Monday's Sports in Brief

Updated Oct. 20, 2020 2:26 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

MLB

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The starting pitchers for the World Series are set.

Tyler Glasnow will start Game 1 for Tampa Bay, while three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw goes for the Dodgers.

The Rays have 2018 AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell set for Game 2, when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could go with one of his rookies, Dustin May or Tony Gonsolin, while utilizing multiple pitchers. That could also be the plan for the Dodgers in Game 4.

Walker Buehler, who threw six scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win in Game 6 of the NLCS, is set to start Game 3 of the World Series. The Rays hadn’t announced a starter for that game Friday night, but Charlie Morton would be lined up on full rest. Morton won Game 7 of the ALCS on Saturday.

COURTS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department announced charges Monday against Russian intelligence officers in a string of global cyberattacks that targeted a French presidential election, the Winter Olympics in South Korea and American businesses. The case implicates the same Kremlin unit that interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections, but is not related to the November vote.

The indictment accuses the six defendants, all said to be current and former officers in the Russian military intelligence agency known as the GRU, of hacks that prosecutors say were aimed at furthering the Kremlin’s geopolitical interests and in destabilizing or punishing perceived enemies.

The indictment accuses the officers, for instance, of hacking into the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea after Russia was punished by the International Olympic Committee for a vast doping conspiracy.

Prosecutors say the hackers unleashed a devastating malicious software attack during the opening ceremony in February 2018 that deleted data from thousands of computers related to the event and left them inoperable.

SOCCER

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium, Netherlands and Germany have launched a joint bid to host the 2027 women’s soccer World Cup.

Under the slogan, “Three Nations, One Goal,” the three federations on Monday said they will detail their plans in an official document by the end of the year before starting negotiations with national governments and potential host cities.

A deadline for the bids hasn’t yet been set by FIFA.

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Soccer announced a series of initiatives Monday to combat racism, advocate for social justice and increase diversity in the sport.

MLS says the programs came after several months of discussions with key league stakeholders, including a recent meeting between the MLS board and the Black Players For Change, an independent organization of more than 170 MLS players coaches and staff aimed at confronting racial inequality.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber will sit on a new diversity committee consisting of members of the MLS board of governors, representatives of Black Players For Change, club executives, coaches, former MLS players and members of Pitch Black, a resource group of Black employees from the MLS office.

AUTO RACING

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR on Monday cleared Kyle Larson to return in 2021, ending his long suspension for using a racial slur while playing a video racing game.

Larson was suspended in April after he used the n-word while playing an online racing game in which viewers could follow along. He was dropped by his sponsors and fired by Chip Ganassi Racing.

Larson, who is half-Japanese, spent the last six months immersed in diversity programs that helped him gain an understanding of racial injustice. He did not apply for reinstatement until last week.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Justin Haley will return to Kaulig Racing for a third season in the Xfinity Series.

The team announced the one-year contract extension Monday with a clever social media post in which fan favorite AJ Allmendinger briefly teased that he would be the driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet next year. Instead, Allmendinger peeled the tape off the car to reveal Haley’s name.

The extension delays an expected promotion for Haley to a full-time Cup Series ride with Spire Motorsports.

GOLF

Phil Mickelson will team up with Charles Barkley to face Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning in an exhibition golf match next month highlighting diversity, equality and inclusion.

“The Match: Champions for Change” will take place Nov. 27 at Stone Canyon Golf Club in Oro Valley, Arizona.

The event announced Monday will benefit historically Black colleges and universities, with additional initiatives spotlighting diversity.

SPORTS BROADCASTING

Hall of Fame hockey broadcaster Mike Emrick announced his retirement Monday after almost 50 years behind the microphone.

The man affectionately known as “Doc” for his doctorate in communications spent the past 15 years as the voice of the NHL in the United States. Emrick, 74, called 22 Stanley Cup Finals and six Olympics since working his way up from the minors in the 1970s and did the most recent NHL playoffs remotely from his home in Michigan with his wife, Joyce, and dogs nearby.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — William & Mary plans to reinstate three women’s athletic programs that had been targeted for abolishment, a decision that helps the school avoid a lawsuit and move closer to gender equity under Title IX.

The school announced the plan Monday, reversing a Sept. 3 announcement that women’s swimming, volleyball and gymnastics, along with four men’s sports, would be cut in a cost-saving measure. That announcement was made by former athletic director Samantha Huge, who resigned Oct. 6.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Pac-12 has established cancellation and tiebreaker policies for its virus-truncated football season.

The conference announced Monday that a minimum threshold of at least 53 scholarship players — with various position minimums — must be available for any team to participate in a game. If a school does not elect to play the game shorthanded, the game will be rescheduled or declared a no contest.

The Pac-12′s seven-game, conference-only season is scheduled to begin Nov. 7 and the conference is taking potential cancellations into account in its tiebreaker policies.

SAILING

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Italian challenger Luna Rossa has launched its second America’s Cup racing yacht, becoming the third team in four days to reveal its second generation design.

The 75-foot high-tech monohull was lowered into the water at the team’s Auckland base on Tuesday, following the recent launches of the second boats of U.S. challenger American Magic and Britain’s INEOS Team UK.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

share

in this topic

Tony Gonsolin

Dustin May

Charlie Morton

Justin Haley

Walker Buehler

Tyler Glasnow

Clayton Kershaw

Kyle Larson

Los Angeles Dodgers

Tampa Bay Rays