NFL fans make a full-force return
Tailgating, face-painted fans returned in full force at stadiums around the country Sunday as the NFL opened its doors to capacity for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Some wore masks, some didn’t. Some are vaccinated, some aren’t.
Restrictions varied in different cities, with the Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints the only teams requiring fans to provide proof of vaccination to enter.
The defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcomed 65,566 fans Thursday night to kick off the season, and 15 teams were set to host more than 1 million fans in Week 1.
Fans are back en masse even as COVID-19 surges because of the delta variant.
Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore agreed to a five-year contract extension worth in the range of $97 million, the Associated Press reported.
UCLA moves to No. 13; USC drops out of polls
UCLA moved up three spots to No. 13 in both the AP and coaches college football polls despite not playing over the weekend.
The Bruins (2-0) continue to bask in the afterglow of their Sept. 4 victory over Louisiana State (1-1).
UCLA’s next opponent, Fresno State (2-1), received votes in both polls after walloping Cal Poly 63-10.
Only two other Pac-12 Conference schools were ranked after Stanford beat then-No. 14 USC 42-28, knocking the Trojans (1-1) out of both polls. Oregon moved up to No. 4 in both polls after winning at Ohio State, and Arizona State moved up to No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 21 in the coaches poll after a victory over Nevada Las Vegas.
— Ben Bolch
B.J. Baylor rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns to help lead host Oregon State (1-1) to a 45-27 win over Hawaii (1-2) late Saturday.
Billy Horschel became the second American, after Arnold Palmer, to win the BMW PGA Championship following a dramatic final round in Virginia Water, England, in which Lee Westwood, Bernd Wiesberger, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton secured the final automatic qualifying places for Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
Horschel made a closing birdie for a seven-under-par 65 and a 19-under 269 total for a one-stroke victory in the European Tour’s flagship event.
Shane Lowry tied for 17th to miss out on an automatic spot, but he was named as one of Padraig Harrington’s captain’s picks along with Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter.
David Toms beat Dicky Pride with a par on the first hole of a playoff in the PGA Tour Champions’ Ascension Charity Classic in St. Louis.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, won by Daniel Ricciardo. The stewards judged that Verstappen was to blame for the collision and gave him a three-place grid drop for the start of the next race, the Russian GP. He leads the Formula One season standings by five points over Hamilton.
Alex Palou won at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway to reclaim the IndyCar points lead . ... Tommy Johnson Jr. won the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals in Mohnton, Pa., as a substitute driver for Matt Hagan (COVID-19), in funny car in the playoff opener. Billy Torrence (top fuel), Greg Anderson (pro stock) and Steve Johnson (pro stock motorcycle) also won.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in his first match back after missing four months because of a knee injury. He notched AC Milan’s second goal in a 2-0 home win over Lazio in Italian Serie A. ... Mohamed Salah scored his 100th English Premier League goal to help Liverpool earn a 3-0 win at Leeds that was marred by a serious ankle injury to Liverpool midfielder