Weekend Sports in Brief
Published 7:45 am Tuesday, May 28, 2019
PRO FOOTBALL
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Bart Starr, the gentlemanly quarterback and catalyst of Vince Lombardi’s powerhouse Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s whose sneak won the famed “Ice Bowl” in 1967, died Sunday. He was 85.
The Packers selected Starr out of the University of Alabama with the 200th pick in the 1956 draft. He led Green Bay to six division titles, five NFL championships and wins in the first two Super Bowls.
The Packers said Starr died in Birmingham, Alabama, where he lived. He had been in failing health since suffering two strokes and a heart attack in 2014.
Starr was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro. He won NFL titles in 1961, ‘62, ‘65, ‘67 and ‘68. He was the 1966 NFL MVP and was named to the 1960s All-Decade team. He also was named MVP of the first two Super Bowls.
But the play he was most famous for was a run. In the NFL championship on Dec. 31, 1967, Starr knifed into the end zone behind guard Jerry Kramer and center Ken Bowman with 16 seconds left to lift the Packers over the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in what became known as the “Ice Bowl.”
PRO BASKETBALL
TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard had 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors into the NBA Finals for the first time with a 100-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
The Raptors overcame a 15-point deficit to win the series in six games and will host the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. It will be the two-time defending champions against a Raptors team that will finally bring the NBA Finals outside the U.S. after entering the league in 1995.
Pascal Siakam scored 18 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 and Fred VanVleet 14 for the Raptors, who used a 26-3 run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to turn the game in their favor.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, but the NBA’s top team in the regular season saw its bid for a first finals berth in 45 years come to a disappointing end with a fourth consecutive defeat.
SOCCER
HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Tobin Heath was gifted a goal by a goalkeeper error early in the first half, Mallory Pugh and Christen Press scored late in the second and the United States beat Mexico 3-0 Sunday in a World Cup send-off match.
Seeking its second straight World Cup title and fourth overall, the top-ranked U.S. has seven wins and two draws since a Jan. 19 defeat at France that ended a 28-game unbeaten streak. The Americans leave Monday for London, where they will be based at Tottenham’s training camp before heading to France. They open against Thailand on June 11, then play Chile and Sweden.
Mexico failed to qualify after consecutive group stage eliminations, is ranked 26th and fielded a relatively inexperienced team mixed with a few veterans.
BASEBALL
CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs slugger Kris Bryant left Sunday’s game against Cincinnati after colliding with center fielder Jason Heyward in the sixth inning.
Speaking right after Chicago’s 10-2 loss, manager Joe Maddon said he hadn’t watched the replay but was told Bryant was hit in the head/neck area.
Bryant was cleared to travel with the team to Houston for the start of its six-game road trip. He walked through the Cubs’ clubhouse after the loss to the Reds, but the media wasn’t allowed to speak with him because he was still being evaluated.
With two outs and Nick Senzel on first, Heyward and Bryant converged on Eugenio Suárez’s fly ball toward the gap in right-center. It looked as if Heyward and Bryant both called for it before running into each other, and the ball went off Heyward’s glove. Bryant, a natural third baseman who occasionally plays the outfield, stayed down as Senzel scored and Suárez hustled into third. Maddon and a trainer ran out to take a look, and the 2016 NL MVP gingerly walked off the field after a short conversation.
GOLF
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kevin Na birdied four of the first eight holes and shot a 4-under 66 to cruise to a four-shot victory over Tony Finau at Colonial on Sunday.
The South Korean-born American opened with a two-shot lead and was in front by at least that many for the final 16 holes after putting his second shot inside 5 feet for birdie at the par-4 second. Na finished 13 under.
Na’s third career PGA Tour victory, and second in 10 months, came after putting himself in contention with a second-round 62, one off the Colonial record. It was his third score at least that good in a span of six on the cozy course made famous by Ben Hogan.
Local favorite Jordan Spieth’s strong putting disappeared in a 2-over 72 as the Dallas native finished eight shots back to remain without a victory since his third major title at the 2017 British Open.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — Bronte Law shot a 3-under 67 and held off a series of challengers Sunday to win the Pure Silk Championship by two shots for her first career victory on the LPGA Tour.
The 24-year-old Englishwoman, a former star at UCLA, held a share of the lead after all four rounds and finished with a 17-under 267 total on the River Course at the Kingsmill Resort.
Madelene Sagstrom, Brooke Henderson and third-round co-leader Nasa Hataoka tied for second. Sagstrom shot 66, Henderson 68 and Hataoka 69.
PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Ken Tanigawa overcame a three-shot deficit on the back nine to pass defending champion Paul Broadhurst and win the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday.
In only his second year on the senior tour and some 15 years after giving up playing professionally, Tanigawa shot an even-par 70 to finish at 3-under 277 at Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course. The 51-year-old held off PGA Tour Champions money leader Scott McCarron by a stroke.