Yankees slugger Aaron Judge took his first swings off a tee since breaking his right wrist July 26, a significant early step in what he hopes is a return to the field for New York in a couple of weeks. Judge, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, took 25 dry swings Monday in Oakland’s center-field cage before taking another 25 off the tee at what he called 100 percent effort. He said he felt good enough in recent days and without pain that the decision was made he would begin hitting again. The next step for Judge is expected to be some more cage swings off the tee, then hitting soft toss and batting practice before live BP as soon as soon as this weekend . . . Josh Donaldson walked, lined out, and hit a grand slam for host Columbus, soon after the Cleveland Indians put their new acquisition on the disabled list to give him more time to rehab a calf injury in the minor leagues. Donaldson played third base in the Triple A game and batted second in Columbus’s final game of the season. Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Donaldson will work out with the Indians on Tuesday and then join Double A Akron for the Eastern League playoffs. Donaldson, 32, hasn’t played in a major league game since May 28. The AL Central-leading Indians acquired the 2015 AL MVP from Toronto on Friday. Donaldson has been limited to just 36 games in the majors this year — none since late May — and the Indians are hoping he can get healthy enough to help them in the postseason. Donaldson can be activated on Sept. 11 . . . Adam Wainwright is set to pitch for the Cardinals for the first time in nearly four months when he starts Sept. 10 against the Pirates. Wainwright has not pitched since May 13 because of right elbow inflammation. Manager Mike Shildt said that Wainwight feels ‘‘really comfortable.’’ Wainwright is 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA but has made only four starts in 2018 and just one since April 17 . . . Rockies lefthanded reliever Mike Dunn says he is planning on having season-ending shoulder surgery. Dunn, 33, has been on the disabled list since July 7 with discomfort in the AC joint. He said he tried platelet-rich plasma therapy and two cortisone shots, but the pain has persisted through rehab outings.
College football
Jackson leads Virginia Tech
Josh Jackson threw two touchdown passes, one early and another late, and No. 20 Virginia Tech handled 19th-ranked Florida State, 24-3, on the road and in the rain to spoil coach Willie Taggart’s debut with the Seminoles. Jackson connected with Eric Kumah over the middle with less than six minutes to play. Kumah bounded through three arm tackles and raced 49 yards for the game-sealing score . . . Coach Nick Saban made official what anybody who watched No. 1 Alabama’s opener likely assumed: Tua Tagovailoa will be the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback. The top-ranked Tide’s coach said two-year starter Jalen Hurts will still play a role. Hurts has a 26-2 record as a starter and has led the Tide to a pair of national championship games . . . Illinois wide receiver Mike Dudek will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury sustained against Kent State on Saturday, the third major knee injury of the senior’s career. Dudek missed all of the 2015 and ’16 seasons and five games last year due to injuries. In 2014, Dudek led all FBS freshmen with 79.8 yards receiving per game and set school freshman records with 76 catches for 1,038 yards. He has undergone two ACL surgeries since 2015. Coach Lovie Smith did not specify which knee Dudek injured, saying it was a ‘‘freak accident’’ late in the Illini’s 31-24 victory against Ken State . . . The Big Ten Network indefinitely suspended college football analyst Braylon Edwards for violating its social media policy after the former Michigan receiver tweeted harsh criticism of the Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh’s coaching. Saturday, when the 14th-ranked Wolverines lost, 24-17, at No. 12 Notre Dame, Edwards posted on Twitter that Michigan football was ‘‘trash.’’ He targeted center Cesar Ruiz and quarterback Shea Patterson. Harbaugh said ‘‘if somebody wants to attack character of anybody on the ball club, come after me —not the youngsters.’’ Edwards was an All-American at Michigan in 2004 and is the school’s career leader in catches, yards, and touchdown catches.
Colleges
Court to judge on athletes’ pay
The NCAA will be back in court Tuesday in California, defending its amateurism rules against plaintiffs who say capping compensation at the value of a scholarship violates federal antitrust law. The claim against the NCAA and the 11 conferences that have participated at the highest level of college football was originally brought by former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston and later merged with other similar lawsuits, including a notable case brought by former Clemson football player Martin Jenkins. Plaintiffs say the NCAA illegally restricts schools from compensating football and basketball players beyond what is traditionally covered by a scholarship. That includes tuition, room and board and books, plus a cost-of-attendance stipend to cover incidentals such as travel. The plaintiffs want compensation to be determined conference by conference in the hopes of creating a free market. The NCAA counters that altering amateurism rules would lead to pay-for-play, fundamentally damaging college sports and harming academic integration of athletes. The bench trial will be heard and decided by Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California in Oakland. Wilken is the same judge who ruled on the so-called O'Bannon case, which challenged the NCAA’s right to use athletes’ names, images, and likenesses without compensation. The case produced a mix ruling that eventually went to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Wilken ruled schools should be permitted, but not required, to compensate athletes for use of their name, image, and likeness, with payments capped at $5,000 per year. The appeals court overturned that and said payments ‘‘untethered’’ to education were not required by schools. The Alston case is set to last about two weeks and Wilken’s ruling could come as soon as December or possibly January.
Miscellany
Messi no longer among best
Lionel Messi failed to make the world player of the year shortlist for the first time since 2006, with Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah making their first appearance in the final three alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi and Ronaldo have been the only winners of world soccer’s main individual award from FIFA since 2008. The women’s player shortlist is headed by five-time winner Marta of Brazil. The Orlando Pride player is up against Lyon teammates Ada Hegerberg of Norway and Dzsenifer Marozsan of Germany . . . Paraguay hired former Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio to lead its national team. Osorio guided Mexico at the World Cup, where it was eliminated in the round of 16 . . . British teenager Lando Norris will drive for Formula One team McLaren next year in place of Stoffel Vandoorne. McLaren says it has signed the 18-year-old Norris to a ‘‘multiyear’’ deal. Norris has been the team’s reserve driver and has taken part in practice sessions in Belgium and Italy . . . World champion swimmer Madisyn Cox has been cleared to compete again after her two-year doping ban was cut to six months. The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it approved a settlement between Cox and FINA because tests eventually showed a vitamin supplement was contaminated. The 23-year-old American’s six-month ban expired Sunday. Cox won gold at the 2017 world championships in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, and bronze in 200 individual medley. She tested positive in February for trimetazidine while training in Austin, Texas, and could not initially prove where it came from. The FINA doping panel said Cox was ‘‘honest, very hardworking, and highly credible.’’ It banned her in July for two years instead of four.