Scoreboard roundup — 9/2/26

(NEW YORK) — The 2026 U.S. Open will feature a history-making men’s final regardless of the outcome of Friday’s semifinal matches.

Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are scheduled to play each other Friday night in the Grand Slam tournament’s second men’s semifinal.

The winner of of their match will become the first Black American man to reach a U.S. Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, and the first Black American man to reach any Grand Slam singles final since 1996, according to the tournament.

No. 8-seeded Shelton and No. 11-seeded Tiafoe will play their historic semifinal match inside New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium, named for the late tennis icon in 2020 in recognition of his place in tennis history, including as the first Black male to win a major singles titles and the only Black man to have won three Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open).

Tiafoe, a son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, grew up playing tennis at a facility in Maryland, where his dad worked as a janitor. When he won the Association of Tennis Professionals’ Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2020, Tiafoe reflected in a letter on what Ashe meant to him.

“Nothing you ever did was about you,” the now-28-year-old wrote of Ashe, adding, “You were just trying to be a person first and an athlete second. It was always about helping others. That is truly inspirational.”

Shelton grew up playing tennis in the footsteps of his own father and coach, Bryan Shelton, also a pro Black tennis player who reached a ranking of No. 55 in the world at his peak.

Bryan Shelton made history in 1991 as the first Black American man to win an ATP Tour singles title since Ashe in 1978, according to his ATP bio.

While competing at this year’s U.S. Open, Coco Gauff, who lost Thursday in the women’s singles semifinals, spoke about what it means to see Shelton and Tiafoe face-off on the sport’s biggest U.S. stage.

“I never thought I would see, be able to have the chance to see an all-Black semifinal between the guys in my lifetime,” Gauff told reporters this week. “Honestly, even growing up, just look at who was playing — I just never thought that would be able to happen. And to have also me in the semis, I think it’s really cool.”

Shelton and Tiafoe have played each other at the U.S. Open twice before: Shelton won their match in the quarterfinals in 2023, while Tiafoe won their third-round match the following year, in 2024.

2024 was also the last year an American man reached the U.S. Open finals, with Taylor Fritz losing to Jannik Sinner in three sets. 

Andy Roddick was the last American man to win the U.S. Open, taking home the title more than two decades ago in 2003.

This year’s men’s singles final will take place on Sunday, Sept. 13.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Guardians 6, Reds 5 (Doubleheader – game 1)
Diamondbacks 8, Pirates 7
Orioles 0, Tigers 14
Phillies 0, Marlins 1
Rangers 4, Rays 1
Blue Jays 6, Nationals 8
Guardians 0, Reds 2 (Doubleheader – game 2)
Royals 2, Twins 3
Yankees 3, White Sox 2
Cubs 10, Cardinals 2
Astros 3, Angels 2
Red Sox 3, Athletics 4
Rockies 7, Padres 8
Brewers 8, Giants 2
Mariners 7, Dodgers 6
Braves, Mets (POSTPONED)

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(NEW YORK) — Former NFL running back LeShon Johnson was sentenced to five years in federal prison after being convicted of running a massive dogfighting operation that prosecutors said bred and trafficked hundreds of animals.

Johnson, 55, was found guilty of six dogfighting-related charges in a mixed verdict during a federal trial last year in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He was convicted of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act’s prohibitions against possessing, selling, transporting and delivering animals to be used in fighting ventures.

An Oklahoma federal judge sentenced him on Thursday to 60 months in prison plus three years of supervised release. He was also fined $30,000.

Prosecutors said that since 2007, Johnson “bred and trafficked hundreds of dogs for the purpose of dog fighting around the country” in an operation known as “Mal Kant Kennels.”

In 2024, authorities seized 190 pit bull-type dogs from his Oklahoma residence and dog yard, “the largest number ever seized from a single individual in a federal dog fighting case,” the DOJ said in a press release.

Financial transactions showed that in the four years prior to the seizure, Johnson received more than $400,000 for the sale of his dogs, according to court filings.

Johnson had previously been convicted of dogfighting offenses in a 2004 state case and received a five-year deferred sentence, prosecutors said.

“LeShon Johnson will face justice for building another particularly egregious and violent dog fighting scheme,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. said in a statement. “As Johnson was well aware, dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states.”

Johnson played in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants from 1994 to 1999.

His attorney, Billy Coyle, asked for a sentence of 15 to 21 months, citing Johnson’s need for medical care. In a sentencing memorandum, Coyle said Johnson’s medical history is “unusually serious” — including a diagnosis of severe dementia in 2025 and Parkinson’s disease in 2024 and other injuries stemming from his football career.

Coyle also asked that the judge not impose a fine, saying it would “impair Mr. Johnson’s ability to meet medical, caregiving, and family-support obligations.”

“Given his age, severe health conditions, lack of criminal history points, and compliance while on release, a lengthy prison term is not necessary to protect the public from future crimes,” Coyle stated. “The convictions themselves, the loss of his dogs, the financial and emotional consequences of the prosecution, and a sentence within or below the properly calculated range provide substantial deterrent effect.”

Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 10 years, citing the “extraordinary scope, size, and duration” of his operation and arguing that he “made a mockery” out of the sentence imposed in his prior felony dogfighting conviction.

“Defendant in particular has demonstrated a profound lack of respect for the law, in that his response to his prior felony dog fighting conviction was not to depart from his illegal practices, but rather, to grow an even larger illegal business,” Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy stated in a court filing ahead of the sentence.

“Defendant has contributed as much to the growth of dog fighting in this country as anyone yet encountered by federal law enforcement,” he stated.

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