This one had everything. Troy Melton struggled and got knocked out early, but the bullpen managed to bend without breaking. Meanwhile, the young Tigers hitters were centre stage as they fought back repeatedly with good at-bats late in this one. Kenley Jansen picked up his 496th major league save to wrap up the victory.
Monday night's first of three at the Rogers Centre featured Melton against right-hander José Soriano. The Blue Jays have had almost as strange a season as the Tigers. Struggling through the first half, they moved long time top starter Kevin Gausman, but acquired Soriano at the deadline as well, and have kept themselves in the thick of the wild card race.
Things didn't start off too well as the Tigers quickly went 1-2-3 in the first, and Melton immediately dug himself a hole. Brett Bateman led off by slashing a single the opposite way past a diving Hao-Yu Lee for a leadoff single. Bateman appeared to be thrown out stealing second on a pitch that was called a ball and incorrectly challenged by Dillon Dingler to walk George Springer. So everyone was safe, and after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded out to advance the runners, Alejandro Kirk singled home Bateman for a 1-0 lead.
Melton didn't help his cause against Nathan Lukes by yanking a wild pitch to score Springer, but he retired Lukes and Kazuma Okamoto flew out to Clark to end the first inning. 2-0 Blue Jays.
A Dingler strikeout started the second inning, and Max Clark and Brett Callahan grounded out.

#melton #soriano #brett

India will play a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan starting September 13.
However, there's something unusual about seeing Afghanistan listed as the home side on a scorecard at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The visitors are India, playing in their own capital city, against a team that is technically the host.
It looks strange at a glance, but The Sporting News breaks it down for you.
Add The Sporting News as a preferred news source

#afghanistan #sporting #t20i #september

Aston Villa v **** nal, August 2024. Morgan Rogers receives a pass facing his own goal and Declan Rice is immediately on his back, but the Villa midfielder takes the ball with the outside of his right foot and swivels into **** e, leaving Rice behind. The **** e is quickly filled by **** nal's midfield enforcer Thomas Partey, but Rogers knocks it past Partey and races around his back to regather the ball, leaving the Ghanaian splayed on the grass. Their tussle at least buys Rice some time to catch up, but as he lunges in to make the tackle, Rogers takes a clever touch and Rice concedes a clumsy foul.
Arsenal would go on to win but it was an afternoon full of moments like that one in which Rogers tormented his opponents. After the game, Mikel Arteta marvelled at his performance. On Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp compared Rogers to "Jonah Lomu in his prime", and when you saw the trail of **** nal bodies left on the floor, you understood exactly what he meant.
The Lomu comparison touched on what makes Rogers rare, even unique, in world football, and perhaps helps to explain why Chelsea FC were prepared to spend £117m to sign him this summer. Rogers is a blend of football genres, a walking oxymoron, powerful and graceful, hardy and agile, heavy and light all at once, like some contorted beast with the shoulders of a buffalo and the feet of a squirrel on an errand.
Morgan Rogers has made an impressive start to life at Chelsea (Getty)
There are other robust ball-carriers at the top of the game: Antoine **** yo and Jude Bellingham come to mind; Ryan Gravenberch, Manu Kone and Rice all perform similar functions from deep. But none have Rogers' package of strength and balance, quick feet and rapid acceleration, that creative eye and subtle movement between the lines. In an increasingly **** genized world of coaching and industrialised talent production, Rogers is something of a unicorn forward.

#villa #partey

We'll keep track of every time a Dodgers player is optioned to the minor leagues during the 2026 season.
Details on these transactions can also be found on our 40-man roster tracker, but here we will chronicle every specific time a player gets sent down, relative to the limits set by MLB.
Major League rule 7(d) states that a player cannot be optioned to the minors more than five times during a single season. If a player who has been optioned five times is called back to the majors, they cannot be sent back down to the minors without being placed on waivers first.
For purposes of this rule, only options after opening day count. So anyone sent down during spring training won't have that count against the limit of five.
In 2025, as one example, reliever Will Klein was optioned to the minors five times during the regular season, first with the Seattle Mariners and then with the Dodgers.

#five #times

Who was the Murfreesboro area TSSAA girls athlete of the week for Aug. 31-Sept. 6?
You can vote below.
Nominees include:
Carly Harvey, Stewarts Creek volleyball: Combined for 32 kills in three matches.
Campbell King, MTCS volleyball: Combined for 69 ****** ists and seven aces in three matches.

#combined #harvey

Arizona football is back. The Wildcats took down NAU in their week 1 matchup 35-7. The defense was stout allowing zero points from NAU's offense. Northern Arizona got seven points from a pick-six off of the Wildcats' backup quarterback. Seth Doege's offense was sharp in the first half but slowed down in the second half.
Brent Brennan's group won the program's 5th straight season opener to make it to their ranked matchup with Kalani Sitake and the BYU Cougars healthy and undefeated.
The Wildcats' Heisman hopeful Noah Fifita played lights out again in this one. Fifita was 22 for 29 passing, threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Fifita had his first of many lasts this week as he played in his last home opener in Tucson.
"Noah Fifita is such a good player…Nothing he does surprises us." said head coach Brent Brennan after the win in his post game press-conference.
Fifita will need to be sharp again next week against BYU but if he performs at his usual level, Heisman hopeful could turn to Heisman dark horse.

#heisman

It wasn't always sunshine for Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams since entering the NFL. Coming off an electric final collegiate season where Williams would tear his ACL in the National Championship game, his professional career in Detroit got off to a slower start than most anticipated. And if you are reading this, you are likely aware of the ****** ps in the road over the course of Williams' first few years in the league.
However, that all feels like a distant memory now. After consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2024 and 2025, Williams had himself one heck of a training camp. Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News wrote a great story on Williams, his ability to spread joy, and how Lions coach Dan Campbell never stopped believing.
"He loves ball, and you can't hide that," said Campbell of his electric wide receiver. "I mean, that's not fake. You don't fake that. I mean, it's just unbridled enthusiasm."
When you watch Williams around the game, whether it's under the bright lights of Ford Field, or in front of a few thousand fans at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, his joy for the game always is on display.
"He always wants the best for me," said Williams of his coach. "Even in my worst situations, he's been there for me, by my side, and never gave up on me." You can read the entire story from Bianchi right here.

#electric

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to leave and join his former team, the Toronto Raptors, once a previously agreed trade goes through.
Leonard was hit with a $700,000 fine for his role in the Clippers' cap-circumvention deal, while the LA franchise got a massive penalty, including a loss of picks and suspensions for the Clippers' higher-ups.
Now that the NBA has ruled on Leonard and the Clippers, both parties can move forward with the trade the Clippers and Raptors agreed to.
Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) reacts after a missed basket in the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
In his statement, Leonard accepted responsibility for people representing him making these illegal advances in the NBA.

#raptors #agreed

Crystal Palace have signed Netherlands international midfielder Quinten Timber (25) from Marseille, both clubs have announced. Jurriën Timber's twin brother has signed a five-year deal with the Eagles. Palace have struck a reported €20m agreement with OM, who were in dire need to free up funds through player sales. Les Phocéens have gone the entire summer transfer window without making a single signing. Having joined OM from Feyenoord for €4.5m last winter, Timber has made 17 appearances in the white and blue since his arrival.
The 13-capped Netherlands international was part of Ronald Koeman's 2026 World Cup squad, and featured twice for his national side in America this summer. "With vast experience of representing his club and country at the highest level, Quinten is a player whose leadership, tenacity and ability we are confident will flourish in the Premier League", said Palace chairman Steve Parish. Timber could make his Premier League debut this weekend against Fulham FC.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval

#timber #quinten #premier #summer

Bristol City will travel to Deepdale this evening to take on Preston, as they look to pick up back-to-back wins in the Championship.
The Robins got their first three points on the board on Saturday, beating Portsmouth 2-1 in front of a packed Ashton Gate. Lorent Tolaj opened the scoring by netting his first Championship goal, before Jason Knight headed home a second on the hour mark. A late penalty for Pompey made for a nervy final few minutes in the South West, but Michael Skubala's side ultimately got over the line.
Preston, meanwhile, have lost their opening three matches to Bolton, Wolves and most recently Charlton Athletic, giving cause for concern amongst fans ahead of taking on a side that will be aiming for a play-off spot come May, whilst the Lilywhites are more worried about securing their spot in this division for next season.
Preston have underperformed their xG so far this season, creating enough chances to have scored three goals, but only netting two so far. They have also only registered an average of two shots on target per match, the lowest in the league. By contrast, the Robins have netted four goals in their last two outings, against Birmingham City and Portsmouth, with both Tolaj and Dom Ballard opening their accounts in the process.
Bristol City have picked up four points from their last two trips to Deepdale; it arguably should be six, but Anis Mehmeti failed to make his chances count last year, meaning the game finished 0-0. Max Bird, Yu Hirakawa and Nahki Wells were on the scoresheet the year before, as Liam Manning's side picked up a 3-1 win. Preston won the last meeting between these sides 2-0, back in January, when Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine found the net.

#preston #side #bristol #deepdale

Former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan has praised the way Martin O'Neill's side responded to their ignominious Champions League exit by beating Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership.
And Allan believes Celtic have unearthed a superstar in forward Camilo Duran, who got both goals in the 2-1 win over the Bairns.
Austrian champions LASK fought back from four goals down on aggregate as Celtic collapsed on Tuesday - but the chastened Premiership champions saw off Falkirk as they returned to the domestic agenda.
"It really was the manner in how they gave up a 4-0 lead to LASK - genuine disbelief at how that second half panned out for Celtic," Allan said on the Scottish Football podcast.
"But ultimately you have to get your chest out. Fans will still have a sour taste in their mouth about how the game went against LASK and all you can do is try and improve."

#lask #former