Nov 12, 2021 6 min read

Riske gets 3rd WTA title

Alison Riske rallied to beat Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the final of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz on Friday for the American’s third career title.

It was the 73rd-ranked Riske’s first tournament win since recovering from foot injuries last year that kept her out of competition for nine months.

Riske, a McMurray native, who was ranked 18th two years ago, improved to 3-8 in career finals, following earlier triumphs in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2019 and Tianjin in 2014.

It was the second final of the season for Riske, after losing to Jasmine Paolini of Italy in Portoroz, Slovenia, in September.

Cristian benefited on her way to the final from two opponents withdrawing with injuries: Rebecca Peterson of Sweden quit their last-16 match during the first set, and Simona Halep pulled out before their semifinal.

Cristian and Riske swapped breaks early in the opening set of the final before the Romanian gained control with dominating groundstrokes to win four straight games from 2-2.

Riske avoided break points and had nine winners in the second set to level the match.

The American was a break up in the decider but lost her advantage in a nine-minute service game at 4-3, and missed four break chances in the next.

She broke Cristian at 5-5 and closed out the win when the Romanian hit a backhand long.

Cincinnati wins

Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes to break the Cincinnati career record and ran for a score to help the No. 2 Bearcats beat South Florida 45-28 Friday night.

Cincinnati (10-0), one of four unbeaten FBS teams, has started the season with 10 consecutive wins for just the second time in school history. The Bearcats also did it in 2009, when they got off to a 12-0 start.

In golf

Martin Trainer was in rare territory Friday. Not only did he play well enough to stick around for the weekend, he found himself leading the Houston Open.

Trainer holed a pair of long birdie putts and three short ones in a bogey-free round at Memorial Park for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Kevin Tway.

The second round would not be completed until Saturday morning as the tournament tried to catch up from a long weather delay at the start of the tournament.

• Lexi Thompson birdied four of her last five holes for a 6-under 64 to share the lead with Jennifer Kupcho going into the weekend of the Pelican Women’s Championship.

One big prize was awarded when Pavarisa Yoktuan made a hole-in-one with an 8-iron on the 145-yard 12th hole and won a two-year lease for a Lamborghini.

Christina Kim felt like a winner, too, even though her work is not done. Kim missed out on Monday qualifying, received a late sponsor exemption and responded with rounds of 65-66 to sit just two shots off the lead.

That’s a big deal for Kim because she is No. 98 in the Race to the CME Globe, and only the top 100 keep full cards for next year after this event. She would have to win – something Kim hasn’t done in seven years – to move into the top 60 and advance to the CME Group Tour Championship next week.

• The largest, most boisterous crowds at Phoenix Country Club followed Phil Mickelson, roaring with approval whenever Lefty knocked one close, groaning when he made a mistake.

Kirk Triplett drowned out the noise and kept his focus, calmly pouring in one birdie after another.

In the group ahead, Jim Furyk played with his usual steadiness to remain in the hunt for the Schwab Cup.

Enjoying the large crowds, Triplett shot a 7-under 64 to move into the lead Friday and Furyk kept himself in contention for the season title with a 67 in the second round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Tied for the lead with Furyk and Mickelson after the first round, Triplett finished with seven birdies and no bogeys to reach 13 under, two ahead of recent qualifier Steven Alker, who shot a 65.

In the NFL

Bill Belichick doesn’t have to worry about his New England defense containing Cleveland’s best offensive player.

Browns’ star running back Nick Chubb will miss Sunday’s game against the Patriots after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and then not passing protocols in time to be eligible to play.

Coach Kevin Stefanski ruled out Chubb along with rookie punt returner Demetric Felton following Friday’s practice.

• Quarterback Kyler Murray was back at practice on Friday, potentially giving the Arizona Cardinals a boost heading into Sunday’s home game against the Carolina Panthers.

Murray missed a game for the first time in his three-year career last weekend against the San Francisco 49ers because of an ankle injury.

The Cardinals are still waiting to see if star receiver DeAndre Hopkins can play Sunday. The three-time All-Pro is battling a hamstring injury and missed the 49ers game. It was just the third game he’s missed in his nine-year NFL career.

• Star New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, starting left tackle Terron Armstead and prominent defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson have been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Tennessee.

Kamara has not practiced this week after injuring his knee – but continuing to play – during a loss last Sunday to Atlanta.

• Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden has sued Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL, alleging that a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” was used to destroy Gruden’s career by leaking old emails he had sent that included racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments.

The emails sent to former Washington Football Team executive Bruce Allen from 2011 to 2018 during Gruden’s time as an announcer at ESPN included racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments. They came from a set of 650,000 emails obtained by the league in June during an investigation into the workplace culture of the Washington Football Team.

Gruden’s attorney, Adam Hosmer-Henner, said in a statement that the defendants “selectively leaked Gruden’s private correspondence to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in order to harm Gruden’s reputation and force him out of his job.”