Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Chiefs defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs arrested
Chiefs defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs was arrested for the second time in a month on a charge of domestic violence/burglary in Alabama and released on a $5,000 bond Sunday, according to records from the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
There were no other details about the arrest. The Chiefs were aware of the case but declined to comment.
The 27-year-old Buggs, who signed a $1,292,500 contract with Kansas City for the upcoming season, turned himself in May 30 after he was charged with two misdemeanor counts of second-degree animal cruelty. Two dogs that were under Buggs’ care were allegedly found neglected and malnourished, and one of the dogs had to be euthanized.
Buggs, a run-stuffing tackle out of Alabama, played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers before spending the past two with the Detroit Lions. He has started 23 games and appeared in 56 in his career, with 89 tackles and two sacks.
The Chiefs were planning to use Buggs to shore up the middle of their line. But that was before they reached a long-term deal with All-Pro tackle Chris Jones and signed Derrick Nnadi and Tershawn Wharton, both of whom were hitting free agency.
The Chiefs, who celebrated their latest championship with a ring ceremony Thursday and are aiming for a record third Super Bowl in a row, have had to deal with a series of off-the-field legal issues since beating the San Francisco 49ers in February.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice faces eight felony charges from a high-speed crash in Dallas, and offensive linemen Chukwuebuka Godrick and Wanya Morris were arrested last month in Johnson County, Kansas, on a misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Vu wins playoff in
return from back injury
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. | Lilia Vu won the Meijer LPGA Classic in a playoff Sunday in her return from a back injury, spoiling Lexi Thompson’s bid for her first victory in five years.
Playing for the first time since the Ford Championship in late March in Arizona, Vu beat Thompson and third-round leader Grace Kim with a 5-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole — the par-5 fourth at tree-lined Blythefield Country Club.
A former No. 1 player and double major winner last year, Vu won for the fifth time on the LPGA Tour.
“I think this is the most meaningful win, because there was a time two months ago where I was just crying on the range not being sure if I would every play a tournament again without pain,” Vu said. “Like to be here today, it’s just incredible.”
Thompson, the 2015 winner, has said this will be her last year playing a full schedule. She won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in June 2019.
“It was an amazing day out there,” Thompson said. “The golf is one thing, but just to be able to play in front of all amazing fans, especially coming down the stretch and on the playoff holes. I don’t think I’ve heard cheers like that unless it’s like Solheim Cup.”
Vu birdied the par-5 18th in regulation for a 7-under 65, then twice more to match Thompson and Kim — who entered the day five strokes ahead of Thompson and eight clear of Vu — on the first two playoff holes.
“I wasn’t thinking about winning,” Vu said. “I was thinking about shooting 8 under to make top 10.”
On the deciding hole, the 27-year-old former UCLA star hit her second shot into the bunker to the right of the green and blasted out to set up the birdie. Thompson and Kim missed long birdie tries after laying up following errant drives.
“Ended up in the bunker and made up-and-down, and somehow I’m here with the trophy,” Vu said.
Vu birdied four of the last six holes in regulation to match Thomson and Kim at 16-under 272.
“Obviously, coming back from an injury I was a little up in the air not knowing my swing,” Vu said. “I was just trying to make contact today. That’s it.”
The eight-stroke comeback is the largest of the season, one more than Linnea Strom overcame last week in the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Thompson closed with a birdie for a 68.
“I still have about 10 or so events after this one, so a lot of golf to be played,” Thompson said. “I want to finish strong. Every time I tee it up I want to win. I think that’s everybody’s goal out here.”
Kim shot 73. The 23-year-old Australian won in a playoff last year in Hawaii for her lone LPGA Tour title.
Ally Ewing was fourth at 15 under after a 69. Allisen Corpuz and Narin An were 14 under, each shooting 70s.
Top-ranked Nelly Korda left Friday after missing her second straight cut following a stretch of six victories in seven events. She won at Blythefield in 2021 at a tournament-record 25 under.
The major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship begins Thursday at Sahalee outside Seattle.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto placed on 15-day
injured list by Dodgers
LOS ANGELES | Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was placed on the 15-day injured list before Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals with tightness in the triceps of his pitching arm.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said Yamamoto would undergo testing Sunday to determine the severity of the injury and a recovery timeline. The 25-year-old Yamamoto, playing his first year in the majors after departing his native Japan and signing a record $325 million, 12-year contract, is 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA.
“He’s a guy that we’re still trying to learn a lot about, and appreciate the fact that the most important time of the season is yet to come,” Roberts said. “His health is paramount. So for us to be proactive and put him on the IL seems like the smartest thing.”
Yamamoto left Saturday night’s loss to Kansas City after two innings. He said through an interpreter after the game that his scheduled start the previous Thursday against Texas had been pushed back because of the tightness.
He also said the tightness was gone for most of Saturday, but he started feeling it again when he was warming up in the bullpen before the game.
Yamamoto threw two-hit ball over seven innings at the New York Yankees on June 7. He tossed 106 pitches, the fourth straight time he had thrown more than 100.
Roberts said he has been mindful of Yamamoto’s pitch count, but also noted Yamamoto was used to throwing 120 pitches or more when he pitched in Japan.
With Bobby Miller returning to the rotation for Wednesday’s game at Colorado, the Dodgers will still have a five-man starting staff. Clayton Kershaw will also make his first rehab start this week.
Los Angeles’ rotation went into Sunday’s game with the majors’ seventh-lowest ERA at 3.49.
The Dodgers also placed right-hander Michael Grove on the IL with a right intercostal strain. Right-handers J.P. Feyereisen and Michael Petersen were called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. To make room for Petersen on the 40-man roster, right-hander Joe Kelly was transferred to the 60-day IL.
German police intervene to stem clashes between England and Serbia
GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany | Riot police in Germany intervened to stop brawling soccer fans before Sunday’s match between Serbia and England at the European Championship soccer tournament.
Social media footage showed men throwing chairs at each other outside a restaurant festooned with Serbian flags in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. One group quickly left as riot officers arrived and wrestled at least one man to the ground.
A Serbian fan told The Associated Press that a group of England fans had thrown glasses and stones at the area outside the restaurant where he and others were sitting together drinking beer.
“There was a clash and we are fine. So that’s it, we are going to the game, we hope we will win. This is about football,” said the man, who identified himself only as Vladimir and said he was from the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Reporters who arrived shortly after the fighting found the street littered with broken glass and tables as several dozen police officers stood by.
Gelsenkirchen police said in a statement that officers intervened to stop a confrontation between Serbian and English fans.
“Riot police were deployed and separated the two fan camps. They took seven Serbian supporters into custody and filed a criminal complaint for grievous bodily harm,” the statement said.
There was no immediate information about injuries.
The Euro 2024 match between England and Serbia was classified as high risk by police over concerns about potential fan violence. Both sets of supporters have a reputation for causing trouble before and during matches.
About 20,000 England fans and 10,000 from Serbia were expected to converge on the city for the game. Only low-alcohol beer is being served in the Gelsenkirchen stadium in an attempt to reduce the potential for problems.
Mbappé doesn’t
expect to play Olympic soccer in Paris
DUESSELDORF, Germany | Kylian Mbappé thinks he won’t be able to play for France at the Olympic soccer tournament in Paris following his transfer to Real Madrid.
Mbappé is captaining France at the European Championship, and playing the Olympics too could take up almost all of his off-season before an eagerly expected debut at Madrid.
France’s opening game against the United States at the Olympic men’s tournament is on July 24, just 10 days after the European Championship final. The Olympic gold-medal game is Aug. 9.
“For the Olympics, my club has a position that is very clear,” Mbappé said Sunday ahead of France’s European Championship opening game against Austria on Monday. “I think that I will not take part in the Games.” Mbappé added that he expects to support the French team and watch all of its games.
Unlike most international tournaments like the World Cup, European Championship and Copa America, clubs are not required to let their players compete at men’s Olympic tournaments.
French Olympic team coach Thierry Henry left Mbappé out of his provisional squad early June but indicated he hoped that situation could change before the deadline to name his final squad.
—From AP reports
