Sports Digest: Sea Dogs lose three-run lead, fall at home to Hartford

BASEBALL

Yanquiel Fernandez hit a two-run homer to break a tie in the seventh inning Thursday night, and the Hartford Yard Goats held on for a 5-4 victory against the Portland Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field.

Portland took a 3-0 lead on a two-run homer by Kyle Teel and a slot shot by Alex Binelas, both in the second. But Hartford came back with a two-run fifth, a run in the sixth to tie it, then Fernandez’s go-ahead homer.

Roman Anthony singled in a run for the Sea Dogs in the seventh.

TENNIS

DAVIS CUP: Frances Tiafoe was beaten for the second straight time in the finals, with his latest defeat coming after a code violation on match point for smashing his racket into the ground following a disagreement with the chair umpire as the U.S. lost to the Netherlands 2-1 in Group D in Split, Croatia.

Tiafoe’s 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2) loss to Tallon Griekspoor helped seal it. Tiafoe was upset because he wanted to replay a point following a challenge. He unsuccessfully argued with the umpire and the match referee, then returned to the court and smashed his racket four times, leading to his second code violation and the loss of a point. It resulted in the end of the match because he was losing 6-2 in the tiebreaker.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: Liberty General Manager Jonathan Kolb was named the league’s Executive of the Year.

Kolb and Dallas Wings executive Greg Bibb appeared on the most ballots (eight). From those eight ballots, Kolb received 20 points, beating out Bibb, who received 15. The award is voted on by all 12 executives, who aren’t allowed to vote for themselves.

NBA: Brandon Hunter, who played with the Boston Celtics in the 2003-04 season after being drafted by the team, died at age 42 in Orlando, Florida, after collapsing during a hot yoga workout.

Hunter also played a season with Orlando before continuing his career in Europe.

COLLEGES

DARTMOUTH: The school’s men’s basketball players became the latest college athletes to attempt to unionize.

A petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday by the Service Employees International Union identified 15 players as seeking representation. The SEIU was listed as the petitioner, with Dartmouth College and its board of trustees identified as the employer.

COLORADO STATE: Football coach Jay Norvell heated up the rivalry with No. 18 Colorado by poking at his counterpart, Deion Sanders. On his coach’s show Wednesday night, Norvell made a reference to Sanders’ tendency to wear a hat and sunglasses at news conferences and said, “When I talk to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off.”

OLYMPICS

WINTER GAMES: The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee officially endorsed Salt Lake City as the American bid city for an upcoming Winter Olympics, with the committee chairman saying that while the U.S. bid remains flexible, it would prefer hosting in 2034 over 2030.

The move to put Salt Lake City up as a candidate for “targeted dialogue” with the International Olympic Committee about an upcoming Winter Games was expected, but still marked a major milestone for the bid, said the city’s bid committee president, Fraser Bullock.

AUTO RACING

FORMULA ONE: Sergio Pérez said he received a personal apology from Red Bull boss Helmut Marko over comments Marko made suggesting Perez’s heritage was to blame for inconsistent results on the track.

In comments last week on ServusTV, an Austrian broadcaster that is part of the Red Bull group, Marko described Pérez as “South American” and indicated that could explain a lack of focus or inconsistency. Pérez is from Mexico, which is in North America.

GOLF

EUROPEAN: Marcus Helligkilde, the No. 232-ranked Dane, made seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch, then closed with three straight to shoot an 8-under 64 and take a two-stroke lead at the BMW Championship event at Virginia Water, England.

Of the Europeans heading to Rome for the Ryder Cup in two weeks, Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Ludvig Åberg (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (68) posted the best rounds.

– From staff and news service reports