Europe improbably retains Ryder Cup

MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — The European’s are calling it the Miracle at Medina after their team’s come-from-behind victory over the U.S. Ryder Cup team. In America it’s more like the Meltdown at Medina.

Defending champion Europe trailed 10-6 heading into Sunday’s final singles matches before roaring back to post a 14 ½ to 13 ½ victory.

That matches the performance by the U.S. in 1999 when the Americans came back from the same deficit to win, but that was on their home turf.

European captain Jose Maria Olazabal fought back tears when Martin Kaymer holed a 6-foot par putt on the final hole of the second-to-last pairing of the day to give Europe the point it needed to keep the cup.

Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker failed to earn a single point in the three day event in suburban Chicago.

It was a shocking finish for the Americans, who were poised to win the Ryder Cup for only the third time since 1999.

Falcons, Texas and Arizona stay unbeaten

UNDATED (AP) — Atlanta, Arizona and Houston remain undefeated after four weeks of play in the NFL.

— Matt Bryant’s third field goal of the game, a 40-yarder with five seconds remaining, lifted the Falcons past visiting Carolina 30-28. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked a career-high seven times but managed to throw three touchdown passes. This is the Falcons best start since 2004 when they reached the NFC title game. The Panthers are 1-3.

— The Texans continued their best start in franchise history with a convincing 38-14 win over the visiting Tennessee Titans. Matt Schaub threw for two scores and Danieal Manning and Kareem Jackson each returned an interception for a score. Titans quarterback Jake Locker left in the first quarter and did not return after hurting his non-throwing shoulder. The Titans are 1-3 on the season.

— It took overtime for the Cardinals to remain perfect. Jay Feely kicked a 46-yard field goal 6:31 into OT in a 24-21 victory over the Dolphins. The Cards forced overtime when Kevin Kolb (kahb) threw a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Andre Roberts with 22 seconds to play in regulation. Miami rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw for 431 yards and Brian Hartline set a Dolphins record with 253 yards receiving on 12 catches.

In other games,

— The Eagles beat the Giants in the Sunday night game, 19-17. Alex Henery of the Eagles booted the game winning field goal from 26 yards out with 1:49 remaining in the final quarter. New York’s Lawrence Tynes tried a 54-yarder with 15 seconds left but the kick fell short. The Eagles are 3-1 and the Giants 2-2. The defending Super Bowl champion Giants have struggled against Philadelphia, losing eight of the last nine meetings.

— Coming off back-to-back losses the Patriots destroyed Buffalo 52-26. Tom Brady led the way with three touchdown passes on 22 of 35 passing for 340 yards. He also scored on a 4-yard run. Each team is 2-2.

— San Francisco blitzed the Jets 34-0 and the 49ers are now 3-1. The Niners piled up more than 200 yards on the ground as Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick all ran for scores. The Jets, who dropped to 2-2, never got anything going on offense.

— The Chiefs turned the ball over six times and visiting San Diego took advantage of the miscues in a 37-20 win. Philip Rivers threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns for the Chargers, who are 3-1. The Chiefs drop to 1-3.

— Minnesota got the better of the Lions in Detroit, 20-13. The Vikings’ special teams had a good day as Percy Harvin returned the opening kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown and Marcus Sherels scored on a punt return early in the third. The win gives the Vikes a 3-1 mark and snapped an 11-game losing streak within the division. Detroit has lost three straight after winning its season opener.

— Rookie Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals, including a 58-yarder and a team record 60-yards, as St. Louis beat Seattle 19-13. Both teams are 2-2.

— Peyton Manning had a big game, 338 yards passing and three touchdown passes, as the Broncos sailed to a 37-6 win over Oakland. The Broncos, who are 2-2, beat the 1-3 Raiders at home for the first time since 2007.

— Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton threw two touchdowns passes and ran for a score as the Bengals beat the Jaguars 27-10. The 3-1 Bengals finished with six sacks, putting constant pressure on quarterback Blaine Gabbert. With the loss the Jaguars fell to 1-3.

— Billy Cundiff kicked a game winning 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining to give the Redskins a 24-22 victory over Tampa Bay. He had missed three attempts earlier in the game. Quarterback Robert Griffin III marched the Redskins into field goal range with three straight completions and a 15 yard run. Washington is 2-2 while the Bucs are 1-3.

— Aaron Rodgers threw a go-ahead touchdown to Jordy Nelson in the fourth quarter as the Packers bounced back from that controversial loss to the Seahawks last Sunday with a 28-27 win over the Saints. Rodgers threw for 319 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the 2-2 Packers. Drew Brees threw for 446 yards with three touchdowns for the winless 0-4 Saints.

Rangers, Yanks and O’s clinch

UNDATED (AP) — Mike Napoli homered twice and drove in six runs as the Texas Rangers assured themselves and two other teams of spots in the playoffs with an 8-7 victory Sunday night, earning a doubleheader split against the Los Angeles Angels. L.A. won the first game 5-4.

Napoli’s second homer in the nightcap was a go-ahead three-run shot in the third.

Two-time defending AL champion Texas can be no worse than a wild card and the Rangers can clinch their third consecutive AL West title by winning once in a three-game series at Oakland that starts Monday. They enter the series leading the A’s by 2 games.

The Angels trail the A’s by three games for the AL’s second wild card with three games left.

The loss by the Angels also clinched playoffs spots for Baltimore and the New York Yankees, who are tied for the AL East lead.

Also in the AL on Sunday:

New York rallied from a 5-1 fifth-inning deficit to beat the Blue Jays 9-6 in Toronto. Eric Chavez homered for the winners and teammate Curtis Granderson had a two-run single to reach 100 RBIs for the second straight year despite a .226 batting average.

The Bombers return to the Bronx for a season-ending series against archrival Boston.

The Orioles kept pace with the Yankees by beating the visiting Red Sox 6-3 for their fourth straight W. The Birds finish up their regular season at Tampa.

Baltimore’s win clinched home field for the O’s if there is a one-game tiebreaker game to decide the AL East.

Also in the AL:

— Prince Fielder’s opposite field two-run homer in the eighth inning lifted Central leader Detroit to a 2-1 victory at Minnesota. It’s his 30th jack of the season. Teammate Miguel Cabrera, who is trying to become the first player since 1967 to win the triple crown, went 0 for 3 with an intentional walk, dropping his AL-leading batting average to .325. In the AL Central, the Tigers now have a three game lead.

— Fading Chicago fell three games behind the Tigers with a 6-2 loss to visiting Tampa Bay, keeping the Rays’ wild-card hopes alive. David Price became Tampa Bays’ first 20-game winner. The White Sox’ 10th loss in 12 games moves them to the brink of elimination.

— Yoenis Cespedes hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning to move Oakland a win closer to the club’s first playoff berth in six years as the Athletics beat Seattle 5-2. In the American League Wild Card race the A’s top the Angels and Rays by 3 games for the second spot. In the AL West, the A’s are still contending with the Rangers for first place. Oakland plays host to Texas for the final three games of the season starting Monday.

— Asdrubal Cabrera capped a 10-run fifth inning with a grand slam and the Indians routed the visiting Kansas City Royals 15-3. Cleveland improves to 2-1 under interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. They are 5-2 after a disastrous 12-41 stretch that dropped them from contention into last place in the AL Central and cost manager Manny Acta his job.

In the NL:

— Central Division champion Cincinnati rallied for a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh, clinching home field for the NL division series. It also ensures the Pirates a 20th straight losing season. Xavier Paul led off the top of the ninth with a pinch-hit homer and Zack Colzart snapped a 3-3 tie with an RBI double. At 96-63, the Reds are tied with Washington for the best record in the league.

— The East-leading Nationals could have clinched the division title with a win at St. Louis or an Atlanta loss to visiting New York, but that didn’t happen. Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate for the ninth time in his career and drove in five runs to help the Cards close in on the NL’s second wild-card berth with a 10-4 pounding of the Nats.

— The Braves won for a major league record 23rd straight time in games started by Kris Medlen, beating the New York Mets 6-2. Medlen gave up one unearned run and three hits in six innings while improving to 10-1. Atlanta has already clinched an NL wild-card spot and is on track to host the one-game playoff, which Medlen would start.

— The Astros beat the visiting Brewers 7-0 to eliminate Milwaukee from wild-card playoff contention. The Brewers, who reached the NL championship series last year, had surged since mid-August to get back into the postseason race. But the last-place Astros won two of three at Miller Park to finish off Milwaukee. Jordan Lyles pitched his first major league shutout and hit his first home.

— Cole Hamels finishes his season in style by striking out eight and allowing one run over seven innings of Philadelphia’s 4-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. The left-hander improves to 17-6. The Phillies need one win in the final three-game series at Washington to finish at least .500 for the 10th straight season.

— Pinch hitter Xavier Nady homered off Huston Street to tie the game with one out in the ninth and Hunter Spence hit a go-ahead, two-run shot as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the San Diego Padres 7-5. The come from behind win took Tim Lincecum off the hook for a loss, as he allowed a season high three home runs.

— Anthony Rizzo had three hits, David DeJesus homered and the Chicago Cubs ended a seven-game losing streak, beating the Arizona 7-2. The Cubs had lost 18 in a row against NL West opponents.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland 15 Kansas City 3
L.A. Angels 5 Texas 4 (first game)
Texas 8 L.A. Angels 7 (second game)
N-Y Yankees 9 Toronto 6
Baltimore 6 Boston 3
Detroit 2 Minnesota 1
Tampa Bay 6 Chi White Sox 2
Oakland 5 Seattle 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 4 Miami 1
Cincinnati 4 Pittsburgh 3
Atlanta 6 N-Y Mets 2
Houston 7 Milwaukee 0
St. Louis 10 Washington 4
San Francisco 7 San Diego 5
Chi Cubs 7 Arizona 2
L.A. Dodgers 7 Colorado 1

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Atlanta 30 Carolina 28
Minnesota 20 Detroit 13
New England 52 Buffalo 28
San Diego 37 Kansas City 20
San Francisco 34 N-Y Jets 0
St. Louis 19 Seattle 13
Houston 38 Tennessee 14
Cincinnati 27 Jacksonville 10
Arizona 24 Miami 21 OT
Denver 37 Oakland 6
Green Bay 28 New Orleans 27
Washington 24 Tampa Bay 22
Philadelphia 19 N-Y Giants 17