U.S. loses, fails to qualify for Olympic Games in Tokyo
The United States missed its third straight Olympic men’s soccer tournament, losing to Honduras 2-1 on Sunday night in a qualification game as Juan Carlos Obregón scored in the fourth minute of firsthalf stoppage time and goalkeeper David Ochoa committed a blunder that gifted Luis Palma a goal two minutes into the second half.
U.S. captain Jackson Yueill, a San Jose Earthquakes midfielder, pulled a goal back with a curling 23yard shot in the 52nd minute and the Americans had several good chances to tie the score. Jonathan Lewis’ 63rd-minute header was headed off the goal line by Wesley Degas, Yueill’s free kick in the 69th was batted away by goalkeeper Alex Barrios Lewis allowed an open 4-yard shot off Tanner Tessman’s pass in the 83rd minute to bounce off a boot, and Johnny Cardoso mis-hit an open header in stoppage time.
While Honduras advanced to its fourth straight Olympics this summer in Japan, the U.S. extended its streak of futility.
The U.S. men played in four of five Olympics from 1992 to 2008, but have since come up short in 2012, 2016 and this year.
Baseball
BUMGARNER TO START ARIZONA’S OPENER >>
Former Giants World Series hero Madison Bumgarner will make his second straight opening day start for the Arizona Diamondbacks when they travel to face the Padres on Thursday.
Manager Torey Lovullo said on Sunday the fourtime All-Star would lead the rotation despite a rough 2020 season, when he had a 1-4 record and 6.48 ERA. He’ll be followed in the rotation by Merrill Kelly, Caleb Smith, Taylor Widener and Luke Weaver.
Football
REPORT: NFL TO APPROVE 17GAME SEASON >> NFL owners will approve the expansion of the regular season to 17 games this week, ESPN reported.
It would be the first expansion of the schedule since moving from 14 games to 16 in 1978.
Owners of the 32 NFL teams are scheduled to hold meetings remotely on Tuesday and Wednesday. REPORT: ALUALU STAYING WITH STEELERS >> Former Cal defensive tackle Tyson Alualu has decided to forego an offer from the Jacksonville Jaguars and stick with the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to reports.
Alualu, 33, had agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal with the Jaguars, but apparently changed his mind after testing positive for COVID-19 and quarantining for 10 days.
Golf
HORSCHEL CAPTURES WGCMATCH PLAY TITLE >> No. 32 seed Billy Horschel played steady golf to beat former Texas Longhorn Scottie Scheffler, the No. 30 seed, 2 and 1 in the championship match at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play event in Austin, Tex.
The victory marked a personal best for Horschel, who earned his sixth PGA Tour title and his first since 2018. In five previous tournament appearances, Horschel had never advanced to the Round of 16. PARK PICKS UP WIN IN HER SEASON OPENER >> Inbee Park opened her LPGA Tour season with a wireto-wire victory in the Kia Classic in Carlsbad on the eve of the first major championship of the season.
The Hall of Famer finally put it all together at Aviara Golf Club, winning her 21st LPGA Tour title after finishing second on the scenic course in 2010, 2016 and 2019. Park closed with a 2-under 70 for a five-stroke victory over Lexi Thompson and Amy Olson. DAHMEN GRABS FIRST PGA WIN>> Fifth-year tour veteran Joel Dahmen survived two bogeys on his back nine to capture his first career PGA title at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.
The 33-year-old Dahmen shot a 2-under 70 in the final round at Corales Golf Club to finish at 12-under 276 for the tournament, one shot ahead of Sam Ryder (67) and third-round co-leader Rafael Campos of Puerto Rico (71).
Motorsports
NASCAR DIRT RACES POSTPONED >>
Both NASCAR dirt races scheduled for Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway were postponed until Monday because of heavy rainfall in Tennessee.
The Food City Dirt Race, the first Cup Series race since 1970 on a dirt track, will start at 1 p.m. PT Monday and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports.
The Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt, already delayed from its originally scheduled Saturday night slot, is set to begin at 9 a.m. PT on Monday and will air live on FoxSports1.
HAMILTON WINS F1 SEASONOPENER >> World champion Lewis Hamilton just held off Max Verstappen to win the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and clinch the 96th Formula One win of his career.
The race was effectively decided when Verstappen overtook Hamilton but went too wide on a turn and was told by his team to give Hamilton the position back, as he risked a time penalty.
Verstappen still had a few laps to catch Hamilton and he almost did, finishing just .74 seconds behind the Mercedes driver.