LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 131 yards and a touchdown to help the Chargers beat Oakland 27-0, shutting out the Raiders for the first time since 1961.
The performances of Tomlinson and the Chargers defense took pressure off quarterback Philip Rivers in his first NFL start, a 27-0 victory over the Raiders on Monday.
With much of the focus on Rivers as he replaces Drew Brees, Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer put the game in the hands of Tomlinson and his defense, spoiling Art Shell's first game back as Raiders coach.
San Diego beat the Raiders for the sixth straight time and shut them out for the first time in their last 90 regular-season games. When the Chargers won 44-0 in 1961, Al Davis was still an assistant with San Diego.
Tomlinson showed little sign of rust after sitting out the entire preseason, topping 100 yards rushing in the second quarter -- his sixth 100-yard game in 11 tries against Oakland. Tomlinson carried the ball 31 times and has 837 yards rushing in his last six meetings with Oakland.
The Chargers ran the ball on 48 of 59 plays, and Rivers threw only two passes to wide receivers all game.
Vikings 19, Redskins 16
In Landover, Maryland, Brad Johnson led a 54-yard fourth-quarter drive, capped by Ryan Longwell's 31-yard field goal with one minute remaining, to lift the Vikings.
The victory made Brad Childress a winner in his head coaching debut, and made Johnson a winner for the 66th time as a starter two days before his 38th birthday. Johnson, who completed 16 of 30 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown, has won an impressive 61 percent (66 of 109) of his starts with four teams in his 15-year career.
The Redskins had a chance to tie after Longwell's kick, but John Hall -- who has struggled with leg injuries for the last two years -- was wide left with a poorly hit 48-yard field goal attempt with 12 seconds remaining.
Chester Taylor, the Vikings' free agent signing from Baltimore, rushed 31 times for 88 yards and a touchdown, upstaging Clinton Portis' surprise return for Washington. Portis, who spent the week downplaying his chances for the game because of a shoulder injury, entered the game late during the Redskins' first drive and finished with 39 yards on 10 carries.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB