GOLF
Long leads in PGA event
Adam Long took over the lead with a stretch of three consecutive birdies on the back nine and finished with key par saves for an 8-under 64 and a two-shot lead Saturday in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. Long is at 17-under 199 after three days. Hudson Swafford had to settle for nothing but pars on the back nine for a 69 and was two shots behind. Long, coming off a tie for 13th at Winged Foot last week in the U.S. Open, matched the low round of the day and will be going for his second PGA Tour victory. His other was in January 2019 when he birdied the last hole of the Desert Classic to beat Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin. He has a little more separation going into the final round in the Dominican Republic. Only five other players are within five shots of the lead. Swafford was at 15 under and will be in the final group. Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 71 on Saturday and is at 7-under 209 for the tournament.
Wolfe out front in Wichita
Jared Wolfe fired his second consecutive 65 Saturday and holds a three-stroke lead at the Korn Ferry Tour's Wichita Open. Wolfe is at 17-under 193, three shots in front of Taylor Montgomery at the Crestview Country Club. Nicolas Echavarria (Razorbacks) came in with a 66 on Saturday and is 10 shots behind Wolfe. Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) is at 208 for the tournament.
BOXING
Taylor retains lightweight title
Josh Taylor retained his WBA and IBF super lightweight belts after knocking out unbeaten challenger Apinun Khongsong in the first round Saturday. Taylor (17-0, 13 KO) caught the Thai (16-1, 13 KO) with a left-hand body shot to secure victory after 2 minutes, 41 seconds at York Hall. Apinun rolled off the canvas and left the arena on a stretcher. The title bout was Taylor's first fight in 11 months, since winning the WBA title against Regis Prograis.
TENNIS
Tsitsipas, Rublev reach finals
Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his impressive tune-up for the French Open by beating clay-court specialist Christian Garin in the Hamburg Open semifinals on Saturday to set up a final against Andrey Rublev. The sixth-ranked Greek hit 12 aces on his way to winning 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. That denied Garin his third clay final of the year and ended the Chilean's 5-0 unbeaten record in tour semis. Tsitsipas' run to the Hamburg final has seen him recover from his third-round exit at the U.S. Open and a first-round elimination in Rome last week in his first clay tournament of the year. Rublev defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-2 in the first semifinal.
FOOTBALL
Falcons' CB on covid list
The Atlanta Falcons have placed first-round pick A.J. Terrell on the covid-19 reserve list, dealing another blow to the winless team's secondary heading into today's game against the Chicago Bears. The Falcons (0-2) already ruled out cornerback Kendall Sheffield (foot) and safety Ricardo Allen (elbow) because of injuries. Now, they'll face the Bears (2-0) without Terrell, the No. 16 overall pick out of Clemson.
Chargers place two on IR
The Los Angeles Chargers will be without two of their starting defensive linemen for at least the next three games after placing defensive end Melvin Ingram and defensive tackle Justin Jones on injured reserve Saturday. Ingram practiced on Wednesday and Thursday but did not go Friday due to a knee injury. Ingram and Joey Bosa have combined to form one of the league's top pass rushing duos in recent years, but Bosa could be drawing more double teams after recording two sacks in the first two games. Jones suffered a shoulder injury in the overtime loss to Kansas City last week.
Niners add lineman
The San Francisco 49ers promoted offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu from the practice squad to the active roster Saturday and placed running back Tevin Coleman on injured reserve. The 49ers also activated running back JaMycal Hasty and linebacker Joe Walker from the practice squad to be eligible to play today against the New York Giants. Grasu had been activated from the practice squad the first two weeks and now has been added to the roster on a full-time basis. He started the season opener at center and provides depth on the line. Coleman sprained his knee last week against the New York Jets and is expected to miss four games.
BASEBALL
Giants release Samardzija
The San Francisco Giants released veteran right-hander Jeff Samardzija on Saturday, a day after he returned from a lengthy shoulder injury and rehab. Samardzija, an 11-game winner in 2019, was designated for assignment and placed on unconditional release waivers days before his contract was to expire. The 35-year-old pitcher signed a $90 million, five-year contract with San Francisco in December 2015, but spent much of his Giants tenure sidelined by injuries.
White Sox pitcher suspended
Major League Baseball suspended Chicago White Sox reliever Jimmy Cordero for three games Saturday and fined him an undisclosed amount for hitting the Cubs' Willson Contreras with a pitch. Manager Rick Renteria was suspended for one game, and he and pitching coach Don Cooper were also fined. Renteria, who served his suspension on Saturday, expected Cordero to appeal his punishment. Cordero, Renteria and Cooper were ejected from Friday's 10-0 loss by plate umpire Dan Bellino after Cordero hit Contreras with a pitch in the seventh inning. Cordero said after the game it was unintentional and he simply threw a bad pitch.
Pence announces retirement
Four-time All-Star outfielder Hunter Pence announced his retirement Saturday after 14 major-league seasons. The 37-year-old Pence wrote on his Twitter page: "Nothing can really prepare you for this part of your career when you have to say: I am retiring from baseball. Forever thankful and Gr8ful." Most recently he was a fan favorite for the San Francisco Giants, helping the club to a pair of World Series championships after being acquired from the Phillies at the 2012 trade deadline. A career .279 hitter, Pence had 244 home runs and 942 RBI while playing for Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Texas.