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Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run home run that lifted the New York Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman, the team announced.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that it is a one-year deal for the veteran cornerback.

The 33-year-old said on his show, “The Richard Sherman Podcast,” that he had been in discussions with the Buccaneers for several weeks and multiple teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers.

“I went with the best offer I had, the best opportunity to go out there and put some great tape on, to lead another group,” Sherman said on his podcast. “I feel comfortable and confident in my abilities to go out there and execute and help that team win.

“This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, and I weighed all the options with my wife and family, and this is what we came up with, so I’m ready to strap them back up and go out there and show that these old legs still got some juice.”

Sherman is expected to need one-to-two weeks to be ready to play for the Buccaneers, who are without defensive backs Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Deam and Carlton Davis. Tampa Bay’s pass defence ranks 32nd in the NFL after three games and 17th in yards allowed per pass play.

The former Seahawks and 49ers star was arrested on July 14 for trying to break into his in-laws’ home, and fought with officers who used a police dog to apprehend him. He was released from jail without bail after a judge found probable cause that Sherman committed criminal trespassing, malicious mischief, driving under the influence and resisting arrest.

-With files from the Associated Press.

Come-from-behind wins, new records, blown calls, clutch performances. Week 3 had a bit of everything.

There are now five 3-0 and five 0-3 teams as we enter a Week 4 schedule offering a number of anticipated divisional matchups.

The stacked NFC West will be in the spotlight with the Cardinals visiting the Rams and 49ers hosting the Seahawks. There’s also an exciting AFC West battle between the unbeaten Raiders and surging Chargers.

Oh, and we’re thinking there could be some interest in watching Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski play against the Patriots for the first time in their Hall of Fame careers when Tampa travels to Foxboro.

Three weeks down and 15 to go as the jockeying for position continues.

THE NEW TEAM TO BEAT…FOR NOW:
1. Los Angeles Rams (3-0; Last week: 2)

After out-scoring Tom Brady’s Buccaneers on Sunday, the undefeated Rams get the edge — and their very own tier as the team to beat for the time being. The scariest part? The Matthew Stafford-Sean McVay partnership is only just getting started. – Sadler

DON’T LET ONE LOSS SCARE YOU OFF:
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1; Last week: 1)
3. Buffalo Bills (2-1; Last week: 9)
4. Green Bay Packers (2-1; Last week: 10)
5. Cleveland Browns (2-1; Last week: 6)
6. San Francisco 49ers (2-1; Last week: 4)
7. Baltimore Ravens (2-1; Last week: 5)
8. Dallas Cowboys (2-1; Last week: 14)
9. Los Angeles Chargers (2-1; Last week: 19)

After disastrous starts from Buffalo and Green Bay, it’s safe to say the Bills and Packers we’ve seen these past two week have been the ones to trust. All Aaron Rodgers needed was exactly 37 seconds to prove his Packers will be just fine (at least, on offence).

A statement defensive game from the Browns, courtesy of Myles Garrett’s 4.5 sacks against the Bears, leaves few questions about how complete a club Cleveland is, while the return of a healthy Odell Beckham Jr. brought another dose of star-power to what is a deep offensive group.

The Ravens, meanwhile, fall two spots from last week not because their win wasn’t plenty impressive — historic, actually, thanks to Justin Tucker’s incredible 66-yard game-winning field goal — but because of too many drops from should-be star receiver Marquise Brown and mistakes on defence that saw the Lions almost complete a wild comeback. (Not to mention, the fact that Tucker’s game-winner actually probably shouldn’t have happened in the first place due to a missed delay-of-game call.)

The Cowboys and Chargers are two of this week’s biggest risers, thanks to a pair of explosive offensive performances. Too often, we’ve seen the Chargers lose those tight games late in the most creative of ways, and it almost looked like we’d witness another Sunday against the Chiefs. L.A. has the talent, and they’re now showing signs of winning when it counts. – Sadler

WHAT’S UP WITH THE CHIEFS?
10. Kansas City Chiefs (1-2; Last week: 3)

Has the league caught up to the Chiefs? Have the champions from two seasons ago become complacent in Patrick Mahomes’ fourth year as KC’s starter? Or, are the team’s problems mostly on the other side of the ball? The Chiefs are allowing a league-worst 31.7 points against per game, the third-most rushing and total yards and the pass rush is struggling. As long as the core of the offence is intact we can’t dismiss the Chiefs. They’ve also played an extremely tough schedule thus far, beating the Browns before blowing back-to-back fourth-quarter leads against the Ravens and Chargers. – Johnston

HOW FOR REAL ARE THEY?
11. Arizona Cardinals (3-0; Last week: 7)
12. Las Vegas Raiders (3-0; Last week: 12)
13. Carolina Panthers (3-0; Last week: 15)
14. Denver Broncos (3-0; Last week: 16)

This quartet of unbeaten teams has the same record as the Rams yet we don’t have the same confidence in them. Offensively, Arizona is leading the NFL scoring 34.3 points per game while the Raiders lead with 471 yards of offence per game, but both teams are susceptible to untimely mistakes and avoidable coaching gaffes. Both have the potential to break through into the upper tiers.

How will the Panthers stay afloat without Christian McCaffrey? Can Canadian Chubba Hubbard break through and become a new fantasy star? Carolina’s revamped defence has exceeded expectations – they also just acquired CJ Henderson from the Jags with rookie Jaycee Horn out. The Panthers and Broncos are allowing the fewest and second-fewest yards, respectively, but neither team has been challenged. Denver’s opponents are a combined 0-9 for example, so the jury is still out. – Johnston

FEELING CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC:
15. Tennessee Titans (2-1; Last week: 11)
16. New Orleans Saints (2-1; Last week: 17)
17. Cincinnati Bengals (2-1; Last week: 25)
18. Minnesota Vikings (1-2; Last week: 26)

Derrick Henry had just 58 rushing yards in Tennessee’s opening-week embarrassment, but two wins and a combined 295 yards later the back-to-back league rushing champ is once again where he belongs. The key to the Titans’ success is simple.

Now, if only New Orleans’ outlook was as easy to figure out. Jameis Winston’s every snap is constantly toeing the line between fortune and fiasco… and, apparently, fate.

Meanwhile, how about that Joe Burrow-Ja’Marr Chase connection? If the LSU alumni can keep that chemistry up, watch out, AFC North. The Bengals could keep climbing. – Sadler

HOW WORRIED ARE WE?
19. Seattle Seahawks (1-2; Last week: 8)
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2; Last week: 13)
21. Miami Dolphins (1-2; Last week: 22)
22. New England Patriots (1-2; Last week: 18)
23. Washington Football Team (1-2; Last week: 20)
24. Philadelphia Eagles (1-2; Last week: 21)

Each team here is off to a slower start than they had anticipated. The Seahawks are in the best spot, largely because Russell Wilson is by far the most reliable QB of the bunch, however they’re behind the eight ball in the league’s deepest division.

The quality Steelers defence isn’t fully healthy with T.J. Watt banged up and it’s proving too much for the team to overcome. A Week 1 win over the Bills seems like an aberration at this point. The o-line isn’t blocking well for an immobile Big Ben and that won’t change anytime soon. Things could start getting really ugly in Pittsburgh, as their schedule doesn’t ease up until November. – Johnston

NOT MUCH SILVER LINING:
25. Indianapolis Colts (0-3: Last week: 23)
26. Atlanta Falcons (1-2; Last week: 29)
27. Chicago Bears (1-2; Last week: 24)
28. Detroit Lions (0-3; Last week: 30)
29. Houston Texans (1-2; Last week: 28)
30. New York Giants (0-3; Last week: 27)
31. New York Jets (0-3; Last week: 31)
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3; Last week: 32)

Of the eight teams in this bottom grouping, four had rookie quarterbacks at the helm in a Week 3 outing that didn’t bode well for any of them.

Sunday was supposed to mark the opening of a new chapter for the Chicago Bears, with rookie Justin Fields getting his first career NFL start following last week’s injury to Andy Dalton. Only, it felt like the same old story for the Bears, whose offence was down-right dreadful against the Browns. Playing behind a porous offensive line, Fields was sacked nine (!) times and head coach Matt Nagy’s play-calling did him absolutely zero favours. Questions of whether Fields was/is ready for the role of QB1 now feel more like, ‘Are the Bears ready for their QB1?’ And the answer, based on that outcome, is clearly no — at least, not with Nagy calling the shots. – Sadler

LeBron James said during the Los Angeles Lakers’ media day that he has received the COVID-19 vaccine, confirming publicly for the first time that he is inoculated against the virus.

James noted that, when the vaccines were first released, he was “very skeptical” but after doing his own research decided it was “the right thing to do” for himself and the health of his family.

The Lakers superstar stopped short of openly advocating for others to be vaccinated, saying that it wasn’t his job.

“I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family,” he said.

Though 90 per cent of the league is believed to be vaccinated, James’ comments come in the wake of several high-profile players espousing a range of anti-vaccine sentiments.

In Brooklyn, after the Nets’ official media day concluded, Kyrie Irving conducted an Instagram Live version of media day in which he fielded questions from reporters. Irving was unable to attend the team’s media day in person at Barclays Center because municipal policies bar unvaccinated individuals from entering arenas.

When asked about his vaccination status, Irving said he’d “like to keep that stuff private” and insisted “the last thing” he wanted to create was “more hoopla and more distractions.”

 

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Editor’s note: With overwhelming consistency, research has shown vaccinations against COVID-19 are safe and effective. Residents of Canada who are looking to learn more about vaccines, or the country’s pandemic response, can find up-to-date information on Canada’s public health website.

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In an extensively reportedly story by Matt Sullivan published in Rolling Stone magazine over the weekend, Irving’s aunt, Tyki Irving, was quoted as saying that Irving was unvaccinated for reasons “not religious-based, it’s moral-based.” The story did not specify when the interview took place, however.

Irving, who is a vice president on the NBA Players’ Association’s executive committee, is believed to be one of the leading player voices against vaccine mandates in the NBA, despite the overwhelming evidence that vaccines reduce both the spread of the virus and the likelihood an individual will suffer severely adverse effects if they do contract COVID-19.

He’s far from the only notable name who’s touted baseless anti-vaccine sentiments. Last week, Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors had his request for vaccine exemption denied. Wiggins, who requested a religious exemption, will not be allowed to suit up for home games with Golden State until he is vaccinated.

“I’m confident in my beliefs and what I think is right, what I think is wrong,” Wiggins said on Monday, doubling down on his stance.

The NBA players’ union has not yet agreed to a vaccine mandate and, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, has denied the league’s proposals for one to be implemented. The referees’ union, however, has agreed to one. In the WNBA, 99 per cent of players were fully vaccinated by June without a mandate going into effect.

Despite the hesitancy from the likes of Wiggins and Irving, other high-profile players were, like James, open about their willingness to get vaccinated

“I’m not mad at people who say they need to do their research,” Damian Lillard, the star point guard of the Portland Trail Blazers, said on Monday. “But I have a lot of people in my family that I spend time around. I’m just not going to put their lives in danger. As a kid, I had to get shots my whole life.”

— With files from Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona’s salary cap has been significantly reduced because of its financial struggles, becoming more than seven times smaller than that of rival Real Madrid, the Spanish league said Wednesday.

The league said Barcelona’s spending limit on salaries for the 2021-22 season has been set at 97 million euros ($113 million), about 285 million euros ($334 million) less than a year ago.

The reduction was part of the reason the Catalan club failed to give Lionel Messi a new contract and led to him joining Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi reportedly earned nearly 140 million euros ($163 million) per season, although he said he had agreed to cut his salary in half so he could stay with the club. That still wasn’t enough of a saving for Barcelona.

Each club has a different salary cap calculated based on a series of factors that include revenues, costs and debts. It is proportional to roughly 70 per cent of a club’s revenues.

The adjustments are part of the Spanish league’s longstanding financial control measures to reduce clubs’ debts and keep them financially healthy.

Barcelona’s struggles had already forced the league to slash the club’s cap from a league-high 670 million euros (now $785 million) in 2019-20 to 385 million euros ($450 million) last season. In addition to losing Messi, Barcelona also sent Antoine Griezmann on loan to Atletico Madrid, and its only signings this offseason were free agents.

Six other clubs now have bigger spending limits than Barcelona’s.

Madrid’s cap is the highest, going from 470 million euros ($550 million) to 739 million euros ($863 million), which is 642 million euros ($750 million) more than Barcelona’s. Madrid benefited from better management and especially from not making big signings in recent transfer windows.

Sevilla followed with a cap of 200 million euros ($233 million), up from 185 million euros ($215 million) a season ago.

Atletico Madrid was third in the list after having its limit reduced to 171 million euros ($199 million).

Valencia, owned by Singaporean businessman Peter Lim, was last in the list of first-division clubs, with its salary cap being cut from about 100 million ($116 million) euros to only 30 million euros ($35 million).

The league’s total cap for top-tier clubs was at 2.27 billion euros ($2.64 billion), a figure 2 oer cent lower than it was last season.

Clubs are already starting to budget based on the expected revenue they hope to get from a new investment fund with private equity company CVC that could generate 2.7 billion euros ($3.2 billion), but that has been opposed by the Spanish football federation, Real Madrid and Barcelona. CVC would gain a 10 per cent stake in a new commercial entity with the competition known as La Liga if the investment package goes through.

The league said Spanish clubs spent 271 million euros ($316 million) in signings in the latest transfer window, the lowest among the top five European leagues.