In Brief: Europe rallies at Ryder Cup
Golf: The United States had the lead. Rory McIlroy made sure that was all it had Friday in the Ryder Cup.
The American sweep of the opening session of matches at Hazeltine was all but forgotten when McIlroy rolled in a 20-foot eagle putt, took a bow on the 16th green and delivered a defiant message to the crowd and to the U.S. team desperate to win back the cup.
Europe isn’t going anywhere.
“I’m not fazed by anything that is said by the crowd,” McIlroy said. “And I’m not fazed by anything that the U.S. team throws at us.”
The Americans threw a haymaker with the first opening-session sweep in four decades. Europe battled back from that 4-0 deficit behind its best tandem, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose, and it’s best player. McIlroy buried the eagle putt, calmly bowed twice to the crowd and then punched the chilly Chaska, Minnesota, air with his fist.
U.S. captain Davis Love III at least could take consolation in a 5-3 lead, though the Americans wasted a chance to put Europe in a big hole.
“It’s frustrating not to come out a little bit more ahead,” Love said.
Hur, Kenderson share lead at Reignwood: Mi Jung Hur eagled two of the last three holes for a 10-under 63 and a share of the second-round lead with Brooke Henderson in the Reignwood LPGA Classic.
Hur chipped in from 45 feet for eagle on the par-5 16th, lipped out a birdie try on the par-3 17th, and hit a 3-wood to set up a tap-in eagle on the par-5 18th. The 26-year-old South Korean player broke the tournament record of 64 in the event being played for the third time. She has two career LPGA Tour victories.
Watt out for season after back surgery
NFL: Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien confirmed that star defensive end J.J. Watt will miss the rest of the season after back surgery.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year had surgery Thursday, a day after he was placed on injured reserve.
Jets’ Decker sidelined: The New York Jets will be without Eric Decker this weekend – and maybe for a while longer.
The star wide receiver has a partially torn rotator cuff that will sideline him for at least Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Cowboys’ Bryant questionable for Sunday’s game: Dez Bryant is questionable for Dallas’ game against San Francisco, and remorseful about going AWOL on the Cowboys early in the week over fear about his knee injury.
The 2014 All-Pro receiver didn’t practice all week after sustaining a hairline fracture in a bone in his right knee in last week’s win over Chicago.
Redskins’ Norman fined $48,620: Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman was fined $48,620 by the NFL for his unnecessary roughness foul on New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard last week.
Norman is a repeat offender who was fined more than $26,000 last season for his tussles with Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Last Sunday, Norman hit Shepard near the head and neck area.
San Francisco’s Eli Harold was fined $18,231 for his horse collar penalty that resulted in Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
Bills’ Watkins to miss minimum eight weeks: The Buffalo Bills’ top receiving threat, Sammy Watkins, will miss at least eight weeks to rest an injury to his surgically repaired left foot after the team placed him on injured reserve.
Minnesota takes 2-0 lead over Mercury
WNBA: Maya Moore scored 26 points and the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx beat the Phoenix Mercury 96-86 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to take a 2-0 lead in the semifinal series.
Lindsay Whalen scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter for Minnesota, playing at the Xcel Energy Center – home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild – for the second straight game because of a scheduling conflict at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Sparks top Sky in Game 2: Candace Parker scored 20 points and the host Los Angeles Sparks cruised past the Chicago Sky 99-84 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 WNBA semifinals.
76ers’ Simmons breaks bone in foot
NBA: Ben Simmons has a broken bone in his right foot and its unknown how long the No. 1 overall pick will be sidelined for Philadelphia.
Simmons was injured Friday during the final training camp scrimmage at Stockton University in New Jersey. The Sixers said Simmons rolled an ankle, and X-rays and an MRI revealed a fractured fifth metatarsal bone.
Relationship between Bosh, Heat continues to erode: The relationship between Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat continued disintegrating, with the All-Star saying that the team did not tell him before going public with their belief that he will not play for them again.
The Heat denied that assertion, with a team spokesman saying that calls, texts and emails to Bosh in the days before team president Pat Riley made that announcement earlier this week were not acknowledged.
World Cup of Hockey to return in 2020
Miscellany: The World Cup of Hockey will return, without a doubt, and avoid another 12-year break.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr both confirmed for the Associated Press that they expect the next World Cup of Hockey to be in 2020.
NYCFC blanks Houston: David Villa scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season and New York City FC beat the host Houston Dynamo 2-0 to take the MLS Eastern Conference lead.
Villa’s second shot in the 91st moved him ahead of Bradley Wright-Phillips in the Golden Boot race.
Keselowski has Chase race pole after rain: Brad Keselowski has the pole after rain wiped out qualifying at Dover (Delaware) International Speedway. It was the third straight Dover race where qualifying was canceled because of rain.
Keselowski benefited this time because Sunday’s Sprint Cup race was set on owner points. The 16 Chase drivers make up the first eight rows in the field, and it should be a battle from the start – the playoff field is cut from 16 to 12 drivers following Dover.
Kvitova moves to Wuhan final: Former champion Petra Kvitova advanced to the final of the Wuhan (China) Open by beating fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-2.