-yarder. Kupp adjusted to the underthrown pass and hauled it in with his right arm. Three plays later, Lock zipped a quick slant pass to his left and found Kupp for an apparent 7-yard TD, but it was negated by an illegal shift.

The Seahawks settled for a 30-yard field goal by Myers and trailed 10-3 with 3:13 left in the third quarter.

Maye finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards, one touchdown and the three picks.

–Field Level Media

Streaking Down the Wrong Street

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FENWAY – (Wire Service Report) – Zach Neto, Jose Siri and Denzer Guzman homered as Los Angeles started a rare winning streak with a win at Boston.

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The Angels earned two wins in the three-game series, and they logged back-to-back victories for the first time since beating the Texas Rangers on Aug. 12-13. Los Angeles starter Ryan Johnson (4-8) pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits. Ben Joyce yielded a run in the ninth inning but earned his fourth save.

Roman Anthony hit a two-run homer for Boston, which also received a solo home run from Wilyer Abreu. Jarren Duran amassed two hits and two runs.

–Field Level Media

US Open: The Latest Night Show

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FLUSHING MEADOW – (Wire Service Report) – Ben Shelton is New York’s new late-night king.

The eighth-seeded Atlanta native pulled off an upset at the U.S. Open for one of the biggest wins of his career, overtaking the defending champion, second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, for a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7) win in the quarterfinals early Wednesday morning.

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The 4-hour, 28-minute match ended at 3:33 a.m. local time, the latest-ever finish at the U.S. Open. The old record? A 2:50 a.m. finish in the 2022 quarterfinals, when Alcaraz defeated Italy’s Jannik Sinner en route to his first U.S. title.

A large crowd stayed until the end, rooting on the home-country competitor.

‘For me, it’s always about the people in the crowd, whether it’s my coaches and my team over there, all my family and friends over here or the city of New York,’ Shelton said postmatch on court. ‘They showed up tonight until 3 a.m. with the USA chants until the very end. That’s what kept me going and that’s what got me this win tonight. …

‘I always say that this is the greatest sports city in the world. I say that this is the greatest stadium in the world. … I’m just so grateful, so blessed … to be here in front of you (fans) tonight, it’s an absolute honor. Sharing the court with Carlos is an absolute honor, and I cherish every moment I have out here.’

Shelton set up an all-U.S. semifinal, as he will oppose Frances Tiafoe on Friday. The No. 11 seed completed a dramatic comeback on Tuesday, defeating fellow American Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

The Shelton-Tiafoe winner will be just the second U.S. man to appear in a U.S. Open final over the past 20 years. Taylor Fritz lost the 2024 championship match to Italy’s Jannik Sinner. The last U.S. player to capture the men’s singles crown at Flushing Meadows was Andy Roddick in 2003.

Shelton, 23, is through to his third career Grand Slam semifinal as he seeks his first appearance in a major final. He lost in the semis at the 2023 U.S. Open and the 2025 Australian Open.

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For Alcaraz, the quarterfinal defeat completes a disappointing summer. He won the Australian Open to begin the year but subsequently missed four months due to a wrist injury that kept him out of the French Open and Wimbledon.

Shelton had lost all three of his previous matches against Alcaraz, though the two hadn’t squared off in more than a year.

Earlier, Michelsen built a two-sets-to-love lead at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He served for the victory in the third set before Tiafoe broke and rallied to win three straight games, forcing a fourth set.

‘He’s a hell of a player, and he easily could have won today,’ Tiafoe said in the post-match on-court interview.

After powering through the fourth set, Tiafoe overcame an early three-game deficit to force a fifth-set tiebreak.

The 4-hour, 39-minute marathon finally came to an end when Tiafoe built a 9-6 advantage in the tiebreak and then connected on his winner in front of an energetic crowd.

‘The energy was incredible, as it is always,’ Tiafoe said to the appreciative crowd afterward. ‘You guys were really for me and I really appreciate that.’

Tiafoe, 28, improved to 3-0 against the 22-year-old Michelsen, who acquitted himself well despite the loss.

Michelsen at times showed dominant form with 21 aces. The world’s 46th-ranked player also endured 61 unforced errors, helping to open the door for the Tiafoe comeback.

‘He gave me some gifts, a couple double faults there, but then I slowly, slowly started to get my rhythm there,’ Tiafoe acknowledged.

Tiafoe is headed to his third career major semifinal, all at the U.S. Open (2022, 2024).

–Field Level Media

Aussie, Aussie Aussie – Go, Go, Go!

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MELBOURNE – (Wire Service Report) – Familiar foes find an entirely foreign entry into the 2026 season this week when the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers play in the first regular-season game ever staged in Australia.

“The jet lag didn’t hit me that bad,” 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said as San Francisco settled in for a week in Melbourne. But, remember. It’s “MEL-burnn” not “MEL-Born.”

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A flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles takes around 90 minutes, and the 380-mile drive can be done in around six hours.

However, it’s about 8,000 miles to fly the L.A. to Melbourne, and the Rams are taking a 16-hour flight to be the “home” team in Australia when the NFC West rivals reconnect on Friday morning local time at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The extreme time difference means the regular-season opener for the teams will air in the usual Thursday NFL primetime slot.

“We always have an advantage of having one home game a year in L.A., just the way our fans are, to take over (SoFi) stadium,” Shanahan said. “So, it’s disappointing to let (the Rams) off the hook and get them out of that. But I have a feeling, knowing how our fans roll, I have a feeling it won’t be much different here.

The Rams’ travel plan is vastly different. Their departure is set for Tuesday night (U.S. time) to play in Australia.

“The most important thing to me is they know that everything we do is what we think is best,” Rams coach Sean McVay said of his players. “It doesn’t mean that we think we’re right and a different approach is wrong. It’s just what we think is best is based on the things that we’ve done (in the past) and what we’ve learned over our time here.”

McVay stands on the idea the Rams were, well, rebuilt for this. General manager Les Snead reclaimed his reputation in the offseason as “Trader Les” by acquiring reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. On the heels of setting the single-season record for sacks, Garrett helped Snead and McVay coax Aaron Donald out of retirement. Donald would suit up for his first game since January 2024 if he is in the lineup this week. He decided to retire following that wild-card playoff loss at Detroit.

“I feel like we’ve had a really solid offseason — a really nice, strong training camp on both sides of the ball,” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “That puts you in a position to have confidence going into the season that you understand what your team’s about. Then, inevitably, things happen and you’ve got to morph and change and find the ways to be successful.”

Shanahan believes the 49ers are better this season. He’d love to steer San Francisco away from the injury subplots that crept up the past two seasons. Defensive end Nick Bosa accelerated his bid to return from a torn ACL sustained last September and is expected to play in Australia, as is tight end George Kittle.

Bosa has only been practicing without limitations for one week. Kittle is less than nine months removed from tearing his right Achilles tendon. He was hurt Jan. 11 in the 49ers’ wild-card playoff win at Philadelphia.

Bosa battled tendinitis and the 49ers scaled back workouts. Bosa said he is back on track to play, but until Monday (U.S. time), the team hadn’t joined in the chorus.

“Oh, he’s going out there,” 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said of Bosa. “Whatever you want to say, he’s going. He’ll be there. We’re not hiding that.”

Among the important additions the 49ers made since January, wide receiver Mike Evans signed as a free agent and San Francisco spent its top draft pick to select wideout De’Zhaun Stribling in the second round. Deebo Samuel re-signed after a year with the Washington Commanders, giving quarterback Brock Purdy a sturdy and physical group of targets. Purdy hasn’t had a 1,000-yard wide receiver since Brandon Aiyuk in 2023.

Purdy can also lean on McCaffrey, who had eight receptions in both matchups with the Rams last season.

The teams split a pair of regular-season games last season dominated by offense. The Rams outscored the 49ers 65-52. Both teams went 12-5 and reached the playoffs.

Los Angeles wideout Puka Nacua had 15 total receptions in two games against the 49ers last season. Nacua, limited in training camp due to groin/hip soreness, led the NFL with 129 receptions and posted a career-high 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025.

San Francisco hosts the rematch with the Rams in Week 14 (Dec. 13) just ahead of consecutive road games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs.

–Field Level Media

Detmers, LA Angels Shut Down Sox

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FENWAY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Reid Detmers pitched six scoreless innings and Zach Neto hit a two-run homer to help the visiting Los Angeles Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1.

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Detmers (5-8) limited Boston (80-66) to one hit, a first-inning single by Wilyer Abreu. He struck out nine and walked one. Detmers was pulled after throwing 112 pitches (73 strikes).

Neto went 4 for 5 in the win. Los Angeles (55-90) received two-hit games from Vaughn Grissom, Christian Moore, Moises Ballesteros and Travis d’Arnaud.

The Angels, who collected 15 hits in the win, entered Tuesday’s game with two victories in their last 14 games.

Boston starter Patrick Sandoval (1-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

 

Henderson to Sit for Pats’ Opener

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SEATTLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New England Patriots ruled out running back TreVeyon Henderson for the NFL season opener Wednesday against the host Seattle Seahawks.

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Henderson did not practice all week due to a lingering ankle injury he suffered Aug. 24, when he slipped on a run play during practice.

Henderson, 23, led the Patriots in his rookie season with 911 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. He had six attempts for 19 yards and added three catches for 26 yards in New England’s 29-13 loss to Seattle in Super Bowl LX, but now won’t be available for the rematch.

That will mean more work for Rhamondre Stevenson as the Patriots’ lead ball-carrier. Stevenson enters his sixth season in the league, all with the Patriots, after gaining 603 rushing yards and scoring nine touchdowns (seven rushing, two receiving) last year.

The Patriots had already ruled out offensive lineman Ben Brown (knee), who did not make the trip west. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore (knee) is cleared to play.

On the other side, the Seahawks ruled out safety Ty Okada (hamstring) and deemed fellow safety Nick Emmanwori (ankle) questionable. Wide receiver Tory Horton (hamstring) is also questionable. Offensive lineman Josh Jones (knee) carries no game designation.

Emmanwori was limited on the Seahawks’ practice report all three days this week. Tuesday’s was an estimation, as the defending champs only held a walkthrough.

Emmanwori, 22, had a standout first season in the NFL and was runner-up for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. He had 81 tackles (nine for loss), 2.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups and one interception.

He played through multiple ankle sprains during the season, including a low sprain suffered days before the Super Bowl, and had an arthroscopic procedure during the offseason.

–Field Level Media

Patriots’ Gonzalez NFL’s Top $ Corner

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Completing protracted negotiations, the New England Patriots agreed to a contract extension that makes Christian Gonzalez the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, multiple media outlets reported late Monday night.

The four-year, $135 million extension reportedly includes $102 million in guaranteed money.

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The pact moves Gonzalez ahead of the Seattle Seahawks’ Devon Witherspoon, who agreed in mid-August to a four-year, $132 million extension with $101 million guaranteed.

The Gonzalez deal comes two days before the Patriots and the Seahawks will clash in a season-opening Super Bowl rematch at Seattle.

Gonzalez, 24, missed two weeks of training camp action in August due to a leg injury, but he has been back at full strength for two weeks.

A 2023 first-round draft pick out of Oregon, Gonzalez played just four games for New England that year due to a right shoulder injury. He returned the following year to log two interceptions, 11 passes defensed, one fumble recovery and 59 tackles in 16 games, all starts.

Last year, Gonzalez recorded 10 passes defensed and 69 tackles in 14 games, all starts. During the Patriots’ postseason run that ended in a Super Bowl defeat, he registered one interception, one sack, one forced fumble, seven passes defensed and 19 tackles in four games.

–Field Level Media

Boston Takes the Fifth (Straight)

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

FENWAY – The Boston Red Sox returned home to Fenway Park this gorgeous Labor Day afternoon with a four-game winning streak after a much-needed, wild card securing sweep over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Sox starters, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray and Payton Tolle, buried postseason hopes for their AL East rivals, plummeting the O’s into the divisional basement.

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That four game sweep took the pressure off Sox starter Brayan Bello as he took the mound against the lowly Los Angeles Angels on a 77-degree day in Boston. Bello responded with a respectable 5-inning gem, allowing only four scattered hits, walking two and striking out seven Angels. He threw a heavy 103 pitches (62 strikes) in his shutdown effort, and left the game with a 5-0 lead.

The Red Sox backed Bello with four runs in the 2nd inning. A lead-off home run by Jarren Duran opened up the scoring before Sox catcher Adley Rutschman clocked a three-run homer, scoring Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Roman Anthony who had each reached on the dreaded and deadly base-on-balls. In the 4th inning, the Red Sox added another run when Caleb Durbin singled to center, Duran doubled and Eli White singled in Durbin to make it 5-0, Boston.

After Bello gave way to reliever Wyatt Olds in the 6th inning, LA’s Moises Ballesteros homered to right field. Olds retired the side with three consecutive strikeouts following the solo homer by Ballesteros.

The Angels picked up a run in the top of the 8th as Alec Gamboa and Garrett Whitlock closed out the game from the Boston bullpen. Whitlock secured his third save of the season with the final score, 5-2.

Boston improved to 80-65 while the Angels fell to an MLB low 54-90. The Sox picked up a half-game on the idle New York Yankees and remain two games back of their second place rivals. Bello improved to a 6-7 record on the season. LA starter Grayson Rodriguez fell to 4-7.

The series continues on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, 6:45pm early starts to allow the college crowd to descend upon Fenway.

Sox Surging Once Again

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FENWAY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox made a quick exit from Baltimore and look to keep up their winning ways in a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels beginning on Monday afternoon.

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The Red Sox (79-65) just pulled off a four-game sweep of the Orioles, pitching back-to-back shutouts before capping the series with a 3-1 win Sunday.

After Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray both threw seven shutout innings in the previous two games, Payton Tolle struck out 12 over six innings, standing up teammate Eli White’s three-run home run in the second inning.

“It was an amazing performance by our pitching staff for four days. It was awesome,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Tolle was fantastic, and the guys coming out of the pen were awesome.”

Aroldis Chapman closed the series, becoming the ninth pitcher in major league history to reach the 400-save plateau for his career.

“To be that elite for as long as he’s been elite is cool to watch,” Tolle said.

White started in center field in place of Ceddanne Rafaela, who was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a right quadriceps strain after missing each of the first three games in Baltimore.

White, a trade-deadline acquisition from Atlanta, is 7-for-19 with eight RBIs in his last six games.

“The first thing you think of if (Rafaela) goes down … you have a really fast, good defensive outfielder that can go out there. But he has hit as well,” Tracy said.

With the Red Sox looking to give their starters an extra day of rest, Tracy said that Brayan Bello (5-7, 5.07 ERA) is “likely” to start Monday.

It would be Bello’s first start since June 4, when he allowed eight runs in a five-inning outing against the Orioles and was then optioned to Triple-A Worcester. The 27-year-old allowed eight runs in 7 1/3 innings in his two most recent relief appearances but has had much more success as a reliever (4-1, 2.03) than as a starter (1-6, 10.35) this season.

Bello is 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA in four career starts against the Angels.

The Angels (54-89), whom the Red Sox swept in a three-game road set in July, have now dropped five straight series and 11 of their last 13 games following their second 1-0 loss in three days to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Despite the Sunday loss to Pirates ace Paul Skenes, 22-year-old rookie Walbert Urena allowed just three hits and a walk over eight innings, which tied for the team’s longest start this season.

“It’s nice to get your starting pitchers wins,” outfielder Wade Meckler said after left-hander Yusei Kikuchi’s six scoreless innings in a 6-1 win on Saturday. “Our starters have been throwing the ball well the last couple of weeks and haven’t been getting wins.”

“(Urena has) been incredible, and he keeps getting better,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said.

Next, Los Angeles turns the ball to Grayson Rodriguez (4-6, 6.03) for his fourth career start against Boston. The first three came with Baltimore during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, when the right-hander went a combined 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA.

Rodriguez is coming off a loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday, when he allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out seven in six innings. He had allowed no more than three earned runs in any of his prior six starts, though the Angels won just one of them.

Suzuki and the Angels appear to have dodged a bullet regarding the status of three-time American League MVP Mike Trout, who returned to the lineup on Sunday after leaving the previous day’s game when he was hit in the hand by a pitch.

Returning to his typical No. 2 spot in the lineup, Trout went 2-for-4 with a double on which Zach Neto was thrown out at home plate attempting to score.

–Field Level Media

Goodell Gets Multi-Million Extension

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The NFL announced Sunday that NFL owners agreed to a four-year contract extension with commissioner Roger Goodell that runs through the 2030 season, ending on March 31, 2031.

The length of the deal is significant because the current collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expires in March 2031.

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One of the main topics to be sorted out between the two parties is the potential introduction of an 18-game regular season. The NFL moved from a 16-game schedule to 17 games in 2021.

Contracts with broadcast partners are also expected to be renegotiated by 2030.

The extension, which was reported last week as certain, is Goodell’s fifth and his first since he signed a three-year deal in October 2023. Goodell, 67, has been NFL commissioner since 2006.

The NFL does not publicly disclose Goodell’s compensation. His most recent reported earnings, for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons, were $63.9 million annually.

Owners met in Atlanta last week, but it was reported that a Goodell extension was not discussed. The new deal was announced four days after that owners’ meeting.

“The Compensation Committee notified the full ownership today that an agreement has been reached on a four-season contract extension for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell through the 2030 League season, ending on March 31, 2031,” the NFL said in a release Sunday.

–Field Level Media