CYCLING

Tim Merlier of Belgium powered to victory in the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday when several top contenders hit the ground during another crash-marred day.

Merlier won ahead of his Alpecin-Fenix teammate Jasper Philipsen and Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni. There was a crash in the closing stages when ace sprinter Caleb Ewan’s front wheel slid from under him in the final turn. He brought down Peter Sagan with him. Ewan, who won two stages last year, broke his right collarbone and abandoned the three-week race.

Mathieu van der Poel rode safely at the front throughout the day and escaped unscathed to keep the yellow jersey he earned on Sunday.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Five-time Pro Bowl receiver Demaryius Thomas announced his retirement from the NFL following a decade-long career.

Thomas was part of the winningest four-year period in Broncos history from 2012-15 with Peyton Manning at quarterback. The Denver Broncos went 55-17 during that span, winning two AFC titles and Super Bowl 50.

The Broncos plan to celebrate Thomas’ nine-year stint in Denver during their home opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 26. Thomas will serve as honorary captain and there will be a video tribute to his career.

Thomas was selected 22nd overall in the 2010 draft out of Georgia Tech. After playing for the Broncos from 2010-18, he was traded to the Houston Texans and finished his career with the Jets in 2019.

AWARDS: The late John Facenda, a longtime narrator of NFL highlights whose voice became synonymous with the league, has won the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2021 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.

Facenda was a television news anchor in Philadelphia when NFL Films creator Ed Sabol heard his distinct voice describing some highlights in 1965. Sabol invited Facenda to read scripts, leading to a job Facenda held for 19 years until his death in 1984 at 71.

The Hall of Fame presents the Rozelle award annually in recognition of longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in pro football.

BASEBALL

WOOD BAT LEAGUE: Falmouth swept a doubleheader against host Yarmouth, 2-1 and 6-1.

In the opener, Brennan Rumpf hit an RBI triple in the fifth inning and Eli Cowperthwaite drove in the winning run in the seventh with a single.

Patrick Gill and Sean McDonald each had two doubles in Falmouth’s win in the nightcap. Andrew Cheever had a single and an RBI sac fly for Yarmouth.

COLLEGES: Vanderbilt gave Jack Leiter a big early lead and went on to an 8-2 victory over Mississippi State in Game 1 of the College World Series finals at Omaha, Nebraska, to move within a win of a second straight national championship.

The Commodores (49-16) scored seven runs off Christian MacLeod and Chase Patrick in the first inning of a game delayed an hour because of the threat of inclement weather that never materialized.

SOCCER

EURO 2021: Spain first gifted Croatia a bizarre own-goal, then threw away a late 3-1 lead. Alvaro Morata made sure it didn’t matter in the end.

Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal scored in extra time to give Spain a 5-3 win over Croatia and a place in the European Championship quarterfinals after a wildly entertaining see-saw match at Parken Stadium.

After Croatia midfielder Mario Pasalic equalized in injury time to cap an improbable late comeback, the much-maligned Morata scored the winner in the 100th minute.

• France is out of the European Championship, and it was Kylian Mbappe that missed the penalty kick in the shootout.

Switzerland eliminated the World Cup champions 5-4 in the shootout after a 3-3 draw on Monday in the Round of 16.

Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who left the team during the group stage to be with his wife for the birth of their daughter, made the decisive safe on the 10th penalty after the previous nine had all been successful.

The Swiss will next play Spain in the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg on Friday.

OLYMPICS

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Experience mattered to USA Basketball when putting together a roster for the Tokyo Olympics.

The Americans formally revealed their roster Monday, one that will be third-oldest U.S. men’s team in Olympic history for the Tokyo Games. The 12-man list includes five players – Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard and Draymond Green – already in their 30s.

In addition to those five players, the U.S. also has gotten commitments from Bam Adebayo, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Jerami Grant, Zach LaVine, Khris Middleton and Jayson Tatum to play on the team. All those commitments became known in recent weeks; USA Basketball, which is seeking a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal, merely made it official with the announcement.

• Ben Simmons has withdrawn from Australia’s Olympic squad in order to spend time working on his individual skill development following a disappointing NBA postseason for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Basketball Australia issued a statement to confirm Simmons’ decision to pull out of selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

“It is a pretty rough time for him right now,” Australia’s Coach Brian Goorjian said. Going to the Olympics “is something that he wanted to do, but the timing just hasn’t worked.

“The best thing for everybody right now is for him to go on and develop that skill package and improve in a couple of areas for his next season in the NBA.”

Goorjian left the door open for Simmons to rejoin Australia’s men’s national team in the future.

The 24-year-old Simmons shot 25 for 73 (34%) from the free-throw line in the NBA playoffs and missed 27 alone against the Atlanta Hawks.

He pinned his playoff failures on a mental block more than shot mechanics.

TRACK AND FIELD: Germany’s Thomas Röhler ruled himself out of defending his Olympic javelin title because of a back injury.

Röhler was injured in training and has barely competed this year. He managed one foul throw at the German championships this month before withdrawing from the competition.

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