8/18 Sports Brief

No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Penn St each place 3 players on Associated Press preseason All-America first team

No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Penn State each had three players selected for the preseason AP All-America team. The Southeastern Conference had 12 players on the 27-man first team determined by media members on the AP Top 25 voting panel. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Pittsburgh each had two players on the first team. Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Florida center Jake Slaughter are returning first-team AP All-Americans. Clemson’s Cade Klubnik was the overwhelming preseason choice for first-team quarterback after throwing for 3,639 yards with 39 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

There’s a $1 million prize and big names for 2025 US Open mixed doubles. Why are some people upset?

Grand Slam singles champions such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys will be playing for extra money — $1 million to the winning duo — and trying to get their hands on a trophy in the U.S. Open’s overhauled mixed doubles tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday. But the best of the best at doubles are not so excited about what one of last year’s mixed champions in New York, Sara Errani, labeled “sad” and “nonsense” in an interview with The Associated Press. She and Andrea Vavassori, who’ll be defending their title, are the only true doubles team competing at Flushing Meadows this time.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemns ‘unacceptable’ racism after incidents at German Cup games

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino says that two incidents of alleged racist abuse which marred German Cup games are “unacceptable” as German police investigate. Infantino’s comments came a day after Schalke’s Christopher Antwi-Adjei said he was subjected to racist abuse in a cup game at Lokomotive Leipzig. He was whistled by fans throughout the match after reporting the incident to officials. In another incident, a Kaiserslautern substitute was racially abused while warming up in a game at RSV Eintracht, the team’s coach said. Infantino says FIFA’s Players’ Voice Panel would be “in touch” with the German soccer federation.

Veteran Joe Flacco selected as Browns starting QB for season opener against Bengals on Sept. 7

The Cleveland Browns have announced that Joe Flacco will be their starting quarterback for the Sept. 7 opener against AFC North rival Cincinnati. Coach Kevin Stefanski indicated over the past week that decision was coming. The Browns were off on Sunday after their 22-13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles but had a team meeting on Monday. The 40-year old Flacco beat out Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Deshaun Watson is on the roster but is expected to miss the season because of injuries. Besides having 191 regular-season starts and going into his 18th season, Flacco was the only quarterback who has not missed time during training camp because of an injury.

Padres’ Bogaerts loses homer on fan interference call, manager Shildt ejected

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Xander Bogaerts of the San Diego Padres had a home run overturned due to fan interference and manager Mike Shildt was ejected for coming out of the dugout to talk to the umpires in the second inning against the San Francisco Giants. Bogaerts hit a fly ball that appeared to bounce into and out of Heliot Ramos’ glove and go over the fence as two fans, including one in a Giants shirt, reached for it. Neither fan appeared to touch the ball but after a lengthy review, the home run call was overturned and Bogaerts was called out. Shildt was ejected immediately when he came out of the dugout.

Matthew Stafford practices with Rams in QB’s first team workout of preseason

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matthew Stafford practiced with the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, marking the quarterback’s first workout with the team this preseason after having been unable to do so because of a sore back. Stafford, 37, took first-team reps during the session and did not speak to reporters afterward. Coach Sean McVay said it was too soon to know what the session means for Stafford’s status going forward.

Phillies’ Zack Wheeler has surgery to remove blood clot in upper right arm

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler had surgery Monday to remove a blood clot in his upper right arm, and the team says a timeline for his recovery remains uncertain. The Phillies say Wheeler underwent a thrombolysis procedure by Dr. Paul DiMuzio at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The 35-year-old Wheeler was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a blood clot after experiencing worsening shoulder soreness. Wheeler, who made his third All-Star team last month, is 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 24 starts this season. He has a major league-high 195 strikeouts in 149 2/3 innings. He has thrown at least 192 innings in three of the previous four seasons.

After ‘venting’ his frustration, Lewis Hamilton could come back stronger from F1’s mid-season break

Lewis Hamilton’s dream of an eighth Formula 1 title with Ferrari is spinning off track. His comments at the Hungarian Grand Prix sparked concern among fans of Hamilton and Ferrari as the seven-time champion called himself “absolutely useless”, suggested Ferrari should consider replacing him, and hinted at deeper issues. “There’s a lot going on in the background that is not great,” Hamilton said. Ferrari has said it still has faith in Hamilton ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix next week. Hamilton seems to be getting away from it all. He posted pictures on social media last week in the countryside with his bulldog Roscoe.

Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar drowns in a Utah reservoir

Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar has drowned in a Utah reservoir. Herriman police said the 22-year-old Mayar died at Blackridge Reservoir on Saturday after going underwater about 35 yards from shore. Police had responded to a 911 call reporting two people in distress at the reservoir. Twenty-one-year-old Sa Mafutaga made it to shore and then went back into the water to try to rescue Mayar. Bystanders entered the water to aid Mafutaga, who was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital. The report said Mafutaga is expected to recover. Mayar’s body was recovered from the reservoir by authorities.