FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots tight end Lance Kendricks has been suspended one game for violating the NFL's policy on substances of abuse, the league announced Saturday.

Kendricks, 31, has been on the roster bubble as the Patriots have had an open competition among several players as they attempt to fill the void created by Rob Gronkowski's retirement.

The Patriots had signed Kendricks to a one-year deal on July 24. He spent the previous two seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Kendricks is eligible to participate in all remaining preseason practices and the team's final preseason game Thursday against the New York Giants. He will be eligible to return to the Patriots' active roster on Sept. 9, following the team's Week 1 game versus Pittsburgh.

Kendricks played 24 snaps and had one catch for 11 yards in the Patriots' win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday.

In a Week 2 preseason win over the Tennessee Titans, Kendricks also played 24 snaps and had one catch for 28 yards. He had been penalized for holding in the end zone in that game, resulting in a safety.

Veteran tight end Benjamin Watson, who also is vying for a roster spot, is suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

The National League batting leader is back for the New York Mets.

Jeff McNeil was activated off the 10-day injured list ahead of Saturday's home game against the Atlanta Braves, where he will be available off the bench.

McNeil went on the IL on Aug. 14 after suffering a hamstring strain when trying to beat out an infield grounder.

The Mets' leadoff hitter told reporters on Saturday that the hamstring "feels normal" and that he expects to be in the lineup on Sunday.

McNeil is batting an NL-best .332 with 15 homers and 55 RBIs.

He rejoins the team in the midst of a pivotal series against the division-leading Braves. The Mets entered Saturday's matchup 10 games back from the Braves and two games back from the wild card.

In a corresponding move, the Mets designated Aaron Altherr for assignment.

LOS ANGELES -- Hyun-Jin Ryu is reaching unfamiliar territory with his workload and, whether as a direct correlation or sheer coincidence, has struggled in recent starts, allowing 11 runs over his last 10 innings. In hopes of mitigating potential fatigue, the Los Angeles Dodgers are considering the possibility of either skipping one of Ryu's upcoming turns through the rotation, lengthening the amount of days between starts or shortening his outings moving forward. "I'll have that conversation with Hyun-Jin," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "and we'll see what's best for him."

Ryu, a frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award for most of the season, is already up to 152 2/3 innings, his highest total since contributing 192 as a rookie in 2013. Over the last four years, while dealing with severe injuries to his shoulder, elbow and groin, Ryu accumulated only 213 21/3 innings.

The 32-year-old left-hander was charged with four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 17 and seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings against the New York Yankees on Friday, increasing his ERA from 1.45 to 2.00. Prior to suffering his fourth loss against the Yankees at Dodger Stadium, Ryu had surrendered only seven earned runs in 77 2/3 innings at home all season.

Ryu stated that he is "healthy."

"I don't feel any fatigue at the moment," he said through a translator. "Our team does a great job of giving me extra days of rest, so I actually feel fresh."

Roberts generally agreed, acknowledging that Ryu has had a hard time commanding all of his pitches but adding that his velocity remains on par. The Dodgers will have four off-days in their first 19 days of September. Roberts would like to ensure that his top three starters -- Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Ryu -- remain on a regular schedule through that, though the days off make it easier to skip their turns.

Rookies Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin can help fill in. Julio Urias, extended to about three innings and set to return from suspension on Sept. 1, and Rich Hill, who threw a 27-pitch bullpen session in his return from an elbow injury, can also help fill the gap.

Roberts, speaking prior to Saturday's game against the Yankees, said Ryu has "done a good job of keeping himself strong, so I don't think fatigue is the reason he hasn't thrown the ball well."

Triple European champion clocks 10.96 to book her world champs spot, with Rosie Clarke, Elizabeth Bird and Sophie McKinna also among Doha-bound athletes

Dina Asher-Smith secured another national title and world championships spot in style as she broke her own championship record to win the 100m on a sunny and hot first day at the Müller British Athletics Championships.

Clocking 10.96 into a -0.9m/sec headwind, the triple European champion was left pleased with her performance but frustrated with the conditions as her earlier impressive time of 11.03 into an even stronger headwind of -2.0m/sec during the semi-finals saw her sub-11 second streak of 2019 come to an end.

In still conditions her times would equate to 10.87 and 10.89, not far off her own British record mark of 10.85.

“In the first race I saw 11.03 and obviously I was happy to have won and it’s a really strong time considering the headwind, but I was playing a game with myself so I was like ‘damn it!’,” she said with a smile, having had an aim to dip under 11 seconds for all of her races this year. “Then the second race, I was just going for the win.

“I crossed the line and was happy to have won but to see it get rounded down to a championship record considering the headwind again was great news for me because it means I’m in better shape than a month out from Berlin last year.”

Behind her, Asha Philip again proved her strength as a championship performer as she ran a season’s best of 11.29 to secure silver and will now chase the IAAF World Championships qualifying time of 11.24.

It was a fine return for the four-time British champion, who struggled with injury after the IAAF World Relays.

“I’m so happy I got top two,” she said. “The fact that I performed when I needed to, I’m really happy about that.

“I’ve got semi automatic qualification because I haven’t got the time yet but with one more week, I’m sure I’ll get it.”

Daryll Neita claimed bronze in 11.30, as Kristal Awuah was fourth (11.40) and Jodie Williams fifth (11.45).

Two more Doha places were booked in the women’s 3000m steeplechase as Rosie Clarke retained her title in 9:46.66 as she beat Elizabeth Bird in an exciting finish, with Bird just behind in 9:46.95 to also secure her world championships vest.

Aimee Pratt was third in 9:53.24 as the top three finished well clear of the rest of the field.

After two silver and three bronze medals, Sophie McKinna won her first British outdoor title with a best throw of 17.97m to also secure her spot on the team for Doha.

All five of her valid throws were over 17.62m and would have been enough to win, as Amelia Strickler was second with 17.09m and Divine Oladipo third with 16.38m. In between racing in the 100m hurdles heats and final, heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson threw a best of 12.60m, while Paralympic bronze medallist Sabrina Fortune threw 12.26m.

Johnson-Thompson went on to run 13.57 (-1.6m/sec) for fourth in a hurdles final won by Cindy Ofili in 13.09, as the Olympic fourth-placer remains on the hunt for a world championships standard.

Alicia Barrett was second in 13.40 and Yasmin Miller third in 13.40.

Naomi Ogbeta was delighted to have retained her title in the triple jump as the European finalist leapt 13.87m for victory ahead of Angela Barrett with 13.22m and Mary Fasipe with a PB of 13.07m.

The women’s hammer saw a different British champion for the first time since 2010, with Jess Mayho gaining gold with a throw of 64.79m.

Annabelle Crossdale was silver medallist with a 61.95m PB and Pippa Wingate the bronze medal winner with 58.85m.

“I’m just so happy to get on the top of the podium,” said Mayho, who last year secured silver behind British record-holder and eight-time British champion Sophie Hitchon, who has called an early end to her season.

“I’m never normally speechless but today was just so good. It maybe wasn’t the series I wanted but with championships, it just takes one throw and that’s what I did today.”

With English discus record-holder and seven-time British champion Jade Lally watching from the stands with her one-month-old baby, Scotland’s Kirsty Law won the title with a throw of 54.23m. Amy Holder secured silver with 54.00m and Shadine Duquemin got bronze with 53.23m.

The women’s 800m had looked set to be one of the most competitive events of the championships in terms of depth and the heats were won by European and Commonwealth medallist Lynsey Sharp in 2:04.05, as she eased down at the end of the race, plus Hannah Segrave in 2:03.83, Alex Bell in 2:02.81 and European indoor champion Shelayna Oskan-Clarke as she came through to pip Adelle Tracey, 2:02.28 to 2:02.39.

In the 1500m heats, Sarah McDonald won heat one in 4:20.63 and double European under-23 champion Jemma Reekie heat two in 4:18.72.

World 4x400m medallist Zoey Clark went quickest in the 400m heats, running 52.18 in heat two ahead of European under-23 relay medallist Yasmin Liverpool with 52.49 and multiple world relay medallist Perri Shakes-Drayton in 53.13, as they both also booked their places in the final thanks to their times.

Clark and Shakes-Drayton’s fellow London 2017 relay silver medallists Laviai Nielsen and Emily Diamond won their respective heats in 52.45 and 52.46, while world indoor relay bronze medallist Amy Allcock won heat four in 53.49.

European bronze medallist Meghan Beesley was among the 400m hurdles heats winners as she clocked 57.05. Jessica Turner (56.49), Lauren Thompson (57.76) and Jessie Knight (57.44) also won their heats, while European indoor relay medallist Lina Nielsen was disqualified but then reinstated, securing her spot in the final thanks to her runner-up time of 58.22 behind Thompson in heat two.

Welsh Commonwealth Games hurdler Caryl Granville looked in a strong position ahead of the final hurdle in heat three but she pulled up and did not finish.

Click here for a men’s events report.

Photo finish sprint verdict goes to Ojie Edoburun over Adam Gemili and Zharnel Hughes at the British Champs in Birmingham

The men’s 100m on day one of the Müller British Athletics Championships was so close to call that the winner, Ojie Edoburun, did not know he had won for a few moments after the race. The 23-year-old was given exactly the same time of 10.18 (-1.9m/sec) as Adam Gemili and Zharnel Hughes but after a short, tense delay he was given the verdict over his more favoured rivals.

Hughes is the fastest British sprinter this year with 9.95, while Gemili has run 10.04 but Edoburun, whose season’s best is 10.08, turned the form book on its head to win gold.

“I was getting ready to say ‘well done, Adam’. But it came up as me being the winner and it was such an emotional moment,” said Edoburun.

A brilliant junior talent, Edoburun won the European under-20 100m title in 2015 and under-23 title in 2017 but has struggled to make an impact in the senior ranks. However, he says a change of coach to Steve Fudge together with an emphasis on sports psychology to iron out demons and improve his pre-race confidence have helped him move on to a new level.

“People often think seeing a sports psychologist is a sign of weakness but I think it shows you are doing something to become stronger,” he explained.

On the evidence of Saturday’s 100m at Alexander Stadium, he has a point and will now go to the IAAF World Championships in Doha along with fellow automatic qualifier Gemili aiming to at least make the final.

Harry Coppell led some fine performances in the field with an IAAF World Championships qualifier of 5.71m in the pole vault which lifts him to equal fourth on the UK all-time rankings. Read more and view a video interview here.

Tim Duckworth won the British long jump title last year by one centimetre from Dan Bramble and this year the duo enjoyed another titanic battle with an even closer result.

Both men jumped 7.92m but Duckworth also had a 7.91m to his name and took gold on countback as Bramble took silver and Feron Sayers took bronze.

“I went 8.00m last year and Dan went 7.99m so I think he’s starting not to like me,” joked Duckworth, who is poised to compete in the decathlon at the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

Tim Duckworth beat Dan Bramble by 1cm to win the 2018 British long jump title and the battle for the 2019 crown was even closer with both men jumping 7.92m. #MullerBritishChamps pic.twitter.com/TBU9b4tMnw

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) August 24, 2019

Javelin thrower Harry Hughes finished his rollercoaster, injury-hit season on a high note with a 75.11m victory. The 21-year-old opened his season with 80.32m – the first 80-metre throw by a British athlete for seven years – but he then injured his left heel at the England Championships in June, causing him to miss the European Under-23 Championships.

After six weeks on the sidelines, he was unable to compete in July but kept himself in good shape and returned in Birmingham on Saturday to win the national title by five metres from Joe Dunderdale in tricky, blustery conditions for the throwers.

“I’ve only done British champ once before,” said Hughes. “And that was two years ago when I was injured. I threw 66 metres and came sixth and didn’t want to be there at the time as I wasn’t in the right mindset.

“So it feels great to be here and to be in really good shape and to be confident and to finish the season on a high.”

The men’s high jump saw Allan Smith win with 2.25m from from runner-up Chris Baker and bronze medallists Tom Gale and William Grimsey – the minor medallists all jumping 2.22m.

“I came into this ranked fourth which is pretty unheard of for myself coming into the British Champs,” said Smith. “I’ve turned my season around slightly to having a season’s best of 2.19m coming into this and coming away with 2.25m and coming first so I’m really happy about that.”

Another in-form Scottish athlete in Birmingham, Andrew Butchart, was always in control in the 5000m and he surged clear with a kilometre to go to clock 13:54.27 to win from Marc Scott. After a recent spell of training at altitude in Font Romeu, Butchart looks in great form and now races in Zurich on Thursday before beginning his final countdown to Doha.

In the rounds, Charlie Da’Vall Grice, Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman won their 1500m heats ahead of Sunday’s much-anticipated metric mile final. In the 800m heats, winners included Elliot Giles, Kyle Langford, Guy Learmonth and Alex Botterill – the latter beating Jamie Webb to the line.

The 400m heat winners, meanwhile, were Matt Hudson-Smith, Dwayne Cowan, Cameron Chalmers and Rabah Yousif.

Reports from the women’s events in Birmingham are here.

Harry Coppell soars up the UK all-time rankings and qualifies for Doha with 5.71m vault at the Müller British Athletics Championships in Birmingham

It was quite a competition for Harry Coppell. Despite warm conditions and a swirling wind, he took gold with 5.71m – a PB, qualifying mark for Doha, stadium record and ‘Müllerlicious performance of the day’.

The 23-year-old is a former world youth champion and on the first day of the British Championships in Birmingham on Saturday he came of age as he improved his best of 5.61m to jump from ninth to equal-fourth on the UK all-time rankings.

Pole vaulter Harry Coppell qualified for Doha and soared up the UK rankings with a 5.71m win at the #MullerBritishChamps today. He chats to AW about his brilliant day… pic.twitter.com/z4N6kqyDGA

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) August 24, 2019

“This wasn’t quite out of nowhere, but everything had to come together on the day and it did,” said Coppell, who beat Jax Thoirs (5.56m) and Adam Hague (5.46m) to take the gold.

“Hopefully I can get an Olympic qualifier (5.80m) too as I was quite close here. I had a couple of attempts at it but then pulled out as it’d been a long competition as it was warm and I’d wasted lots of energy in early jumps today.”

Maybe he can achieve that height at the IAAF World Championships in Doha. “It feels amazing achieving the standard for Doha,” he added.

See the rest of the men’s news from day one in Birmingham here and a report from the women’s events here.

Head coach Gregor Townsend was delighted with the character shown by Scotland as they recovered from losing two soft tries to beat France.

The Scots trailed 14-3 moments before half-time but hit back with scores from Sean Maitland and Chris Harris to prevail 17-14 at Murrayfield.

France had demolished Scotland 32-3 in Nice last weekend.

"We found a way to win in amongst a lot of adversity," said Townsend, who made 14 changes.

"The collective effort, mindset, commitment was there in the jersey, that was really pleasing to see.

"Losing a try early on, losing another try on our ball, being down at half-time but coming back, losing key players, players playing in different positions near the end, so that's pleasing."

As happened in Nice in the first of four World Cup warm-up Tests, Scotland were behind after a few minutes as Damian Penaud snatched an interception from Peter Horne and ran 50 metres to score under the posts.

Penaud's second try was also a gift, coming after Finn Russell failed to gather a high ball, with Gael Fickou breezing past Ryan Wilson to set up the winger.

"There's a lot to work on, we know that, but that was more like what I thought it would be," added Townsend, who lost Tommy Seymour and Blade Thomson to failed head injury assessments and Sam Skinner to a nasty-looking hamstring problem.

Experienced flankers Wilson and John Barclay ended the game in the second row, with replacement hooker George Turner in the front row.

"Things that you have to deal with, at times it's helter-skelter," said Townsend.

"But it was great to see the crowd getting really behind the team and the players finding that win so we can go to Georgia with at least a win behind us.

"I thought we started really well and we were producing quick ball. It was just a misjudgement on a pass [for the opening try] and last week it was a misjudgement on a line-out throw and we have to deal with that. We have to regroup, stay focused and that's what the players did well today."

Scotland play Georgia in Tbilisi next Saturday and finish their preparations for Japan at home to the same opponents, with Townsend revealing his final World Cup squad in between the two Tests.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – A.J. Allmendinger hopes history repeats itself.

On Saturday morning, Allmendinger qualified on the pole for the 10th annual CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America.

In 2013, Allmendinger won the pole and went on to win the race. He is one of three former winners at Road America in the race – Justin Allgaier (2018) and Jeremy Clements (2017).

There has not been a repeat winner in the Xfinity Series at Road America in the previous nine runnings. Carl Edwards won the inaugural race in 2010. Other winners include Reed Sorenson, Nelson Piquet Jr., Brendan Gaughan, Paul Menard and Michael McDowell.

Driving for Kaulig Racing, Allmendinger’s pole-winning time was 2:12.731.

Matt DiBenedetto, driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was second quickest at 2:13.229. Austin Cindric was third at 2:13.286, followed by Cole Custer (2:33.648) and Noah Gragson (2:33.607).

Allgaier was eighth quickest at 2:14.203 and Clements was ninth at 2:14.411.

Cindric has won the last two road-course races. He’s trying to become the first driver to win three-straight NASCAR road-course races since Terry Labonte did it in 1994-96 at Watkins Glen.

It is Allmendinger’s fourth Xfinity Series race in 2019. He was disqualified from his first two starts (Daytona Int’l Speedway and Watkins Glen Int’l) and finished third at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The race starts at 3 p.m. eastern on NBC Sports.

SILVERSTONE, England – Marc Marquez outran Valentino Rossi to earn his fourth-straight MotoGP pole on Saturday at the Silverstone Circuit.

Marquez set a new track record en route to the pole, with his 1:58.168 lap resetting the track record set on Friday by Fabio Quartararo.

“With the first tire I felt really, really good and I just tried to find a good lap and I did my first lap alone,” Marquez said after his 60th premier class pole. “When we went out with the second tire there was a fair bit of traffic, I was on top in the results so I did not want to push first. We were then waiting a bit and playing with our strategy and then on the last lap the tires were ready and we made a really good lap. Valentino was ahead, maybe a little too far because I couldn’t profit fully from the slipstream. I think we can be strong in the race tomorrow, but for sure there are many rivals for tomorrow.”

Rossi ended up second aboard his Monster Energy Yamaha, .428 seconds behind Marquez. The duo will be joined on the front row by the impressive Jack Miller for Pramac Racing, who was only .006 seconds behind Rossi on the stopwatch.

Quartararo qualified fourth for Petronas Yamaha SRT, followed by Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales on row two. Andrea Dovizioso qualified seventh for Ducati, followed closely by Franco Morbidelli and Cal Crutchlow.