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49ers observations: Defense dominant again in win over Panthers

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 49ers turned to a balanced, efficient offensive attack after their best defensive player exited the Week 5 game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

The 49ers put together their best offensive showing of the season behind quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and a strong running game in the team’s 37-15 victory over the lowly Panthers and embattled head coach Matt Rhule.

Defensive end Nick Bosa, who entered the week as the NFL’s leader with six sacks, sustained a groin injury in the third quarter. He immediately was ruled out, and his status for upcoming games is in question.

The game did not start too well for the 49ers from an injury standpoint, as veteran safety Jimmie Ward sustained a hand injury on the first defensive play of the game and did not return. Ward was making his season debut after missing time with a hamstring injury.

Garoppolo responded with his best game of the season. He completed 18 of 30 pass attempts for 253 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The 49ers especially were strong on third downs. While building a 30-12 lead, the 49ers converted seven of their first 11 (64 percent) third-down attempts.

The 49ers improved to 3-2 on the season, and here are the takeaways from their victory over the Panthers:

Defense’s killer instinct

The 49ers’ defense did not allow a touchdown in the first half of any of their first five games.

Yet, the 49ers had not led by more than eight points in the first half of any game this season — until Sunday’s game. And, again, that was the defense that got that done.

 

Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley picked off an errant pass from Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown near the end of the first half to give the 49ers a 17-3 lead.

It was the second time the 49ers’ defense scored on an interception return in two games. Talanoa Hufanga put away the 49ers’ Week 4 victory over the Los Angeles Rams with a pick-six against Matthew Stafford.

The 49ers have surrendered just 12 points, coming on four field goals, in the first halves of their five games this season.

Coleman makes mark in backfield

Running back Tevin Coleman had a prominent role against the Panthers as the backup to starter Jeff Wilson.

Coleman subbed into the game and carried the ball eight times for 23 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground with three receptions for 44 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air. 

But his biggest mark came as a receiver.

Coleman appeared in 23 games for the 49ers in 2019 and ’20. During that time, he caught just 25 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown.
In the first half on Sunday, Coleman came through with three receptions for 44 yards and one touchdown.

Coleman caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo to cap the 49ers’ first offensive series for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Later, Coleman made a big-time catch over Panthers safety Myles Hartfield for a 30-yard gain to set up a Robbie Gould field goal.

Wilson had a strong game for the 49ers as he continues in the role of the starter after the injury to Elijah Mitchell. Wilson carried 17 times for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Getting Kittle involved

The 49ers appeared determined to get the ball into the hands of tight end George Kittle at the outset of their Week 5 game against the Panthers.

Garoppolo’s first two pass attempts were intended for Kittle, who caught both passes for a total of 25 yards. In Kittle’s previous eight games, he averaged just 27.1 yards receiving per game.

RELATED: Jimmy G reveals first thought on sideline after Lance injury

Kittle looked to be well on his way to a big receiving game, when he caught his fourth pass of the first quarter. However, Carolina linebacker Damien Wilson stripped Kittle, forcing a fumble that Panthers defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos recovered to thwart a 49ers drive near midfield.

While Kittle showed early signs of breaking out of his pass-catching slump, the 49ers could not get much going for wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Samuel was the target of five Garoppolo pass attempts in the first half, all of which fell incomplete. Garoppolo was 11-of-13 for 136 yards on passes intended for his other targets.

Samuel opened the second half with a 16-yard reception on a second-and-15 play. And he helped give the 49ers a 24-9 lead in the third quarter with a 4-yard touchdown reception from Garoppolo.

 

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Sports

Monday Night Football: Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts dominant in 24-7 win over Vikings

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PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts rolled to his right, scampered down the sideline and stutter-stepped to the 5-yard-line, where he was wrapped up by a defender with another in pursuit. Hurts twisted his body, lowered his head, dragged two defenders with him and powered his way in for an adrenaline-filled 26-yard touchdown run that about broke the game open.

Just maybe, or so the Eagles can hope, there are many more plays like that one ahead.

Hurts had 301 total yards in the first half in the breakout game of his young career, finishing with three total touchdowns as he led Philadelphia to a 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.

“Big-time performance on a big-time stage,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs up field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Philadelphia.

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Trying to prove he can play like the best franchise QBs in the NFL, Hurts looked downright unstoppable from the opening drive.

Hurts hit five receivers on 5-for-5 passing – highlighted by a 19-yard strike to A.J. Brown – and finished the drive himself with a 3-yard scoring run. In the opening win against Detroit, Hurts failed to complete a pass on five attempts and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs on the first drive of the game.

Turn the ball over on downs?

That seemed like just a rumor against the Vikings. The TD was just the liftoff for the 24-year-old Hurts throwing, running, imposing his will with all his available tools against a Vikings defense that could not solve him in his 21st career start. He finished with 333 yards passing and a touchdown, and 57 yards and two scores on the ground.

“Another outstanding performance. He threw some unbelievable balls. He made a lot of plays,” Eagles center Jason Kelce said. “This was a really great, well-rounded game for him.”

On the first play of the second quarter, Hurts connected with a wide-open Quez Watkins for a 53-yard TD and the 14-0 lead.

“It always comes with time and as time goes on, you find more comfort with what you’re doing,” Hurts said.

Darius Slay, who had two interceptions against a hapless Kirk Cousins, had called each of the Eagles’ trio of talented receivers Batman.

There was, Brown, the “swole” Batman who had five catches for 69 yards; DeVonta Smith was the “skinny” Batman who had seven for 80 yards; and Watkins was the “fast” Batman who had the burners on for the easy score (and 69 total yards receiving).

Why are they all Batman?

“No Robins. We’ve got no sidekicks,” Slay said.

Hurts dazzled with the 26-yard TD with 1:58 left in the half and Jake Elliott still had time to kick a 38-yarder and the Eagles took a 24-7 lead into halftime.

“I don’t think it matters how we score as long as we’re putting points on the board,” Hurts said.

In a Week 2 full of improbable comebacks, perhaps it wasn’t wise to count out the Vikings.

But Cousins and wide receiver Justin Jefferson – famously passed over by the Eagles in the 2020 draft – never got anything going of substance against the Eagles and maligned defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Slay had his second interception of the game in the fourth quarter as the scoreboard soon flashed “Big Play Slay.”

“It felt at times, me included, like we pressed a little bit,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Hurts had 50 yards rushing and 251 yards passing in the first half. Cousins finished the game 27 for 46 for 221 yards and three interceptions. His lone TD was on a 2-yard pass to Irv Smith in the second quarter. Jefferson had six catches for 48 yards a week after he had 184 receiving yards and two TDs in a win against Green Bay.

“I take no matchup lightly, but he is one of the best in the world. I am one of the best in the world, too. I was looking forward to the matchup,” Slay said of Jefferson.

PHILLY CELEBS

Bryce Harper (wearing an Eagles hat), James Harden (who was handed the ball by Slay after his first interception) and Bradley Cooper (wearing an Allen Iverson T-shirt) were among the jam-packed and fight-song singing crowd at the Eagles’ home opener.

Harden was pumped with his souvenir, posting an Instagram photo of his left hand holding the ball with the caption “Gimme That!” The Philadelphia 76ers star snapped selfies with fans before he left late in the game.

Harden waited in the tunnel for Slay to autograph the football. Harden good-naturedly told Slay he should have had even more interceptions.

“He was shocked that I gave it to him,” said Slay, who noted he kept the ball from the second pick.

FAMILIAR RING

Dick Vermeil received his Hall of Fame ring at halftime. In his third season in Philadelphia, the coaching great led the Eagles to their first playoff appearance in 18 years. He guided the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance in the 1980 season only to lose to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Vikings safety Harrison Smith was evaluated for a concussion.

UP NEXT

Vikings: Return home Sunday to play the Lions.

Eagles: Start a reunion tour Sunday when they head out to play the Washington Commanders and former QB Carson Wentz. The Eagles return home Sunday, Oct. 2 and play the Jacksonville Jaguars, led by coach Doug Pederson. Wentz and Pederson, of course, played pivotal roles in helping the Eagles win the Super Bowl after the 2017 season.

Copyright © 2022 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.



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Sports

Patriots vs. Giants score: New York boots New England in walk-off fashion as dominant running game leads way

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Preseason games are more than just the final score. For most fans and media members, the preseason is a way to gain intel about teams and players before the start of the regular season. Fans of both the Giants and Patriots learned things about their teams on Thursday night, aside from the Giants’ 23-21 victory. 

The Giants dominated the first half as far as statistics are concerned. New York gained over three times as many yards while taking a 10-7 lead into intermission. The two teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter before New York stretched its lead 20-14 less than five minutes into the fourth quarter. New England rallied to take the lead on rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey with 4:51 left. The Giants mounted a late-game drive, however, and won the game on Graham Gano’s 24-yard field goal as time expired. 

Here are the main takeaways from Thursday night’s game. 

Zappe solid in NFL debut 

With Mac Jones sidelined, the Patriots’ fourth-round pick received a heavy workload on Thursday night. The former Western Kentucky quarterback went 19 of 32 for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The highlight was his scoring pass to Humphrey, who led New England with 62 yards on six receptions. 

Giants O-line shines 

While they allowed a few shots on Daniel Jones (more on that later), the Giants’ offensive line was exceptional in run blocking. The Giants rumbled for 177 yards on 33 carries, compared to the Patriots’ 52 yards on 18 carries. New York was led on the ground by Antonio Williams, who ran for 61 yards and a score on nine carries. 

Thornton scores first NFL TD 

Tyquan Thornton’s first NFL reception resulted in a touchdown, as New England’s second-round pick was able to break free in the back of the end zone before pulling down Brian Hoyer’s pass. Expected to bring an element of speed to the Patriots’ receiving corps, Thornton caught 10 touchdown passes during his final season at Baylor. He averaged 15.7 yards per catch throughout his time with the Bears. 

Butler’s return 

Malcolm Butler became a household name following his game-winning pick in Super Bowl XLIX. Butler’s penchant for making big plans rang true again on Thursday night. The Patriots’ new No. 4 (Butler switched from his old No. 21) scooped up Terrance Mitchell’s forced fumble of Giants wideout Collin Johnson on New York’s third possession. Butler played in his first game in nearly two years after he retired before the start of the 2021 season. 

Barkley’s solid preseason debut 

Giants running back Saquon Barkley looked good in his one possession. He had four carries for 13 yards and also caught an 8-yard pass on third down to help the Giants move the chains. Barkley is hoping to return to form this season after injuries plagued him the previous two seasons. 

Jones feels the heat 

Jones was solid in his two series under center. The Giants quarterback went 6 of 10 for 69 yards while leading New York to a field goal on the game’s opening drive. His favorite target was Johnson, who caught both of his targets from Jones for 30 yards. Johnson finished the game with seven catches for 82 yards. 

Jones did not leave the game unscathed, however. On his final drive, he took a sack by Josh Uche before getting hit on his final pass attempt. The former first-round pick was sacked 105 times during his first three seasons but just 22 times in 11 games in 2021. 

Patriots play-calling 

A looming question has been who will call the plays in New England now that Josh McDaniels is in Las Vegas. It appears that the Patriots don’t know that answer, either, as Matt Patricia and Joe Judge took turns calling plays on Thursday night. Patricia appeared to be calling plays during Hoyer’s first-half possessions, while Judge called plays for Zappe. 

Tre Nixon makes presence felt 

New England’s young receiver caught 36- and 32-yard passes on the Patriots’ go-ahead drive to start the second half. A seventh-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Nixon caught 11 touchdowns and averaged 15.6 yards per catch during his two active seasons at UCF. 

New England suffers several O-line injuries 

The injury bug hit the Patriots’ offensive line on Thursday night. Justin Herron, Yodny Cajuste and Bill Murray each left the game with injuries. Despite those injuries, the Patriots’ patchwork offensive line did well enough to help New England take a 21-20 lead late in the game. 

Taylor’s still got it 

Tyrod Taylor looked sharp in his first preseason game with the Giants. The 12-year veteran and former Pro Bowler started the game 12 of 14 for 118 yards and a touchdown to Richie James that gave the Giants a 10-7 lead late in the first half. The 33-year-old appears to be more than capable of leading the Giants’ offense if called upon to do so. 

Taunting?

Taunting (aka unsportsmanlike) penalties have been a hot-button issue over the past few weeks, as the NFL has been cracking down on taunting. A head-scratching taunting penalty was assessed to Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson at the end of the first quarter. The penalty helped set up the Patriots’ first touchdown. 

Up next

The Giants play host to the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 20 while the Patriots take on Baker Mayfield and the Panthers on Aug. 19.

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Sports

FP3 report & highlights from the 2022 British Grand Prix: Dominant Verstappen heads Red Bull 1-2 in final practice ahead of British Grand Prix qualifying

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Max Verstappen bounced back from a low-key Friday to set a scintillating pace and head a Red Bull one-two in final practice at Silverstone.

The championship leader clocked a 1m 27.901s, an impressive four tenths of a second clear of team mate Sergio Perez, with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc third, a few hundredths further back as the predicted rain held off.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from final practice for the British Grand Prix

Mercedes’ upgrade appears to have hauled them closer to the top two teams, George Russell getting the better of team mate Lewis Hamilton, the top five separated by six tenths of a second to set up an intriguing qualifying.

Carlo Sainz was unhappy with level of bouncing in the high-speed corners, the Spaniard telling his Ferrari team that it was no better than yesterday.

1


Max
Verstappen
VER
Red Bull Racing

1:27.901

2


Sergio
Perez
PER
Red Bull Racing

+0.410s

3


Charles
Leclerc
LEC
Ferrari

+0.447s

4


George
Russell
RUS
Mercedes

+0.525s

5


Lewis
Hamilton
HAM
Mercedes

+0.587s

The Ferrari driver, second last time out in Canada, was sixth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris impressing once again in seventh, albeit 1.2s off the pace.

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was just a fraction behind in eighth, with Haas making big gains overnight as Mick Schumacher ended up a solid ninth. Fernando Alonso completed the top 10, which featured seven different teams.

READ MORE: 5 things we learned from Friday practice at the British Grand Prix

Esteban Ocon was just behind in 11th, the heavily updated Alpine performing more impressively after the team found some solutions overnight.

Sebastian Vettel was the leading Aston Martin in 12th, four places and three tenths clear of team mate Lance Stroll, with Zhou Guanyu 13th.

FP3 Highlights: British Grand Prix

Williams are reasonably pleased with the performance of their significant upgraded car, which only Alex Albon is running – with the Thai driver 14th.

AlphaTauri continue to struggle, as anticipated, on Silverstone’s fast sweeping turns, with Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda 17th and 19th, with Daniel Ricciardo in between and Nicholas Latifi propping up the timesheets in the old-spec Williams.

Qualifying takes place at 1500 local time, with forecasts suggesting rain is possible.

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Health

Omicron BA.5 & BA.4 Officially Dominant Covid Strains In U.S. – Deadline

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A little over a month after the more transmissible BA.2.12.1 Omicron subvariant became officially dominant in the U.S. on May 24, two sister subvariants of Omicron have quickly eclipsed BA.2.12.1 across the country.

BA.5 and BA.4 are, like BA.2.12.1, more transmissible, but have the added advantage of reportedly being more able to reinfect those who’ve already had Covid.

“We now report findings from a systematic antigenic analysis of these surging Omicron subvariants,” says a paper published last month to the BioRxiv preprint server. “BA.2.12.1 is only modestly (1.8-fold) more resistant to sera from vaccinated and boosted individuals than BA.2. On the other hand, BA.4/5 is substantially (4.2-fold) more resistant and thus more likely to lead to vaccine breakthrough infections.”


CDC

While BA.2.12.1 accounts for 42% of new cases this week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that’s down from about 53% the week before. BA.5 and BA.4 by contrast have grown their shares from 25% and 12%, respectively, last week to about 37% and 16% this week. That means together the two variants which first emerged in South Africa earlier this year have jumped to a 55% share of all new cases in the last week.



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Health

BA.4/BA.5 will soon be dominant in the US. Here’s what that means

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Enlarge / A COVID-19 testing tent stands in Times Square on April 27, 2022, in New York City.

Omicron coronavirus subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are now accounting for an estimated 35 percent of US cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subvariants are on a course to reach dominance at a faster clip than the subvariants before them, including the current reigning subvariant, BA.2.12.1, which is now in decline.

The pair—which share the same mutations in their SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins but have differences elsewhere in their genomes—are expected to reach dominance “in a few weeks,” Dr. Shishi Luo tells Ars. Luo is the head of infectious diseases at Helix, a California-based population genomics and viral surveillance company that works with the CDC to help track emerging coronavirus variants nationwide.

It’s unclear exactly what’s ahead in this latest phase of the pandemic. What we know of the two subvariants so far is mixed.

Bad and good news

When BA.4 and BA.5 were first detected in South Africa in April, it quickly became clear that the two can evade immune responses from vaccination and past infection, even infection from previous omicron variants.

On Wednesday, researchers in Boston published data in the New England Journal of Medicine that reinforced those findings. The latest data found that people who had been vaccinated and boosted had 21-fold lower neutralizing antibody titers against BA.4 and BA.5 compared to levels against the original version of SARS-CoV-2. And those neutralizing antibody levels were also 3.3-fold lower compared to levels against BA.1. Likewise, in people who had previously been infected with BA.1 or BA.2 (most of whom had been vaccinated, too), neutralizing antibody levels against BA.4 and BA.5 were still nearly 3-fold lower than levels against BA.1.

Moreover, a preprint study posted recently found that BA.4 and BA.5 appeared to cause more severe disease in hamsters than BA.2 and BA.2.12.1.

But, there is some good news so far: Hospitalization data from other countries where BA.4 and BA.5 have already surged—including South Africa—suggests that the variants are not causing more severe disease and hospitalizations in humans.

So, with antivirals that are still effective and vaccination still protecting from severe disease and death, Luo says it’s not time to be really worried. “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Luo said of the coming wave.

What’s ahead

But, as BA.4 and BA.5 approach dominance in the US—making them the fourth and fifth omicron subvariants to dominate cases this year alone after BA.1, BA.2, and BA.2.12.1—the question looms: What’s next?

With BA.4 and BA.5 arising in South Africa weeks ago, we had the opportunity to see this next wave coming. But, “right now there doesn’t seem to be any other variants that are rising,” Luo said. There are always some virus samples here and there that don’t have an assigned lineage yet—that may be new variants—but none appear to be picking up speed, infecting a growing number of people, she said. That means BA.4 and BA.5 could enjoy a longer reign than their predecessors in the absence of any up-and-coming usurpers.

“But you know, that could change in the next few days,” Luo said. “I wouldn’t put it past this virus to mutate yet again and for there to be yet another wave.”

Federal regulators and vaccine makers are preparing for omicron subvariants to be with us at least into the fall and winter. The Food and Drug Administration is gearing to authorize next-generation vaccines and boosters for the fall that could thwart a seasonal surge. Expert advisors for the regulator will meet next week, June 28, to discuss the formulation of those next-generation vaccines. The top candidates are those that target omicron.

Short- and long-term plans

On Wednesday, Moderna released preliminary top-line data that it will present to the FDA, showing that its combination (bivalent) vaccine targeting both the original version of SARS-CoV-2 and the original omicron variant can boost protection against BA.4 and BA.5. Moderna says the bivalent booster, dubbed mRNA-1273.214, can increase neutralizing antibody levels against BA.4 and BA.5 up to 6-fold.

“In the face of SARS-CoV-2’s continued evolution, we are very encouraged that mRNA-1273.214, our lead booster candidate for the fall, has shown high neutralizing titers against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which represent an emergent threat to global public health,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. “We will submit these data to regulators urgently and are preparing to supply our next-generation bivalent booster starting in August, ahead of a potential rise in SARS-CoV-2 infections due to omicron subvariants in the early fall.”

While Moderna’s short-term outlook is optimistic, Luo worries about the continued viral evolution and our diminishing potential to detect new variants. As people try to move on from the acute phase of the pandemic, people are submitting fewer samples for testing. “Looking ahead, we have to figure out, will there be [enough samples]? … If not, then will there be enough people presenting at urgent care, or health systems, or hospitals, where there is an opportunity to take a sample and send it for sequencing? I think a system that does that at scale doesn’t exist yet,” Luo said.

Though Helix is looking into ways to set up such surveillance systems, Luo says there needs to be a broader national strategy for staying ahead of variants. Even if, right now, we don’t think there’s another variant on the horizon, it does appear we need a plan for how we’re going to, as a country, deal with responding to it,” she said. “We can’t just keep hoping it goes away by itself.” In a worst-scenario that another variant arises that thwarts treatments and vaccines, “we don’t want to go back to square one, right? We need a plan.”

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Sports

Yankees win 4-0 thanks to dominant pitching and a clutch Aaron Hicks

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Josh made the point earlier today that there’s simply not enough ways to describe how great the Yankees have been this year. There would be no jinxing today, as the Yankees went out and did what they’ve done all year — dominate as a pitching staff and find the timely hits.

It was a tall order to secure the series win today, even with Jameson Taillon on the mound, thanks to the Blue Jays sending out Alek Manoah. The Yankees have struggled to figure out the blue chip pitcher that has blossomed in his second year in the big leagues, but they managed to do it today. Manoah cruised through the first three innings, but Anthony Rizzo started a one-out rally with a walk in the fourth. Gleyber Torres singled out to center field to advance Rizzo, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa beat out a two-out infield single to load the bases.

That brought up Aaron Hicks, who has struggled mightily all year long. The Yankee lineup was without several starters including Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and Josh Donaldson, so someone was going to have to step up to keep the offense rolling today. The snake-bitten outfielder turned his fortune around for an afternoon with a double down the right field line that cleared the bases — his first extra-base hit with the bases loaded since 2017 — giving the Yankees a lead that they would never surrender.

On the other side of the ball Taillon set out to win the pitching duel that was lined up, and he delivered. Taillon turned away the Blue Jays at every opportunity — whether it was a leadoff walk to George Springer to start the game or a leadoff double to Ramiel Tapia to start the fifth inning, they couldn’t follow up with any consistency against Taillon. Their best chance came in the sixth inning, when a Springer walk and a Bo Bichette single gave the Jays runners on first and second with no-one out. Taillon answered back by getting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to fly out meekly to left and keeping Alejandro Kirk’s flyball to center in the park. Taillon turned the ball over to Michael King, who froze Teoscar Hernandez with a 98-mph fastball to end the threat.

The top half of the sixth gave the Yankees a chance to pad their lead, when Gleyber Torres hit a ball deep to center that Tapia trapped against the wall, but was initially ruled as an out. The Yankees challenged it and got the overturned call, and then after Joey Gallo moved the runner over on a fly ball Kiner-Falefa slapped a double while nearly falling over in the batter’s box to score the run.

From there, the two best relievers in baseball closed the door on Toronto. King stayed out for the seventh inning and worked around a one-out single from Matt Chapman, and then struck out two batters in the eighth before turning things over to Clay Holmes. Holmes stranded Springer, who had walked for the third time in the game earlier, by getting Kirk to ground out to third, and then sat the Jays down in order in the ninth. Holmes has now broken Mariano Rivera’s franchise records for consecutive scoreless innings and scoreless appearances, a feat that seems unthinkable but fits right in with the rest of the dominating performances that this team has put together.

The Yankees have now won nine straight games, and 16 of their last 17 — any way you look at it, this is the hottest team in baseball and the best team in baseball. They hold a 12-game lead in the AL East and can expand it with a series sweep tomorrow afternoon with Luis Severino set to get back on the mound after his start got skipped due to sickness. Yusei Kikuchi will be tasked with matching him, and that game will get underway at 1:37 p.m. EST.

Box Score.



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Sports

Oklahoma Wins 2022 College Softball World Series over Texas After Dominant Season | Bleacher Report

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Isaiah Vazquez/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

The Oklahoma Sooners are national champions for the second year in a row and sixth time in program history.

Oklahoma defended its crown with a 10-5 victory over Texas in Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series Championship Finals on Thursday. The Sooners swept the Longhorns in the best-of-three series that also included a blowout 16-1 win in Game 1 on Wednesday.

ESPN @espn

👑 2021
👑 2022

The Sooners are BACK-TO-BACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS‼️‼️@OU_Softball | #WCWS pic.twitter.com/3YFhaKqgbC

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

Since national seeding began in 2005, @OU_Softball is the 1st school to win consecutive national titles as No. 1 overall seed.

Over the past 2 seasons, the Sooners have won 115 of their 122 games. pic.twitter.com/cUMnjUM6Gd

While Oklahoma and Texas are Big 12 rivals, this was never a close fight.

The Sooners were ranked No. 1 all season as they looked to defend their national title, while the Longhorns reached the Women’s College World Series Championship Finals for the first time in program history.

They were also the first-ever unseeded team to advance this far.

Game 1 made it seem inevitable that Oklahoma would lift the trophy, but Texas wasn’t ready to go down without a fight and scored two runs in the first inning off sacrifice flies from Alyssa Washington and Mary Iakopo.

Were it not for Jayda Coleman’s leaping catch at the wall to take away a potential two-run homer from Courtney Day, the Sooners would have been staring at a commanding 4-0 deficit in the opening frame.

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

Somebody 9️⃣1️⃣1️⃣, @jaydac00 just committed a ROBBERY!!! 🚨

📺 ESPN2#WCWS #SCtop10 x @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/42yx1ku1zf

Perhaps no deficit is too daunting for Oklahoma’s powerful offense, but it was a defensive miscue from Texas that allowed the champions to get on the board first. Alyssa Brito doubled and then came around to score on Mia Scott’s throwing error, and Taylon Snow’s RBI single tied the game in the next at-bat.

Yet Estelle Czech pitched out of the jam and kept the game squared with the help of a double play as the theme of impressive defensive highlights continued:

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

How do you counteract heat?
𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖 ❄️

📺 ESPN2#WCWS x @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/Woaku8j1oN

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 ☎️

📺 ESPN2#WCWS x 🎥 @OU_Softballpic.twitter.com/2KTW5GU31V

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

5️⃣-4️⃣-3️⃣ = 🤘

📺 ESPN2#WCWS x @TexasSoftball pic.twitter.com/WbDBOm1aih

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

With its latest double play, @TexasSoftball has tied the #WCWS record with 7️⃣ throughout the series‼️ pic.twitter.com/jX7XvW0hy0

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

HOSED 🦾

📺 ESPN2#WCWS x @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/AOOcQn8MUD

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

HAVE A NIGHT, @alyss_33 🔥

📺 ESPN2#WCWS x @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/Z8fpRRffK1

It was just a matter of time, though, before the Sooners’ bats got rolling, and they did just that in the fifth inning.

Brito’s RBI double and a three-run blast from Kinzie Hansen broke the game open, and starter Jordy Bahl turned the game over to Oklahoma’s bullpen for the final three innings after allowing two runs and four hits in the first four frames.

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

Brito drives it down the line and @OU_Softball has the lead for the first time tonight!!! 💥

📺 ESPN2#WCWS pic.twitter.com/5ENh9RjUTG

NCAA Softball @NCAASoftball

KINZIE GOES YARD 💣

📺 ESPN2#WCWS x @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/CVv8fSS01m

Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach

Last night, Texas coach Mike White called what Oklahoma did to his team something like “an avalanche.” It’s happening right now. Again.

While Hope Trautwein gave up a three-run homer to Scott after Nicole May pitched 2.1 scoreless frames, the relief pitchers didn’t exactly have to be lights out with the offense behind them.

Grace Lyons’ three-run homer highlighted a four-run sixth inning as the onslaught continued and Oklahoma clinched a title behind an unstoppable offense that is among the best in the sport’s history.

SportsCenter @SportsCenter

It’s Grace Lyons’ turn to go yard!

That’s the Sooners’ 17th home run of the #WCWS, the most in a single year by any team 💪 pic.twitter.com/WCOZZkBW05

Stewart Mandel @slmandel

Just in total awe of Oklahoma softball. Complete domination all season, all the way up through the championship.

The only way this season was realistically ending was with Oklahoma as the national champions, and the Big 12 representative fittingly put on another show in its final game.



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Health

Dominant coronavirus mutant contains ghost of pandemic past

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The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease.

Why? Because it combines properties of both omicron and delta, the nation’s dominant variant in the middle of last year.

A genetic trait that harkens back to the pandemic’s past, known as a “delta mutation,” appears to allow the virus “to escape pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection, especially if you were infected in the omicron wave,” said Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas. That’s because the original omicron strain that swept the world didn’t have the mutation.

The omicron “subvariant” gaining ground in the U.S. — known as BA.2.12.1 and responsible for 58% of U.S. COVID-19 cases last week — isn’t the only one affected by the delta mutation. The genetic change is also present in the omicron relatives that together dominate in South Africa, known as BA.4 and BA.5. Those have exactly the same mutation as delta, while BA.2.12.1 has one that’s nearly identical.

This genetic change is bad news for people who caught the original omicron and thought that made them unlikely to get COVID-19 again soon. Although most people don’t know for sure which variant caused their illness, the original omicron caused a giant wave of cases late last year and early this year.

Long said lab data suggests a prior infection with the original omicron is not very protective against reinfection with the new mutants, though the true risk of being reinfected no matter the variant is unique to every person and situation.

In a twist, however, those sickened by delta previously may have some extra armor to ward off the new mutants. A study released before it was reviewed by other scientists, by researchers at Ohio State University, found that COVID patients in intensive care with delta infections induced antibodies that were better at neutralizing the new mutants than patients who caught the original omicron.

“The omicron infection antibody does not appear to protect well against the subvariants compared to delta,” said Dr. Shan-Lu Liu, a study author who co-directs the viruses and emerging pathogens program at Ohio State.

But Liu said the level of protection a delta infection provides depends partly on how long ago someone was ill. That’s because immunity wanes over time.

People who got sick with delta shouldn’t think of themselves as invulnerable to the new subvariants, especially if they’re unvaccinated, Long said. “I wouldn’t say anyone is safe.”

One bright spot? Booster shots can provide strong protection against the new mutants, Liu said. In general, vaccines and prior infection can protect people from the worst outcomes of COVID-19. At this point, scientists say, it’s too early to know if the new mutant gaining ground in the U.S. will cause a significant uptick in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Scientists are still trying to figure out how virulent these new mutants are. Long said he hasn’t seen anything that answers that question for him, but Liu said emerging data points toward more serious illness. Liu said the subvariants have properties suggesting they spread more efficiently cell-to-cell.

The virus “just hides in the cell and spreads through cell-to-cell contact,” Liu said. “That’s more scary because the virus does not come out for the antibody to work.”

Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute, said the new mutants certainly don’t appear less virulent than previous versions of omicron, and whether they are more virulent or not “will become clear in the months ahead.”

In the meantime, scientists expect the latest powerhouse mutants to spread quickly, since they are more transmissible than their predecessors.

Though home testing makes it tough to track all U.S. COVID cases, data from Johns Hopkins University shows that cases are averaging nearly 107,000 a day, up from about 87,000 two weeks ago. And new hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19 have been trending upwards since around mid-April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I’m hopeful that we don’t see a similar increase in hospitalizations that we’ve had in prior waves,” Long said. “But with COVID, any time you have lots of people being infected, it’s just a numbers game. Some of those people are going to be severe. Some of those people are going to need hospitalization. Some of them, unfortunately, are going to pass away.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Sports

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks author dominant Game 7 effort en route to eliminating Phoenix Suns

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PHOENIX — The Western Conference finals will have a surprise participant after Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks dismissed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns from the NBA playoffs in completely dominant fashion.

The Mavericks claimed the right to advance to face the Golden State Warriors by rolling to a 123-90 rout of the Suns in Sunday’s Game 7.

After falling in an 0-2 hole with a pair of road losses, Dallas won four out of five games, putting the finishing touches on the series by humiliating the Phoenix home court. The Footprint Center crowd booed the Suns at the halftime buzzer — when the 30-point deficit was the largest ever at the half of a Game 7, according to ESPN Stats & Information research — and frequently in the second half.

Doncic, the Mavericks’ 23-year-old sensation, punched his ticket to the conference finals for the first time with a 35-point, 10-rebound, four-assist performance in 30 minutes. He sat out the entire fourth quarter, as the game was well in hand by that point.

“He’s Luka,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “He loves the stage. As it gets bigger, he gets better.”

Doncic seized control on the opening possession, when he swished a turnaround jumper that gave Dallas the lead for good. He finished the first half with 27 points, matching Phoenix’s total, and became the first player in at least 25 seasons to equal or exceed an opponent’s scoring in a half of a playoff game.

Dallas sixth man Spencer Dinwiddie was almost as spectacular, scoring 21 of his playoff career-high 30 points in the first half. It marked the first time that a pair of teammates each scored at least 20 points in a half of a Game 7 since the New York Knicks tandem of Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston did it against the Miami Heat in 1997.

Meanwhile, the Suns’ star trio of Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton combined to make only one of their 15 shots from the floor in the first half.

Paul, the 37-year-old legend who hoped to finally earn a championship ring after coming up short in his first NBA Finals appearance last season, didn’t get a bucket until the Suns trailed by 40 points midway through the third quarter. Booker’s first basket didn’t come until a bit later in the quarter.

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