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TRAVELERS-CHAMPIONSHIP
Johnson wins Travelers to extend career-long season streak
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Dustin Johnson won the Travelers Championship on Sunday to end a long drought and extend his career-long season victory streak to 13.
Johnson closed with a 3-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Kevin Streelman at fan-free TPC River Highlands. Johnson last won in Mexico City in March 2019. Johnson said it was along time between wins and he wants to keep his streak going. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus each won in 17 consecutive years.
Mackenzie Hughes, who shot a first-round 60, had a 67 to tie for third with 23-year-old Will Gordon at 17 under. Gordon, who has no status on either the PGA Tour finished just enough to earn him a special temporary card and unlimited exemptions for the rest of the season.
There were seven COVID-19-related withdrawals from the Connecticut event, with two positive tests among players. Cameron champ withdrew Tuesday and Denny McCarthy had a positive test on Friday.
TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP-VIRUS
Frittelli 4th tour player to test positive for coronavirus
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Dylan Frittelli became the fourth PGA Tour player to test positive for the coronavirus and had to withdraw from Rocket Mortgage Classic next week in Detroit.
Frittelli missed the cut at the Travelers Championship, playing the opening two rounds with Ian Poulter and J.T. Poston. The South African player took a saliva test so he could take the tour’s charter to Detroit, and the result came back positive Sunday. Frittelli said he’s experiencing no issues and feels great physically.
After conducting contact tracing, the tour said its medical advisors are not recommending additional testing at this time. Four players and two caddies have tested positive for the coronavirus since the tour returned to competition three weeks ago with tournaments in Fort Worth, Texas; Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; and Connecticut.
Nick Watney received a positive test before his second round at Hilton Head, while Cameron Champ tested positive before the Travelers Championship and Denny McCarthy after his first round at the TPC River Highlands.
NASCAR-POCONO
Jones, Briscoe win first two Sunday races
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Brandon Jones took home a trophy and sent a car to the scrap heap in about an hour at Pocono Raceway.
Jones won the first of three races Sunday at the Pennsylvania track with a two-lap sprint to the finish in a wreck-filled Truck Series race. He followed that by wrecking on the first lap of the Xfinity Series race.
Chase Briscoe held off Ross Chastain in overtime to win the crash-filled Xfinity race. Briscoe won his fourth Xfinity race of the season. Chastain won $100,000 in a prize awarded to the highest finisher among four eligible drivers.
The day’s third event is a Cup Series race. Kevin Harvick is trying for his second Cup victory in two days.
Pocono became the first track to hold a Truck, Xfinity and Cup race on the same day.
SPEEDWAY OWNER-ROPE AD
Speedway owner loses staff, ‘all but 2’ sponsors after post
PINE HALL, N.C. (AP) — The owner of a North Carolina racetrack said he has faced death threats, lost employees and seen “all but two” of his sponsors evaporate amid the backlash over his social media post invoking the noose found in the garage stall of Black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace
Mike Fulp, who owns the half-mile, dirt track 311 Speedway in Stokes County, told the News & Record he knew his troubles from what he described as a joke were self-inflicted. Fulp’s post advertised “Bubba Rope” for sale on Facebook Marketplace the day after an FBI investigation determined the noose found at the Talladega Superspeedway garage had been there since at least October and was a coincidence, not a hate crime.
Fulps told the newspaper he’s responsible “for trying to make some jokes and said he is not a racist. Fulp said he’s been getting death threats and received messages threatening his family. He said seven workers quit.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-KANSAS STATE TWEET
K-State players announce boycott after student’s Floyd tweet
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State football players say they will boycott all team activities until administrators create a policy that would allow a student to be expelled for “openly racist, threatening or disrespectful actions.”
The move that most players announced Saturday on social media follows a tweet by a student about the death of George Floyd that prompted outrage on campus.
Jaden McNeil mocked Floyd’s death in a tweet Thursday, one month after the Black man died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes. McNeil is the founder of a conservative group called America First Students and has been criticized for his past comments on the Black Lives Matter movement. University officials have said they are exploring their options for action.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS
Italy’s women’s ski team reports 3 positives
UNDATED (AP) — The Italian Winter Sports federation says three members of the women’s ski team — two coaches and one athlete — have tested positive for the coronavirus while training.
The federation says that one of the coaches has been hospitalized with a mild fever. The others have no symptoms but are being quarantined. The federation did not name those who tested positive. While other sections of the national team will continue training, the World Cup team will return home.
Italy’s team features reigning overall World Cup champion Federica Brignone (feh-deh-REE’-kah breen-YOH’-nay), whose mother recovered after being hospitalized with the virus, and Olympic downhill gold medalist Sofia Goggia (GOH’-jah).
NFL-PATRIOTS-NEWTON
Source: Patriots sign QB Cam Newton to replace Brady
BOSTON (AP) — The New England Patriots have reached an agreement with free-agent quarterback Cam Newton, bringing in the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player to help the team move on from three-time MVP Tom Brady, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
The one-year deal is worth up to $7.5 million with incentives, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. A Patriots spokesman said the team had nothing to announce Sunday night.
The signing was first reported by ESPN. The 31-year-old Newton was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft after leading Auburn to a national championship and winning the Heisman Trophy. He helped the Panthers reach the playoffs four times, including the Super Bowl in 2015.
NBA-CLIPPERS-NOAH
Clippers sign Joakim Noah to deal for rest of the season
LOS ANGELES (AP) —The Los Angeles Clippers have signed free agent Joakim Noah to a new contract for the rest of the season, three months after he first signed a 10-day deal with the team.
The two-time All-Star averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 42 games for Memphis last season. Noah originally signed with the Clippers on March 9, two days before the NBA put its season on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 35-year-old center was the 2014 defensive player of the year. Noah provides the Clippers with playoff experience and additional depth at the position.
Noah’s 12 years in the NBA also includes stints with Chicago and the New York Knicks.
USGA-TV DEAL
AP sources: NBC gets US Open as Fox gets out of contract
The U.S. Open is returning to NBC starting this year at Winged Foot after Fox Sports has asked to end its 12-year contract with the USGA. That’s according to multiple people who spoke with The Associated Press.
Three people with direct knowledge of the change say it came together in the last two weeks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. An announcement was expected Monday. The U.S. Open, originally scheduled to be played last week, was postponed to Sept. 17-20 at Winged Foot in New York when the COVID-19 pandemic let no golf tournaments for three months.
NBC televised the U.S. Open from 1995 until the USGA signed a 12-year deal with Fox Sports that began in 2015. One person said Comcast-owned NBC would pick up the final seven years of the contract through 2026. The change means NBC will have the U.S. Open and the British Open, along with three World Golf Championships, the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup and the FedEx Cup playoffs every other year.
HORSE RACING-BELMONT-BARN QUARANTINE
Precautionary quarantine at Belmont Park barn is lifted
NEW YORK (AP) — Officials have lifted a precautionary quarantine on a barn at Belmont Park after test results for a horse suspected of having equine herpesvirus Type 1 were negative.
The New York Racing Association said Sunday all horses in Barn 37 were found to not have fever and were asymptomatic. As a result, they can enter races and train among the general population.
The precautionary quarantine had been put in place a day earlier after a 4-year-old colt exhibited fever and neurological symptoms. Freudnme is being monitored by a private veterinarian. The colt last raced at Finger Lakes in upstate New York in June 2019.
EHV-1 can cause an upper respiratory infection in young horses. If a number of horses are housed together, they can become sick and then recover uneventfully. However, equine herpesvirus-1 can also cause a severe neurological disease that affects a horse’s brain and spinal cord, and may result in paralysis and death.
Belmont’s current meet ends July 12. It is racing without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic.
NFL-OBIT-BUGEL
Former Redskins assistant, “Hogs” creator Joe Bugel dies at 80
UNDATED (AP) — Former Washington Redskins assistant coach Joe Bugel (BYOO’-gul) has died.
Bugel was the architect of “The Hogs,” the dominant offensive lines that helped lead the team to three Super Bowls under Hall of Fame head coach Joe Gibbs. He was regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in NFL history.
In addition to his two stints as an assistant with Washington, he was also a head coach of the Phoenix Cardinals and Oakland Raiders and an assistant with the Chargers.
The Redskins announced that Bugel died Sunday at age 80. No cause of death was given.
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