BASEBALL
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Oh, Buster Posey knew all about how long he had gone without a home run.
All that talk about the star catcher’s second-half power drought was answered with one mighty swing in a September game that mattered, and his two-run shot helped the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 in a matchup of playoff contenders.
Posey drove in four runs and the Giants stayed four games back of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, who won at Arizona. San Francisco maintained its one-game lead over the New York Mets for the league’s top wild card, moving three games up on the Cardinals in the wild-card standings.
NFL
CANTON, Ohio (AP) – The inclusion of former NFL safety and convicted rapist Darren Sharper on the Pro Football’s Hall of Fame nomination list, shocked some people Friday and has started a national debate over who should be eligible for induction.
Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowler, appeared on the list because at least one Hall of Fame selector nominated Sharper. He also was nominated last year – before he pleaded guilty in a case in which he was accused of drugging and raping up to 16 women in four states. U.S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced him to 18 years in prison last month.
Hall of Fame spokesman Joe Horrigan explained that there is no character clause in the bylaws, which are approved by the Hall of Fame’s board of directors.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – Rex Ryan is holding himself answerable for the Buffalo Bills’ slow start. At the same time, he’s made a significant change to his coaching staff by firing offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Roman was let go Friday in a bid to kick start the Bills’ sputtering Tyrod Taylor-led attack.
The team announced the move in an email released a day after Buffalo fell to 0-2 following a 37-31 loss to the New York Jets.
Running backs coach Anthony Lynn will take over as coordinator. Lynn also serves as an assistant head coach and has spent the past eight years working under Ryan.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) – Jared Goff is one step closer to the field for the Los Angeles Rams.
The No. 1 overall draft pick will be the Rams’ backup quarterback Sunday, putting him in uniform for the first time in his rookie season. Coach Jeff Fisher made the announcement after Los Angeles’ final practice for its home opener against Seattle.
Goff was the inactive third-stringer for the Rams’ 28-0 loss at San Francisco in their season opener Monday. Sean Mannion served as the backup to Case Keenum, who went 17 for 35 for 130 yards with two interceptions.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – As night fell over Happy Valley on Friday, hundreds of Joe Paterno’s former players gathered outside the school’s baseball stadium to celebrate their accomplishments and the coach who inspired them before he left a polarizing legacy.
About 50 yards from where a statue of Paterno was removed by the university after the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, and Paterno’s possible role in it, rocked the small Central Pennsylvania town in 2011, former players hugged, laughed and told stories about Paterno as they filed into the private ceremony.
AUTO RACING
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) – Kyle Busch overcame a race-record 11 cautions for his 46th career NASCAR Truck Series victory, dashing the hopes of full-time drivers needing wins to claim a spot in the debut Chase for the championship.
The Sprint Cup star’s second circuit win of the season and fifth trucks win at Chicagoland Speedway meant Daniel Hemric and Timothy Peters earned the final two spots in the eight-driver playoff field based on points.
GOLF
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) – In Gee Chun shot a 5-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead in the Evian Championship, keeping the South Korean player on course for the second major title.
The 22-year-old Chun, the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open champion, had six birdies and bogey in in rainy and overcast conditions to reach 13-under 129 on the picturesque resort overlooking Lake Geneva.
South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park, tied for the first-round lead with Chun after a 63, to match China’s Shanshan Feng (68) at 11 under.
So Yeon Ryu, also from South Korea, was 10 under after a 66. Defending champion Lydia Ko was 4 under after a 68. Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn was 11 strokes back following a 73 with a 67.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) – Paul Broadhurst shot a 6-under 66 at Pebble Beach to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Nature Valley First Tee Open.
U.S. Senior Open winner Gene Sauers, Craig Parry, Jay Don Blake, Kevin Sutherland and Tom Pernice Jr. were 4 under. Sauers, Parry and Blake shot 68 at Pebble Beach, and Sutherland and Pernice shot 67 at Poppy Hills.
Bernhard Langer opened with a 70 at Poppy Hills. John Daly had two triple bogeys in a 74 at Pebble Beach. Fellow major champion Vijay Singh had a 75 at Pebble Beach, making three bogeys in a birdie-less round.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Andrew Johnston shot an 8-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead in the Albertsons Boise Open, putting the bearded Englishmen in position to wrap up a PGA Tour card.
Eighth in the British Open in July, Johnston had 10 birdies and two bogeys to reach 13-under 129 at Hillcrest in the second of four Web.com Tour Finals events.
Three-time PGA Tour winner Scott Stallings and Argentina’s Miguel Angel Carballo were tied for second. Stallings had a 65, and Carballo shot 64.
STUNT JUMP
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) – Professional stuntman Eddie Braun successfully jumped over the Snake River Canyon in an ode to his boyhood idol, Evel Knievel.
Braun soared over the southern Idaho canyon in a custom-built rocket dubbed ”Evel Spirit.”
It launched off a steep ramp on the edge of the canyon rim just before 4 p.m. as hundreds of onlookers watched. The rocket reached an estimated 400 mph before its parachute deployed, allowing Braun and the ship to land safely in fields on the other side of the 1,400 foot-wide canyon.
