Christian Encarnacion-Strand powered the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-1 takedown of the San Francisco Giants in their series finale at Oracle Park. The rookie first baseman finished the game 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to help Cincy avoid the three-game sweep. Reds starter Hunter Greene earned his third win, while Alexis Diaz notched his 35th save as Cincinnati improved to 69-and-66. Giants starter Logan Webb was charged his 11th loss of the year after he let up two earned runs through six innings of work. San Fran went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position in the loss. The Giants had a three-game win streak snapped to slip to 69-and-64.
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J.P. Crawford knocked in two go-ahead runs in the seventh inning as the Mariners defeated the Athletics 5-4 in Seattle. Crawford put Seattle ahead for good after the team trailed 4-3 in the top of the seventh. Teoscar Hernandez mashed a three-run home run in the third for the Mariners, who set a franchise record with 21 wins in August. Justin Topa earned the win in relief, while Andres Munoz collected his 11th save. Seattle improved to 76-and-57. Kirby Snead was charged the loss in relief for Oakland, which fell to 39-and-95. Lawrence Butler launched his second homer of the season in the loss.
The 49ers aren't planning to trade away their star defensive end. San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch both said on Wednesday that the team doesn't plan to trade Nick Bosa amid his contract holdout. The duo added that Bosa will sign a lucrative contract extension once the sides come to an agreement. Bosa didn't report to training camp and missed all of the Niners' preseason games. The 25-year-old pass rusher led the NFL with 18-and-a-half sacks last season.
Utah is likely to be without its star quarterback for Thursday night's season opener. ESPN is reporting that Utah QB Cam Rising is doubtful for the game against the Florida Gators. Rising has gone 18-and-6 as a starter while leading the Utes to two straight Pac-12 championships. He is recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered during last season's Rose Bowl loss to Penn State. Junior Bryson Barnes is expected to start the season opener in Rising's absence, with redshirt freshman Nate Johnson also expected to see snaps behind center.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is now dealing with a second formal complaint that he was engaged in a relationship with a minor. ESPN reports a special prosecutor in the Dominican Republic is investigating Franco after three girls alleged they had relationships with the 22-year-old as minors. A third girl has yet to speak formally with authorities. Major League Baseball placed Franco on paid administrative leave on August 22nd after social media posts emerged claiming the inappropriate relationships. Franco signed an 11-year, 182-million dollar contract with the Rays in 2021.
More top seeds are falling at the 2023 US Open. Fifth-seeded Casper Ruud and seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas [[ seet-see-paas ]] each suffered upset losses in the second round. Second-seeded Novak Djokovic [[ jow-kuh-vuhch ]] collected another straight set victory to advance. Americans Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton also moved on to the third round. On the women's side, top-seeded Iga Swiatek [[ shvee-AWN-teck ]] and sixth-seeded Coco Gauff each rolled with straight set wins. Taylor Townsend, Jennifer Brady and Bernarda Pera earned victories, while fellow Americans Danielle Collins and Lauren Davis were ousted from the tournament.
Team USA put together a dominant performance en route to a 48-point win in their FIBA World Cup first round finale. The U.S. defeated Jordan 110-62 at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines. Anthony Edwards erupted for 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting 50-percent from the field. Bobby Portis came off the bench to contribute 13 points and six boards. The U.S. played strong defense, limiting Jordan to a 23.8-percent clip from beyond the arc. The U.S. now advances to the 16-team second round. The Americans are matched up against Greece, Lithuania and Montenegro in Group J. Team USA will open up the second round against Nikola Vucevic [[ VOOCH-uh-vitch ]] and Montenegro on Friday morning.
(Lincoln, NE) -- The University of Nebraska's women's volleyball team has broken a world record. A total of 92-thousand-and-3 fans witnessed the five-time national champion Huskers take down Omaha inside Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night. The former record of 91-thousand-648 fans was set in 2022 when the FC Barcelona women's soccer team played Wolfsburg in Barcelona, Spain. The official capacity of Memorial Stadium is just over 85-thousand seats but extra seats and standing room were added on to the field.
(Undated) -- Week One of the college football season is here. The Florida Gators are in Salt Lake City squaring off against number-14 Utah tonight. Utes quarterback Cam Rising is expected to miss the opener after recovering from a torn ACL in last season's Rose Bowl game against Penn State. Bryson Barnes is in line to get the start under center. Several other matchups kick off tonight including Elon at Wake Forest, UConn hosting NC State and Nebraska dueling Minnesota in Minneapolis. The slate continues on Friday with Michigan State, Miami and Stanford all in action.
(Undated) -- Jonathan Taylor nearly ended up in Titletown. According to ESPN, the Green Bay Packers were one of the teams that talked with the Colts and had legitimate interest in trading for the star running back. A source said there is still trade interest in Taylor and that he would welcome a trade. The NFL's trade deadline is October 31st. The Miami Dolphins were also in talks with the Colts and discussed several possible deals. Dolphins general manager Chris Grier confirmed Wednesday that he had "exploratory talks" with Colts GM Chris Ballard, but added there were "no exchange of offers" from the two sides.
(Kansas City, MO) -- The defending Super Bowl champions are holding out hope that their star defensive tackle returns for their season opener next week. Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said that the team is "certainly hopeful" that Chris Jones will be "in the lineup" and "ready to go" next Thursday night against the Detroit Lions. Jones has held strong that he will continue his contract holdout into the regular season. The 29-year-old is entering the final year of a four-year, 80-million-dollar deal that he signed in 2020. Veach said that KC is "going to keep working" on getting to a contract resolution with Jones.
(Santa Clara, CA) -- The 49ers aren't planning to trade away their star defensive end. San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch both said on Wednesday that the team doesn't plan to trade Nick Bosa amid his contract holdout. The duo added that Bosa will sign a lucrative contract extension once the sides come to an agreement. Bosa didn't report to training camp and missed all of the Niners' preseason games. The 25-year-old pass rusher led the NFL with 18-and-a-half sacks last season.
(Cincinnati, OH) -- The Cincinnati Bengals are welcoming back their star quarterback. Joe Burrow practiced for the first time on Wednesday since suffering a calf strain early in training camp. Wide receiver Tee Higgins said, "It felt good, just to see him out there, see the big smile on his face." The gunslinger was out of action for over a month. In other news, the team signed Will Grier to the practice squad after he was released by the Dallas Cowboys. The quarterback will serve as the third option behind backup Jake Browning.
(Pittsburgh, PA) -- A two-time Stanley Cup champion is hanging up his skates for good. Carl Hagelin announced on Wednesday he's retiring from the NHL. The 35-year-old hasn't played since taking a high stick to the eye in March of 2022. The Washington Capitals were concerned about the winger's quality of life outside of hockey following the injury. Hagelin won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and '17. He was originally selected by the New York Rangers in the sixth round of the 2007 draft and also spent time with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings.
(Queens, NY) -- More top seeds are falling at the 2023 US Open. Fifth-seeded Casper Ruud and seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas [[ seet-see-paas ]] each suffered upset losses in the second round. Second-seeded Novak Djokovic [[ jow-kuh-vuhch ]] collected another straight set victory to advance. Americans Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton also moved on to the third round. On the women's side, top-seeded Iga Swiatek [[ shvee-AWN-teck ]] and sixth-seeded Coco Gauff each rolled with straight set wins. Taylor Townsend, Jennifer Brady and Bernarda Pera earned victories, while fellow Americans Danielle Collins and Lauren Davis were ousted from the tournament.
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The Chico High Panthers girls volleyball team now winners of NINE in a row after a straight sets win over Yuba City last night. The Panther girls win by scores of 25-14, 25-18 and 25-20. The Panthers are now 15-1 on the season. Tomorrow they begin play at a Reno Tournament in Nevada where they play two days of matches....
The Orland girls were a straight sets winner over Red Bluff winning by scores of 18-9-18 The Trojan girls now 5-2 on the season. Meghan Nooras 10 kills and Alyssa Radisch with 11 digs in the win. Orland travels to Yuba City tonight for a 6pm match while Red Bluff will host Corning at 6pm
Las Plumas falls to Marysville in straight sets 22-10-11. The TBirds are back in action tonight traveling to Lindhurst for a 6pm match
TONIGHT.....Oroville hosts Quincy at 630pm......Durham hosts Gridley at 630pm
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SEASON OPENER for the Chico State Volleyball team today as the Wildcats travel to the Stanislaus State Invitational in Turlock.
The Wildcats are looking to bounce back from a rough 3-22 season. Chico plays single match this afternoon at 3pm against Academy of Art then plays two matches tomorrow....9am against Fresno Pacific and then later in the afternoon at 4:30 against Western Oregon.
They will wrap up play on Saturday against Western New Mexico at 11:30am
The Chico State Men's Soccer team opens the season with a big regional tangle versus Seattle Pacific. The match begins at 7pm at University Soccer Stadium. The Wildcat men went 7-5-8 last year and narrowly missed a big to the NCAA West Regional. The men will host another west region power in Western Washington on Saturday. The Cats travel to British Columbia next week to play Simon Fraser University from Canada (D-II opponent from GNAC) and the Saint Martin's Saints (Lacey, WA)
The Chico State Women's Soccer team starts their season tomorrow in Colorado
against two teams from the Rocky Mountain Conference against Regis University
and Colorado School of the Mines....
