Big 12 Conference welcomes aboard four new members
BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston joined the Big 12 Conference on Friday and the league said it has not ruled out further expansion in the future as it prepares for the departures of Oklahoma and Texas.
The eight continuing members of the Big 12 unanimously approved applications from the four schools that sought membership after the league learned the Sooners and Longhorns will leave for the Southeastern Conference no later than July 2025.
Within hours after the Big 12 vote, all four schools had formally accepted the invitations.
BYU said all its sports will begin Big 12 schedules in the 2023-24 athletic season. BYU is an independent in football, but competes in the West Coast Conference for basketball and so-called Olympic sports like track and swimming.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said current American Athletic Conference teams UCF, Cincinnati and Houston will join no later than July 1, 2024, but he “certainly wouldn’t foreclose” on the possibility of them coming in a year earlier with BYU.
The AAC requires members to give 27 months’ notice if they plan to leave the league, though there could be negotiations to reduce that time.
Clippers announce preseason schedule, including two at home
The Clippers’ preseason plans are set: According to a release by the NBA, they’ll have four games in early October, starting with two at Staples Center, including an Oct. 4 contest against the Denver Nuggets and another on Oct. 6 against the Sacramento Kings. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.
The Clippers also will travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks on Oct. 8 at American Airlines Center.
They’ll close out the preseason with a game against former Clipper Patrick Beverley and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Arena in Ontario, where the Agua Caliente Clippers — the team’s G League affiliate — play their home games.
• The Toronto Raptors have gotten approval from the Canadian government to play games at their home arena this season.
Toronto played last season in Tampa, Florida, because of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mathieu’s status for Chiefs’ season opener uncertain
Tyrann Mathieu remained in the COVID-19 protocol on Friday and the Kansas City Chiefs remain uncertain whether their All-Pro safety will be cleared in time for their season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
The Chiefs essentially are preparing two defensive game plans depending on whether Mathieu, who is fully vaccinated, returns the two negative tests 24 hours apart that are required for him to take the field on Sunday.
Mathieu tested positive Sept. 1, giving the Chiefs plenty of time to work other players into the mix.
• The Baltimore Ravens put running back Gus Edwards and cornerback Marcus Peters on injured reserve with knee injuries, which coach John Harbaugh described as season-ending, non-contact ligament tears from practice.
The Ravens signed running backLatavius Murray to the roster. Murray, who rushed for a career-high 1,066 yards in 2015 with the Oakland Raiders, spent the past two seasons with the New Orleans
Saints, who released him this week.
• New York Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder will miss the season opener at Carolina on Sunday while he continues to recover from COVID-19.
• Roughly a year after tearing his right ACL, indications are running back Saquon Barkley is going to play for the New York Giants in the season opener against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Coach Joe Judge said the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year had a good week of practice, terming the workouts encouraging and promising.
• Dallas Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins was suspended five games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
The suspension came a day after Collins played his first game since 2019 in the Cowboys’ opener, a 31-29 loss to Tampa Bay. Collins missed all of 2020 because of a hip issue that required surgery.
• Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup is expected to miss three-to-five weeks with a calf injury sustained in Thursday night’s game in which he had four receptions for 36 yards.
• Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr has been ruled out for the season opener at Cincinnati because of a nagging knee injury that kept him on the sideline for much of the preseason.
Barr, taken by the Vikings with the ninth overall draft pick out of UCLA in 2014, tore his pectoral muscle in the second game of 2020 and missed the remainder of the season.
Suspended trainers’ horses can’t earn Kentucky Derby points
Points from races in the series that earn berths in the Kentucky Derby won’t be awarded to any horse trained by an individual who is suspended from entering the Kentucky Derby in 2022.
The rule announced by Churchill Downs also applies to any trainer directly or indirectly employed, supervised or advised by a suspended trainer. The rule takes effect Sept. 30.
Any horse that would have earned series points after Sept. 30 will have those points vacated.
The same rules apply to the points series that award berths to fillies in the Kentucky Oaks on Derby eve.
Aphibarnrat grabs the lead at BMW PGA Championship
Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand took the outright lead at the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England after the second round of the flagship event on the European Tour.
Aphibarnrat, who started the day in a tie for the lead, shot 4-under 68 to be 12 under overall. That’s one stroke clear of Laurie Canter (66) and Francesco Laporta (65), and two ahead of Adam Scott (69).
Justin Rose needs a win this week at the tour’s headquarters at Wentworth to qualify automatically for the Ryder Cup and the Englishman shot 68 to follow up an opening 67, leaving him tied for fifth place and three shots off the lead along with Billy Horschel (65) and Jamie Donaldson (66).
• Paul Goydos, Doug Barron and Marco Dawson each shot 5-under 66 to share the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ inaugural Ascension Charity Classic in St. Louis.
Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Wes Short Jr., Steve Flesch and Cliff Kresge were a stroke back on Norwood Hills’ West Course, the tree-lined layout where Ben Hogan won the 1948 PGA Championship for his second major title.