NFL
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder testified before a congressional committee investigating the NFL team’s history of workplace misconduct, speaking for more than 10 hours in a deposition conducted virtually and in private.
A spokesperson for the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and a spokesperson for Snyder independently verified his testimony wrapped up after 6:30 p.m. EDT. It was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., with Snyder appearing via Zoom from Israel.
A committee spokesperson said it had no comment Thursday night.
Snyder agreed to testify voluntarily after committee members worked out some issues with his legal team on the terms of his deposition. The committee had previously agreed to have Snyder testify under the terms of a subpoena it had initially issued.
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks are expected to sign wide receiver DK Metcalf to a three-year contract extension that will be worth up to $72 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the signing. ESPN first reported the deal, which includes $58 million guaranteed. The deal runs through the 2025 season, when he’ll have another shot at free agency.
Metcalf is the latest in a string of top pass catchers to get locked up with new deals this offseason. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract after being a second-round pick by Seattle in 2019 and getting him signed was a priority for the Seahawks this offseason.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 39th home run for his third walk-off long ball this season, lifting the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 1-0.
New York was held to one hit before Judge drove a first-pitch fastball from Scott Barlow (4-3) into the Kansas City bullpen with one out in the ninth, a 431-foot drive.
Judge sent the crowd of 43,836 into a frenzy, joining Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees with three walk-off home runs in one season. Tommy Henrich had two in 1949 plus another off Brooklyn’s Don Newcombe in the World Series opener.
Judge also stole his 10th base, a career high.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Daniel Castano was hit on the forehead by a 104 mph line drive off the bat of Donovan Solano in the first inning of the Miami Marlins’ 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
The ball hit the bill of his cap and ricocheted off the crown, manager Don Mattingly said. The team said Castano showed mild concussion symptoms and was bruised, and a CT scan was normal.
The 27-year-old left-hander fell to the field on his knees and held a hand to his head as Mattingly, catcher Jacob Stallings and athletic trainers went to the mound to check on him. Castano did not appear to lose consciousness, and the door on the outfield fence opened as a cart prepared to enter the field before Castano walked off on his own.
The ball was hit so hard it caromed to third baseman Joey Wendle, who caught it for the out.
TORONTO (AP) — Matt Chapman hit two home runs, Yusei Kikuchi came off the injured list to pitch five solid innings and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 for their 10th victory in 12 games.
Chapman hit a two-run homer off left-hander Tyler Alexander in the fourth and a solo shot off Angel De Jesus in the sixth, the ninth multi-homer game of his career and first this season. The home runs were his 17th and 18th of the year. Fourteen of Chapman’s 18 homers have come at home. He’s batting .306 with seven home runs in July.
Jonathan Schoop and Willi Castro each hit a solo home run for the Tigers, who have lost five of eight since the All-Star break.
BASKETBALL
MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin warned that a possible prisoner swap with the United States involving American basketball star Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly without fanfare.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Washington had offered Russia a deal that would bring home Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan. A person familiar with the matter said the U.S. government proposed trading convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Whelan and Griner.
Asked about the U.S. offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied that prisoner swaps were typically negotiated discreetly behind the scenes.
In a separate statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russian and U.S. officials have conducted negotiations about possible prisoner exchanges and “there has been no concrete result yet.”
GOLF
BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump played another round at his home course, this one different from so many others. He was part of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational pro-am, put on by a breakaway league he says is creating a “gold rush” for players.
The third LIV Golf event, which starts Friday at Trump National Bedminster, added four new players to the 48-man field that illustrated how the disruption goes beyond the PGA Tour.
Henrik Stenson of Sweden is among the newcomers, which led the European tour to strip him of the Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2023 matches in Italy.
Stenson was made aware during his news conference of a report in The Daily Telegraph, later matched by Golf Digest, that Luke Donald would be Europe’s captain.
By adding Stenson — the other three were Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Jason Kokrak — LIV Golf now has 12 former major champions on its roster, though only five among the top 50 in the world ranking.
DETROIT (AP) — Tony Finau, coming off his third career victory on the PGA Tour, and Taylor Pendrith shared the first-round lead at 8-under 64 in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, Michael Thompson, Cameron Champ, Lee Hodges and Matt Wallace were two shots back. Si Woo Kim and Kurt Kitayama, both ranked among the top 70 in the world, were in the pack at 67 at Detroit Golf Club.
Finau, who rallied from a five-shot deficit with 11 holes left to win the 3M Open by three shots Sunday in Minnesota, opened with a birdie and had five birdies on his front nine. After cooling off with four straight pars, Finau closed with his seventh and eighth birdies in a bogey-free round. He hit all 18 greens in regulation for the first time in 728 PGA Tour stroke-play rounds.
AUTO RACING
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden was cleared to practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway following his collapse after crashing at Iowa.
Newgarden will be re-evaluated Friday after practice to determine if he can compete Saturday on the road course at Indianapolis.
Newgarden was leading and headed to a sweep of the Iowa doubleheader Sunday when the suspension on his Team Penske car broke and he smashed hard into the wall. The driver from Nashville was evaluated in the Iowa medical center and cleared, but was required to undergo a second check Thursday by IndyCar officials at the speedway.
But not long after leaving the care center, Newgarden lost consciousness and collapsed in the motorhome lot. He hit his head on the pavement, opening a wound, and was airlifted to a Des Moines hospital and held overnight.
Team Penske stated all tests on Newgarden had been negative and he was held overnight as a precaution. The 31-year-old returned to Nashville on Monday and visited a specialist this week ahead of traveling to Indianapolis.
Team Penske had Santino Ferrucci on standby in case IndyCar said Newgarden can not race Saturday.
The Associated Press
