A Sports Filled Weekend

The story resonating the most from the weekend past stems less from an activity on the football field than on the sideline.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem before Friday night’s NFL preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. This caused the expected media/social media/anti-social media firestorm and (in today’s political parlance) led Kaepernick to double down on Sunday.

He will not stand for the anthem until, he says, “to bring awareness and make people realize what’s really going on in this country.” His reference, he says, is to oppression of people of color.

Whether or not Kaepernick, whose play has declined, will even make the 49ers roster when the team must cut to 75 players by Tuesday afternoon, is an open question (and was before he took his stand).

The Dallas Cowboys may be in the market for a quarterback. Tony Romo suffered a broken bone in his back and will about half the season. And, in another injury in preseason play, the Cincinnati Bengals lost Pro Bowl special teamer Cedric Peerman, likely for the season, to a broken forearm.

The final preseason games are set for Thursday night.

NASCAR
Kyle Larson earned his first Sprint Cup victory, winning at Michigan International Speedway. Chase Elliott was second and Brad Keselowski took third. By finishing 21st, Tony Stewart, who will retire at season’s end, collected enough points to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

GOLF
Patrick Reed won The Barclays and also nailed down a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Rickie Fowler, who led after 54 holes, fell apart on the back nine on Saturday and lost his bid for the Ryder Cup, though he could still be one of the captain’s picks for the team.

BASEBALL
David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox hit the 534th home run of his career, tying him for 18th on the all-time list. He’s just two behind Mickey Mantle. … Reigning American League MVP Josh Donaldson homered three times for the Toronto Blue Jays in a 9-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The Jays swept the three game series and handed the Twins their 10th straight loss. This was the first time Donaldson had hit three homers in a game. … The team from Endwell, N.Y. won the Little World Series, defeating South Korea 2-1 in South Williamsport, Pa.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman