Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2:45 PM ET on Thursday, August 31

August 31 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2:45 PM ET on Thursday: - - - - For any coverage questions, please contact us.general-news@thomsonreuters.com - - - - COLLEGE FOOTBALL GameScout: Top 25 preview capsules Keys to the game, players to watch and predicted outcome of all Top 25 games this week. (FBC-ANALYSIS-GAMESCOUT, moved, The Sports Xchange, 5,000 words) CFB live: No. 2 Ohio State at Indiana BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 2 Ohio State visits Indiana in a primetime Thursday night opener. (FBC-OHIOSTATE-INDIANA-LEDE-WRITETHRU, expect ASAP after 7 p.m. ET game, The Sports Xchange, by Mark Ambrogi, 750 words) TOP 25: No. 15 Georgia wary of App State ATHENS, Ga. -- When Appalachian State shocked the college football word by knocking off Michigan 10 years ago in Ann Arbor, it forever changed the way opponents thought about the Mountaineers. (FBC-GEORGIA-APPALACHIANSTATE-PREVIEW, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Anthony Dasher, 715 words) TOP 25: Previews of all Top 25 games CFB notebook News and notes from around the nation. (FBC-NOTEBOOK, expect by 6 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 425 words) - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE NFL preseason roundup Recaps of all NFL preseason games Thursday. (FBN-TEAM-TEAM-RECAP, expect ASAP after game ends, The Sports Xchange) Cowboys RB Elliott reaches Day 3 in appeal Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott entered the third day of his appeal hearing, disputing the NFL’s six-game suspension for off-field conduct. (FBN-COWBOYS-NEWS-ELLIOTT, expect by 5 p.m. ET, 400 words, The Sports Xchange) MILLER: NFL sadly lacking stability at QB Maybe you really believe Matthew Stafford is worth $27 million. Or perhaps you, too, realize paydays based on not having a better plan are sinking many ships in the NFL these days. (FBN-COLUMN-QBs, moved, The Sports Xchange, 900 words) NFL’s To Be Determined A look at each team and what they hope to solve heading to final preseason game and the massive roster cut coming with Saturday’s deadline to set rosters at 53. (FBN-ANALYSIS-TOBEDETERMINED, 5000 words, expect by 5 p.m. ET) NFL reduces LB Burfict’s ban to three games The five-game suspension that was levied against Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict has been reduced to three games. (FBN-BENGALS-NEWS-BURFICTBAN, moved, The Sports Xchange, 349 words) NFL DRAFT: Rang’s 2018 Big Board NFLDraftScout.com’s Rob Rang reveals the Big Board for the first time this season, and it’s passer-happy, starting with USC’s Sam Darnold. The 2018 NFL Draft class is prepared for formal introductions. In a word, this draft is l-o-a-d-e-d. (FBN-DRAFT-BIGBOARD, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Rob Rang, 3,000 words) NFL notebook News and notes from around the NFL. (NFL-NOTEBOOK, The Sports Xchange, expect by 8 p.m. ET, 500 words) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Twins seek sweep, now in thick of Wild Card race MINNEAPOLIS – A remarkable 26-game stretch has the Minnesota Twins near the top of the wild-card race in the American League and in position to complete a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon. (BBO-TWINS-WHITESOX-LEDE-WRITETHRU, expect ASAP after 1:10 p.m. ET game, The Sports Xchange, by Brian Hall, 700 words) MLB notebook News and notes from around the league. (MLB-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m. ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) MLB roundup Capsule recaps of Thursday games. (MLB-ROUNDUP, expect by 8 p.m. ET, will be led with West Coast games, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) The Sports Xchange covers all MLB games. Thursday schedule: N.Y. Mets at Cincinnati 12:35 p.m. Chi. White Sox at Minnesota 1:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at Arizona 3:40 p.m. Boston at N.Y. Yankees 7:05 p.m. Toronto at Baltimore 7:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Miami 7:10 p.m. Atlanta at Chicago Cubs 8:05 p.m. Texas at Houston 8:10 p.m. Washington at Milwaukee 8:10 p.m. St. Louis at San Francisco 10:15 p.m. - - - - AUTO RACING Time for NASCAR to take stance on Confederate flag Is NASCAR doing enough to emphasize its pledge to diversity as it heads to two historic tracks in the coming weeks at a time of high tensions over racial issues? NASCAR columnist Jonathan Ingram investigates. (CAR-COLUMN-CONFEDERATEFLAG, moved, The Sports Xchange, 900 words) Racing glance Capsule previews of the week ahead in auto racing. (CAR-SCHEDULE-GLANCE, moved, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: Dell Technologies Championship, Norton, Massachusetts (to 4) McIlroy addresses media ahead of title defence Defending champion Rory McIlroy speaks to the media on the eve of the second of four PGA Tour playoff events at Boston TPC, where he hopes to salvage a disappointing season by beating a field that includes Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama. (GOLF-BOSTON/, expect by 5 PM ET, 400 words) Henderson seeks three-peat in Portland Crowd favorite Brooke Henderson has won consecutive events in Portland as she goes for a three-peat beginning Thursday at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. (GLF-LPGA-RECAP-PORTLAND, expect ASAP after first round Thursday, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) 10 Players to Watch: Dell Technologies Championship Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth could go toe to toe again this week at TPC Boston and are among the 10 players to watch at the Dell Technologies Championship, writes Tom LaMarre. (GLF-PGA-ANALYSIS-10toWATCH, The Sports Xchange, 1,100 words) Golf glance Capsule previews of the week ahead in professional golf. (GLF-SCHEDULE-GLANCE, moved, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE Celtics, Cavs finalize blockbuster trade The Boston Celtics sent the Cleveland Cavaliers a 2020 second-round draft pick to complete the blockbuster trade that sent four-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to the Celtics, the Cavaliers confirmed Wednesday night. (BKN-CELTICS-CAVALIERS-TRADE-FINALIZED, moved, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) NBA notebook News and notes from around the league. (BKN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE NHL notebook News and notes from around the league. (NHL-NOTEBOOK, expect by 7:45 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 375 words) - - - - SOCCER U.S., Costa Rica meet in Cup qualifier Since the coaching change the U.S. (2-2-2, eight points) has two wins and a two draws in qualifying to move into third-place in the six-team field, or Hexagonal, three points behind Costa Rica (3-1-2, 11) heading into their matchup Friday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. (SCR-US-COSTARICA-PREVIEW, expect by 4 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, by Craig Merz, 500 words) - - - - TENNIS U.S. Open, New York (to Sept 10) Federer, Nadal and Pliskova headline Day Four action NEW YORK – Five-times champion Roger Federer returns to action after his first-round scare when he meets Russian Mikhail Youzhny while top seed Rafa Nadal caps the night session when he meets Japan's Taro Daniel. On the women's side, top-seeded Czech Karolina Pliskova and fifth seed Elina Svitolina each seek passage into the third round at Flushing Meadows. (TENNIS-USOPEN/ (PIX), expect from 1430 GMT/10:30 AM ET, by Steve Keating, Rory Carroll, Julien Pretot and Simon Cambers, 500 words) - - - -