IN THE NEWS

AUTO RACING

Another pole for Verstappen

Max Verstappen won the pole position for the season-ending Abu Grand Prix on Saturday and will look to finish a crushingly dominant year with a 19th win. A victory on Sunday would take the Red Bull driver to 54 career wins, past Sebastian Vettel and into third place all time. The three-time F1 champion’s 12th pole of the season took him to 32 overall. He will start the race ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in second place and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in third.

FOOTBALL

Miami’s Holland rips MetLife Stadium turf

Miami safety Jevon Holland called the MetLife Stadium turf in East Rutherford, N.J., “trash” after teammate Jaelan Phillips injured his right Achilles tendon in the Dolphins’ 34-13 win over the New York Jets on Thursday. Phillips was carted from the field late in the fourth quarter, a non-contact injury that reignited the turf-vs.-grass debate among players. The third-year linebacker was scheduled to have additional tests on Saturday but appeared to indicate in a post on X that he has a potentially season-ending injury.

GOLF

Adding to his lead

Min Woo Lee extended his lead to three shots at the Australian PGA Championship after a 5-under 66 in overcast conditions on Saturday to move to 17 under after three rounds. Rikuya Hoshino of Japan surged into second at 14 under after making six birdies on the back nine for a 64 on Saturday, moving one shot ahead of Curtis Luck (66) and three ahead of Adam Scott, who slipped to fourth place with a thirdround 71. Marc Leishman (67) and Cam Davis (68) were in a group of four in seventh place at 9 under.

South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence will take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Joburg Open as he tries to reclaim the title he won two years ago. Lawrence led after the first round and he returned to the top of the leaderboard on Saturday with a 3-under 67 to go 15-under overall at Houghton Golf Club in South Africa. He made four birdies to go with one bogey in the third round. Dean Burmester (68) is Lawrence’s nearest chaser at three shots back. The Joburg Open is the season-opening event on the European Tour.

HOCKEY

2-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday night at the PPL Center. Goaltender Brandon Bussi stopped 41 shots as the P-Bruins snapped a four-game losing streak. Jayson Megna had given Providence the lead with a goal with 58 seconds remaining in the first period. It stayed that way until Olle Lycksell jammed in a rebound that was in the blue paint for a powerplay goal, tying the game at 1-1 with 5:48 left in the third period. The winning goal came when Georgii Merkulov zipped a pass to Lysell at the left post, who onetimed the puck into the back of the net. Cal Petersen had 26 saves for the Phantoms. Providence played at Bridgeport on Saturday night.

Wild’s Fleury wears banned mask

Marc-Andre Fleury wore a mask in warmups on the Minnesota Wild’s Native American Heritage night on Friday after being told by the NHL that it was not allowed. Fleury’s agent confirmed earlier in the day the league said the mask was a violation of the policy prohibiting gear for team theme nights. Allan Walsh said Fleury offered to pay the fine before the league threatened more serious punishment. The situation is the latest chapter in the league’s ongoing controversy with theme games since a handful of players opted out of Pride night warmups last season.

Colorado player seeks help

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard will be away from the team indefinitely while he receives care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Girard cited anxiety and depression leading to alcohol abuse as the reason for entering the program. He had been away from the Avalanche for personal reasons. The 25-year-old will continue to be paid while getting treatment. The Roberval, Quebec, native is in his seventh full NHL season.

TENNIS

Davis Cup semifinal

Jannik Sinner saved three match points before ending Novak Djokovic‘s streak of 21 straight wins in Davis Cup singles matches, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, to pull Italy even at 1-1 with Serbia in their semifinal showdown on Saturday in Malaga, Spain. Sinner’s win avenged his loss to Djokovic for the ATP Finals title just six days earlier. Djokovic’s last singles loss in the Davis Cup was when he retired against Juan Martin del Potro in Serbia’s 2011 semifinal defeat against Argentina. Djokovic squandered a trio of match points before Sinner rallied and broke his next service game to go ahead, 6-5, before serving out the match. Miomir Kecmanovic beat Lorenzo Musetti, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1, to give Serbia a 1-0 lead over Italy in the first singles match. Djokovic and Sinner are scheduled to face each other again in the deciding doubles match. The winner will face Australia in Sunday’s final on the same indoor hard court in Malaga.