MLB-ALCS

Bosox, Astros resume ALCS

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros have begun Game 3 of the AL Championship Series at Fenway Park. The game was scoreless going into the second inning.

The Astros rallied to win the series opener, 5-4, but the Red Sox responded by building an early 9-0 lead in a 9-5 win at Houston in Game 2.

Eduardo Rodriguez took the mound for the Bosox against JOse Urquidy (ur-KEE’-dee).

MLB-NEWS

Giants want to keep Posey

UNDATED (AP) — The San Francisco Giants are hoping catcher Buster Posey has another season left in his 34-year-old body.

The Giants plan to exercise Buster Posey’s $22 million club option for next season as long as the veteran wants to keep playing after a stellar year.

Posey batted .304 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs, showing his surgically repaired right hip had finally regained full strength three years post-op. He mentored an overhauled pitching staff and helped the Giants win a team-record 107 regular-season games this year.

NFL-NEWS

Hunt out, Mayfield gets checked out

UNDATED (AP) — Browns running back Kareem Hunt will likely miss more than a month with a significant calf injury sustained in Sunday’s loss to Arizona. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Hunt will likely go on injured reserve, which would mean he would have to miss at least three games. Stefanski is also awaiting more medical test results on quarterback Baker Mayfield’s left shoulder, which was re-injured in Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

— The Seahawks are not ruling out linebacker Darrell Taylor playing next Monday against the Saints despite a neck injury sustained in Sunday’s loss in Pittsburgh. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Monday that both a CT scan and an MRI have shown that Taylor does not have an injury to his neck and may have suffered more of a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.

— Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson has been placed on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury suffered in Sunday’s overtime win against the Panthers. The move will force him to miss at least three games, through the injury isn’t believed to be season-ending.

— The Falcons have placed right tackle Kaleb McGary on the COVID-19 reserve list. McGary has started 34 of 35 games over his three-year NFL career, but he likely won’t be available when the 2-3 Falcons travel to Miami on Sunday to face the 1-5 Dolphins. Meanwhile, top receiver Calvin Ridley is back at practice after skipping the team’s last game for a personal matter.

— Cam Newton says he has received a COVID-19 vaccine and is ready to return to the NFL. The free-agent quarterback was cut by New England just before the season began. He published a video on his YouTube channel saying it’s time to get back into pro football.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-POLL

Zags top preseason poll

UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga spent all of last season atop The Associated Press men’s basketball poll. That’s also where the Bulldogs will begin this season after receiving 55 of 63 first-place votes in the preseason poll released on Monday.

The Zags lost AP All-Americans Corey Kispert and Jalen Suggs to the NBA, but second-team selection Drew Timme (TIH’-mee) and starting guard Andrew Nembhard return.

Second-ranked UCLA picked up the remaining eight first-place votes after being unranked at the end of the season. Third-ranked Kansas is followed by Villanova and Texas.

Michigan, Purdue, Baylor, Duke and Kentucky round out the top 10.

In other college basketball news:

— ESPN analyst Dick Vitale has announced that he has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time this year. The Basketball Hall of Fame announcer said he has undergone tests that show he has lymphoma. Vitale announced in August that he underwent multiple surgeries to remove melanoma. He was declared cancer-free at the time.

NBA-NEWS

Grizzlies sign Jaren Jackson Jr to extension before deadline

UNDATED (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies have signed Jaren Jackson Jr. to an extension before the NBA deadline. ESPN reported the extension is four years for $105 million.

Jackson has started 117 of his 126 games in three seasons, averaging 15.4 points. He has made 213 3-pointers and blocked 192 shots, the most by an NBA player over his first 126 games.

Also around the NBA:

— The Lakers have claimed veteran guard Avery Bradley Jr. off waivers. Bradley played for the Lakers in 2019-20 but opted out prior to the NBA restart in the bubble in Orlando because of health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

— Bucks guard Grayson Allen has signed a multiyear contract extension. He joined the Bucks in an Aug. 7 trade that set guard Sam Merrill and two future second-round draft picks to Memphis. Allen posted career highs averages with 10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 50 games for the Grizzlies last season.

— Danielle Scott has been promoted to the full-time NBA staff referee roster. The daughter of college basketball officials becomes the sixth woman on the league staff.

— Los Angeles County is seeking to compel psychiatric evaluations for Kobe Bryant’s widow and others. The evaluations would be used to determine if they truly suffered emotional distress after first responders took and shared graphic photos from the site of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball star, his teenage daughter and seven others. Vanessa Bryant has claimed in court papers that she has suffered “severe emotional distress.” Kobe Bryant and the others were killed Jan. 26, 2020.

NHL-NEWS

Lightning’s Kucherov out indefinitely…Sharks’ Kane suspended

UNDATED (AP) — Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov (KOO’-cheh-rahv) will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury suffered late in Saturday’s overtime win at Washington.

The 2019 Hart Trophy winner appeared to suffer an abdominal or groin injury chasing a puck during the third period.

Kucherov missed all of the 2020-21 regular season after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason. He returned in the playoffs to have eight goals and 32 points, helping the Lightning win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

In other NHL action:

— The league has suspended Sharks forward Evander Kane for 21 games for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. Kane will forfeit about $1.68 million of his $7 million salary and will not be eligible to play until Nov. 30 at New Jersey. The league also announced that a concurrent investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse made against Kane by his estranged wife could not be substantiated.

— Blue Jackets forward Max Domi (DOH’-mee) will miss two to four weeks with a rib fracture suffered in Saturday’s win against Seattle. Domi was playing well after recovering from shoulder surgery on June 4.

HORSE RACING-BREEDERS’ CUP-BAFFERT

Breeders’ Cup clears Baffert to compete with conditions

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Bob Baffert can enter horses in the Breeders’ Cup next month at Del Mar. However, the event’s all-time money-leading trainer has to meet certain conditions, including stricter out-of-competition testing of his horses and greater security at his barn.

The conditions are the result of a review by the Breeders’ Cup board to decide Baffert’s participation in the two-day world championships on Nov. 5-6 at the seaside track north of San Diego. The review was triggered by Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s failed postrace drug test in May.

The Breeders’ Cup says the extra conditions required of Baffert are “to provide a more targeted layer of accountability.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-SEC-TENNESSEE

Tennessee find over fan actions

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference has fined Tennessee $250,000 for fans stopping the Vols’ game with Mississippi by throwing debris onto the field late in the game. The league office also announced Monday that Tennessee must meet other standards.

Tennessee’s fine will be deducted from its share of SEC revenue. Every person identified from video throwing debris will be prohibited from attending a Tennessee athletics event for the rest of the 2021-22 academic and athletic year.