AUTO RACING
Alex Palou cruised to his first IndyCar championship with an easy Sunday drive at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in California.
The 24-year-old became the first Spaniard to win the IndyCar championship and pulled it off in just his second season in the United States with a fourth-place finish on the temporary downtown street course that rolls along the Long Beach waterfront.
Colton Herta won the race on what is considered his home track for his second consecutive win and third of the season. Josef Newgarden finished second and Scott Dixon, the six-time and reigning champion, finished third before turning the IndyCar crown over to his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate.
FORMULA ONE: Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula One driver to win 100 races with a victory in the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia, to retake the championship lead from Max Verstappen.
Hamilton dropped to seventh place when he was boxed in at the first corner but fought back and passed Lando Norris for the win when the McLaren driver stayed out on slick tires in late rain and slid off the track.
Hamilton turned a five-point deficit into a two-point lead over Verstappen, who finished second after a dramatic drive from last on the grid. Carlos Sainz was third for Ferrari.
HOCKEY
NHL: Jake DeBrusk and Erik Haula scored Boston’s goals in regulation, then scored again in the shootout to lift the Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals in a preseason opener at Washington.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: Brittney Griner scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and Diana Taurasi scored six points in overtime as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Seattle Storm 85-80 a second-round playoff game in Seattle.
Taurasi, a game-time decision after missing the last five games because of a left ankle injury, hit a tying 3-pointer, a step-back jumper and a late free throw as Phoenix took over down the stretch.
The fifth-seeded Mercury will open the best-of-five semifinals at No. 2 Las Vegas on Tuesday.
• Courtney Vandersloot led a balanced offense with 19 points and the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky raced past the third-seeded Minnesota Lynx, 89-76, to advance to the semifinals against the top-seeded Connecticut Sun.
NBA: Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker will miss the start of training camp after being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
The Suns said the two-time All-Star won’t participate in Monday’s media day, and added that it would have no further updates until he’s ready for training camp.
Booker helped lead the Suns to the NBA finals last season before they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. He averaged 25.6 points per game, teaming with veteran Chris Paul to form one of the league’s top backcourts.
Booker was also part of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
GOLF
LPGA: Nasa Hataoka survived a nervy finish for a one-shot victory over Minjee Lee and Eun-Hee Ji in the Walmart Northwest Arkansas Championship at Rogers, Arkansas.
Hataoka, a 22-year-old from Japan, shot a 4-under 67 to finish at 16-under. She three-putted the par-5 18th hole after reaching the green in two, making a 3-footer for par after rolling her first putt 15 feet past the hole.
COLLEGES
FOOTBALL: Clemson tumbled to No. 25 in The Associated Press poll, snapping its streak of 97 weeks in the top 10.
The Tigers (2-2) lost for the second time this season Saturday – falling in double overtime to North Carolina State – and dropped 16 spots from No. 9 in the AP Top 25, which is presented by Regions Bank.
Clemson’s top-10 streak was tied with Alabama for the longest current run in college football and second-longest in the history of the AP poll, behind Miami’s 137 from 1985-93.
The Crimson Tide remained No. 1 with 58 first-place votes out of 62. No. 2 Georgia received the remaining four first-place votes. Oregon stayed No. 3. Penn State moved up two spots to No. 4, Iowa held at No. 5, and Oklahoma slipped two spots to No. 6.
• A University of Utah football player died in a shooting at a house party early Sunday, Salt Lake City police said.
The shooting that killed Aaron Lowe occurred just after midnight, only hours after the Utes beat Washington State 24-13, and less than a year after a teammate of Lowe’s died in an accidental shooting.
Police said another victim in Sunday’s shooting incident – a woman – was hospitalized in critical condition and authorities were searching for a suspect.
ROAD RACING
BERLIN MARATHON: Guye Adola of Ethiopia took the victory after compatriot Kenenisa Bekele’s attempt to break the world record was undone by warm weather and a blistering start to the race.
Adola finished in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 45 seconds.
Late challenger Bethwel Yegon of Kenya was second in 2:06:14, and Bekele finished third in 2:06:47.
Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 2:20:09 on her debut.
TENNIS
OSTRAVA OPEN: Unseeded Anett Kontaveit cruised past fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-2, 7-5 to win the tournament in the Czech Republic for her third WTA title.
Both players held their serve in the second set until the Estonian built a 40-0 lead in the 12th game before converting her first match-point with a forehand winner.
It was her sixth win over a top-20 opponent this year.
MOSELLE OPEN: Top-seeded Hubert Hurkacz clinched his third title of the year as he beat Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 (2), 6-3 in Metz, France.
LAVER CUP: Even without any of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic on the roster, Team Europe clinched its fourth consecutive Laver Cup victory by going up 14-1 against Team World in Boston.
Tokyo Olympics singles gold medalist Alexander Zverev of Germany and Andrey Rublev of Russia gave Team Europe an insurmountable lead by beating Reilly Opelka of the U.S. and Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-2, 6-7 (4), 10-3 in a match tiebreaker in doubles to open Sunday’s play.
SOCCER
ENGLAND: Arsenal tore Tottenham apart with three goals in the opening 34 minutes in a 3-1 victory that extended its early-season recovery and completed a miserable September for its north London rival in the Premier League.
The goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka completed a third successive league win for Arsenal, which lost its opening three games.
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