USA-England on Black Friday
The United States was drawn to play England in a Black Friday match at the World Cup, a high-profile game that gives American soccer a chance to gain respect in its return to the global showcase.
“It’s the biggest stage in soccer that you can have, to play them in the World Cup and to be playing against players that people know,” midfielder Weston McKennie said after Friday’s draw.
“You can take a step forward in your player growth, in making yourself more known and also just making the team more respected, more looked at, more believed in,” McKennie said. “That’s the goal that [coach] Gregg [Berhalter] set out to accomplish when he took over. And that’s always reiterated whenever we go into camp, is change the way the world views American soccer.”
After failing to qualify for the 2018 tournament, the 15th-ranked U.S. will open in Qatar on Nov. 21 at Al Rayyan’s Ahmad bin Ali Stadium against the winner of a European playoff among Ukraine, Wales and Scotland. It will play No. 5 England four days later at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Khor and close the group stage against 21st-ranked Iran on Nov. 29 at Doha’s Al Thumama Stadium.
BASEBALL
Sore shoulder sidelines DeGrom
Mets ace Jacob deGrom will miss major time because of inflammation in his shoulder area. The two-time Cy Young Award winner won’t throw for up to four weeks and there is no timetable for his return.
♦ Major-league umpires will conduct in-park announcements during the replay reviews this season. A crew chief will have a wireless microphone and first announce the call being challenged and which team initiated the challenge. After the review, the crew chief will announce the result.
JURISPRUDENCE
Solo charged in parking-lot incident
Former U.S. women’s national team star goalkeeper Hope Solo was arrested after she was found passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle in Winston-Salem, North Carolina,
with her 2-year-old twins inside. A police report said Solo was arrested in a shopping center parking lot and charged with driving while impaired, resisting a public officer and misdemeanor child abuse.
MISCELLANEOUS
Wolves stumble on road to Admirals
Rookie Jamieson Rees’ goal, his sixth of the season got the Wolves (40-12-5-5) on the board first in the opening period, but it went downhill from there in a 4-1 loss to the host Milwaukee Admirals (33-24-4-4). The first-place Wolves went 10-1-1-1 in March, but dropped their first game in April.
♦ Warriors star Stephen Curry will sit out the remainder of the regular season with a sprained ligament in his left foot.
♦ Reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio during the second round with discomfort in his neck. Ryan Palmer shot a bogey-free round of 6-under 66 to lead by two shots.