Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Nadal not interested in excuses after Rome exit

Rafa Nadal refused to make excuses for his shock defeat by Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open, insisting that his focus is now on fine-tuning his game ahead of the French Open which begins Sept. 27. The nine-time Rome champion looked well off the pace in his 6-2 7-5 loss to the 15th-ranked Argentine, an opponent he had defeated nine straight times heading into Saturday’s encounter in the Italian capital.

Knocked off his game, Reed left without answers in U.S. Open third round

A disastrous seven-over par performance saw former Masters champion Patrick Reed tumbling from the top spot of the leaderboard on Saturday, as his hope for a U.S. Open victory all but evaporated in the third round. “Just kind of one of those days that when I hit the quality good golf shot, it still ended up in a spot on the green that I had to be really defensive, couldn’t actually be aggressive with putting,” said Reed (77), who had a one-shot lead headed into Saturday’s action.

‘I’m not perfect,’ says Djokovic after losing cool at Italian Open

Less than two weeks after being disqualified from the U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic’s frustration boiled over once again as he smashed his racket in a fit of rage during his 6-3 4-6 6-3 win over Dominik Koepfer in the Italian Open quarter-finals on Saturday. The top-ranked Serb was broken to love in the sixth game of the second set following which he threw his racket on the ground, drawing a warning from the chair umpire.

Belichick, Carroll to set a record on Sunday

Sunday night’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will set a record for having the two head coaches with the highest combined age ever in an NFL game. Pete Carroll, 69, and Bill Belichick, 68, and will be a combined 137 years and 162 days old when their teams take the field in Seattle, according to NFL Research.

NBA-James miffed by most valuable player voting totals

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said he was “pissed off” after receiving only 16 first-place votes for the NBA’s most valuable player (MVP) award. Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA’s MVP for the second straight year on Friday, receiving 85 of the 101 first-place votes, while James, 35, finished runner-up for the fourth time in his 17-year career.

MLB roundup: Angels’ Pujols passes Mays on the homer list

Albert Pujols hit two homers and moved into sole possession of fifth place on the major league career home run list, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-2 win against the Texas Rangers in the opener of a four-game series on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif. Pujols hit a line drive over the left-field fence in the fifth inning off Wes Benjamin (1-1) for the 661st home run of his career, moving him past Willie Mays on the all-time list. The 40-year-old designated hitter lifted another solo shot to left in the seventh for Los Angeles.

Nadal stunned by Schwartzman in Rome quarter-finals

Defending champion Rafa Nadal crashed out of the Italian Open with a stunning 6-2 7-5 defeat by Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals on Saturday. The nine-times Rome champion, who had won all nine previous meetings against Schwartzman, struggled with his serve throughout the match and made a series of uncharacteristic unforced errors that proved to be his undoing.

Stars cruise by Lightning in Stanley Cup opener

The well-rested Dallas Stars drew first blood in the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in the final chapter to an NHL season that took a four-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Second-period goals from Jamie Oleksiak and Joel Kiviranta put Dallas in complete control as they grabbed the opener of the best-of-seven series in Edmonton, one of two hub cities for the playoffs to help limit travel and minimize COVID-19 risk.

McIlroy fights back to stay in contention at U.S. Open

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy clawed his way back up the leaderboard at Winged Foot on Saturday, carding a two-under-par 68 after a second-round slump had threatened to derail his latest U.S. Open campaign. The 31-year-old had to recover from a brutal performance on Friday that saw him stumble through with four bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine alone, before eventually shooting a six-over-par 76.

Roglic at a loss to explain Tour de France meltdown

Primoz Roglic was at a loss to explain his meltdown after he surrendered the Tour de France overall lead in the final time trial to fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogacar on Saturday. The 30-year-old was the overwhelming favorite for the title going into the 36.2-km solo effort against the clock between Lure and La Planche des Belles Filles but nothing went to plan.