You Win Some And You Lose Some

On Saturday night, the Washington Nationals lost Bryce Harper for perhaps the rest of the regular season with a bone bruise in his knee. On Sunday night, the Nats salvaged a spit of a doubleheader with the San Francisco Giants when Howie Kendrick hit a walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning for a 6-2 victory.

Harper, the 2015 MVP, is on the 10-day disabled list, but the Nats lead the National League East by a comfortable 14 games over the Miami Marlins. The plan will be to get Harper back and in shape for the postseason.

Golf: Justin Thomas won his first major and his fourth tournament of the season on Sunday when he finished 8-under for a two-stroke victory in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of Thomas’ oldest friends is Jordan Spieth, who had hopes of winning his fourth major for a career Grand Slam. Spieth greeted Thomas at the 18th green and told him, “So awesome, dude.” Spieth, who shot 70 or higher in each round, finished in a tie for 28th.

NASCAR: Kyle Larson picked up his third NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series win and his third straight at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Larson led only the last two laps of the 202-lap event but was able to handle a late restart in overtime. Martin Truex Jr. was second.

Track And Field: Usain Bolt’s glorious career came to an inglorious end on Sunday night when he could complete his leg of the men’s 4 x 100 meters at the world championships in London due to a strained hamstring. A week earlier, he had lost the 100 meter final to Justin Gatlin. Bolt has announced his retirement and said there would be no comeback, but he also promised to win that 100 meter final. The Jamaican sprinter won gold medals in the Olympics in the 100 meters and 200 meters in three consecutive Summer Games, an unprecedented achievement. Bolt will turn 31 next Monday. … The University of Florida suspended seven football players for the season opener against Michigan. The Associated Press said the suspensions appeared to be for “misusing school-issued funds.” ESPN reported that the players purchased items with their university student IDs at the school bookstore and then sold them for cash. … Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat during the national anthem of Saturday night’s preseason game. He told coach Jack Del Rio that he does what he does and Del Rio said he would respect that. He also said he believed in standing for the anthem and pronounced it a “non-issue.” We’ll see.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman