Court supports injunction, Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension suspended

A federal judge has blocked Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension over a domestic violence case, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy legal fight with the NFL.

Last year’s league rushing leader was already cleared to play in the opener against the Giants on Sunday night before the ruling by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant on Friday.

Mazzant agreed with union lawyers that Elliott didn’t receive a “fundamentally fair” hearing in his appeal and he granted the NFL Players’ Association request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the league’s punishment.

College football

PURDUE TOPS OHIO UNIVERSITY » Ohio Univeristy held tough for a quarter, but 24 points from Purdue in the second led to a 44-21 victory for the host Boilermakers.

Purdue (1-1) took a 10-0 lead on a 36-yard Spencer Evans field goal and 17-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Sindelar to Brycen Hopkins, but a rushing score by A.J. Ouellette made it a 10-7 game after one quarter.

Julian Ross and Cameron Odom also scored for the Bobcats (1-1). Austin Conrad (Keystone) registered a tackle in the loss.

FLORIDA STATE, FLORIDA CANCEL GAMES» FloridaState and Florida canceled their Saturday home football games because of Hurricane Irma.

No. 10 Florida State was set to play Louisiana-Monroe, and No. 22 Florida was scheduled to face Northern Colorado.

The storm also impacted games involving Florida teams outside the Top 25. South Florida and UConn called off their game in Connecticut because of travel concerns. Central Florida also announced its scheduled Friday night home game with Memphis had been called off. The Memphis-UCF game had been moved from Saturday to Friday because of the threat.

The cancellations came after Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered all state colleges and universities closed through Monday to support shelter and emergency relief efforts.

Tennis

NADAL, ANDERSON TO MEET IN U.S. OPEN FINAL» Once Rafael Nadal went from passive to aggressive and got his uppercut of a forehand going, it didn’t take long for him to power into the U.S. Open final.

Closing in on a third title at Flushing Meadows and 16th Grand Slam championship overall, Nadal overcame a soso start with an overwhelming performance the rest of the way Friday night, taking nine games in a row during one stretch to beat 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals.

No. 1 Nadal will be a significant favorite Sunday against No. 32 Kevin Anderson of South Africa, who beat Pablo Carreno Busta, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, to become the lowest-ranked U.S. Open finalist since the ATP’s computer rankings began in 1973. The 6-foot-8 Anderson, who won an NCAA doubles title at the University of Illinois, is equipped with a big serve, certainly, but he only once had even been a quarterfinalist at a major until this week. He’s also lost all four previous matches against Nadal.

Minor league baseball

LYNCHBURG FORCES GAME 3 » The Indians’ Advanced-A affiliate Lynchburg topped Frederick, 4-0, to force a decisive Game 3 to determine if the Hillcats can be co-champions of the Carolina League.

The series concludes on Sept. 9.

The Hillcats’ offense was led by Mitch Longo, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.