No. 13 Michigan St. beats No. 24 Boise St.
No. 13 Michigan St. beats No. 24 Boise St.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Le’Veon Bell ran for a career-high 210 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 8:12 remaining in No. 13 Michigan State’s 17-13 victory over No. 24 Boise State on Friday night.
In a sloppy season opener, the Spartans turned the ball over four times and trailed 13-10 before Bell scored from 5 yards out midway through the fourth quarter. The Broncos drove to the Michigan State 42, but Joe Southwick’s pass on fourth-and-2 was broken up.
Bell and the Spartans (1-0) then ran off the final 6:32.
Boise State (0-1) was sluggish in its first game after losing standouts Kellen Moore and Doug Martin from last season’s explosive offense. The Broncos’ only touchdown came on Jeremy Ioane’s 43-yard interception return in the second quarter.
No. 21 Stanford beats San Jose State 20-17
STANFORD, Calif. — Jordan Williamson kicked a career-long 46-yard field goal and the go-ahead score from 20 yards, and No. 21 Stanford survived a 20-17 win over San Jose State on Friday night in its first game since Andrew Luck left.
Former backup Josh Nunes threw for 125 yards and a touchdown in his first start in place of Luck, the No. 1 overall draft pick. But the redshirt junior struggled to move the offense when it counted and it almost cost the Cardinal (1-0) dearly.
The David Fales-Blake Jurich quarterback combo gave Stanford fits until De’Leon Eskridge fumbled in Spartans (0-1) territory late in the third quarter. That set up Williamson’s tiebreaking kick.
Nunes finished 16 for 26 with no interceptions. Fales threw for 216 yards with one touchdown and an interception that landed in the hands of Ed Reynolds to seal Stanford’s win in the final minutes. Jurich ran for 32 yards and a score.
Tigers trade
Jeff Baker to Braves
DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers traded outfielder Jeff Baker to the Atlanta Braves.
Detroit dealt Baker on Friday, the same day he was designated for assignment. The Braves will give the Tigers a player to be named later no later than Sept. 30.
Baker hit .200 with four RBIs in 15 games with the Tigers, who got him less than a month ago from the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers to be named.
Uecker statue dedicated at Miller Park
MILWAUKEE — A statue of longtime Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcaster Bob Uecker was dedicated outside Miller Park.
The popular Uecker was joined by former teammate Hank Aaron and Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig for the event Friday night before the Brewers played Pittsburgh.
Uecker is the fourth person to have a statue outside the main gates at the ballpark. Aaron, Selig and Hall of Famer Robin Yount also have them.
Uecker was a light hitter in the majors, batting .200 for the Milwaukee Braves and other teams as a catcher over six seasons.
He has been in the Brewers’ radio booth since 1971.
Fan falls to death
at Texans stadium
HOUSTON — A 25-year-old fan died after tumbling about 60 feet from a fifth-floor escalator at Reliant Stadium during a preseason Houston Texans game, officials said Friday.
Jonathon Kelly of Houston fell to the ground floor during the Thursday night game against the Minnesota Vikings, and frantic witnesses called police to report where his body had landed, police spokesman John Cannon said.
The fall appeared to be an accident, according to police, who didn’t immediately release the victim’s name pending notification of his family. But the Harris County medical examiner’s office released Kelly’s name and hometown Friday evening.
Giants to activate Huff and Penny from DL
CHICAGO — The San Francisco Giants announced several roster moves after Friday’s 6-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The transactions will take effect when rosters expand from 25 players to 40 on Saturday.
First baseman Aubrey Huff and right-handed relievers Brad Penny and Shane Loux will be activated from the 15-day disabled list, first baseman Brett Pill will be recalled from Triple-A Fresno, and the contracts of outfielder Xavier Nady and right-handed reliever Jean Machi will be purchased from Fresno.
Second baseman Freddy Sanchez will be transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said further roster moves are to be announced.
The first-place Giants finish their six-game road trip this weekend against the Cubs before heading home to face division-rivals Arizona and Los Angeles.
Rays to activate Niemann to start today
TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays plan to activate right-hander Jeff Niemann off the 60-day disabled list to start against the Toronto Blue Jays today.
UNC: NCAA says no violations from probe
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina says the NCAA has reviewed irregularities in an academic department and told university officials it has found no rules violations so far.
In a statement Friday, the school said NCAA and UNC officials jointly reviewed problems in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies last fall during the NCAA’s ongoing probe of violations within the football program.
The school said the NCAA found no apparent violations then and “reaffirmed” that when the school updated the NCAA on its AFAM findings on Aug. 23.
By wire sources