Sports shorts Falcons dispute report that Freeman is out 2-3 weeks MLB

The Atlanta Falcons disputed a report that running back Devonta Freeman will be out for as long as three weeks with a knee injury.

Coach Dan Quinn said Monday that Freeman is listed as day to day.

Freeman injured his right knee in a Week 1 loss to the Eagles and didn’t play in Sunday’s 31-24 victory over the Panthers.

ESPN reported that Freeman will miss two to three weeks with a contusion, which would rule him out of next weekend’s NFC South matchup against New Orleans and possibly a Sept. 30 game against Cincinnati.

The coach remained vague about Freeman’s possible return, however, having said previously that hopes it’s not a long-term problem. Aleksander Barkov was announced as the 10th captain of the Panthers on Monday, with outgoing captain Derek MacKenzie ceremonially and willingly handing the 23-year-old Finnish star his first Florida jersey with a “C” stitched onto the shoulder. MacKenzie held the job for two years, always knowing that a member of the Panthers’ young core would take the role one day.

Barkov is entering his sixth NHL season. He is coming off the best year of his career, with 27 goals and 51 assists for 78 points in 79 games.

He becomes the second-youngest current captain in the NHL, behind only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid. Among the other 20 captains in the NHL not counting Barkov or McDavid, and taking into account that nine teams currently have captain vacancies the average age is 32.

The Panthers, who started their preseason schedule with a Monday doubleheader against Nashville, begin their 25th regular season on Oct. 6 at Tampa Bay. Kohl Stewart pitched six solid innings for Minnesota, and Eddie Rosario homered before leaving with an injury in the Twins’ 6-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

Gabriel Moya pitched the opening inning for Minnesota before Stewart (2-1) took over and worked through the seventh. He allowed an unearned run and three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Rosario hit a solo shot in the first, his 24th home run of the year. He left in the fourth after aggravating a right quad injury on the play that gave Detroit its only run of the game.

Jorge Polanco added a solo homer of his own in the ninth.

Jordan Zimmermann (7-8) allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings. He yielded a double and five singles in the fourth, when the Twins scored four times.

Nicholas Castellanos had three hits and a walk for the Tigers.

Polanco hit a drive to right in the ninth that was barely foul. The play was reviewed and the call was upheld then Polanco promptly connected for a homer that was more toward rightcenter.

Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire had a chance to manage against his son Toby, who is spending some time with the Twins as a coach. Toby Gardenhire is the manager of the Twins’ Class A affiliate in Cedar Rapids.

The Gardenhires came out for the lineup exchange before the game and posed for a picture with the umpires.

The Baltimore Orioles lost their 107th game, tied for most in a season since their arrival in 1954, falling to the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 Monday night.

Rookie Ryan Borucki pitched eight innings of three-hit ball for the Blue Jays, who have won 13 of 17 games between the two bottom teams in the AL East.