Friday’s Sports In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Friday there is no timetable for the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a concussion when he hit his head against the turf a day earlier against the Cincinnati Bengals.

McDaniel also defended the handling of Tagovailoa’s injury Sunday in a win over the Buffalo Bills, when the QB took a hit from linebacker Matt Milano late in the first half and appeared to hit his head on the turf. Tagovailoa stumbled when he got up and was taken to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion, then returned to the game at the start of the third quarter.

McDaniel reiterated Friday that Tagovailoa was cleared by several layers of medical professionals during the game Sunday and said the QB did not have a head injury.

Many observers questioned why Tagovailoa was allowed to return to the field against the Bills. He was not in the concussion protocol leading up to Thursday’s game.

Tagovailoa had an MRI on Friday in addition to the X-rays and CT scans that were taken the night before at a hospital in Cincinnati. He had a headache Thursday night and Friday morning, McDaniel said.

Tagovailoa was sacked by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Topou late in the first half Thursday night. On the play, he spun awkwardly and was thrown to the turf. While on the ground, Tagovailoa appeared to display the fencing response, with his fingers frozen in front of his face. He was down for more than seven minutes before being loaded onto a backboard and stretchered off the field.

The Dolphins later said he was conscious and had movement in all of his extremities. He was discharged from the hospital Thursday night and flew back to Miami with the team.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England quarterback Mac Jones was ruled out for the Patriots’ game Sunday at Green Bay despite making a surprise return to the practice field.

Jones was in uniform Friday with his injured left ankle wrapped tightly as he moved gingerly during the brief portion of the workout open to media. Coach Bill Belichick said earlier in the week that if Jones couldn’t go, Brian Hoyer would startagainst the Packers.

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge didn’t come close to hitting his 62nd home run, going 1 for 2 with a pair of walks as the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 2-1.

One game after tying the American League home run record that Yankees star Roger Maris set in 1961, Judge struck out in the first inning, singled in the third and walked in the sixth against Jordan Lyles, then was intentionally walked in the eighth by rookie Félix Bautista.

Judge has six games left: two this weekend against the Orioles and then four at Texas that end the regular season.

GOLF

The PGA Tour filed a counterclaim against Saudi-funded LIV Golf accusing the rival league of inducing top players to breach PGA Tour contracts by claiming the tour could not enforce them.

The counterclaim was included in the PGA Tour’s response to the amended antitrust lawsuit filed in federal court in northern California, which included LIV Golf as a plaintiff.

Since then, eight of the 11 players who sued the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, have asked to be removed from the lawsuit. Mickelson said his involvement was no longer necessary with LIV Golf now suing the tour.

In the response to the lawsuit filed late Wednesday, the PGA Tour claims LIV Golf is asking the court to invalidate its regulations “with the stroke of a pen” after inducing players with hundreds of millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mackenzie Hughes shot a 9-under 63 for a share of the lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Hughes birdied his last two holes at the Country Club of Jackson to catch Thomas Detry of Belgium, who played in the morning and had a second straight 67.

They were at 10-under 134, a shot ahead of Sepp Straka (66).

THE COLONY, Texas (AP) — Charley Hull has forced herself to work a little harder on the putting and she saw it pay off with eight birdies in her round of 7-under 64 that gave her the 36-hole lead in The Ascendant LPGA.

The Englishwoman seized control with four birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn and led by two shots over Xiyu “Janet” Lin (68) and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, whose eagle-birdie finish gave her a 67.

Thitikul can go to No. 1 in the women’s world ranking by winning for the second straight week on the LPGA Tour.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — England’s Richard Mansell shot a 4-under 68 in wind and rain on the Old Course to open a two-shot lead halfway through the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Mansell was 10 under in the three-course event. Sweden’s Alex Noren was second after a 69 at Kingsbarns.

BASKETBALL

BOSTON (AP) — Blake Griffin has agreed to a contract with the Boston Celtics, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The person confirmed the move to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. It was first reported by ESPN. The 33-year-old forward averaged career lows of 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds with Brooklyn last season.