NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has launched the Helmet Challenge aiming to stimulate the development of a new helmet for players that outperforms, based on laboratory testing, all helmet models currently worn in the league.

Up to $3 million will be available in the challenge, including $2 million in grant funding to support of the development of a helmet prototype, and a $1 million award.

The challenge will culminate in May 2021 with applicants submitting helmet prototypes for testing in laboratory conditions that represent potentially concussive impacts in the NFL. Applicants will compete for up to a $1 million award.

“Helmet technology is advancing at an impressive rate. Yet, we believe that even more is possible,” said Jeff Miller, the league’s executive vice president for health and safety innovation. “The NFL Helmet Challenge represents an unprecedented combination of financing, research, data and engineering expertise in an effort to create a more protective helmet.

“Innovation can be catalyzed if we engage with creative and talented people from across disciplines to attack this challenge together. In collaboration with the NFL Players Association, we are making changes on and off the field in an effort to improve protection for every player. Trying to ensure that players wear the best possible helmet is a substantial part of that commitment.”

DONGGUAN, China (AP) — The U.S. came to China looking to again be the best in the world.

It will go home with the worst tournament showing in program history.

Such is the reality for the Americans now, assured of finishing no better than seventh at the World Cup after falling to Serbia 94-89 in a consolation game Thursday night. The previous worst finish for a U.S. men’s team in major tournament appearances was sixth at the 2002 world championships.

“We’ve committed to this from Day One,” U.S. guard Joe Harris said. “To get all the way to this point and just kind of have it abruptly come up short, it really stings.”

The Americans — the top-ranked team in the world — will be seventh or eighth in China, depending on the outcome of their consolation finale against Poland on Saturday. Harrison Barnes scored 22 for the U.S., which got 18 from Kemba Walker and 16 from Khris Middleton. And even though this team earned the U.S. a berth into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics field, Barnes noted postgame that Saturday’s finale may be the last time many members of the World Cup squad get the chance to play for their country.

“We’re also the ones who stepped up to the plate when others stepped down. We qualified our nation for the Olympics,” U.S. center Myles Turner wrote as part of a thread on Twitter after the game.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 28 for Serbia, which bolted to a 25-point lead and handed the U.S. its second loss in two days. Vladimir Lucic scored 15 for Serbia, which will play for fifth place Saturday.

“It’s a really tough game to play against those guys,” Bogdanovic said. “I’m sure both teams were really upset after losing in the quarterfinals and we were just trying to make people happy.”

A Serbia-U.S. game was widely expected to be one for gold this weekend. The prospects of that were hyped plenty going into the tournament — especially after Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic called out the Americans in a television interview by saying “if we meet, may God help them.” But all that was on the line Thursday night were bragging rights and a few world ranking points.

“There’s no regrets from our group in terms of what we’ve given, what we’ve sacrificed, the commitment everyone’s made to be away from their families, away from their teams, away from their organizations,” Barnes said. “There’s no regrets.”

Serbia led 44-40 at the half, a margin that may suggest the first 20 minutes were of the back-and-forth variety.

They were not. Instead, it was just two really big runs, one by each team.

Serbia won the first quarter 32-7. The U.S. won the second quarter 33-12. Serbia shot 64% in the first quarter and the U.S. shot 19%; in the second quarter, it was the Americans shooting 72%, Serbia 31%, and it stayed relatively tight the rest of the way.

U.S. coach Gregg Popovich lauded his team for making the comeback, basically 24 hours after seeing its medal hopes dashed by the quarterfinal loss to France.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve been impressed the whole time with their character, their stick-to-itiveness and their persistence as they’re learning how to play together,” Popovich said. “Tonight was a great example of that.”

TIP-INS

U.S.: Jayson Tatum (left ankle) and Marcus Smart (left hand) were out with injuries, and neither is expected to play in the finale Saturday. … Before now, the last time the U.S. dropped consecutive games at the World Cup level was 2002 at the world championships in Indianapolis, losing to Argentina by seven and Yugoslavia by three. The only time the Americans lost three straight in a World Cup or Olympic-level tournament was at the 1970 world championships.

Serbia: Vasilije Micic, whose mother died during this tournament, stayed with the team instead of going home early. He scored 10 points. … All-NBA center Nikola Jokic was quiet offensively, scoring nine points on 3 for 4 shooting. He did make two free throws with 20.2 seconds left to put Serbia ahead by six.

NO MEDAL

The U.S. has been sending teams to major international competitions — the Olympics and the World Cup (formerly the world championship) — since 1936, a span of 36 tournaments in all. This is only the fourth time the Americans won’t medal at either of the two biggest events; they were fifth at the 1970 world championship, fifth at the 1978 world championship and sixth at the 2002 world championship. They’ve medaled in all 18 Olympic competitions, winning gold 15 times.

CZECH REPUBLIC 94, POLAND 84

Vojtech Hruban scored 24 points, Tomas Satoransky added 22 and the Czech Republic rallied late to beat Poland 94-84 in a consolation game Thursday in Shanghai. Satoransky added 12 assists for the Czechs, who closed the game on a 20-7 run. Adam Waczynski scored 22 for Poland.

UP NEXT

U.S.: Faces Poland in seventh-place game at Beijing on Saturday.

Serbia: Faces Czech Republic in fifth-place game at Beijing on Saturday.

GODDARD, Kan. – The Hutchinson Salthawk Freshman Volleyball team traveled to Goddard for a triangular match with host Goddard, Campus and Arkansas City Thursday.  The young Salthawks went 1-2 with their lone win being versus Arkansas City 25-15, 25-14.  The dropped the mat to the host Goddard Lions team 25-21, 25-20 and then lost the night cap to Haysville-Campus in 3 sets, 25-19, 23-25 and 13-15 in a close final set.

#25/22 Fort Hays State (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) vs
Missouri Western (0-1, 0-1 MIAA)
Thursday, Sept. 12 – 7 pm
Hays, Kan. – Lewis Field Stadium

Game Sponsor: Eagle
Game Theme: Blackout (Wear black to the game)
Free Pregame Concert: Country artist Seth Cook (5-6:15 pm on the east lawn outside of Lewis Field Stadium)
Game Sponsor Promotion: Eagle is giving away 500 TGOF shirts starting at 5:30 PM on the northwest side of Lewis Field. Look for the “We love FHSU” flag.

 

Fort Hays State Football will play its first home game of the 2019 season on Thursday night (Sept. 12) when it takes on Missouri Western. Kickoff is set for 7 pm at Lewis Field Stadium. The No. 25/22 ranked Tigers seek their first win of the season after falling in the season opener at Central Missouri last week.

The Tigers look to avenge a loss to the Griffons last year. Missouri Western defeated FHSU by a score of 23-13 in St. Joseph when FHSU was No. 5 in the AFCA Top 25 Poll. Prior to that, FHSU had won two in a row against the Griffons. This will be the first meeting between the teams in Hays since the 2016 season, when the Tigers won 35-27. FHSU won the 2017 installment of the series, winning 38-10 in St. Joseph. This is the third straight meeting between the teams in which the Tigers have held a top-25 national ranking.

Fort Hays State has been tough at home the last two seasons, going 12-0 in MIAA play during that span at Lewis Field Stadium. The only blemish at home since the beginning of the 2017 season was a playoff loss to Ferris State (Mich.). FHSU has claimed its last four home openers.

Fort Hays State held a 30-21 fourth-quarter lead over Central Missouri in the season opener, but UCM rallied for a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game to upend the then No. 11/8 ranked Tigers. Chance Fuller threw for a career-high 333 yards in the game, while Harley Hazlett (184), Charles Tigner (120), and Layne Bieberle (104) all produced over 100 all-purpose yards in the game.

The Tigers held the Mules to 34 total yards in the first quarter, but the Mule offense found its footing after halftime. The Mules produced 329 of their 516 yards in the game in the second half. The 516 yards allowed was well above the average of 326.1 the Tigers surrendered per game in 2018. However, it was the second straight year the Tigers surrendered more than 500 to the Mules.

The Tiger defense will look to bounce back after its second-half struggles last week. Tanner Hoekman and Drew Harvey tied for a team-high eight tackles each last week. FHSU held Missouri Western to 302 total yards last year despite the loss.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — (Hutchpost note:  We ran this story last week about a bullied Florida youth who made a University of Tennessee shirt and UT then made into an actual shirt to market.  Here is an updated story.)

A Florida fourth-grader who was bullied over his homemade University of Tennessee shirt has been offered a four-year scholarship to the school.

School officials said Thursday the boy’s scholarship would cover tuition and fees beginning in the fall of 2028 if he chooses to attend the University of Tennessee and meets admission requirements.

The boy’s teacher shared his story on Facebook and said the child’s excitement for his school’s college colors day turned to devastation after he was bullied at lunch last week. The teacher’s post went viral as the school sent a care package featuring notes and Tennessee gear the boy shared with his class.

The school’s VolShop website has designed its own Tennessee shirt featuring the boy’s design. School officials say more than 50,000 shirts have been presold, with proceeds benefiting the charity STOMP Out Bullying.

By PAUL LADEWSKI
Associated Press

CHICAGO — Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost likes to think his team has moved forward despite its 55-92 record this season. Its recent play vouches for that, at least for now.

Hunter Dozier hit a tie-breaking, three-run home run in the sixth, Jorge Soler had his third homer in two days and the Kansas City Royals beat nemesis Lucas Giolito and the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Thursday.

The Royals have won four consecutive series for the first time since June 2017. They have eight victories in their last 11 games.

“Yeah, for sure,” Dozier said of the perceived improvement. “We have a lot of young guys on this team that are getting their feet wet, including myself. It has been a good year getting those guys more experience. Lately, we’re playing good baseball.”

Yost struck a cautious tone with a more difficult schedule ahead.

“We’re playing teams that we match up a little bit against now,” Yost said. “It’s a tough go from here. We’ll see what happens.”

After Whit Merrifield walked and Soler singled to start the sixth inning, Dozier drove Giolito’s 1-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers for a 5-2 lead. He also doubled in the eighth.

“That was the location I wanted, probably just the wrong pitch,” said Giolito, who entered the game with a 3-1 record and 2.32 ERA versus the Royals this season.

The homers spoiled a record performance by Giolito (14-9), who set a team mark with eight consecutive strikeouts in the third through fifth innings before Nicky Lopez grounded out to end the run. The streak was the seventh-longest in major league history. Joe Cowley and Carlos Rodón shared the previous White Sox record.

Giolito finished with 12 strikeouts in six innings. The right-hander allowed five runs on five hits and one walk as Chicago lost its fourth game in the last six.

“I didn’t realize it was eight (strikeouts) in a row,” Giolito said. “I thought it was six in a row. So it was pretty cool.”

Jorge López (4-7) allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings for the Royals. He struck out two.

Five Royals relievers combined for 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, although Gabe Speier and Ian Kennedy had to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jams in the seventh and ninth.

Kennedy picked up his 29th save in 33 chances.

Soler opened the scoring in the first with his 43rd homer. The solo drive pulled him within one of the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout for the American League lead.

The Royals extended their lead to 2-0 in the second, when Ryan McBroom singled, advanced to third on Melbrys Viloria’s double and scored on Erick Mejia’s sacrifice fly, his first RBI in the majors. Bubba Starling scored their final run on James McCann’s passed ball in the ninth.

The White Sox scored on José Abreu’s sacrifice fly in the fifth and Yolmer Sánchez’s sacrifice fly one inning later.

PALKA PARTY
Chicago’s Daniel Palka snapped a 0-for-23 drought with a ground single to short right field in the sixth. His first hit since April 17 against Kansas City drew applause from supportive teammates in the dugout. He has two hits and 23 strikeouts in 57 at-bats this season.

“He’s actually had some better at-bats,” manager Rick Renteria said. “Hopefully, that’s the beginning of (a turnaround).”

LIKE OLD TIMES
The White Sox (64-82) will have to win at least nine of their final 16 games to avoid a third consecutive season of 90 or more losses, which they haven’t done since 1968-70.

TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: While Yost said a day off might benefit a few regulars, he planned to play them against contenders that had yet to clinch playoff positions.

UP NEXT
Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (6-6, 4.71 ERA) will take the mound against the first-place Houston Astros in Kansas City on Friday. He has five quality starts in his last seven tries at home.

White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (1-8, 7.69) will bid to get back on track in the opener against the Mariners in Seattle on Friday.

The 2019 Kansas high school football season kicked off with eight ranked teams losing in Week 1. Let’s take a look at the Kpreps Top 5 to see what changed after the first week.

Class 6A

Derby remains atop the Class 6A poll after a 48-19 road victory at Garden City. Senior quarterback Grant Adler produced more than 250 yards of total offense, including 168 yards on the ground. The Panthers travel to Salina to take on the Salina Central Mustangs this week.

Gardner-Edgerton moves up one spot to No. 2 this week after a dominating 49-14 victory over traditional Class 6A East contender Shawnee Mission East. The Trailblazers got touchdowns from seven different players in the victory.

Despite an opening week loss, Blue Valley North falls only one spot from No. 2 to No. 3 this week. The Mustangs fell behind Class 4A’s top-ranked Bishop Miege 20-0 in the first quarter, but battled their way back to within 20-14 at halftime. Miege eventually held on for the 27-20 victory. Sophomore quarterback Henry Martin led Blue Valley North in passing for 360 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This week, Blue Valley North will host Blue Valley – ranked No. 5 in Class 6A last week.

Olathe North remains at No. 4 this week after holding off rival Olathe East, 27-21. The Eagles scored in each quarter in holding off the Hawks. Quarterback Arland Bruce, IV rushed for three touchdowns in the game.

Finally, Lawrence Free State enters the poll at No. 5 this week after a 45-19 victory over Olathe West to give new head coach Kevin Stewart his first victory. The victory was the first in school history under a head coach other than Bob Lisher, who retired after last season and had been the leader of the Firebird program since the school’s inception. Senior quarterback Colter Maldonado, back to Free State after starting at Coronado California last season, passed for 150 yards and three touchdowns, and added 79 yards rushing and another score.

Class 5A

Defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas looked every bit the favorite to repeat after dominating Blue Valley, 48-19. Blue Valley entered the game ranked No. 5 in Class 6A, but managed just 200 yards of offense against the Saints. Aquinas quarterback Blake Anderson rushed for a score and threw three touchdown passes in the first half as the Saints built a 41-0 lead. Aquinas will travel back to Blue Valley High School this week to take on Blue Valley Southwest.

Wichita Northwest remains ranked second this week after a 21-17 win over No. 3 Bishop Carroll. Quarterback Reagan Jones hit Zion Jones on what would become the game-winning touchdown pass with just under four minutes left in the game. Despite the loss, Carroll stays in the No. 3 spot in this week’s poll.

De Soto moves up one spot to No. 4 in this week’s poll. The Wildcats rushed for 300 yards in a dominating 51-19 victory over Leavenworth. De Soto will now travel to take on KC Wyandotte in the debut of new Bulldog coach R. J. Premis. Wyandotte did not play in Week 1.

Maize moves into the poll at No. 5 this week after a 47-0 shutout of Valley Center. Caden Cox rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and Camden Jurgensen passed for 130 yards and a score. Maize defeated Valley Center 49-0 in the opener a season ago.

Mill Valley, ranked fourth last week, falls out of the poll after a 28-21 loss to Blue Valley West.

Class 4A

Bishop Miege raced out to a 20-0 lead at home and then held off Class 6A’s second-ranked Blue Valley North Mustangs, 27-20. The Stag defense returned an interception for a touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage, then Brison Cobbins rushed for two scores to increase the lead to 20-0. Quarterback Tim Dorsey passed for 165 yards and a touchdown – a strike to Phillippe Wesley that put Miege up 27-14 in the third quarter.

Goddard held off Wichita East 34-22 on Thursday night. The second-ranked Lions got 210 passing yards and four touchdowns from junior quarterback Kyler Semrad. Goddard travels to Ark City this week.

McPherson rallied from a 10-0 early hole to top Salina South, 29-17. Kaleb Hoppes had a hand in four touchdowns for the Bullpups, including a 99-yard scoring strike to Aaron Powell.

Paola moves up a spot to No. 4 this week with a dominating 48-21 win over Bonner Springs. The Panthers led 35-7 at halftime and cruised behind three total touchdowns from Garrett Williams.

Pittsburg enters the poll this week at No. 5 after a 40-0 shutout of Labette County. The Purple Dragon defense returned multiple interceptions for touchdowns in the victory. Pittsburg High has never lost to Labette County.

Louisburg, ranked fourth last week, falls out of this week’s poll after a 27-24 loss to Spring Hill.

Class 3A

The voting is already tightening up at the top of Class 3A. Two-time defending champion Sabetha remains on top this week narrowly ahead of No. 2 Andale. Sabetha opened with a 13-6 win over Nemaha Central, while Andale rolled past Mulvane, 43-7.

Marysville retains the No. 3 spot this week after the Bulldogs earned a hard-fought, 34-22 victory over North Central Kansas League rival Chapman.

Meanwhile there is a slight change at the bottom of this week’s 3A poll. Topeka Hayden moves up one spot to No. 4 this week, while Scott City falls a spot to No. 5. Both schools earned victories on Friday night. Hayden rolled to a 55-8 win over Topeka West, while Scott City struggled through turnovers to shut out Hugoton, 14-0.

Class 2A

Voting is also tightening up in the Class 2A poll. Phillipsburg retains the top spot this week, narrowly ahead of No. 2 Hoisington. The Panthers opened with a 40-22 win over Ellis, while Hoisington handled Pratt, 37-13. Phillipsburg will take on Class 1A No. 2 Plainville this week.

Conway Springs opened with a dominating 49-6 victory over Wichita Trinity to retain the No. 3 spot. The Cardinals will travel to take on another set of Cardinals at Cheney this week.

Finally, it’s War on 24 week as No. 4 Rossville will make the short trip to take on No. 5 Silver Lake. Rossville opened with a 28-8 victory over then 1A No. 5 Centralia, while Silver Lake defeated Mid-East League rival St. Marys, 38-12.

Class 1A

Top-ranked Smith Center led Thomas More Prep 13-0 at halftime and then steadily pulled away for a 34-0 victory. The Redmen tallied more than 400 yards of total offense in the win. Smith Center hosts rival Norton this week.

Plainville picked up an impressive win over Norton, 29-22 on Friday night. Jared Casey rushed for 213 yards, while Jordan Finnesy added 157 yards on the ground. The Cardinals have a big showdown with Class 2A No. 1 Phillipsburg this week.

Jackson Heights stays in the No. 3 spot this week after defeating Horton 46-8, while No. 4 Olpe had little trouble with Osawatomie in a 44-7 decision.

Finally, Valley Heights enters the poll after an impressive 52-7 victory over Troy to open the season. The Mustangs intercepted five Trojan passes in the win. Cole Coggins rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns. The Mustangs took the place of Centralia which dropped out of the poll after a 28-8 loss to 3A No. 4 Rossville.

Class 8M-I

In Class 8-Man, Division I, Canton-Galva opened as the top-ranked team and cruised past Little River, 70-23. Sophomore Tyson Struber scored four touchdowns in the game as the Eagles avenged a loss to the Redskins to open the 2018 season.

Saint Francis blanked Sharon Springs-Wallace County 46-0 on Friday night and remain ranked second. The Indians were supposed to play league rival Tribune-Greeley County this week, but the Jackrabbits are short on players. Sainty improvised and scheduled a game at Holly, Colorado.

Hodgeman County retains the No. 3 spot this week after a 54-6 win over Dighton. The Longhorns have a challenge this week when they host Medicine Lodge.

Defending champion Central Plains falls out of this week’s poll after a 36-30 loss to Central Prairie League rival Ness City. That leaves room for South Central to move up one spot to No. 4 this week. The Timberwolves rolled passed Bucklin, 56-8.

Finally, Madison enters the poll at No. 5 this week. The Bulldogs scored 51 points in the first quarter in beating Marais des Cygnes Valley, 64-8. Madison returned a punt and two interceptions for touchdowns in the contest.

Class 8M-II

Defending champion Hanover won its 39th straight game with a 58-14 decision over Pike Valley. The Wildcats led Pike Valley 20-14 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.  Hanover opens district play this week by hosting Doniphan West.

Axtell remains at No. 2 in this week’s poll after a big victory over Beloit St. John’s-Tipton. Eagle quarterback Quinn Buessing passed for three touchdowns and ran for four more scores in the win. The Eagles have their district opener this week against Blue Valley Randolph.

Osborne stays in the No. 3 spot after starting the second Steve Tiernan era with a 58-20 win at Hill City. Darrien Holloway rushed for 161 yards and Mason Schurr added 159 more yards on the ground for the Bulldogs.

South Barber dropped its opener to Cherokee (Okla.) and falls out of this week’s poll. That means St. Paul moves up one spot to No. 4 after a 52-14 win at Sedan. Adam Albertini rushed for 229 yards and six touchdowns in the Indians’ win.

Finally, Hutchinson Central Christian enters the poll at No. 5 this week after a close, 40-34 win over Argonia-Attica. Garrett Burns provided the winning points for the Cougars on a short touchdown run with 14 seconds remaining. The Cougars will open district play this week at Norwich.

Visit the Rankings page each week to view a complete list of the top five teams in each classification and how they performed last week.

 

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The 67th game between Iowa State and No. 19 Iowa is still highly anticipated even though it fell short of being the first with both teams ranked. Iowa State slipped to the first spot out of this week’s Top 25. The Cy-Hawk showdown is among seven Big 12 games this week against other Power Five teams. Iowa State is coming off an open date. The Cyclones have won seven home games in a row since the start of last season to match a school record.

DENVER (AP) — Antonio Senzatela pitched six strong innings for his first win in two months, Ian Desmond hit a go-ahead home run and the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. It was the second straight 2-1 victory for the Rockies, who ensured their first series win over the Cardinals since taking two of three from St. Louis May 26-28, 2017.

CHICAGO (AP) — Jorge Soler hit a pair of two-run homers among his career high-matching four hits, leading the Kansas City Royals to an 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Adalberto Mondesi homered and had three hits, and Bubba Starling and Ryan O’Hearn also connected as the Royals beat Chicago for the fifth time in six games.

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi State’s offense appears more comfortable in the Bulldogs’ second season under coach Joe Moorhead. The Bulldogs have scored 38 points in each of their first two games heading into their Saturday matchup with Kansas State. Mississippi State ranked 10th in the Southeastern Conference in points per game and yards per game last season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sammy Watkins hauled in nine passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, pacing the Chiefs to a 40-26 rout of the Jaguars in last week’s opener. Now, the former No. 4 overall draft pick will be counted on to pick up the slack following the loss of fellow wide receiver Tyreek Hill to a collarbone injury. Watkins had predicted a breakout season after having a productive, healthy offseason.

National Headlines

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) _ Oakland Raiders rookie safety Johnathan Abram will be placed on injured reserve after injuring his shoulder in the first half of Monday’s season-opening win over Denver. Abram finished the game but will need to undergo surgery tomorrow. He was the 27th overall selection in this year’s NFL draft, a pick acquired from Dallas in last year’s trade for Amari Cooper.

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) _ Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry will be placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury. Henry fractured the upper part of his left tibia during the second half of Sunday’s overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. He managed to return to the game and finished with four receptions for 60 yards, including a 17-yard catch in overtime.

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ Former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Sam Davis has died at age 75. Davis played 168 games with the Steelers from 1967-79 and started each of their four Super Bowl victories in the 1970. Davis was found dead yesterday at New Life Personal Care in McKeesport southeast of Pittsburgh, where he was suffering from dementia and was legally blind.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The NCAA Board of Governors wants California Gov. Gavin Newsom to reject a new attempt to pay college athletes. The board has sent a letter to Newsom urging him not to sign the legislation known as the Fair Pay to Play Act, which would allow college athletes to be paid for the use of their names, likenesses and images. The board warned that California schools may be declared ineligible for NCAA competition if the bill becomes law because they would have an unfair recruiting advantage.

Wednesday Scores

INTERLEAGUE
Final Baltimore 7 L-A Dodgers 3
Final Washington 6 Minnesota 2
Final Seattle 5 Cincinnati 3

AMERICAN LEAGUE
N-Y Yankees at Detroit 4:40 p.m.
Final Toronto 8 Boston 0
Final Oakland 5 Houston 3
Final Kansas City 8 Chi White Sox 6
Final Cleveland 4 L-A Angels 3
Final Texas 10 Tampa Bay 9

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Milwaukee 7 Miami 5
Final N-Y Mets 9 Arizona 0
Final Atlanta 3 Philadelphia 1
Final Colorado 2 St. Louis 1
Final Pittsburgh 6 San Francisco 3
Final San Diego 4 Chi Cubs 0

DONGGUAN, China (AP) — No gold. No medal. No more winning streak.

The U.S. reign atop international basketball has ended — this time, thwarted by France at the World Cup.

For the first time since 2006, the U.S. sent NBA players to a major international tournament and won’t win gold. Evan Fournier scored 22 points, Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 16 rebounds and France beat the U.S. 89-79 in the World Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, rallying from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull off the upset.

“Any loss hurts,” U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. “And in this situation, it hurts more. But life goes on. This is very important and we would have loved to have won … but we’re all grown, we all have families and lives and life goes on.”

The U.S. had won 58 consecutive tournament games in FIBA and Olympic competition, starting with the bronze-medal game at the 2006 world championships and continuing through every FIBA Americas, World Cup and Olympics event since. It was bidding to become the first nation to win three consecutive World Cups, after winning three straight Olympic golds in that span.

The best the Americans can do now in China is finish fifth, and they’re assured of their worst finish in a big tournament with NBA players since placing sixth at the 2002 world championships. They’re going home with a berth in the 2020 Olympics secured but no medal.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the U.S., all of them coming in the first three quarters. The Americans came up scoreless on six consecutive possessions down the stretch, the drought that allowed the French to take control of a back-and-forth game for the final time.

“Just got to take it like a man at this point,” U.S guard Kemba Walker said. “We lost. There’s nothing we can do. We competed. We’ve been competing since day one that we got to training camp. But we gave it everything we’ve got. I know we’re Team USA and things of that nature and they’ve been winning for a lot of years, but you know, we didn’t get a chance to pull it off.”

Nando De Colo scored 18 for France. The French held the U.S. to 4 for 15 shooting in the fourth quarter — and benefited from the Americans going 4 for 11 from the foul line in the final 10 minutes.

“We came here to win gold,” Gobert said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. A lot of people counted us out, but we got the win.”

Gobert said beating the Americans wasn’t the goal — winning gold is.

“It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win in the end,” Gobert said.

France was up 10 early in the second half. The U.S. went on a 31-14 run over the next 10 minutes to go up by seven. And then the French responded with a 15-2 run over the next five minutes, going up 82-76 on a long jumper by Frank Ntilikina with 2:05 left.

Mitchell had a chance to get the U.S. within two with about a minute left, driving against Gobert — but the Utah center read what the Utah guard was going to do perfectly, swatting the try away.

“We beat the U.S., and that’s huge, but we haven’t won anything yet,” France’s Nicolas Batum said.

France had been 0-9 against the U.S. in major international play, most of those outcomes one-sided affairs. But the last meeting between the nations was only a 100-97 U.S. win at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics three years ago, and France returned three players — Gobert, De Colo and Batum — who got minutes in that game.

None of the U.S. players who played that afternoon in Rio is on this year’s World Cup team.

France outrebounded the U.S. 21-12 in the first half, Gobert found his way to the line 10 times in the game’s first 20 minutes and the Americans went into the break trailing 45-39. The U.S. had trailed for 8:25 in their first five games combined — and trailed for 11:24 in the first half alone on Wednesday.

Fournier’s layup with 7:33 left in the third gave France a 53-43 lead, and that’s when Mitchell got going.

He had 14 points in the third quarter, and his dunk with 2:40 left pulled the U.S. into a 60-60 tie. Marcus Smart made three free throws after getting fouled by Gobert to put the U.S. back on top, and the Americans took a 66-63 lead into the fourth.

But they couldn’t finish it off.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to tip your cap to them,” U.S. guard Joe Harris said. “They outplayed us. They deserved to win. We certainly didn’t deserve to win that game.”

TIP-INS

France: Gobert played the first 12:26. The longest he went before getting his first break in a Jazz game last season was 11:30. … Ntilikina scored 11 for France. … The U.S. didn’t turn the ball over at a very high rate — 11 times — but France converted those giveaways into 22 points.

U.S.: Smart scored 11 and Walker had 10 for the U.S. … Before Mitchell’s offensive outburst Wednesday, the previous single-game scoring high for any U.S. player at this World Cup was Jaylen Brown’s 20-point game against Japan in the opening group round. … Jayson Tatum (sprained left ankle) missed his fourth consecutive game.

LAUDING FRANCE

Popovich had the highest praise for France and coach Vincent Collet. “It’s the best French team I’ve seen, because they play on both ends of the court,” Popovich said.

OLYMPIC BERTHS

Australia’s win over the Czech Republic in the other quarterfinal on Wednesday gave France something else to celebrate — an Olympic berth. Spain and France are assured of being the top two World Cup finishers from Europe, earning them automatic spots into the field for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Others qualified so far: the U.S., Nigeria, Iran, Australia, Argentina and Japan. The last four spots in the 12-team field will be decided next year.

UP NEXT

France: Faces Argentina in semifinals at Beijing on Friday.

U.S.: Faces Serbia in consolation round at Dongguan on Thursday.

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Kansas Jayhawks embark on their first road trip of the season this week, as they take on the Boston College Eagles in their final non-conference game of the season at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass. on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT on the ACC Network.

The Jayhawks are coming off a 12-7 defeat at the hands of Coastal Carolina at home on Saturday, which comes as their first loss of the 2019 season. In that game, the duo of Pooka Williams Jr., and Khalil Herbert combined for 181 rushing yards, while Herbert scored KU’s only touchdown.

Friday’s contest against Boston College is the first in program history for the Jayhawks and the 36th game played on a Friday in school history, where the team holds a 19-14-2 record. The game can be viewed live on ACC Network with Chris Cotter (Play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (Analyst), Kelsey Riggs (Reporter) or can be heard across the Jayhawk Radio Network with Brian Hanni (play-by-play), David Lawrence (analyst) and Josh Klingler (sidelines) on the call

The Kansas Jayhawks will return home to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on September 21 to host the West Virginia Mountaineers in their first home conference game of the season on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ at 3:30 p.m.

Les Miles Press Conference