OJ Simpson is freed; no word on where he went

O.J. Simpson was set free in the dead of night Sunday after nine years for armed robbery.

Officials at a remote Nevada prison where O.J. Simpson was set free early Sunday after nine years for armed robbery arranged the former football and Hollywood star’s dead-of-night departure to avoid public scrutiny.

It worked. Simpson signed release paperwork just before midnight Sept. 30 and disappeared into the darkness minutes into the first day he was eligible for release. Through efforts by prison officials to keep the time and place secret, there were no journalists outside the prison gates to capture the moment.

Though publicity-prone in the past, Simpson was neither heard from nor seen publicly as the day wore on — apparently taking the advice of people in his inner circle that he avoid the spotlight.

Simpson was released at 12:08 a.m. from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada, state prisons spokeswoman Brooke Keast told The Associated Press. She said she didn’t know the name of the driver who met him and took him to an undisclosed location.

Keast recorded and released a brief video on social media in which Simpson is told to “come on out” and he responds “OK” after walking through an open door and toward a parking lot bordered by desert scrub brush.

“I don’t have any information on where he’s going,” said Keast, who also took photographs showing Simpson — in blue jeans, denim jacket, eyeglasses, ball cap and white sneakers — signing documents about 10 minutes before midnight.

Tom Scotto, a Simpson friend who lives in Naples, Florida, said by text message an hour after the release that he was with Simpson. Scotto did not answer texts asking where they were going or whether members of Simpson’s family were with them.

Along with Simpson’s sister and oldest daughter, Scotto had attended the July parole hearing at the same prison where Simpson went after his conviction for a botched 2007 heist at a Las Vegas hotel room — prison time he avoided after his 1995 acquittal in the killings of his ex-wife and her friend.

NASCAR

BUSCH VICTORIOUS AT DOVER » Kyle Busch spoiled Chase Elliott’s run at his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory, taking the lead with two laps left to win Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Elliott led 138 laps and seemed poised to break through and reach victory lane for the first time in 70 career starts. Busch seemed to have the fresher tires on the No. 18 Toyota and reeled in Elliott down the stretch. Busch gave a hohum race a thrilling ending and won for the second straight week.

Busch won for the fourth time and is hot at the right time as NASCAR’s playoffs head into the second round.

Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne were eliminated as the playoff field was cut from 16 to 12.

Elliott was second, followed by 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson.

Golf

AMERICANS TAKE PRESIDENTS CUP AGAIN » The Americans won the Presidents Cup for the seventh straight time, and this one was no contest.

With most of the work already done, a dominant U.S. team needed only one point from the 12 singles matches Sunday. Kevin Chappell halved the first match with Marc Leishman, and victory was assured when Daniel Berger went 3 up with three to play against Si Woo Kim in the fourth match.

Berger wound up winning his match, and the celebration was on.

The last point came from Phil Mickelson, a 47-year-old on an American team that featured six players in their 20s. Mickelson has played in every Presidents Cup since it began in 1994. This was his 23rd straight team in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. And in his 100th career match, he beat Adam Hadwin, 2 and 1. The final score was 19-11.

The Americans fell short of their goal to become the first Presidents Cup team to win all five sessions. The Internationals won six matches and halved two others. One of those victories belonged to Jhonattan Vegas, who waved his Venezuela flag after beating Jordan Spieth, keeping Spieth winless in singles in his five team competitions as a pro.

President Donald Trump arrived at Liberty National about 45 minutes before the Americans secured the gold trophy that he was to present to them.