Sports Round-up: Eagles' Long pledges, Luck and grit propel Finau, NBA notebook, Murray revival

Tony Finau rode a lucky break to make a winning Ryder Cup debut at Le Golf National on Friday, as he and partner Brooks Koepka completed a superb comeback to give the visitors an invaluable point in the first match.

Eagles' Long pledges $400,000 to literacy programs

Eagles defensive end Chris Long is giving back in a big way again. Long, who donated his entire 2017 regular-season salary to charity, pledged $400,000 of his $2.5 million salaries for 2018 to literacy programs.

Golf: Luck and grit propel Finau to winning Ryder Cup debut

Tony Finau rode a lucky break to make a winning Ryder Cup debut at Le Golf National on Friday, as he and partner Brooks Koepka completed a superb comeback to give the visitors an invaluable point in the first match. Finau's tee shot at the par-three 16th caromed off a wooden bulkhead surrounding a greenside lake.

NBA notebook: League to sell games by quarter

NBA fans can buy any part of out-of-market games as part of the league's pay-per-view League Pass package in the 2018-19 season. The NBA and Turner Broadcasting are making the fourth quarter of games available at the start of the season, which begins Oct. 16. It will be available for purchase once the third quarter ends for $1.99, which is the first step in a multi-pronged approach to what commissioner Adam Silver terms "micro-transactions."

NHL: Devils hope European road trip paves road to success

The New Jersey Devils are eager to help expand the National Hockey League's international profile and hope their upcoming European road trip not only bolsters their fanbase but provides the foundation for a successful season. The Devils, whose talented European contingent includes Swiss standout Nico Hischier and Swedish sophomore Jesper Bratt, will cap their preseason at Switzerland's SC Bern on Monday before launching their 2018-19 campaign in Sweden on Oct. 6.

MLB roundup: the Red-hot Rockies win seventh straight

David Dahl, Trevor Story, and Gerardo Parra homered, helping the Colorado Rockies move closer to their first division title with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in Denver. The Rockies increased their National League West lead over the idle Los Angeles Dodgers to a full game with their seventh straight win, completing a four-game sweep. Colorado hosts the Washington Nationals for a season-ending, three-game weekend series with a magic number of three to win the division.

Koepka 'shaken' after the errant ball leaves fan bloodied

An errant Brooks Koepka drive on the sixth hole at Le Golf National left a spectator with blood pouring near her eye and receiving emergency medical attention on Friday. Koepka was playing with Tony Finau against Europe's Justin Rose and Jon Rahm in the opening session of Ryder Cup play and struggled with his shot afterward. Koepka and Finau won the match on the 18th hole after Rahm and Rose both ran into trouble.

Golf: Resurgent Spieth fires birdie barrage in U.S. win

A re-energized Jordan Spieth gave a putting masterclass as he helped the United States forge into a 3-1 lead after the first session of the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on Friday. The 25-year-old three-times major champion missed last week's Tour Championships in Atlanta in order to regain his zip after a title-less season and the break seemed to work wonders as he began with a birdie barrage.

Tennis: Murray revival ended again by Verdasco in Shenzhen

Andy Murray's revival in his penultimate tournament of the season was ended in straight sets by a familiar foe, Fernando Verdasco, in the Shenzhen Open quarter-finals on Friday. Britain's former world number one had made decent strides with two previous wins this week as he continued to make promising progress on his comeback from hip surgery in January, but he was well beaten 6-4 6-4 by the Spanish veteran Verdasco.

Goff's five TD passes lead unbeaten Rams past Vikings

Jared Goff fired five touchdown passes, four in the first half, and Cooper Kupp caught nine passes for 162 yards and two scores as the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams won a 38-31 shootout Thursday night against the visiting Minnesota Vikings. Goff completed 26 of 33 passes for 465 yards in leading the Rams to their first 4-0 start since 2001 when the St. Louis Rams won their first six games.

U.S. storm to 3-1 lead in opening Ryder Cup fourballs

The United States stormed to a 3-1 lead after the opening Ryder Cup fourballs on Friday as the young generation made their mark while Tiger Woods again failed to deliver in golf's flagship biennial team event. In front of huge, noisy crowds at the event being held in France for the first time, the U.S. got the first point on the board early as world number one Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler won 4 and 2 against an out-of-sorts Rory McIlroy and Thorbjorn Olesen.