KYLE BUSCH JUST TRYING TO STAY IN CUP PLAYOFFS Kim has Women’s PGA lead. 3 MLS players, 2 staff test positive for coronavirus.
CONCORD, N. C » . Kyle Busch, to be clear, was only venting when he said he’d be knocked out of the playoffs this round. The reigning Cup champion insisted he was frustrated and flippant when he wrote off his season.
“I wouldn’t be continuing to go to the racetrack each and every week and pouring my heart and soul into this and taking time away from my family if I didn’t care,” Busch said. “That’s tongue- in- cheek talk and should be known as that, coming from me, obviously.”
Here he is on the verge of elimination headed into Sunday’s race on the hybrid road course- oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch is 21 points below the cutoff line and could become the first reigning champion eliminated in the round of 12 when four are trimmed from the field. Nadal vs. Djokovic again. Men’s tennis finally got a new Grand Slam champion in New York last month as Dominic Thiem, an Austrian in, of all things, his 20s won the U. S. Open.
Less than a month later, the youth revolution is back on hold at Roland Garros. The movement still cannot budge Rafael Nadal, 34, and Novak Djokovic, 33, who will face off in Sunday’s French Open men’s final.
NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA. » Sei Young Kim had another excellent outing at KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, shooting a 3- under 67 Saturday to hold the lead after three rounds at Aronimink. The South Korean sits at 7- under 203, two strokes ahead of Brooke Henderson and Anna Nordqvist as she tries for her first career major championship.
A 10- time LPGA Tour winner, Kim was runner- up at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018.
Allmendinger wins in rain.
CONCORD, N. C. » AJ Allmendinger splashed his way through a torrential rainstorm that turned Charlotte Motor Speedway into a slip- and- slide Saturday to win the Xfinity Series race on the hybrid road course- oval “Roval.”
Allmendinger won for the second time this season in 10 starts for
Kaulig Racing. He’s easily the most experienced NASCAR driver at both road course racing and driving in wet conditions — Allmendinger has a long career in multiple formulas, including sports cars and openwheel, which both race in the rain.
NEW YORK » Two Minnesota United players, an Orlando City player and two Columbus Crew staff members have tested positive for COVID- 19, forcing the postponement of two MLS games. Major League Soccer said Saturday the Crew’s match at Orlando City and Minnesota’s match at FC Dallas on Sunday were postponed because of the positive tests. The league earlier postponed Saturday’s match between the Colorado Rapids and the LA Galaxy.
Chicago Bears place OL Badara Traore on COVID- 19 list.
CHICAGO » The Chicago Bears moved offensive lineman Badara Traore from their practice squad to the reserve/ COVID- 19 list on Saturday. Because he is a practice squad player, Traore would not have been allowed on the sideline for Chicago’s win over Tampa Bay at Soldier Field on Thursday.
Cantlay catches Laird at Shriners.
LAS VEGAS » Patrick Cantlay picked up enough birdies on the back nine to catch up to Martin Laird, and they each had a 6- under 65 to share the lead going into the final round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
University of Minnesota cuts 3 men’s sports programs.
MINNEAPOLIS » The University of Minnesota is cutting three of its men’s sports programs — gymnastics, tennis and indoor track — partly due to budget deficit made worse by the COVID- 19 pandemic.