Sports briefs
In tennis
Until now, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz has exhibited enough promise and precociousness to make people think he eventually could succeed Rafael Nadal as Spain’s top tennis player. On Friday at the U.S. Open, with a dramatic five-set victory over No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alcaraz showed why he’s been getting so much attention already.
With a tenacity to match his talent, and boosted by a rowdy Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd a tad tired of Tsitsipas’ penchant for taking lengthy breaks between sets, Alcaraz won 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 0-6, 7-6 (5) in just over four hours to become the youngest man in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows since a couple of guys named Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1989.
In earlier action, three women with multiple major titles each – Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber – pulled out three-set victories to advance to Week 2.
Muguruza got past Victoria Azarenka, a three-time U.S. Open runner-up including a year ago, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and next faces French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova. Kerber, who won the title in New York in 2016, defeated 2017 champ Sloane Stephens 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. And Halep was a 7-6 (11), 4-6, 6-3 winner over Elena Rybakina.
In the NFL
Former NFL receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion David Patten Jr., who caught Tom Brady’s first postseason touchdown pass to help the Patriots win their first title, has died in a motorcycle accident.
Richland County coroner Naida Rutherford said in a statement Patten was killed in a crash Thursday night outside of Columbia, South Carolina. The South Carolina Highway Patrol said the accident involved two other vehicles.
Patten played 12 seasons in the NFL after signing as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants in 1997. He spent three seasons in New York and also played for Cleveland, Washington and New Orleans.
In boxing
Oscar De La Hoya’s return to the ring will have to wait after the fighter said he tested positive for COVID-19.
The 48-year-old De La Hoya was scheduled to fight on Sept. 11 against former MMA fighter Vitor Belfort in a pay-per-view event at Staples Center in Los Angeles. It would have been his first fight since being stopped by Manny Pacquiao in 2008.
The former boxing champion posted a video online Friday of himself in a hospital bed, saying he caught the virus despite being fully vaccinated.
De La Hoya, who has been a boxing promoter since retiring, was to have fought the 44-year-old Belfort at 185 pounds, 40 pounds heavier than he was for his loss to Pacquiao.
Big 12 moves toward expansion
The Big 12 is moving quickly on an expansion plan that could have the conference at 12 schools after Texas and Oklahoma leave, with BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston as the “most intriguing” candidates.
Three people familiar with the Big 12’s talks said Friday the eight schools being left behind by the Longhorns and Sooners are working to rebuild by adding four new members.
Two of the people said there were regularly scheduled meetings planned for Big 12 university presidents and athletic directors in the coming days to discuss next steps, and another meeting of presidents was expected to take place late next week.
One person said invitations to new members could go out as soon as next week.