Tuesday Sports in Brief
MLB
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts streaked home with a go-ahead run and later homered for good measure as the Los Angeles Dodgers won their first World Series championship since 1988, taking advantage of a hotly debated Tampa Bay move to beat the Rays 3-1 in Game 6.
The Dodgers posted the best record in the majors during this pandemic-shortened season, then rallied in the final game to claim a most elusive crown.
Tampa Bay starter Blake Snell struck out nine and seemed to be in complete control with a 1-0 lead when manager Kevin Cash pulled him with one out and a runner on first in the sixth inning. The Dodgers pounced quickly, and Betts soon dashed home from third base on Corey Seager’s infield grounder for a 2-1 edge.
Betts added a solo home run in the eighth.
Manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers lost the World Series in 2017 and ’18 before winning this title at a neutral site, Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Rookie sensation Randy Arozarena hit his record 10th homer in the postseason to account for Tampa Bay’s run.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-2 Game 3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays was the least-watched World Series game ever, beating the record set two days earlier in Game 2.
Friday night’s game was seen by an average of 8,156,000 viewers age 2 and higher on Fox, drawing a 4.3 rating and 10 share, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday. Game 2 was seen by an average of 8,950,000 (5.0/11) and Game 1 by an average of 9,195,000 (5.1/11).
Tampa Bay’s walk-off 8-7 win in Game 4 on Saturday night was seen by an average of 9,332,000, drawing a 4.8 rating and 12 share, and the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in Game 5 on Sunday night by an average of 10,059,000, drawing a 5.3 rating and 11 share.
NFL
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy is sticking with quarterback Nick Foles over Mitchell Trubisky and intends to keep calling plays on offense at least for now.
He made that clear Tuesday, a day after an ugly 24-10 loss to the Rams. The Bears’ poor performance at Los Angeles added more fuel to the idea that their sparkling record was more of a mirage than a reflection of how good they are.
But if changes are coming, there won’t be one behind center.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Former Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant has moved one step closer to playing in the NFL again.
The 31-year-old Bryant signed with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday and has been assigned to the practice squad.
Bryant last played in 2017, when he had 69 catches for 838 yards in his eighth and final season in Dallas. He signed with New Orleans in November 2018, but tore his Achilles tendon before getting into a game.
TRACK AND FIELD
MONACO (AP) — Men’s 100-meter world champion Christian Coleman has been banned for two years because of three violations of doping control rules.
He will miss the Tokyo Olympics next year. Track and field authorities say Coleman will be banned until May 2022.
The 24-year-old American had been provisionally suspended from competition since May.
Details of his three missed appointments with sample collections officials in 2019 were revealed weeks later. Coleman can appeal his ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
AUTO RACING
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — NASCAR will make a fourth attempt to complete its playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday after persistent mist and cold temperatures continued the long delay.
The race began Sunday and drivers completed 52 of the scheduled 334 laps before mist and drizzle halted the action. The weather did not relent on Monday or Tuesday as NASCAR spent about two dozen futile hours trying to dry the track.
The resumption of the race was set for Wednesday at 3 p.m. EDT at the Texas track.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Two Conference USA games scheduled for the weekend, including No. 19 Marshall at Florida International, have been postponed because of COVID-19 issues.
Marshall was scheduled to play Friday night, but FIU had to call off the game because of a lack of available scholarship players.
North Texas at UTEP on Saturday was called off because a surge in COVID-19 cases in El Paso, Texas, has led to a stay-at-home order in the city.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Bethune-Cookman will not be participating in intercollegiate sports this coming winter or spring, announcing Tuesday that it has canceled all athletic events for the remainder of the academic year because of ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
The NCAA said Bethune-Cookman was the first Division I institution to publicly announce that it was not going to compete in any sport for the entire academic year. University President E. LaBrent Chrite said the decision was made “in the face of a surging COVID-19 spike” both in the state of Florida and across the country.
Bethune-Cookman, located in Daytona Beach, Florida, has 15 varsity programs, and the fall 2020 seasons were canceled back in July.
SOCCER
MADRID (AP) — Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu resigned Tuesday amid the fallout of his feud with star Lionel Messi, and on his way out revealed the Spanish club wants to join a potential new super league of elite European teams.
After one of the club’s worst seasons in more than a decade, Bartomeu announced that his entire board of directors also resigned, effectively avoiding a motion of censure vote that was scheduled for the coming weeks.
TENNIS
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Top 10 tennis player Kiki Bertens will miss the start of next season, including the Australian Open, after having surgery on her left Achilles tendon.
The 28-year-old from the Netherlands announced the news on Instagram on Tuesday, posting a picture of herself in a hospital bed with her leg in a cast.
Bertens wrote that she had been dealing with “an Achilles injury for some time” and the only way for her “to play without pain again” was to have surgery.
She is currently ranked No. 9 and reached a career-best No. 4 last year.
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