AP Sports

Update on the latest sports

MLB PLAYOFFS-NLCS

NLCS begins

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The National League Championship Series begins Friday night in St. Louis when the Cardinals welcome the Washington Nationals.

Both teams won a deciding Game 5 on the road in the NL Division Series. The Cardinals scored 10 runs in the first inning and romped past Atlanta 13-1 while Washington rallied late and beat the Dodgers 7-3 in 10 innings.

Anibal Sanchez starts for the Nats against Miles Mikolas (MY’-koh-las).

Nationals aces Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin all got plenty of work in the NLDS. Sanchez was 11-8 with a 3.85 ERA this season, then gave up one run in five innings in his lone appearance against Los Angeles.

Washington manager Dave Martinez says he hasn’t decided how he will line up the rest of his starting staff after Sanchez.

Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Adam Wainwright will start Game 2, followed by Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson, who will be available out of the bullpen at the beginning of the series.

NBA-CHINA RELATIONSHIP

NBA decides to remain silent for rest of China trip

UNDATED (AP) – The NBA has decided to stay silent for the remainder of its trip with the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in China.
The Lakers and Nets will play on Saturday in Shenzhen as planned, though no news conferences for either team are scheduled to be held before or after the game. Unlike Thursday, when Chinese officials decided that there would be no media availability for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver or the teams at the first game of the China series in Shanghai, this decision was made by the league.

It’s part of a rift that began last week when Houston general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

The league made its decision after discussions with the teams and the National Basketball Players Association.

NIKE-OREGON PROJECT CLOSING

Nike closing Oregon Project in wake of Salazar ban

BEAVERTON, Oregon (AP) – Nike says it is closing its Oregon Project track and field program following Alberto Salazar’s four-year ban.
Nike says “uninformed innuendo and unsubstantiated assertions has become an unfair burden for current OP athletes. That is exactly counter to the purpose of the team. We have therefore made the decision to wind down the Oregon Project to allow the athletes to focus on their training and competition needs.”

Salazar was banned last week for possessing and trafficking testosterone while coaching top runners at the Nike Oregon Project, an elite training program bankrolled by the company that was launched in 2001.

Salazar is appealing the decision.

Nike says “we will help all of our athletes in this transition as they choose the coaching set up that is right for them. We will continue to support Alberto in his appeal.”

AP-WF-10-11-19 1504GMT