Update on the latest sports
Oilers sign Leon Draisaitl to an 8-year extension worth $112 million
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers have signed Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract extension worth $112 million. Draisaitl’s $14 million salary cap hit beginning in 2025-26 is the highest in NHL history. Draisaitl and Connor McDavid helped the team reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final this past year. Draisaitl, the league’s MVP in 2020, was set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Treshaun Ward leads Boston College in 28-13 victory over No. 10 Florida State
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Treshaun Ward totaled 138 offensive yards, including a 13-yard touchdown reception, against his former team as Boston College stunned No. 10 Florida State 28-13. A Tampa native who played at Florida State from 2019-22, Ward had 77 yards rushing and 61 yards receiving as the Eagles (1-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) totaled 263 yards rushing. It was a resounding debut for BC coach Bill O’Brien, who was introduced in mid-February after Jeff Hafley’s departure to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Holdout Trent Williams returns to the 49ers before the season opener, his agents say
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams has ended his contract holdout and reported to the San Francisco 49ers to finalize a new deal. Williams’ agency, Elite Loyalty Sports, posted on social media Tuesday that Williams was set to rejoin the team six days before the season opener against the New York Jets. Williams had been back home in Texas for all of training camp while seeking a new deal, accumulating more than $5 million in mandatory fines for missing camp and three preseason games. The 49ers now have resolved both of their major contract disputes before the season opener. They signed star receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million extension last week.
US Open: No. 1 Jannik Sinner gets past Tommy Paul to set up a quarterfinal against Daniil Medvedev
NEW YORK (AP) — Top-seeded Jannik Sinner has reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals by beating No. 14 Tommy Paul 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-1. Sinner shook off a slow start Monday night and came through in the clutch at the end of tiebreakers that decided the first two sets. Sinner is two weeks removed from being cleared in a doping case stemming from two positive tests in March. He moved into a showdown against 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev, the last past winner at Flushing Meadows still in the men’s field. Sinner is a 23-year-old from Italy who claimed his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January by defeating Medvedev in the final in five sets after dropping the first two.
US Open: Jessica Pegula’s 7th Grand Slam quarterfinal will be against No. 1 Iga Swiatek
NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Pegula is back in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open after a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Diana Shnaider. Monday’s win put Pegula in her seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal. Now comes the hard part: Pegula is 0-6 at that stage over her career, and she plays No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday. The No. 6-seeded Pegula is on quite a run at the moment, having won 13 of her past 14 matches, all on hard courts. That included her second consecutive title in Canada and an appearance in the final at the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. Also reaching the quarterfinals were Karolina Muchova, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur and Jack Draper.
Patrick Mahomes wants better start for Chiefs, more Week 1 magic when Ravens visit Thursday night
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs insist they are not thinking about last year’s opener against Detroit, when they played flat in a loss to the Lions. Patrick Mahomes is chief among them. But for a quarterback who is usually better than normal in Week 1, it was a strangely poor performance, and one he does not want to replicate Thursday night against Baltimore. The three-time Super Bowl MVP had by far the worst Week 1 performance of his career that night, completing barely more than 50% of his passes for just 226 yards with his fewest touchdown passes (two) and first interception in six season openers. In five previous openers, he had averaged 308 yards with 18 total touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Bolivia moves World Cup qualifier to even higher altitude, hoping to elevate performance
EL ALTO, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia has always been a difficult place to play and the challenge has just got even higher. Literally. The men’s national soccer team is hoping that staging home World Cup qualifiers at an altitude higher than ever will help them get off the bottom of the South American standings. The Bolivians usually play in the capital La Paz at 3,640 meters (11,940 feet) above sea level, but they’ve been allowed to move their games to El Alto, the second largest city in the country at an altitude of 4,150 meters (13,615 feet). That’s nine Empire State Buildings on top of each other. With one win and five losses, Bolivia is second to last in the standings and they need a win on Thursday against visiting Venezuela.
Washington’s Luke McCaffrey looking to make his own name in the NFL following his dad and brothers
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Luke McCaffrey this weekend will become the latest member of his family to play in the NFL. Father Ed won three Super Bowls, older brother Christian is the reigning offensive player of the year and eldest brother Max played a handful of games in 2017 and ‘18. Luke is trying to make his own name in the league a rookie wide receiver with the Washington Commanders. The converted quarterback has already formed a strong bond with Jayden Daniels going back to offseason workouts and is expected to be one of the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner’s top offensive options.
The 49ers place rookie Ricky Pearsall on the non-football injury list after shooting
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall was placed on the non-football injury list after he was shot during an attempted robbery. The move clears up a spot on the 53-man roster for the 49ers while Pearsall recovers after being shot in the chest Saturday in central San Francisco. Pearsall was hospitalized overnight and released on Sunday from the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. The team hasn’t given any indication on how long Pearsall will be out, but he must miss at least four games while on the non-football injury list.
Analysis: IndyCar left scrambling after NASCAR beats them into Mexico City
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) — Pato O’Ward was not happy at all when NASCAR last week announced it would race in Mexico City at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. O’Ward could not believe that NASCAR had beaten IndyCar to the punch, and his fellow competitors were equally incensed. NASCAR has never in the modern era held a points-paying Cup Series race outside the United States, and had somehow beaten IndyCar, which actually did used to race in Mexico, back into the market. As NASCAR celebrated this monumental moment, the IndyCar paddock was aghast. How did NASCAR get a race in Mexico before they did?