SPORTS HEADLINES

49ers rout Rams 27-7 in NFL’s first Australia game behind Brock Purdy’s 3 TD passes

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson and Deebo Samuel caught touchdown passes from Brock Purdy, and the San Francisco 49ers routed the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in the first NFL regular-season game in Australia. Purdy passed for 205 yards against the Rams’ ineffective defense at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 100,021 fans. That’s the seventh-largest regular season crowd in NFL history. The San Francisco defense frustrated NFL MVP Matthew Stafford into a 15-for-25 performance for just 155 yards. Kyren Williams scored the NFL’s first Australian touchdown on a 5-yard rush to begin the second quarter. but the Rams’ offense struggled from there.

Myles Garrett acknowledges knee injury is significant after 0-tackle debut in Rams’ Australia loss

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Myles Garrett finally acknowledged his knee injury is more serious than he had been letting on following his quiet debut for the Los Angeles Rams in their season-opening defeat in Australia. The reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made zero tackles and no impact on the game during the Rams’ 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Garrett missed much of training camp and the Rams’ recent weeks of practices to rest his knee, but the injury wasn’t known to be as serious as Garrett finally acknowledged it is. Garrett’s ineffectiveness was just one problem for the Rams’ overmatched defense.

Elena Rybakina beats Coco Gauff and will play Aryna Sabalenka for the US Open women’s title

NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka moved a win away from her third straight U.S. Open title, beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2. Sabalenka blasted her way out of what was a dead-even match for most of the first set, pouncing on Pegula’s second serves and turning the second set into perhaps her most impressive stretch of tennis in the tournament. The No. 1 seed will face No. 2 Elena Rybakina, a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over No. 4 Coco Gauff, on Saturday, needing a victory to become the first player to win three in a row in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14.

High-profile injuries already adding up 2 games into the NFL season

Sam Darnold played just five snaps. A.J. Brown will be sidelined for a while. De’Zhaun Stribling was carted off the field. High-profile injuries are adding up just two games into the NFL season. It’s not even Sunday yet. Darnold got good news about his hip injury. Not so much for Brown. Stribling’s status wasn’t immediately known. NFL teams have to deal with injuries every week. It’s part of football. The teams with the most depth and best backups find ways to overcome key losses. The Seahawks and Patriots have to figure it out quickly.

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold has a muscle injury. His status for Seattle’s next game is uncertain

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said quarterback Sam Darnold’s hip injury appears to be muscle-related and his status for next week’s game at Arizona is as yet undetermined. Darnold was injured on Seattle’s first series of Wednesday night’s game against the New England Patriots. Darnold was sacked by New England’s Dre’Mont Jones and shortly thereafter limped off the field. He did not return.

Injuries, other plans leave some of track’s fastest on sideline for $150K at Ultimate Championship

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — It’s supposed to be a track meet featuring the best of the best. When Saturday night’s sprints roll around at the Ultimate Championship, one thing will be missing: the fastest of the fast. The fastest man and woman in the 100 meters this year — Olympic titlist Noah Lyles and burgeoning University of Georgia star Adaejah Hodge — will both be absent from the track meet offering $150,000 top prizes. Lyles is missing because of an injury. Hodge, who set the NCAA record in the 100 meters earlier this year, never planned to be in Budapest. She designed her season around NCAA championships and the Commonwealth Games and came away a winner in both.

US women in familiar place reaching semifinals of World Cup, joined by Germany, France and Spain

BERLIN (AP) — The U.S. put forth a dominant performance to reach the semifinals of the women’s FIBA World Cup again. Spain awaits the Americans there. Host Germany and France will play in the other medal-round game Saturday. The Americans routed Hungary 108-56, which was the second-biggest margin of victory in the quarterfinals in World Cup history. The 108 points also was the most by a team in the quarterfinals. The U.S. also had 31 assists, which was the most in the knockout round as well.

Antonelli looks to keep momentum as F1 drivers face unknown challenges of Madrid track at Spanish GP

MADRID (AP) — Kimi Antonelli is coming off one of the biggest highs of his career, an epic comeback win in Monza in front of his home fans that extended his lead in Formula 1. The young Italian will look to keep his momentum and add to his points lead this weekend as the Spanish Grand Prix returns to Madrid after more than four decades — in a race featuring the unknowns of a new hybrid circuit that drivers have called “crazy” and “insane” even before cars got to the track.

Europe and US tied at 2-2 after opening session of Solheim Cup as Korda makes hot start

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — Nelly Korda has played like the world No. 1 in a record-setting partnership with Allisen Corpuz to help the Americans split the opening foursomes 2-2 with Team Europe on Day 1 of the Solheim Cup. Korda and Corpuz dominated the star-studded opening match against Europe’s best top players, Charley Hull and Lottie Woad, in a 4-and-3 win. It was the U.S. pairing’s fifth straight win and that’s unprecedented at the Solheim Cup. Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin put the Americans 2-0 ahead by the Europeans rallied with two victories of their own to finish the session. Maja Stark and Linn Grant beat Rose Zhang and Jennifer Kupcho, while Esther Henseleit and Leona Maguire completed a 2-up win over Andrea Lee and Lindy Duncan.

Former hockey players at University of Michigan sue, say they were sexually abused decades ago

DETROIT (AP) — More than a dozen former hockey players are suing the University of Michigan. They say their coach and other staff were aware of sexual hazing that included the forced shaving of their genitals and other abuses by teammates decades ago. The plaintiffs are 16 men who played at Michigan between 1984 and 2001. The lawsuit apparently grew out of conversations among several former teammates in 2024. The university says the allegations are “disturbing,” but denies responsibility. The lawsuit says Red Berenson was aware of the abuse and did not intervene. He was the coach from 1984 to 2017. Berenson says no one complained to him.