BASEBALL
Orelvis Martinez hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats beat the Portland Sea Dogs 9-7 on Sunday afternoon in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Portland scored three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 5-3 lead on RBI singles by Tyler Dearden and Wil Dalton, and an RBI ground out by Ceddane Rafaela. New Hampshire scored three times in the bottom of the inning to take the lead back, but Portland tied it on a solo homer in the seventh by Hudson Potts.
Martinez was 3 for 4 with four RBI and three runs scored for New Hampshire. Kole Cottam was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Sea Dogs.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: Arike Ogunbowale scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half and the Dallas Wings handed the Indiana Pacers a club-record 12th straight loss, 96-86, in Indianapolis.
Teaira McCowan finished with 17 points for Dallas (12-15), while Allisha Gray scored 16 with three steals. Kayla Thornton pitched in with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Gray scored 10 of her 11 first-half points in the second quarter to help Dallas rally from a 23-17 first-period deficit to a 45-39 lead at halftime.
• Tina Charles scored 27 points to become the fourth player in WNBA history to top 7,000 for her career, and the Seattle Storm beat the Atlanta Dream 82-72 in Seattle.
Charles, who signed with Seattle (18-10) on June 28, added 15 rebounds for her second straight double-double. With 7,013 points, she trails only Diana Taurasi (9,651, active), Tina Thompson (7,488) and Tamika Catchings (7,380) on the all-time list.
BOXING
AUCTION: Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from his 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” heavyweight title fight was sold at auction for $6.18 million.
The winner of the heated competition for the belt was Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, according to Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
In a tweet Sunday, Irsay confirmed he acquired the belt for his collection of rock music, American history and pop culture memorabilia that is currently touring the country.
FOOTBALL
NFL: Houston Texans rookie wide receiver John Metchie III announced that he has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia.
In a statement posted on the Texans’ Twitter account, Metchie says he is getting treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia, “the most curable form,” and expects “to make a recovery at a later point in time.”
“As a result of this diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season,” Metchie said. “My main focus will be on my health and recovery. … I cannot wait to come back stronger than ever.”
Metchie went 44th in the first round of this year’s NFL draft out of Alabama, where he had 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns last season for the Crimson Tide.
• Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Rodger Saffold missed the start of training camp after sustaining rib injuries in a car accident.
Coach Sean McDermott said the accident happened over the past few weeks, but didn’t provide further details on the accident. General manager Brandon Beane said Saffold has cracked ribs and that he’s having trouble sleeping because of soreness.
CYCLING
TOUR de FRANCE: Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark won his first Tour de France title after coming out on top in a thrilling three-week duel with defending champion Tadej Pogacar.
The 25-year-old Vingegaard became the first Danish rider to win cycling’s biggest race since Bjarne Riis in 1996.
Vingegaard, who was runner-up to Pogacar last year, built his success in the mountains. He first took the yellow jersey from Pogacar in the Alps with a memorable ride up the Col du Granon, and followed up this week with an impressive display of strength in the last Pyrenean stage to the resort of Hautacam.
Pogacar finished runner-up overall and Geraint Thomas, the 2018 Tour winner, completed the podium.
WOMEN’S TOUR de FRANCE: Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands sprinted to victory in the first stage of the women’s Tour de France which returned after a 33-year absence.
The Team DSM rider struck in the last 150 meters of the 82-kilometer (51-mile) circuit in Paris to beat former Olympic champion Marianne Vos to the line on the Champs-Elysees.
Tour of Flanders champion Lotte Kopecky was third.
It’s the first time since 1989 that a women’s edition of the Tour de France is being held. Tour de France organizer Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) previously organized La Course, a one-day race held in Paris coinciding with the men’s Tour.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix in Le Castellet, France, after Charles Leclerc crashed out while leading, a mistake that dropped the Ferrari driver 63 points behind the defending Formula One champion.
Verstappen’s seventh win through 12 races this season upped his career total to 27 victories, all with Red Bull. He said his lead in the title race is misleading because Red Bull and Ferrari have been fairly even this season.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finished second in his 300th grand prix – his fourth consecutive podium and highest finish in what’s so far been a winless season – while teammate George Russell passed Sergio Perez of Red Bull following a late restart to give Mercedes its first double podium of the year.
INDYCAR: Josef Newgarden collapsed in the motorhome lot following his late crash at Iowa Speedway and was taken to a Des Moines hospital by helicopter for evaluation.
IndyCar medical director Dr. Geoffrey Billows said Newgarden was being transported by helicopter to Mercy One in Des Moines because the infield care center lacked the equipment to properly evaluate the Team Penske driver, who cut open the back of his head when he collapsed.
Billows said Newgarden was awake and alert, but the hospital was a 45-minute drive from the track and heavy traffic for the post-race Blake Shelton concert would have delayed the journey.
Newgarden dominated and led 148 of the 300 laps while trying to sweep the weekend. But something on his Team Penske car broke with 64 laps remaining and he spun hard into the outside wall – creating an opening for Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP to win the race.
Newgarden was visibly rattled after his mandatory check in the infield care center after the crash.
TENNIS
PALERMO LADIES OPEN: Irina-Camelia Begu beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 6-2 to win in Palermo, Sicily, and claim her first singles title in five years.
The sixth-seeded Romanian took control from the start on the red clay of the Country Time Club and closed the final out with an ace on her first match point.
HAMBURG EUROPEAN OPEN: Lorenzo Musetti needed six match points to upset top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in the final in Hamburg, Germany.
The 20-year-old Italian claimed his first tour-level title in 2 hours, 47 minutes.
Alcaraz was aiming to improve his 5-0 record in finals and was also chasing his fifth title this year alone after wins in Madrid, Barcelona, Miami and Rio de Janeiro.
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