NEW YORK -- Serena Williams was not about to let Maria Sharapova make a match of this.

So facing a break point early in the second set, Williams conjured up a backhand passing shot so good, so powerful, so precise, that Sharapova had no chance to reach it. Williams watched the ball land in, then raised a clenched left fist toward the night sky.

In her first match at the US Open since last year's loss in a chaotic, controversial final, Williams stretched her winning streak against Sharapova to 19 matches with a nearly flawless performance that produced a 6-1, 6-1 victory devoid of drama Monday night.

"Every time I come up against her,'' Williams said, "I just bring out some of my best tennis.''

She sure did this time; the whole thing lasted all of 59 minutes.

Williams won twice as many points, 56-28. She saved all five break points she faced and lashed serves at up to 115 mph. She broke five times.

"I always said her ball somehow lands in my strike zone,'' Williams said. "I don't know. It's just perfect for me.''

Few players would have stood a chance against Williams the way she was hitting balls deep and true -- and certainly not a diminished Sharapova, who is ranked just 87th after missing much of this season with a bad right shoulder that needed surgery.

"Bottom line is I believe in my ability," Sharapova said after the match. "You can write me off. There are many people that can write me off, especially after going down 6-1, 6-1. As long as it's not the person that's inside of you, you'll be okay."

Williams arrived at Flushing Meadows, where she has won six titles, accompanied by questions about her back because spasms that flared up earlier this month forced her to stop playing during the final of one hard-court tune-up tournament and withdraw from another.

That didn't seem to be an issue against Sharapova.

"The body's good. I feel good,'' Williams said. "My back's a lot better. So I'm excited. This is going to be fun.''

A year ago, she was beaten by Naomi Osaka in straight sets in a U.S. Open title match that devolved after a back-and-forth between Williams and chair umpire Carlos Ramos. When Williams was asked Monday night what she thought of the U.S. Tennis Association's decision that Ramos would not officiate any match involving her or her older sister, Venus, at this year's tournament, this was the reply: "I don't know who that is.''

Williams was as calm and cool as can be against Sharapova, only rarely showing emotion with a cry of "Come on!'' or the occasional fist pump, such as the one after the key backhand on break point.

Sharapova called that shot "great.''

It shaped up as far and away the most intriguing matchup on Day 1 at the year's last Grand Slam tournament.

Few athletes in any sport have been as popular in recent decades. Williams owns 23 major singles title and Sharapova five. Both have a career Grand Slam. Both have been ranked No. 1.

Although there were several other matches involving big-time players on Monday, nothing brought out the spectators the way Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova did, with full-throated roars greeting them when they walked from the locker room into a dimly lit stadium.

When the lights came on, Williams proved far more ready for prime time.

Only once before had Sharapova lost a night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I've had a lot of tough matches here and a lot of tough losses,'' she told the crowd afterward, "but coming out here tonight makes it all worthwhile.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots starting center David Andrews has blood clots in his lungs, and his 2019 season is in jeopardy, league sources confirmed.

Andrews was hospitalized while undergoing tests to pinpoint the cause of the clots, sources said. He was reportedly released from the hospital Monday night.

A team captain in his fifth NFL season, Andrews played 28 snaps in the Patriots' preseason win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday but wasn't at practice the past two days.

Andrews' leadership and steadiness have been critical for the Patriots since he became a full-time starter in 2016, as he developed a rapport with quarterback Tom Brady. With Andrews at center and up-and-coming Joe Thuney (fourth year) and Shaq Mason (fifth year) as starting guards, the interior of the line has been one of the strengths of the team.

Andrews, 27, has played in 60 career regular-season games (57 starts), in addition to making nine playoff starts. The University of Georgia alumnus, who made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2015, was the starter in each of the Patriots' past three Super Bowl appearances.

The Athletic first reported Andrews' condition.

The Patriots' top backups are four-year veterans Ted Karras (45 career games, five starts) and James Ferentz (23 career games, zero starts).

Earlier Monday, Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia -- while taking a wait-and-see approach on Andrews' condition -- said that he believes the attrition the team has already experienced on the line with multiple retirements hasn't left the unit short-handed.

"We got what we got. The cavalry, they're not coming over the hill," he said. "But we have good players. I like the guys we got."

Andrews was not fully healthy early in training camp. He missed the team's first few practices before returning on a limited basis.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick previously noted that centers are in the middle of every play, so communication -- coupled with angles and gaining favorable position -- is a big part of the job description.

"David's good at all those things," Belichick said in 2017. "He has a lot of experience in his life playing center. I think a lot of those things come pretty naturally to him, the understanding of how far you have to go, how quickly you have to get there, how close in proximity is your teammate, where is the play designed to run and so forth. He has a good instinct for the position."

RENTON, Wash. -- Former Seattle Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin says he has found the first few months of his post-NFL career to be more challenging than relaxing, but he has no second thoughts about the decision he made to walk away from football and doesn't think he'll ever get the urge to come back.

The process of arriving at that decision, according to Baldwin, began well before he suffered a slew of injuries during what turned out to be his final season.

"It was a process longer than just last year," Baldwin told ESPN.com on Monday. "I think when you come into the NFL or any entertainment business as a young person, you have to be selfish, you have to be self-centered because it's all about self-preservation in that arena. I'm not saying this is the general population of athletes and entertainers, but I think a lot of us struggle with the concept of having a god complex, thinking that we're invincible and that we're immortal in some ways, and when you start to come to grips with the reality of being mortal and knowing that this is all going to come to an end at some point, you start to see the world differently. Perspective changes. I've been going through that process for a number of years. It actually started my second year in the NFL, understanding that eventually there's got to be a plan."

For Baldwin, the challenge isn't about missing the sport that he has played for most of his life.

"It's more so that my identity has been wrapped up in football since I was 6 years old," he said. "Navigating not having that, not having the instant feedback and the false affirmation of what my value was in the world because I had caught touchdowns on some days, I'm navigating that as a human on a very human level. That process has been challenging to say the least, but it's also been a rewarding one because it's allowed me to refocus my passions but also to re-understand who I am in the greater scheme of things and how I fit into the world."

Baldwin spoke while standing on a patch of grass near an elementary school in Renton, Washington, where he's working with local officials to build a $15 million community/health center for underserved youth. Baldwin said the hope is to break ground in February now that $10.5 million has already been raised, which includes $1 million of his own money and a $70,000 donation from the Seahawks. The proposed site is a short drive from the team's headquarters.

Baldwin missed three games in 2018 and was physically compromised for most of the season while dealing with injuries to both knees, his shoulder, his elbow and his groin. That led to three surgeries after the season. Baldwin said he's still struggling to recover, though "it's coming along." He admitted that he probably shouldn't have played as much as he did in 2018, noting that he returned in weeks from injuries that were supposed to sideline him for months.

Baldwin, who recently became a father for the first time, answered in the affirmative when asked if it scared him last season to think about how those injuries would impact him later in his life. He empathized with Andrew Luck, his former Stanford teammate and close friend, in that regard.

"It's kind of frustrating to watch kind of the commentary that's been wrapped around Andrew retiring," Baldwin said. "... It's a point in life that I think everybody reaches, whether you're in sports, entertainment or at a desk job or at a factory. You come to a point where you have to make a decision that is best for your life long-term, and as difficult as that is for people who have been in a realm that has put them on a pedestal, this false affirmation, this false validation that you are a better human being than other people because you catch touchdowns or because you throw touchdowns, it's hard to pull yourself out of that.

"... The perspective is, I have to do what's best for my wife and for my future children, and that comes first. And when you're faced with the decisions of, 'Well, if I continue to do this, what is my health going to be like when my child is born? When my kids are old enough to run around and play, am I going to be able to enjoy that experience and have that experience that I envision in my head? Am I going to be able to do that?' So you come to the proverbial fork in the road as Andrew said, and you have to make a decision. The decision to play football originally and to put everything into it to accomplish these goals and to get money and all the things, that was somewhat selfish. It's the same thing on this side. It just looks different. It's all about self-preservation. As I'm trying to articulate it, it's been a challenge, but I think the most important aspect of all of this is that I can look back, when I'm 60 years old, I can look back and say that I did everything possible to make sure that I was able to pick up my children when they were born, that I was able to run around with them when they were kids and to be there for them cognitively when they're older and they need their father to be not just a father but their friend as they navigate the world. Those things have been vitally important to me, and those things take precedence over everything else now."

Baldwin had two years and $21 million remaining on his contract when the Seahawks terminated it in May with a failed/physical designation.

He has yet to file paperwork with the league that would make his retirement official, but that isn't any indication that he's keeping the door open to a potential return. He made that clear when asked if he could see himself wanting to play again. Baldwin, who often pauses to think about his responses before verbalizing them, didn't wait to hear the end of the question.

"No," he said. "I'm done with football."

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Landon Cassill and StarCom Racing will honor Sterling Marlin with their throwback scheme during the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway this Sunday.

The No. 00 Chevrolet Camaro that Cassill will drive at Darlington is a throwback to the No. 40 Dodge that Marlin drove to victory at Darlington in 2002. The win was Marlin’s last of 10 victories in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

StarCom Racing Honors NASCAR Veteran @SMR_114 at @TooToughToTame. SCR is representing the #40 @coorslight Dodge that Marlin drove in his final Cup Series victory at Darlington in 2002. We are also proud to have @MichaelJFoxOrg on board with us for this race! #GoTeamFox pic.twitter.com/Qe5gbevmQ6

— StarCom Racing (@StarcomRacing) August 26, 2019

Marlin, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, is currently battling Parkinson’s Disease and earlier this year underwent multiple brain surgeries to help treat the disease. Despite that, Marlin continues to be active as a driver at Tennessee’s Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville.

Cassill’s car will also carry support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, with a portion of the proceeds raised from t-shirt sales benefitting the foundation.

TOPEKA, Kan. – The SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Southeast Conference has concluded its season and crowned champions across 28 divisions.

Nearly 900 racers took part in the Southeast Conference’s 12-round season that held court at six different venues.

A handful of racers claimed their championships by the thinnest of margins. In B-Spec, David Daughtery and his Honda Fit tied with the MINI Cooper of Bradley Davis, both amassing 142 points during the Southeast Conference season. However, Daughtery claims the championship as he managed to garner four victories as compared to the two wins Davis claimed over eight races.

The GT-Lite class was decided by a single point as Paul Mevoli and his Nissan Sentra gathered up 93 points as compared to the 92 points earned by David Stephens and his Datsun 510 machine. Finishing four points behind Stephens was Ted Phenix driving an Austin Cooper S.

The championship in two other classes was decided by only two points. In H Production, Will Perry and his Honda CRX took the top spot by accumulating 150 points with six wins over the course of six races while Michael Miller, driving an Austin Healey Sprite, harvested 148 points over eight races.

In the Touring 3 class, Tomas Ballester and his BMW SE46 collected the championship with 149 points, which was two more points than runner-up Philip Cunningham could manage in his Ford Mustang. Only five points behind Cunningham was the BMW 330ci of Broderick Baugess. Incidentally, both Ballester and Cunningham competed in every Southeast Conference race weekend during the year.

Five points was the margin of victory in GT-1 for Michael Lewis in his Jaguar XKR as they bested Juan Vento’s Chevrolet Corvette, and Touring 2 was decided by nine points with Cooper MacNeil and his BMW M3 claiming the championship over John Logiudice piloting a Chevrolet Corvette.

The two largest classes in the Southeast Conference this year were Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) and Spec Miata (SM). Preston Pardus ended up at the top of the chart in SM, beating out nearly 150 other competitors. And of the 113 drivers who challenged for the SRF3 championship, Brian Schofield came out on top.

Conference points are awarded to the top 20 finishers in each class. Winners earn 25 points, and 21 points go to second. Points are then doled out to others starting with 18 and descending to a single point for the 20th finisher. Only the best eight finishes at Southeast Conference races count towards a driver’s point total.

Below are Southeast Conference Champions with Class: Name, Hometown, SCCA Region and Car.
-American Sedan: Kelly Lubash; Stanford, CT; New England Region; Chevrolet Camaro
-B-Spec: David Daughtery; Fortville, IN; Indianapolis Region; Honda Fit
-E Production: Peter Norton; Pelham, NC; North Carolina Region; Caterham Seven
-F Production: Ken Kannard; Sebring, FL; Atlanta Region; Mazda Miata
-H Production: Will Perry; Sale Creek, TN; Chattanooga Region; Honda CRX
-Formula 500: Russell Strate Jr.; Alden, NY; Western New York Region; Scorpion S-1
-Formula 1000:  Michael Crowe; Chattanooga , TN; Central Florida Region; Citation
-Formula Atlantic: Spencer Brockman; Westport, CT; New England Region; Swift 014
-Formula Continental: Charles Moran; Oakton, VA; Old Dominion Region; Van Dieman RF99
-Formula Enterprises: Ray Mason; Blacklick, OH; Ohio Valley Region; SCCA FE Mazda
-Formula Enterprises 2: Scott Rettich; Columbus, OH; Ohio Valley Region; SCCA FE2 Mazda
-Formula F: David Livingston Jr.; Nashville, TN; Tennessee Region; Spectrum 14H
-Formula Mazda: Robert Noell; Kure Beach, NC; Central Carolinas Region; Star Formula Mazda
-Formula Vee: Stevan Davis; Danielsville, GA; Atlanta Region; Racer’s Wedge SB-1
-GT-1: Michael Lewis; Poway, CA; San Diego Region; Jaguar XKR
-GT-2: David Tuaty; Miami, FL; Florida Region; Porsche 991 GT3 Cup Car
-GT-3: William Wilson; Englewood, TN; Atlanta Region; Mazda RX-7
-GT-Lite: Paul Mevoli; Treasure Island, FL; Central Florida Region; Nissan Sentra
-Prototype 1: Jacek Mucha; Highland Beach, FL; Florida Region; JMS016CP Mazda
-Prototype 2: Thomas Kaufman; Cheriton, VA; Florida Region; West WXR101
-Spec Miata: Preston Pardus; New Smyrna Beach, FL; Central Florida Region; Mazda Miata
-SRF3: Brian Schofield; Lakeland, FL; Central Florida Region; Spec Racer Ford Gen3
-Super Touring Lite: Danny Steyn; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Florida Region; Mazda MX-5
-Super Touring Under: Paul Azan; Miami, FL; Florida Region; BMW 328
-Touring 1: Joe Aquilante; Phoenixville, PA; Philadelphia Region; Chevrolet Corvette
-Touring 2: Cooper MacNeil; Hillsdale, IL; Colorado Region; BMW M3
-Touring 3: Tomas Ballester; San Juan, PR; Florida Region; BMW SE46
-Touring 4: Bryan Horowitz; Palmetto Bay, FL; Florida Region; Scion FRS

TORONTO -- Oilers captain Connor McDavid says he's "working towards" being ready for the start of training camp.

The 22-year-old star center injured his left knee in April when he crashed into a post during Edmonton's regular-season finale. X-rays were negative but a subsequent MRI found a small tear in the posterior cruciate ligament.

McDavid appeared Monday at the annual BioSteel camp, a training program for NHL players.

In June, he wore a brace at a charity event. On Monday, he did not skate but appeared to be walking fine. He says he has been skating for a "couple months" and training with former NHL player Gary Roberts.

McDavid was second in league scoring with 116 points last season. The Oilers missed the playoffs for the third time in his four NHL seasons.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars long-snapper Matt Overton has an idea to solve the problem of disgruntled Indianapolis Colts fans wanting refunds on their season tickets: Message him. He'll buy them.

Overton, who played five seasons with the Colts (2012-16), made that offer on Twitter on Monday morning after seeing reports on social media that Colts season-ticket holders, upset over the abrupt retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck, wanted their money back. He said he plans to donate the tickets to Riley Hospital for Children in downtown Indianapolis.

To any angry Colts season ticket holders who are seeking a refund,

I'd be more than happy to buy your season tix off of you & donate them to @RileyChildrens patients & their families. I'm serious.

All love,

~Matt

— Matt Overton (@MattOverton_LS) August 26, 2019

"Riley Hospital is near and dear to me," Overton said. "It's near and dear to the entire community of Indianapolis and if we can help these kids and families go to a game and cheer on their favorite team, the Colts, let's make it happen."

Overton hadn't gotten any takers on his offer by mid-afternoon, but he did get a lot of positive feedback and support of his tweet.

A Colts spokesman said the team has received only a handful of calls seeking refunds, adding that they've also been selling single-game and season tickets as normal since Luck's announcement.

Overton still lives in Indianapolis in the offseason and said his fiancée is from the city, too, and that he "loves calling Indy home." He knows how devastated the Colts fan base was when ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news of Luck's decision to retire on Saturday night, but he was upset with the harsh words and criticism Luck got on social media.

"You can obviously tell he's going through a real big struggle and has been for quite some time now," Overton said. "Being former teammates with him and playing alongside him for five years I know the man he is, the competitor he is, the teammate he is and people are questioning his character and his toughness and all that kind of stuff, and I just think it's B.S. The dude is incredibly strong. He's obviously going through some very difficult decisions right now and made a very difficult decision to retire.

"It's hard on the fan base. It's hard on the team. It's hard on the organization. And it's hard for guys like me who played with him and friends to see him going through that. Just hopeful that he finds that peace and joy and his health going forward."

ESPN's Mike Wells contributed to this report.

Let's have a real conversation about Team USA.

It has played five exhibition games ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and there are some warning lights going off. The Americans are low on star power and international experience. Their big men can be suspect, their shooters are inconsistent and their lack of chemistry shows up all the time, particularly during wild turnover binges.

This isn't quite the same, but it is reminiscent of the run up to the 2004 Olympics when the Americans leaked oil on an exhibition journey through Europe on the way to the Athens Games. There were more than a few rumblings leading up to those losses and that bronze-medal finish.

Even Monday morning's 84-68 win over Canada in Sydney was not an impressive performance. Their defensive intensity was improved from their loss over the weekend to Australia, but they didn't make a 3-pointer in the second half -- they were just 2-of-14 in the game -- and had more turnovers than assists, among other issues.

At this point, there are probably a handful of countries that believe they can wrestle the World Cup from the U.S., the two-time defending champs, when tournament play starts this weekend in Shanghai. Earlier this month, Team Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic said: "Let's let [Team USA] play their basketball and we will play ours, and if we meet, may God help them."

The Australians already have beaten the U.S. The Spanish and the French probably quietly harbor belief too. The Greeks will have the tournament's best player in 2018-19 NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. And in a 40-minute game, anything is possible.

"We've learned," Team USA guard Donovan Mitchell said, "that this is going to be a dogfight."

Here is why Mitchell and the rest of Team USA lack any real margin for error as this unheralded group prepares for its Sunday opener in Shanghai:

Team USA lacks a proven bailout option

Over the past 12 years or so, whenever the Americans were in trouble in an FIBA event, they had a white-hot star (or three) to bail them out. Kobe Bryant played this role, Carmelo Anthony did too. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and so on.

The Americans doesn't have that -- at least a guy who has proved it -- to lean on when:

• They have a bad shooting night.

• One of their heavy hitters is in foul trouble (this happened with Mitchell in the loss to the Aussies).

• They have a bad defensive quarter.

• The other team gets unusually hot shooting.

This reality requires a sense of urgency the national team hasn't been used to. This is a formula for how gold medals slip away.

This group is good -- here's why they're not great

OK, now that we've said that, it doesn't mean doom. These FIBA games often resemble NCAA tournament games, in which guard play is vital. The U.S. has the best guards in the tournament: Kemba Walker and Mitchell will easily outplay opponents at times; Marcus Smart, when he gets into shape after his calf injury, is going to get in the heads of the other teams; and Joe Harris might be the best 3-point shooter in the event.

But just like in March Madness, often it is one team with less talent but lots of experience together going up against a loaded but unproven roster. The chalk wins a lot, but the upsets happen in one-game scenarios. In the 2016 Olympics, the U.S. guards were Irving, Kyle Lowry, Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan and Jimmy Butler. Those are five All-Stars. This team has one All-Star guard in Walker.

There's also the shooting struggles. Before Monday's woeful 3-point effort, this group was shooting over 40% from long range in the exhibition games. There's a lot of firepower from Brook Lopez to Harrison Barnes to Khris Middleton, though Middleton has mostly shot poorly so far. They have an array of dangerous shooters. If they hit 40% in any game, they probably will win with some ease.

But if and when they are off, they don't have interior scoring to count on. Walker and Mitchell are a small backcourt by elite standards, and size can bother them. They also don't have great isolation players, though Jayson Tatum shows flashes.

They've worked to remedy this by creating a high-passing offense, but their sharing and assist output has varied wildly -- so count on there being dangerous moments because of it.

Lack of star power but not clarity

Being around the team in the lead-up to the World Cup, there does seem to be an acceptance to these challenges. In the past, the U.S. lost competitions because it didn't respect its opponents or was haphazard in preparation. That does not seem to be the case here.

Coach Gregg Popovich is dead serious about this job and has spent months in preparation. He and managing director Jerry Colangelo typically operate in different spheres in the world of basketball; but from this viewpoint, they have worked together to build an infrastructure that is giving the U.S. the best chance here.

It's no one person's "fault" this is a team with the lightest star power since the Dream Team started. It's a combination of factors, from schedule changes to new rest procedures to injuries to trends.

After a couple of losses in the 2000s, stars were crawling over each other to be part of righting the ship. Now that the team hasn't lost in a major competition in 13 years, the urgency is diminished. It's not cool right now for the biggest names to play, and they look for reasons to skip it. Players are more concerned about the perception of being cut than the desire to win a spot.

This is reality, and it has strained USA Basketball's operation, which had been platinum-level successful. Often in basketball, defeat is the result of a dozen little things going wrong. If there isn't gold on the Americans' necks on Sept. 15 in Beijing, then that might end up having been the case.

But the flip side also can be true: If the 2019 version of Team USA is able to overcome these curveballs and challenges, then this will have truly been an accomplishment. Winning this one is absolutely not a given, and that alone could make it worth more.

That is something everyone associated with the team is very aware of as they head for China.