Deion Sanders named football coach at Jackson State

Deion Sanders wiped away tears of joy and passion before speaking.

Jackson State’s new football coach then stated “I believe” many times about what he envisions happening on and off the field.

“I have a commitment to excellence in each and every thing I do,” the Hall of Fame cornerback said during his introduction as the Tigers’ 21st coach, a number also significant because of his jersey number and Monday’s date.

“We’re going to win. We’re going to look good while we win, and we’re going to have a good time while we win.”

Sanders’ introduction followed his announcement Sunday night on the first episode of the “21st & Prime” podcast with Jamie Dukes on Barstool Sports. The player known as “Prime Time” added: “Isn’t this the time? Isn’t this the moment? Isn’t this what’s needed? It’s a match made in heaven.”

Currently the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian School-cedar Hill in Texas, Sanders is taking his first head coaching job.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference school introduced Sanders with the trademark pomp of a historically Black university. Its marching band led a police-escorted motorcade into an arena with a boisterous yet socially distanced audience. “Coach Prime” later opened a blue blazer lined with the JSU logo to much applause.

Acting Jackson State president Thomas Hudson called the hiring “the grace of God” and cited the school’s football history in landing Sanders.

Massachusetts changes course, opts to play football this fall

Umass says it will play football this fall, reversing an August decision to postpone the season until the spring.

One of few independents in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the school says it will start in mid-october. Games still need to be scheduled, which could be a challenge because most leagues are playing a limited number of nonconference games, if any.

There will be no fans at any of the team’s home games in Amherst.

Djokovic rolls to Italian Open title in straight sets

Fifteen days after he was defaulted from the U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic had plenty to celebrate on Monday.

Djokovic beat Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 to win his fifth Italian Open title; he passed childhood idol Pete Sampras for the second-most weeks at No. 1 with 287 — trailing only Roger Federer’s 310 weeks in the top spot — and he reasserted his dominance before the French Open starts Sunday.

Djokovic improved to 31-1 this year — with his only loss against Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. That was when Djokovic unintentionally hit a line judge in the throat with a ball in a fit of anger, resulting in him being thrown out.

In the women’s final, top-seeded Simona Halep won her first Rome title when 2019 champion Karolina Pliskova retired midway through their match with a left thigh injury.

Halep was leading 6-0, 2-1 when Pliskova stopped playing after 31 minutes.

WNBA postpones game between Storm and Lynx due to virus

The opener of the WNBA playoff series between the Seattle Storm and the Minnesota Lynx was postponed nearly 90 minutes before its scheduled tipoff Sunday because of inconclusive COVID-19 test results for Storm players.

The players with inconclusive results underwent additional testing and are in isolation, according to the WNBA.

The league announced Sunday night that Game 1 of the best-of-five semifinal series would be played Tuesday. That was supposed to be Game 2.

Furyk makes it 2 for 2 on PGA Tour Champions

Jim Furyk joined Arnold Palmer and Bruce Fleisher as the only players to win their first two PGA Tour Champions starts, beating Jerry Kelly with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff Sunday in the Pure Insurance Championship in Pebble Beach, California.

The 50-year-old Furyk won The Ally Championship last month in Michigan in his tour debut. Palmer won his first two events in 1980, and Fleisher accomplished the feat in 1999.

Furyk and Kelly both laid up on the par-5 18th in the playoff, with Kelly hitting his approach to 10 feet and Furyk following with a 90-yard wedge to 3 feet. Furyk holed his birdie try after Kelly pulled his attempt.

Georgia Hall wins LPGA’S Portland Classic in playoff

Georgia Hall won the Cambia Portland Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory in the United States, beating Ashleigh Buhai with a par on the second hole of a playoff.

Hall won after falling into a tie with a bogey on the part-4 18th in regulation.

The 24-year-old Englishwoman, the 2018 Women’s British Open champion, matched Buhai with a par on 18 on the first extra hole and won on the par-4 first at Columbia Edgewater.

Nevin, who won Stanley Cups with Maple Leafs, dies at 82

Bob Nevin, a fan favorite who won two Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs before a successful run as captain of the New York Rangers, has died. He was 82.

The NHL said he died early Monday but did not give a cause.

Nevin played 1,128 NHL games with Toronto, New York, Minnesota and Los Angeles, totaling 726 points (307 goals, 419 assists) while compiling just 211 penalty minutes.

Nevin, one of the first NHL players to wear contact lenses, was part of one of hockey’s more surreal moments. During a 1962 game with Toronto in Chicago, he lost a lens. Time was called, and players and officials dropped to their knees to scour the ice looking for the wayward lens. It never turned up.

Przybylko scores twice to lead Union over 10-man Impact

Kacper Przybylko scored late in the first half and early in the second to help the Philadelphia Union beat the 10man Montreal Impact 4-1 on Sunday night in Harrison, New Jersey.

Alejandro Bedoya tied it for the Union (7-2-3) in the 22nd minute, Przybylko connected in first-half stoppage time and again in the 47th, and Anthony Fontanta capped the scoring in the 65th.

Romell Quioto scored for Montreal (5-6-1) in the fifth minute. He was ejected in the 15th minute for elbowing Mark Mckenzie in the face.

Five players ruled out of French Open qualifying because of COVID-19

Two players in the qualifying rounds for the French Open have tested positive for the coronavirus, the French Tennis Federation said late Sunday, while three others have been in close contact with a coach who also tested positive.

The FFT said in a statement that all five players will isolate for a period of seven days, and none of them will participate in the qualifiers that started Monday for the tournament, which begins Sunday.

Langlois, three-time Cup winner with Canadiens, dies at 85

Albert Langlois, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens, has died. He was 85.

The team announced the death Sunday.

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