Carolina gets its man when Montreal passes on Jesperi Kotkaniemi

South American sides protests player restrictions

Coaches of South American national teams protested against European clubs that pressured their players into skipping three rounds of World Cup qualifiers this month. Brazil’s Tite, Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni, Colombia’s Reinaldo Rueda, and Chile’s Martin Lasarte want FIFA to resolve the problem before another three rounds of the 10-team round robin scheduled in October. Several England-based players, following advice from their clubs, did not travel due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the British government, which has red-listed South America, meaning mandatory hotel quarantine if they go there and return. Brazil also lost two Zenit St. Petersburg players minutes before boarding a flight to Chile because their club called them back to Russia. Rueda said the issue needs to be handed with care “because national teams should also be cautious with a player’s daily life at his club . . . But we have FIFA’s support. Players are speaking to their clubs in Europe. Our hope is that we can end the next fixtures without any inconvenience.” Meanwhile, Egypt superstar Mohamed Salah arrived in Gabon to join the Pharaohs for their World Cup qualifying match. The Liverpool player and Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny missed a 1-0 win over Angola on Sept. 1 in Cairo when their clubs refused to release them . . . Reigning champion France missed the injured Kylian Mbappé in a 1-1 draw at Ukraine in World Cup qualifying, but still stayed atop Europe Group D. Also, Portugal beat 2022 World Cup host Qatar 3-1 in a friendly despite missing Cristiano Ronaldo . . . Saturday night’s National Women’s Soccer League game between the Portland Thorns and the Washington Spirit in Oregon was postponed because four players on the Spirit tested positive for COVID-19. According to a report by The Athletic, the Spirit has multiple unvaccinated players.

BASKETBALL

DeAndre Jordan dealt from Brooklyn to Detroit

The Detroit Pistons acquired veteran center DeAndre Jordan in a multiplayer trade with the Brooklyn Nets, also receiving four second-round picks and cash considerations in exchange for forward Sekou Doumbouya and center Jahlil Okafor. The 33-year-old Jordan signed a free-agent deal with Brooklyn on July 6, 2019, part of a big summer for the Nets that also included Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joining the team. Jordan averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 57 games last season. He made 43 starts, but he had dropped out of the rotation by the end of the year. The 6-foot-11 Jordan’s departure comes one day after LaMarcus Aldridge rejoined the Nets five months after having to retire because of an irregular heartbeat.

GOLF

Twin magic? Hojgaard trying to match brother’s victory

Nicolai Hojgaard shot a 65 to take a one-stroke lead entering the final round of the Italian Open in Guidonia Montecelio — a week after identical twin brother Rasmus won on the European Tour in Switzerland. Of the two 20-year-olds from Denmark, Rasmus has so far been the more successful with three European Tour victories, including his European Masters title in Crans-Montana last weekend. Nicolai’s top career result was a second-place finish behind Sergio Garcia at the 2019 KLM Open. The Hojgaards the first brothers to win back-to-back events on the European Tour. Ryder Cup standout Tommy Fleetwood and Daniel van Tonder, who won in Kenya in March, were in a tie for second one stroke behind.

MISCELLANY

Triston Casas continues homer binge with two more blasts

Triston Casas followed his three-homer doubleheader on Friday with a pair of two-run home runs on Saturday, as the Portland Sea Dogs again beat the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 7-1, in Manchester, N.H. Casas capped a four-run third inning with first homer, more than enough offense for Jay Groome, who allowed just two hits and struck out 10 in five innings in his Portland debut . . . Connor Seabold tossed six scoreless innings and combined with two relievers on a four-hitter in Rochester, N.Y., and the Worcester Red Sox made it five straight over the Red Wings, 3-0. Seabold (2-3) walked three and struck out four. He did not allow a hit until the fifth inning for the WooSox, who are 10-1 on their road trip which ends Sunday . . . Dutch driver Max Verstappen took a brilliant pole position for the Netherlands Grand Prix in Zandvoort and sent his Orange Army of fans into raptures. The Red Bull driver’s final lap was just good enough to beat Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton by .04 seconds and his teammate Valtteri Bottas by .034. Verstappen’s orange-clad fans stood and roared when he went past the main grandstand area and sealed his season-leading seventh pole — four more than Formula One record holder Hamilton, who leads Verstappen by three points in the standings as he aims for a record-extending 100th F1 win on Sunday. Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be replaced by Robert Kubica for the race. The 41-year-old Raikkonen, who is retiring at the end of the season, tested positive following on-site testing at the track . . . Canada ended a 12-match winless streak against the United States by winning the first leg of their Rugby World Cup qualifying series, 34-21, in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The teams meet against next Saturday in Glendale, Colo. The aggregate winner will face Uruguay in October for a place in the 2023 World Cup in France . . . Primoz Roglic has only the decisive stage’s time trial left to win his third consecutive Spanish Vuelta title after finishing the rugged 20th stage runner-up to Clement Champoussin.