FOOTBALL
Packers’ Jim Taylor dies
Hall of Fame fullback Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers has died at 83. The team said he died unexpectedly Saturday at a hospital in Baton Rouge. Taylor played on the great Packer teams and was the league’s MVP in 1962. He won four NFL titles and scored the first rushing touchdown in Super Bowl history. Taylor played for the Packers from 1958 to 1966 and spent 10 seasons in the NFL. He was drafted by Green Bay in the second round out of LSU in 1958. He played in a backfield that featured Paul Hornung and began to thrive when Packers coach Vince Lombardi took over in 1959. Lombardi came up with the concept of the Packers Sweep, which featured pulling guards and Taylor or Hornung running around the end. But it was 6-0, 216-pound Taylor who showed the play’s punishing promise.
GOLF
Three tie for lead
Gary Woodland birdied the 18th hole Saturday for a 5-under 67 to move into a three-way tie for the lead with Marc Leishman and Shubhankar Sharma after three rounds of the CIMB Classic at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Woodland just missed an eagle putt, while Sharma (66) and Leishman (67) had to settle for pars on the par-five final hole. Playing in the last threesome of the day, the leading trio had 54-hole totals of 19-under 197 on the TPC Kuala Lumpur West course. They had a two-stroke lead over Louis Oosthuizen, who moved up the leaderboard with a 65, and first-round leader Bronson Burgoon (67). Stewart Cink shot 63 for the low round of the day and was four strokes off the lead. Justin Thomas, trying to win the tournament for the third time in four years, had a 69 and was at 12-under, seven behind. Only 18 of the 78-man field failed to shoot in the 60s Saturday.
Langer, Sauers in front
Bernhard Langer birdied three of the final four holes Saturday for a 5-under 67 and a share of the SAS Championship lead with Gene Sauers. A day after nearly shooting his age with a 62 to match Sauers and Tom Lehman for the first-round lead, the 61-year-old Langer kept pace with Sauers at 15-under 129. Langer had six birdies and a bogey at Prestonwood Country Club, the tree-lined layout softened by heavy rain Thursday from Hurricane Michael. Sauers birdied two of the last three holes. Lehman had a 70 to drop three strokes behind his playing partners in the final event for the top 72 PGA Tour Champions players to qualify for the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. Jerry Kelly was 11 under after a 67.
Pepperell leads by 3
Eddie Pepperell will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the British Masters after a 1-under 71 Saturday as he looked for his second European Tour title and a likely place in next year's Masters. Pepperell was on 9-under 207 at Walton Heath with fellow Englishman Jordan Smith (70), Sweden's Alexander Bjork (68), American Julian Suri (69) and France's Julien Guerrier (70) tied for second. Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood was seven shots off the pace after rebounding from a 77 on Friday with a 70, while Ryder Cup teammate and tournament host Justin Rose was another stroke adrift following a 69.
Kang, Hull share lead
Danielle Kang and Charley Hull shot 4-under 68s on Saturday to share the lead after three rounds of the KEB Hana Bank Championship at Incheon, South Korea. Kang started with two early bogeys but carded her sixth birdie of the day on the par-5 18th to finish at 12-under 204 with Hull, who also birdied the final hole in a bogey-free round at the Sky 72 Ocean Course. Ariya Jutanugarn was one stroke off the lead after a 69. Local favorite In Gee Chun shot a 66 and was tied for fourth with Minjee Lee (67) and Lydia Ko (68) at 10-under 206. No. 1-ranked Sung Hyun Park had an erratic round of 71 that included three bogeys and a double bogey and was tied for seventh with Seon Woo Bae, who shot 67. Brooke Henderson offset a lone bogey with eight birdies for a 65 that left her tied for 10th with four others, including Lexi Thompson (68).
TENNIS
Coric, Djokovic in final
Borna Coric upset defending champion Roger Federer to face Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters final today. Coric earned passage to the final by taking down the top-seeded Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals on Saturday. The soon-to-be-No. 2-ranked Djokovic booked a final appointment after crushing No. 5 Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-1. Coric finished off Federer in style with the final two points an ace and a sizzling forehand crosscourt winner. Coric didn't offer Federer a break point opportunity, while managing to break Federer's serve in the opening game of both sets. In all, Federer presented Coric with seven beak point possibilities.
Pliskova advances
Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova will be looking for her second title of the WTA's Asian swing when she plays second-seeded Caroline Garcia of France in the Tianjin Open final today in Tianjin, China. Pliskova, playing on a wild card, needed only an hour to beat Timea Bascinszky 6-2, 6-1 in one of Saturday's semifinals. It was Pliskova's fourth consecutive victory in the last two years over Bascinszky, who is returning from a long layoff with a right leg injury. Pliskova won the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, beating U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka in the final in September. Garcia moved into today's final with a 6-3, 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Hsieh Su-wei. It marks the first final for Garcia since she won back-to-back titles at Wuhan and Beijing last year.
BASKETBALL
Noah, Knicks part ways
The New York Knicks finally severed ties with Joakim Noah on Saturday afternoon, announcing they have waived the former All-Star after two disappointing seasons. A source told the Daily News of New York that Noah was waived outright, meaning he gave up no money in a buyout. Noah, 33, has been away from the Knicks since January, when he and former coach Jeff Hornacek got into a heated altercation at practice. Noah signed a four-year, $72 million deal in 2016 and leaves with $38 million of that remaining. By waiving Noah via the stretch provision, the Knicks are spreading out his remaining salary over more years with less of an annual cap hit. They'll be paying Noah $6.4 million annually until 2022. The Knicks tried to deal Noah but were unwilling to attach necessary assets like young prospects or draft picks. In the meantime, Noah and the Knicks agreed it was best to stay apart. Coach David Fizdale said he spoke with Noah over the phone in the offseason, but he couldn't bridge the discord. Noah totaled 53 games over two seasons with the Knicks, averaging fewer than five points.
MOTOR SPORTS
Peters wins Trucks race
Timothy Peters bumped leader Noah Gragson out of his way on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway, then blocked traffic for the final mile to win the Truck Series race Saturday. It was the 11th victory of Peters' career and third at Talladega, the most wins at the Alabama track among Truck Series drivers. Peters didn't lead until the final lap of the crash-packed playoff race. He had to force Gragson out of his way to get to the front. Todd Gilliland was second when he tried to pass leader Grant Enfinger with 12 laps remaining, and contact between the trucks caused Gilliland to spin hard into the inside wall. Six laps later, Enfinger was knocked from the lead by Gilliland's father, David, who was in second. The contact caused damage to David Gilliland's truck and Gragson was able to take over the lead -- until Peters moved him for the win. Myatt Snider finished a career-best second behind Peters, and David Gilliland was third. Justin Haley finished fourth and was followed by Wendell Chavous, who was listed as the race winner erroneously for almost 10 minutes on NASCAR's official website.
FOOTBALL
Packers' Jim Taylor dies
Hall of Fame fullback Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers has died at 83. The team said he died unexpectedly Saturday at a hospital in Baton Rouge, La. Taylor played on the great Packer teams and was the league's MVP in 1962. He won four NFL titles and scored the first rushing touchdown in Super Bowl history. Taylor played for the Packers from 1958 to 1966 and spent 10 seasons in the NFL. He was drafted by Green Bay in the second round out of LSU in 1958. He played in a backfield that featured Paul Hornung and began to thrive when Packers coach Vince Lombardi took over in 1959. Lombardi came up with the concept of the Packers Sweep, which featured pulling guards and Taylor or Hornung running around the end. But it was 6-foot, 216-pound Taylor who showed the play's punishing promise.
Sports on 10/14/2018