NFLSAN DIEGO -- Colin Kaepernick and San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid kneeled during the national anthem, continuing the quarterbacks preseason protest of American racial injustice and minority oppression.Kaepernick and Reid dropped to one knee while a naval officer sang The Star-Spangled Banner and dozens of military members unfurled an oversized flag at the Chargers Qualcomm Stadium.Kaepernick and Reid received scattered boos when they dropped to a knee amid a crowd of teammates, but the protest was otherwise unremarked by the San Diego crowd. The 49ers visit coincided with the annual Salute to the Military preseason game for the Chargers, who have strong fan support in their citys extensive armed forces community.Kaepernick got much heavier boos when he took the field to start the game for the 49ers.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With a four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal beginning in just a few days, Tom Brady had an NFL going-away party Thursday night, playing the first half in the New England Patriots preseason finale against the New York Giants.Brady completed 16 of 26 passes for 166 yards, a touchdown and an interception as the Patriots (3-1) missed out a perfect preseason in a 17-9 loss to the Giants (2-2).PHILADELPHIA -- The NFL is expected to pick up the majority of the cost to stage the 2017 draft in Philadelphia, with the citys iconic Rocky steps serving as its backdrop.City officials say they dont expect the NFLs 82nd event to come at taxpayer expense, but instead expect to fundraise about $5 million of the $25 million budget with the league paying for the events staging and infrastructure.Senior vice president Peter OReilly said on Thursday the events location will represent a return to the birthplace of the draft. The first NFL draft was held in Philadelphia in 1936, when the Eagles selected versatile halfback Jay Berwanger first overall.MINNEAPOLIS -- While Teddy Bridgewater is weighing options for surgery, the Minnesota Vikings are scrutinizing the possibilities for another quarterback.Bridgewater visited team headquarters just two days after the freak non-contact injury to his left knee sent him to a hospital by ambulance and devastated a team that was counting on its beloved leader to help make a legitimate push for the Super Bowl.About 20 players gathered around Bridgewater in the training room for encouragement, inspiration and even a few laughs.The initial diagnosis was a dislocation of the knee and a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, plus other significant damage that the Vikings have not disclosed, and the likelihood of it occurring was pegged at less than 1 percent.COLLEGE FOOTBALLKNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Exactly nine years to the day after it pulled off one of the greatest upsets in college football history, Appalachian State nearly did it again.A couple of missed kicks and an inability to recover an overtime fumble prevented the Mountaineers from getting it done.Jalen Hurd pounced on quarterback Joshua Dobbs fumble in the end zone and No. 9 Tennessee overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to escape with a 20-13 victory over Appalachian State.The Mountaineers were trying to stage a repeat of their 2007 upset of No. 5 Michigan, which marked the first time a Football Championship Subdivision program had beaten a Top 25 team. Appalachian State has since left the FCS ranks and is in its second season as a full-fledged Bowl Subdivision member.Tennessee faced third-and-goal from the 2 when Dobbs ran to his right and lost control of the ball as he tried to stretch his arms across the goal line. Hurd won the scramble for the loose ball in the end zone to give the Volunteers their only lead of the night.TENNISNEW YORK -- When heavy rain began pelting the closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Andy Murray couldnt pick up the usual sounds of a tennis match.Most importantly, he said, the thwack of a ball coming off his opponents racket strings -- or his own, for that matter -- was completely indiscernible during a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 second-round victory over Marcel Granollers at the U.S. Open on Thursday.As it is, the new $150 million retractable cover makes the tournaments main stadium louder because the structure, even when open, traps the sounds of spectators chatting in the stands.Because of the wet weather, action around the grounds was limited until the early evening -- but matches kept coming under the roof in Ashe, including Serena Williams 6-3, 6-3 victory over American wild-card entry Vania King at night.Men advancing included 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, No. 6 Kei Nishikori, No. 8 Dominic Thiem, No. 14 Nick Kyrgios and No. 22 Grigor Dimitrov, but No. 16 Feliciano Lopez lost.Williams older sister, seven-time major champion Venus, beat Julia Goerges 6-2, 6-3, 2011 U.S. Open winner Sam Stosur lost 6-3, 6-3 to Zhang Shuai of China, and No. 5 Simona Halep eliminated Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-4 in a meeting between past French Open finalists.BASEBALLNEW YORK -- Mets second baseman Neil Walker will miss the rest of the season because of surgery for a herniated disk in his back, the latest in a series of severe injuries to strike the defending NL champions this year.Walker made the announcement before the wild-card contenders played Miami.Had he continued to play, he estimated he wouldve been at 60 percent. Or, as New York manager Terry Collins said Walker told him Wednesday night, Not sure I can help.Minus Walker, the Mets will use Wilmer Flores and Kelly Johnson at second base. A recent push moved the Mets within 1 1/2 games of St. Louis for the second NL wild-card spot.GOLFCAMBRIDGE, Ontario -- Chella Choi ended up on top of the LPGA Manulife Classic leaderboard at windy Whistle Bear when Belen Mozo unraveled with a closing triple bogey.Choi shot a 6-under 66, finishing with a birdie on the par-5 ninth.Mozo was 7 under before running into trouble on the par-4 18th. The Spaniard finished with a 68.Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn was four strokes back after a 70 in her bid to win three straight events for the second time this season.Fake Yeezy 950 .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Fake Yeezys . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. http://www.fakeyeezysforsale.com/ . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Fake Yeezy Boost 700 . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Fake Yeezy Boost 350 V2 . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim.Theres a story from Mehedi Hasans fledgling first-class career that sums up his enthusiasm to learn. In one of his early matches for Khulna Division, he endured a wicketless session and, after some of the seniors had told him to bowl better, he had disappeared from the dressing room.Moments later, Abdur Razzak who had also left the dressing room to get ready for the next session of play, saw Mehedi bowling in the nets nearby. Before Razzak could say anything, Mehedi asked him: Bhai, can you have a look this way? Am I bowling fine now?The eagerness to absorb every bit of experience around him has remained with Mehedi in his early days in the senior team. Coach Chandika Hathurusingha said that his passion had made him stand out.He is an exceptional talent, said Hathurusingha. He is keen to do well, which is big for me. He has enthusiasm in the game. He is always sitting next to me or the other coaches in the dressing room, listening to every word that we are saying. He is very keen to learn.There was never any doubt in the team managements mind that they had found themselves an exceptional talent - in fact, in an echo of Australias unveiling of Shane Warne on the 1993 Ashes tour, Bangladeshs captain Mushfiqur Rahim admitted that they had deliberately omitted Mehedi for the Afghanistan ODIs last month to keep him as a secret from England.We knew what type of player he is, said Mushfiqur. We wanted him to play against England rather than Afghanistan so that they dont know anything about him.It is all his credit that he did so well. Theres a lot to learn from him, and I know he has the calibre to do well in the future, he said.Mehedi was certainly the surprise package that England couldnt deal with. He picked up 19 wickets in his maiden Test series, beating Enamul Haque jnrs 11-year old record of 18 wickets in two Tests against Zimbabwe in 2004-05 which resulted in Bangladeshs first Test series win.Mehedi was phenomenal in both Tests, starting off with a six-wicket haul at Chittagong on his first day of Test cricket.His maiden Test wicket said big things about Mehedis ability to absorb the information around him. When Mushfiqur told his bowlers to bowl at the stumps on the turning Chitttagong pitch, Mehedi did exactly that, drawing Ben Duckett into a stroke but getting the ball to turn past him sharply.dddddddddddde took six more wickets in that game, while in Dhaka, he ran through England in the first innings by doing a similar job of pitching his offbreaks right up to the batsman at decent pace. He bowled with loop to the left-handers, in particular, but accuracy was his main weapon, especially when armed with the new ball. His arm ball was a constant menace, even though he himself admitted he doesnt know how it came out.His rise to national stardom has been dizzyingly quick, but Mehedi said that after the Under-19 World Cup ended in February this year, he was ready for the call.I always wanted to do well whenever I got the opportunity. I didnt really think it would be this series. It could have been any time in the next year or two. I wanted to come into the national team with a strong mentality so that I could perform well, he said.But it is easy to forget that, even three weeks ago, he was just a first-class cricketer who had graduated from the age-group scene. Almost overnight he seems established alongside the big names of the Bangladesh team, but Mehedi has not stopped learning either.I watch Shakib bhai closely, he is such a brilliant bowler. I try to adopt what he is doing, said Mehedi.It is easy to compare him with offspinners like Sohag Gazi and Naimur Rahman, who also started their Test careers very well. Both faded away fast not only because of their own lack of performance, but also due to Bangladeshs immense dependence on left-arm spin.Mehedi doesnt have trouble with his bowling action, and seems to have a mature approach to his game. It is still early days for him but, even from this point, he shouldnt be judged on his first Test series forever - neither should anyone expect him to be this effective on New Zealands pitches in January.He should be treated more like Mustafizur Rahman than a normal Bangladeshi offspinner. If he is so keen to learn his art, give him a bigger classroom and let him learn his way to the top. ' ' '