Jamaica Tallawahs' Andre Russell was stretchered off the ground by medical staff after a blow to his helmet in the first innings of Jamaica Tallawahs' clash against St Lucia Zouks at Sabina Park on Thursday.

The incident occurred in the 14th over, after Russell, batting on zero, failed to connect with a pull. Zouks pacer Hardus Viljoen had bowled a short ball, and the ball struck Russell's helmet near the right ear.

Russell immediately dropped to the ground and the Zouks fielders then removed his helmet. When the medical team rushed in to check on Russell, the batsman looked weary but stood up on his feet.

Russell was beginning to walk off, retired hurt, when he was made to stop. A stretcher was brought in, and Russell - with a neck brace on - was taken off. At first look, it appeared Russell's helmet did not have a neck guard.

Three overs after the incident, Tallawahs head coach Donovan Miller told the broadcasters that "there was no update on Russell just yet."

Tallawahs finished the first innings on 170 for 5, adding only 38 runs in the last six overs.

The NBA 2K League announced on Thursday that Heat Check Gaming power forward Basil "24K Dropoff" Rose was dismissed and disqualified from joining any of the league's teams for breaking the league's gambling policy.

In a release from the league, an investigation determined that Rose provided inside information to somebody he "knew was betting on NBA 2K League games."

The league maintains that the integrity of games was not compromised, stating: "The investigation did not find that Rose attempted to fix or otherwise improperly participate in any NBA 2K League game."

Rose helped Heat Check Gaming get to the finals of the 2018 playoffs. He was a third-round draft pick by Heat Check Gaming in 2018 and was retained by the team this year.

"Heat Check Gaming believes in the spirit and integrity of competition," the team said in a statement. "We stand behind the league and its ruling."

On Wednesday, Heat Check Gaming protected Stanley "MaJes7ic" Lebron and Juan "Hotshot" Gonzalez" ahead of the Sept. 26 expansion draft that will provide players to a new team for 2020, Hornets Venom GT.

In the 2019 season, Heat Check Gaming finished 17th out of 21 teams with a 6-10 record.

-- Field Level Media

LAS VEGAS -- Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore says he underwent surgery for testicular cancer during the offseason and is expected to make a full recovery.

Theodore revealed his cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment in an essay Thursday in The Players' Tribune.

Theodore didn't indicate whether he will be ready for the start of training camp but did write that he "can't wait to be back doing what I love." Theodore, who was selected by the Knights in the expansion draft prior to their inaugural season, finished eighth on the team last season with 37 points.

A failed drug test while playing for Team Canada at the world championships in May led to the discovery of the cancer, he wrote.

After receiving his silver medal, he was approached by a man who asked Theodore to accompany him to an isolated room.

"There were four other guys in suits sitting there, waiting for me," he wrote. "That's when I thought, 'O.K. that's weird.' Then they told me the news. I'd failed the drug test that I'd taken before the quarterfinals."

The men told Theodore his sample showed elevated levels of the hormone hCG, which is found in women during pregnancy. Bodybuilders who take anabolic steroids, such as testosterone, will sometimes use hCG to prevent or reverse side effects caused by steroids, such as testicular shrinkage and infertility.

For Theodore, hCG turned out to be an indicator of testicular cancer.

Theodore wrote that he had amazing support from his teammates after the diagnosis and surgery.

He will donate to early-detection causes for every point he records this season and the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation will match that dollar for dollar.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – Scott Harrington enjoyed his long-awaited debut as a PGA Tour member.

In his 17th year as a professional, the 38-year-old rookie shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday, leaving him two strokes behind first-round leader Robby Shelton in the A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.

With all 21 tour rookies and other Korn Ferry Tour graduates in the field, the first round of the PGA Tour's season opener in West Virginia was a chance for the new guys and journeymen to make an impression.

Especially for Harrington.

I always did think I was going to get here," Harrington said. "Even though I'm 38 years old, I feel like I'm every bit as capable of winning out here as any 22 year old. Yeah, age is just a number."

Harrington turned pro in 2003 and played in four PGA Tour events over the next 12 years. He took time off last year to be with his wife, Jenn, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. The disease is now in remission.

He locked up his first PGA Tour card with a runner-up finish last month at a Korn Ferry event in his hometown of Portland, Oregon.

In his debut Thursday, Harrington hit just nine fairways and 12 greens in regulation but made four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn.

"It was a lot of fun," Harrington said. I'll certainly remember this one for sure. I'll remember it even more if I can put a few more good ones together."

Shelton made eight starts on tour as a non-member in 2016-17. He has his tour card for the first time after winning two Korn Ferry events in May.

"I'm fired up," Shelton said. "Last night it was tough to sleep. I've been waiting for this moment all season."

Starting on the back nine on the Old White TPC, the 24-year-old Shelton made the turn at 3 under and birdied Nos. 1-3. The 8-under 62 is his lowest score on tour.

Defending champion Kevin Na, Lanto Griffin, Mark Hubbard and Zack Sucher matched Harrington at 64.

Na's putter won last year's tournament. On Thursday, his approach shots got him onto the first page of the leaderboard. He had four birdies over his final six holes. Three of his back-nine birdies were putts of under 10 feet.

"I have a lot of good memories here and I'm excited to be back defending," Na said. "Nice to see my picture up on the wall and have my own defending champion locker. It's pretty cool."

Hubbard, who won once in 23 Korn Ferry events last season, had a bogey-free round and is looking for his first top-10 finish since joining the PGA Tour in 2015.

"Finishing 40th every week isn't fun. Grinding to make cuts isn't fun," Hubbard said. "I feel like I needed to go back and get that experience and learn how to win again, and this time around I think I'll find myself in the mix a lot more."

Brian Harman, Sung Kang, Harold Varner III and Jimmy Walker topped the group at 65.

Hank Lebioda birdied seven of his first 11 holes in a 67.

Bryson DeChambeau, at No. 10 the highest-ranked player in the world in the field, had a 68.

Former Marshall player Davey Jude shot 70, two months after his father and caddie, David, was among seven people killed in a helicopter accident in the Bahamas.

LSU Tigers coach Ed Orgeron isn't a fan of the visiting locker room at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Apparently, he just needed to vent.

After Orgeron complained about the lack of air conditioning in the Tigers' locker room for Saturday's 45-38 victory over the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas, UT athletics director Chris Del Conte ordered an internal review to get to the bottom of it.

According to a spreadsheet provided to ESPN by the Texas athletics department on Thursday, the air conditioning was indeed working in LSU's locker room. The spreadsheet showed the thermostat was set to 68 degrees, and the temperature in the locker room averaged about 72-73 degrees. Texas also released charts and graphs showing air flow into the locker room.

The temperature peaked at 74.7 degrees when the game ended, according to UT, which is when LSU's players, coaches and other personnel were re-entering the locker room from the field. Texas' locker rooms are equipped with monitoring systems that measure their temperatures in various areas every 15 minutes.

Now, maybe cooler heads will prevail in the latest dispute between the schools.

Orgeron told reporters on Wednesday that LSU brought its own air conditioners and fans to Texas, after someone at Louisiana Tech notified the Tigers about the stuffy conditions. Texas beat the Bulldogs 45-14 at home in the Aug. 31 opener.

"I did talk to somebody on Louisiana's Tech staff, and they felt it was very hot," Orgeron said. "All I did was make sure we had air conditioners and blowers. We put air conditioners and blowers, I don't know about air conditioners but put blowers on the floor [of the locker room]. Saturday, it was fine, it was a little stuffy in there. Whether the air conditioner was on or not, I'm not sure."

Orgeron laughed when asked what LSU would do when Texas visits next year.

"I'm sure we have a plan or two to make them as comfortable as they can possibly be," Orgeron said.

The temperature at kickoff was upward of 95 degrees, and several LSU players had to leave the game due to cramping and other injuries. Texas had a 19-play, 86-yard touchdown drive on its first possession of the second half. Including timeouts for injuries, the Tigers defense was on the field for more than 16 real-time minutes.

Del Conte said earlier this week that it was the "first we've heard of any issues in that area."

"We provide one of the best visitor setups available and are proud of the efforts we put forth in hosting our guests," Del Conte said in a statement. "Our facilities staff did not receive any complaints from either Louisiana Tech or LSU, and we've confirmed that our air conditioning in the visiting locker room is in good working order."

Representatives for New England Patriots receiver Antonio Brown and Britney Taylor were in discussions over the past few months, but agreed their communication would remain confidential until the filing of Taylor's civil sexual assault lawsuit, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

This, the sources say, is why the Patriots and the Oakland Raiders, who released Brown last weekend, would not have known about the matter unless there was a breach in the confidentiality of those discussions.

Though the exact nature of the talks has not been confirmed, it is common practice for settlement talks to occur before a civil filing.

Taylor, Brown's former trainer, filed a lawsuit with the Southern District of Florida accusing Brown of sexually assaulting her on three occasions. The discussions help explain why Brown did not notify the Raiders or the Patriots about the matter.

Taylor has scheduled a meeting with the NFL for next week, according to a source. The league has the option to place Brown on the commissioner's exempt list -- which would remove him from the team's active list while still being paid -- but might not levy that decision this week.

Brown is expected to meet with the league at some point, and the Patriots -- who signed Brown on Monday, two days after his short-lived, messy tenure with Oakland ended -- have stated they take the matter seriously.

One high-ranking team source said players are not obligated to notify a team about a civil case before signing a free-agent contract. When it rises to a criminal case, he says, that dynamic obviously changes.

After his third at-bat Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso decided to change his appearance, shaving his mustache during the game.

He struck out twice and reached on a throwing error before deciding to make a switch.

"I had very terrible at-bats before,'' Alonso said. "And so I'm like, all right mustache needs to go. Simple as that.''

Pete Alonso shaved his mustache mid-game. pic.twitter.com/BDZsPneTP0

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 12, 2019

After changing his look, Alonso struck out for the third time in the sixth and grounded out in the eighth.

Alonso hit his major-league-leading 46th and 47th homers Monday and ended Thursday hitless in his past 13 at-bats.

The first baseman said it was not the first time he shaved in the middle of a game, noting: "Oh yeah, baseball players are very superstitious.''

The Mets set a team record for homers in a home game by going deep six times Thursday, routing Arizona 11-1 to complete a four-game sweep. New York won for the ninth time in 13 games and is two games back of Milwaukee and Chicago for the second NL wild-card spot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MIAMI -- Ryan Braun honored injured teammate Christian Yelich the past two days by wearing his No. 22 jersey underneath his own.

Braun then put on a Yelich-like performance Thursday, hitting a two-run homer that helped the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 to complete a four-game sweep that extended their winning streak to seven.

"I threw up the double deuces for him," Braun said of his message to Yelich as he crossed home plate. "He texted me, 'It's about time you hit a homer.' Forty-fifth homer hit in this jersey this year."

Milwaukee matched its longest winning streak of the season to remain tied with the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wild card. At 78-68, the Brewers are 10 games over .500 for the first time since mid-June.

"What's within our picture is keep playing well," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "The other stuff doesn't matter right now. Keep playing like the past week, we're going to put ourselves in a good spot."

Yelich broke his right kneecap on a foul ball Tuesday night. Before the game, the Brewers said the reigning NL MVP won't need surgery but is done for the year.

Yelich hit .329 with 44 homers and 97 RBIs this season and also stole 30 bases. He was leading the majors in slugging percentage and OPS when he was hurt.

Braun, bothered by a bad back for much of the season, broke a 1-all tie in the third with a two-run homer off Caleb Smith (8-10).

It was Braun's 19th home run this season and the first of his career at Marlins Park.

"I didn't know that, but they are all big at this time of year," Braun said. "The team is playing so well. So many guys contributing."

Gio Gonzalez and four relievers retired Miami's final 18 batters after Lewis Brinson's RBI single in the fourth.

Gonzalez allowed two runs and seven hits in four innings. He is 0-2 in 12 starts since beating Philadelphia on May 15.

Freddy Peralta (6-3) struck out three in two innings, and Josh Hader fanned two batters for his 31st save in 37 chances.

Miami went 1-6 on its homestand, dropped to an NL-worst 51-95 and is headed to its first 100-loss season since 2013.

Smith (8-10) gave up three runs and six hits in 5⅔ innings.

"I thought I got better as the game went on," Smith said. "I've just got to be better early."

Mike Moustakas' sacrifice fly in the first was offset by Miguel Rojas' RBI single in the bottom half.

BULLPEN'S CONTRIBUTION

The Brewers' blueprint for bullpen use played out perfectly. Counsell didn't need to call for a reliever in the middle of an inning. Ray Black, Drew Pomeranz, Peralta and Hader started and finished their innings. The relievers fanned 10.

"They all did an outstanding job," Counsell said. "If we can get them the right rest, we can get swing-and-miss stuff from them. Great day for the 'pen."

GONZALEZ SURE

Gonzalez got his first hit of the season and scored ahead of Braun's homer. The Marlins unsuccessfully appealed that the Brewers pitcher failed to touch second base on Braun's home run trot.

"I know I haven't been on the bases, but I'm 100 percent sure I touched that bag," Gonzalez said. "It was a backhanded slap is how I felt. But it's OK. I can smile about it."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Brewers: RHP Brandon Woodruff (left oblique strain) showed no ill effects from throwing to batters in a simulated game Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Adam Houser (6-5, 3.59) is to start Friday's series opener at St. Louis against the NL Central leaders.

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara (5-12, 4.04) starts Friday at San Francisco, coming off a shutout against Kansas City.