THURSDAY SPORTS, AUGUST 6, 2026
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s soccer with have an exhibition match vs. Green Bay on Thursday. The match starts at Noon in Blaine, Minnesota. On Saturday, the Jackrabbits will be at Minnesota for its second and final exhibition of the season. SDSU starts the regular season on Thursday, August 13 at home vs. Manitoba.
— South Dakota State volleyball will hold its Yellow and Blue scrimmage on Saturday at 11 am at First Bank & Trust Arena. The Jackrabbits will play a pair of exhibition matches starting on Friday, August 14 at Iowa State.
AMATEUR BASEBALL
Wednesday, August 5
Parkston Mudcats 5, Elk Point 4 (12 innings) – Jeff Harris went 3-for-6 with three RBI’s, including the eventual game winning RBI in the top of the 12th inning, scoring Luke Borman from second. Mason Herman went nine innings on the mound for the Mudcats, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Miles Doyle threw three shutout innings in relief to secure the victory. Parkston won despite six errors in the field.
Kimball/White Lake 10, Valley Springs 2 – Mitchell Price had 13 strikeouts over nine innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs on 129 pitches.
Thursday, August 6
Dell Rapids PBR vs. Colome, 11 am
Lesterville vs. Garretson, after 1 pm
Wynot (Neb.) vs. Lake Norden, 5:30 pm
Crofton (Neb.) vs. Alexandria, after 7:30 pm ***
Friday, August 7
Groton vs. Lennox 11 am
Salem vs. Volga, after 1 pm
Wessington Springs vs. Clark, 5:30 pm ***
Mt. Vernon vs. Tabor, after 7:30 pm ***
Saturday, August 8
Parkston Rays vs. Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks, 11 am ***
Winner/Colome vs. Dell Rapids Mudcats, after 1 pm
Castlewood vs. Canova, 5:30 pm
Burke vs. Redfield Dairy Queen, after 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 9
Larchwood vs. Flandreau Cardinals, 11 am
Hartford/Humboldt Wood Ducks vs. Four Corners, after 1 pm
Parkston Mudcats vs. Kimball/White Lake, 5:30 pm ***
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Michael Massey led off the seventh inning with a go-ahead home run, while Noah Cameron had nine strikeouts in eight innings of one-run ball as the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1. The Royals have won nine of their last 10 games at home. Dean Kramer pitched well in his Twins debut, allowing one run on three hits in five innings. Kramer was traded to Minnesota from Baltimore last week before the trade deadline. The Twins look to avoid a three-game sweep and end a four-game losing streak on Thursday at 6:30 pm.
NFL
— Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is one step closer to a possible return to football after working out for the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday. The 35-year-old defensive tackle has been training for several weeks as he considers ending his 2 1/2-year retirement. Rams head coach Sean McVay says the team is encouraged by Donald’s progress but is not rushing a decision. Donald retired in March 2024 after a 10-year career with Los Angeles. He earned eight All-Pro selections, 10 Pro Bowl appearances, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and helped the Rams win Super Bowl 56. The possibility of a comeback gained momentum after the Rams acquired pass rusher Myles Garrett.
— The Washington Commanders are adding veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a one-year contract. The 32-year-old spent last season with New England, catching 99 passes for 1,123 yards and five touchdowns while helping the Patriots reach the Super Bowl. Diggs was released by the Patriots in March and went unsigned in free agency before being cleared of criminal charges in May. The NFL also announced he would not face discipline following its review.
NBA
— The Phoenix Suns and Dillon Brooks agreed to a $73 million, three-year extension on Wednesday that will keep him with the team through 2030. The 30-year-old Brooks averaged a career-high 20.2 points last season, his first with the Suns. Brooks is entering the final season of an $86 million, four-year deal he signed with the Houston Rockets in 2023.
GOLF
— LIV Golf says it has found a lead investor to help move forward beyond its Saudi financial backing and make players major equity holders in the league. LIV CEO Scott O’Neil announced Wednesday that the investor has signed a term sheet approved by the league’s board, but he did not reveal the investor’s identity or the amount of funding involved. The announcement comes after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which helped launch and fund LIV since its start in 2022, announced it will stop financing the league after this season. LIV has spent more than $5 billion since launching. O’Neil says the league is planning a new model with fewer events and a focus on team competition. LIV hopes to finalize the new investment agreement in September.
HORSE RACING
— Major changes to horse racing’s schedule are creating uncertainty about the future of the Triple Crown. The Preakness Stakes will move to three weeks and a day after the Kentucky Derby, while a new six-race championship series featuring the Derby and Belmont Stakes will move forward without the Preakness. The Kentucky Derby will remain on the first Saturday in May, with the Preakness scheduled for Sunday, May 23, 2027. The Belmont Stakes is set for June 5, creating a short turnaround that could make it difficult for horses to compete in both races. The changes come after several recent Derby winners skipped the Preakness to focus on the Belmont, renewing debate over whether the traditional five-week Triple Crown schedule is too demanding for modern horses. The Triple Crown has not had a winner since Justify swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 2018.
MLB
— Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice and drove in four runs as the Chicago Cubs swept the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 7-6 victory. The Cubs also improved to 32-15 since June 11, strengthening their hold on the top spot in the NL wild-card standings. Los Angeles was swept for the second straight series have lost six in a row despite a pair of home runs from Shohei Ohtani.
— Boston’s Wilyer Abreu homered for the fourth time in three games, while Sonny Gray struck out eight in six innings for his 14th win as the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox 4-0. Boston has won seven straight, tied with Atlanta for the longest active streak in the majors, and has won 25 of 28. The Red Sox have also won nine consecutive series, the second-longest streak in franchise history behind an 11-series winning streak in 1912.
— Bo Bichette singled to score automatic runner Francisco Lindor in the 10th inning, helping the New York Mets to a 6-5 victory over the Cleveland Guardians. The Mets tied it at five in the ninth on an infield error.
— Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero homered for the third time in the series, while Victor Mesa Jr. tripled twice as the Rays beat the Colorado Rockies 4-0 for a three-game sweep. It’s Tampa Bay’s 11th sweep of the season.
— JJ Wetherholt hit a two-run double and scored on a ground-rule double to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees 3-1. New York fell 4 ½ games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
— Milwaukee’s Kyle Harrison struck out the final eight batters he faced as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2. Harrison gave up one hit and one walk while striking out 10 in five innings in his first start since July 8 after an IL stint due to left forearm tightness.
— Ernie Clement’s two-run homer in the 10th inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros.
— Texas starter Cody Bradford pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings in his first appearance since September 2024, as the Rangers beat the San Francisco Giants 6-0.
— Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez and Colt Emerson hit home runs, while Bryan Woo pitched seven scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2.
— Mitch Bratt struck out nine and allowed one hit in seven innings for his first career victory, while Ildemaro Vargas drove in four runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 10-4. Arizona is 16-7 in its last 23 games. It holds the second wild-card spot in the National League.
— Tyler O’Neill and Coby Mayo hit back-to-back homers in the fourth inning, while Trevor Rogers took a two-hitter into the seventh as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2.
— Bryce Elder pitched one-hit ball over seven innings, while Drake Baldwin drove in two runs as the Atlanta Braves won their season-high seventh in a row, beating the Miami Marlins 4-1.
— Matt McLain homered and Rhett Lowder won for the first time since April as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Athletics 3-2. The Reds are 12-6 since the All-Star break to improve to 55-58. The Athletics have lost seven straight to fall to 45-69. They have dropped 12 series in a row.