Sports
Payton: Broncos 'staying the course' with LB Jonathon Cooper
Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper was arrested twice in June on domestic violence charges. Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said the team is “staying the course” with linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who was arrested twice last month on domestic violence-related charges.
Cooper was excused from the team’s mandatory minicamp last month after being arrested on June 4 and again on June 11 following incidents with his girlfriend. He faces a felony charge of second-degree assault by strangulation in addition to three misdemeanors and is scheduled to appear in Douglas County (Colo.) court on Aug. 31 for an arraignment.
Cooper, 28, reported to training camp on Tuesday, and is participating in practices and other team activities.
“We’re staying the course with the league. We’re staying the course with league protocol, club protocol relative to what we’re advised to do,” Payton said. “He’s been fantastic working away from the building, and we’ll continue to do that and monitor it.
“We’re supportive, and yet very much aware of the seriousness of these types of things. Pretty much what I said in the spring, there’s a schedule and a course to this, and that’s what we have to follow.”
It is possible that a potential trial date could fall during the season, and Cooper could also face an NFL suspension of up to six games under the league’s personal conduct policy. Asked if the situation could prove a distraction to the team, Payton said, “No. Not at all.”
Arrest records indicate Cooper and his girlfriend, also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence with an additional charge of petty criminal mischief, were involved in a dispute over allegations of infidelity. In signed affidavits, the parties gave differing accounts of the events that caused the argument to escalate.
Payton said he spent “a lot of time” with Cooper along with Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner and general manager George Paton, but declined to discuss specifics of the situation or its potential outcome.
“I don’t have any comment on the specifics because I think when it’s finally finished, we’ll all have a better feel for it,” Payton said. “It’s unfair for me to answer any of those questions right now without having the totality of it finalized. I think that’ll come sooner rather than later.”
Cooper has started every game in each of the past three seasons for Denver and has played in 81 games (65 starts) since the Broncos selected him in the seventh round in 2021.
Cooper recorded eight sacks, 50 tackles and 16 quarterback hits last season. He has 31.5 sacks, 63 QB hits, 266 tackles, three fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown), two forced fumbles and one interception.
He signed a four-year, $60 million extension in November 2024.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mariners place OF Luke Raley (forearm) on 10-day IL
Jul 3, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners right fielder Luke Raley (20) takes a swing during an at-bat against the Toronto Blue Jays at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images The Seattle Mariners placed outfielder Luke Raley on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left forearm strain, while outfielder Stuart Fairchild was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.
Raley’s move was retroactive to Friday, when he was out of the lineup with continued discomfort from a forearm flexor tendon injury.
Raley, 31, is batting .225 with 15 home runs and 39 RBIs in 95 games this season. He is a career .230 hitter with 63 home runs and 173 RBIs in 478 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2021), Tampa Bay Rays (2022-23) and Mariners.
Fairchild, 30, was batting .158 over 14 games with the Cleveland Guardians this season before he was designated for assignment in June. He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners on July 5.
Fairchild is a career .221 hitter with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs in 291 games for six different clubs, including three games for the Mariners in 2022.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sydney Taylor's trey in final second lifts Sky past Aces
Aug 1, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Sydney Taylor (12) celebrates with guard Natasha Cloud (9) after scoring a game winning three-pointer against the Las Vegas Aces during the second half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Rookie Sydney Taylor drained a 3-pointer Saturday with 0.9 seconds left and the Chicago Sky rallied to nip the visiting Las Vegas Aces 84-83.
A’ja Wilson drove for a layup with 3.2 seconds remaining that gave Las Vegas (20-9) a two-point lead. After a timeout, Taylor slipped around a screen and got off a clean look from the left wing for the last three of her team-high 29 points.
Natasha Cloud added 11 points for Chicago (11-18), which improved to 6-1 in its last seven home games and won for the first time in five games decided by three or fewer points. DiJonai Carrington came off the bench for 10, including a pair of foul shots that tied the game at 81 with 43.9 seconds on the clock.
Wilson starred in defeat for the Aces with a game-high 36 points and 12 rebounds. Jackie Young added 18 points and 11 boards, while NaLyssa Smith contributed 17 points.
The Sky, who outscored Las Vegas 29-18 in the fourth quarter, won despite making only 40.3% of their field goals.
The pregame storylines centered around the beginning of a five-game road trip for Las Vegas, while Chicago was hoping to carry over some momentum from a fourth-quarter comeback in its Thursday night home win over Connecticut.
Young got the Aces off the mark early with 10 first quarter points, helping them establish an 18-11 lead after draining a 3-pointer at the 2:15 mark. They took a 20-16 edge to the second period.
The Sky fought back in the second quarter to tie the game at 24 on Cloud’s 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining. However, Las Vegas was able to restore a five-point lead before Taylor’s floater with 1.5 seconds left sliced its lead to 40-37 at halftime.
Young’s 3-point play at the 1:58 mark of the third quarter gave the Aces their largest lead at 61-48. Even after Courtney Vandersloot played beat the buzzer with a jumper, Las Vegas still owned a 65-55 margin going to the fourth period.
Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso tied Wilson for game-high rebounding honors with a dozen.
Las Vegas’ Chelsea Gray led all players with nine assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Unheralded Yealimi Noh charges into third-round lead at AIG Women's Open
Apr 26, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Yealimi Noh prepares to putt on the 18th hole during the final round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images It has been a trying 2026 LPGA campaign for 25-year old Yealimi Noh.
The six-year pro entered play this week at the AIG Women’s Open in Lytham St. Annes, England, with three consecutive missed cuts, two of which were in major championships.
Noh’s fortunes have changed with a 2-under-par 69 in the third round of the Women’s Open to lead the final major of the year at 7-under 206 through three rounds at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club.
Noh carded rounds of 67 and 70 to open the tournament to sit just two shots off the pace set by South Korea’s Haeryn Ryu. Her status looked bleak Saturday after taking a bogey 6 on the par-5 seventh hole to fall six shots off the pace of the fast-starting Ryu.
However, Noh made an unlikely birdie at the par-3 ninth hole, which was the start of three consecutive birdies for the one-time LPGA Tour winner. The San Francisco-area native added another birdie at 16 while charging into the lead.
Ryu cooled off and struggled to a 3-over 74 and plummeted into a five-way tie for second place at 4 under for the tournament.
“I don’t know, golf is just crazy,” Noh said about her turnaround from recent struggles. “It’s been making me realize it more and more. It only takes one round for your whole mindset and whole game to change.
“Yeah, I had a really rough couple months. Not even just missing cuts, but just not playing good golf or rounds. And Thursday, I was just really happy to shoot under par and just really set me up for the week.”
Ryu, who is seeking her third consecutive major this season, is tied in second place with Germany’s Esther Henseleit, Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki and Lucy Li.
Noh, who had 26 putts in her round, appeared to salvage the day with an early break.
“I had a little bit of a rough start a couple bogeys on the front nine,” she said. “Actually a chip-in par save on the second, which was nice. Yeah, I just fell out of tempo a little bit and then got it together for the back nine, and it was really solid. Had some good par saves.”
Ryu got to 9 under with birdies at the third and fourth holes, then bogeyed six of her next 10 holes. After hitting 31-of-36 greens and converting 2-of-3 from the sand over the first 36 holes, Ryu stumbled to 11-of-18 and 0-of-2 respectively on Saturday.
She still will take a positive attitude into Sunday. Two major titles will do that.
“Before I got the major win and then always I’m doing like more pressure and want to more not good for my mindset,” Ryu said. “But these days, after got two wins, I’m still calm because this is a major. Yeah, it’s such a different (feeling than) before I got two wins.”
Henseleit posted the best round of anyone in the top-7 with a 4-under 67.
She went out in 31 and only needed 26 putts on Saturday, knocking in several of considerable length.
“I mean, you have so many long putts so your speed has to be really good,” Henseleit said. I feel like if there is a strength in my putting the speed control on the long ones is that, so I guess it kind of suits my game.”
Li carded a 2 under 69, while Thitikul shot an even-par 72 and Kuwaki shot a 1-over 73.
The day’s best round belonged to Japan’s Ayaka Furue, who carded a 6-under 65. She moved up six spots and is tied for eighth place at 2-under 211.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda shot her second 1-over 73 of the week and is at 1 over for the tournament, tied for 16th place.
–Field Level Media
Mariners place OF Luke Raley (forearm) on 10-day IL
Sydney Taylor's trey in final second lifts Sky past Aces
