In brief: Sanchez struggles in first Jets start

NFL Preseason: It didn’t take long for Mark Sanchez to find out what New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan already knew: The Baltimore Ravens have a wickedly efficient defense.

Vying to become the Jets starting quarterback, Sanchez got off to a wretched start and finished with a flourish in a 24-23 preseason loss Monday night in Baltimore.

Sanchez’s first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. His second pass was nearly picked off. On his final play, however, the rookie threw his first NFL touchdown pass – a 19-yarder to running back Leon Washington with 5:50 left in the second quarter.

“Not the best start on Monday night, but I learned quite a bit,” Sanchez said at halftime. “I just want to get better.”

Long after Sanchez departed, third-string quarterback Erik Ainge scored on a sneak with 22 seconds left to get the Jets to 24-23. Ryan called for a 2-point conversion that failed.

Sanchez, drafted fifth overall out of Southern California, went 3 for 8 for 43 yards in his first NFL start.

Mercer Island defeated at LLWS

Baseball: Warner Robins, Ga., scored the tying and go-ahead runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch to stay unbeaten and edge Mercer Island, Wash., 3-2, at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa.

Trailing 2-1, Kyle King reached base to start the top of the sixth after getting hit by reliever Brandon Lawler’s pitch. He moved to third on two wild pitches.

One out later, Jake Farrell walked and stole second. The passed ball then scored King and moved Farrell to third, and another wild pitch by Lawler allowed Farrell to score the go-ahead run.

In other action, Chiba City, Japan, beat Maracaibo, Venezuela, 5-4; Reynosa, Mexico, beat Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, 13-0; Willemstad, Curacao, beat Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 5-3; and Staten Island, N.Y., beat Urbandale, Iowa, 8-3.

Miami’s Beasley in rehab facility

Basketball: Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley checked into a Houston rehabilitation facility last week and is being treated for various issues, including depression, a person briefed on the situation told the Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns, and could not say whether the other issues included drug or alcohol treatment.

“Based on what I’m getting right now, there’s a bit of concern,” Bruce Shingler, Beasley’s manager, told the AP in a telephone interview.

It’s unknown how long Beasley will remain at the facility, or whether he will be available when the Heat open training camp Sept. 28.

Beasley was already getting treatment when a photograph – and several comments, including “Feelin like it’s not worth livin!!!!!!! I’m done” and “I feel like the whole world is against me I can’t win for losin” – were posted on his Twitter feed.

•Nowitzki’s former girlfriend sentenced: A former girlfriend of Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki was sentenced to five years in prison for violating probation in St. Charles, Mo.

Cristal Taylor admitted in court that she failed to check in with her probation officer in a 12-year-old forgery and theft case. She also acknowledged being arrested twice in Texas in 2000 for misdemeanors.

The 38-year-old St. Louis-area native has said she planned to marry Nowitzki and was pregnant with his child.

Woods victorious at charity event

Golf: Notah Begay III couldn’t have scripted it any better.

With more than 3,000 awestruck fans watching his every move, Tiger Woods captured the second annual Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge at Verona, N.Y., surging past Camilo Villegas in the closing holes.

After Villegas won $180,000 with a birdie at the 14th hole to boost his winnings for the day to $200,000 in the skins game format, Woods won the next three holes to finish with $230,000.

•Jackson leads at Amateur Championship: Two-time USGA Mid-Amateur champion Tim Jackson, who led the U.S. Senior Open through two rounds this summer, shot a 2-under 68 to take the lead after the first round of the U.S. Amateur Championship in Tulsa, Okla.

Rachel Alexandra to race in older division

Miscellany: Rachel Alexandra is taking on a new challenge: racing against older horses in a bid to become the first filly to win the Woodward Stakes in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

After dominating the 3-year-old filly division with romps in the Kentucky Oaks and the Mother Goose, and beating the 3-year-old boys in the Preakness and the Haskell Invitational, Rachel Alexandra will run against older competition for the first time in the Sept. 5 race at Saratoga Race Course.

The decision was announced by trainer Steve Asmussen following workouts by the filly and 3-year-old colt Kensei, both owned by Jess Jackson.

•Former Cornhusker convicted of murder: Former Nebraska running back Thunder Collins was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from a September 2008 shooting in Omaha, Neb., that left one man dead and another seriously wounded.

The 29-year-old faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for the first-degree murder conviction.

Collins’ best season was in 2001, when he played in 12 games, ran for 647 yards and five touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 189 yards.

•Querrey, Kuznetsova advance: American Sam Querrey outlasted Marc Gicquel of France in three sets 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3 in the first round of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament at New Haven, Conn.

On the women’s side, top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova needed three sets to overcome China’s Zheng Jie 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4.

•Liverpool continues to struggle: Liverpool slumped to its second defeat of the Premier League season when Aston Villa won 3-1 at Anfield in Liverpool, England.

The first loss to Villa in eight years leaves last year’s runners-up six points behind Tottenham and Chelsea after three matches – and with as many losses as all of last season.

•Cyclist to return after doping suspension: Alexandre Vinokourov is returning to Astana two years after his positive test for blood doping forced the team to withdraw from cycling’s premier event and caused it to be banned from the race in 2008.

Astana reached an agreement with the Kazakh cyclist that runs through next year.