Sports News Roundup: O's edge Rays, both punch tickets to postseason; panish court throws out Rubiales' pre-kiss defamation lawsuit and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Spanish court throws out Rubiales' pre-kiss defamation lawsuit

A Spanish court has dismissed a lawsuit by disgraced ex-soccer federation chief Luis Rubiales against coach Javier Clemente who had called Rubiales a "dangerous and ambitious guy" seeking "to get rich", qualifying his comments as free speech. In its ruling seen by Reuters on Monday and dated Sept. 1 - amid an unrelated scandal over Rubiales' behaviour at the Women's World Cup last month - the Madrid court said that "we are dealing with a pure exercise of the right to freely express an opinion about a person who, moreover, is a public figure".

Soccer-Crowds hail Ronaldo's arrival in Iran ahead of match

Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo received a warm reception in Iran on Monday, in the first visit of a Saudi team to Iran since 2016 ahead of the beginning of the group stage of the Asian Champions League. Al-Nassr face Iranian side Persepolis in Group E on Tuesday, while Qatari side Al-Duhail play Istiklol Dushanbe of Tajikistan.

Athletics-Tsegay, Duplantis topple records at Eugene Diamond League

Gudaf Tsegay smashed the women's 5,000 metres world record and Armand Duplantis raised the bar again for the men's pole vault on Sunday, as the season-ending Eugene Diamond League meet concluded on a high. Ethiopian Tsegay set a blistering pace from the start to win in 14 minutes 00.21 seconds, sprinting down the final metres to roars from the crowd as she shaved roughly five seconds off of Kenyan Faith Kipyegon's previous mark.

Cycling-American Kuss crowned Vuelta champion, Groves wins in Madrid

American Sepp Kuss rolled into Madrid as winner of the Vuelta a Espana as the three-week race concluded with a thrilling bunch sprint won by Australian Kaden Groves on Sunday.

Kuss began the race very much in the shadow of his more illustrious Jumbo-Visma team mates Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic but ended it with the red jersey still on his shoulders, having taken ownership of it on the eighth of the race's 21 stages.

MLB roundup: O's edge Rays, both punch tickets to postseason

Adley Rutschman scored on Cedric Mullins' sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as the Baltimore Orioles clinched their first playoff appearance since 2016 with a 5-4 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. The Orioles earned a split of the four-game series and increased their lead over the Rays to two games in the American League East. With the Texas Rangers losing to the Cleveland Guardians, the Rays locked up their fifth consecutive playoff berth.

WTA roundup: Ashlyn Krueger wins 1st title at Japan Open

American teen Ashlyn Krueger didn't lose a set the entire tournament in capturing her first WTA Tour title with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) upset of top seed Zhu Lin on Sunday at the Japan Open in Osaka. Ranked No. 123 in the world, Krueger, 19, entered the week without a main-draw win on hard court this year and had never advanced past a quarterfinal of a WTA event.

Cycling-Kuss victory can boost U.S. road racing, says Horner

Sepp Kuss's unlikely victory in La Vuelta a Espana could provide a timely boost for a flagging road cycle racing scene in the United States, according to Chris Horner whose 2013 triumph Kuss emulated on Sunday. The 29-year-old Kuss entered the race as a 'domestique' for more illustrious Jumbo-Visma team mates Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic. But after taking the red jersey on stage eight he never let it go, despite attacks from within his own team.

NFL roundup: Chiefs get back on winning track against Jaguars

Patrick Mahomes passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns to help the Kansas City Chiefs notch a 17-9 victory over the host Jacksonville Jaguars. Mahomes threw touchdown passes to Skyy Moore and Travis Kelce as the Chiefs (1-1) rebounded from a season-opening 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Soccer-New Spain coach seeks to draw World Cup winners out of boycott

The new coach of Spain's women's football squad on Monday selected most of the players who last month won the Women's World Cup for fixtures against Sweden and Switzerland in an apparent bid to force them to end their boycott. The revolt by the players followed a kiss on the lips of player Jenni Hermoso by federation boss Luis Rubiales after Spain won the World Cup. She disputed his insistence the kiss was consensual, sparking a national debate about macho culture in the sport.

Tennis-Britain win thriller v France to reach Davis Cup quarters

British doubles duo Dan Evans and Neal Skupski saved four match points on the way to a thrilling 1-6 7-6(4) 7-6(6) victory over France's Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin to secure their country's place in the Davis Cup Finals on Sunday. In front of a raucous Manchester crowd, Evans had earlier beaten Arthur Fils 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the opening singles only for Cameron Norrie to lose to Ugo Humbert 7-6(5) 3-6 7-5.

(With inputs from agencies.)