Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM EST on Thursday, Sept. 17

Sept. 17 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 PM ET on Thursday: - - - - The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427 - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Broncos at Chiefs KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos shoot for their 13th consecutive AFC West road win at Arrowhead Stadium in a matchup of early unbeatens. (FBN-CHIEFS-BRONCOS-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect first lede ASAP after 8:25 PM ET kickoff, by Jeff Reynolds, The Sports Xchange, 400-word first lede, 750-word writethru) See also: 3 things we learned about the Chiefs (FBN-CHIEFS-ANALYSIS/, expect by 12:30 AM ET, The Sports Xchange, by Bob Gretz, 400 words) 3 things we learned about the Broncos (FBN-BRONCOS-ANALYSIS/, expect by 12:30 AM ET, by Jeff Reynolds, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - With QBs, first impressions not always lasting This is the week every fan of every team needs to take a deep breath because, too often, the reaction to the opening week of the season is an over-reaction. Marcus Mariota is not going to the Hall of Fame yet, and Jameis Winston is not a bust yet. (FBN-COLUMN/, expect by 3 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, by Ira Miller, 800 words) - - Week 2 preview: Patriots at Bills Rex Ryan knows how to get to Tom Brady, but the Patriots are 23-3 behind their quarterback against the Buffalo Bills. (FBN-PATRIOTS-BILLS-PREVIEW/, by Derek Harper, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - Week 2 preview: Seahawks at Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been dynamite at Lambeau Field, but the Seattle Seahawks prompted a Green Bay Packers' implosion in the 2014 NFC Championship game and have made Rodgers look ordinary in three losses in the Pacific Northwest. (FBN-PACKERS-SEAHAWKS-PREVIEW/, by Derek Harper, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - Week 2 previews Capsule breakdowns of all games on the Week 2 schedule. (FBN-TEAM-TEAM-PREVIEW/, moved, by Jeff Reynolds and Derek Harper, The Sports Xchange, 400-450 words per game) - - Browns to start McCown if cleared Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown will start Sunday if he's cleared from the NFL concussion protocol and practices Friday. (FBN-BROWNS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 300 words) - - Colts WR Hilton sits out practice Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton did not practice today and his status for Monday's game against the New York Jets is unclear. After injuring his knee in a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, the Colts say they will move forward with the idea that their No. 1 receiver would miss Monday night's game. (FBN-COLTS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 280 words) - - 'Deflategate' not enough to keep NFL from record ratings The "Deflategate" scandal involving New England quarterback Tom Brady, the NFL's most popular player, does not turn fans off as they watch the season-opening slate of games in record numbers. (NFL-RATINGS/, moved, 224 words) - - NFL roundup News and notes from around the NFL. (FBN-ROUNDUP/, expect by 8 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400-600 words per team) - - - - COLLEGE FOOTBALL Clemson at Louisville LOUISVILLE - Clemson travels to Louisville for its first major test of the 2015 season. (CFB-LOUISVILLE-CLEMSON-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after 7:30 PM ET kickoff, by James Dent, The Sports Xchange, 400-word lede, 750-word writethru) - - Top 25 previews Capsule previews of the biggest games in Week 3 of college football. (CFB-TEAMNAME-TEAMNAME-PREVIEW/, expect by 7:30 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words per game) - - Scout's look: Dawgs-Gamecocks NFLDraftScout.com breaks down the Georgia-South Carolina game from the perspective of an NFL scout. (CFB-SOUTHCAROLINA-GEORGIA-ANALYSIS/, expect by 7:30 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, by Rob Rang, 500 words) - - CFB notebook News and notes from around college football. (CFB-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: BMW Championship Day, Spieth and McIlroy launch title bids at Conway Farms LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The battle for overall FedExCup honors enters its penultimate phase with the third of the four playoff events taking place this week at Conway Farms Golf Club. FedExCup points leader Jason Day, second-place Jordan Spieth and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy head the field going into the opening round. (GOLF-PGA/ (PIX), expect first story by 7 PM ET, by Ben Everill, 450 words) See also: Cool Colsaerts hits eight straight birdies at Italian Open (GOLF-EUROPEAN/) - - Pettersen and Nordqvist looking for repeat performance ST LEON-ROT, Germany - Scandinavian duo Suzann Pettersen and Anna Nordqvist hope that history repeats itself as they spearhead Europe's challenge on the opening day of the 14th Solheim Cup against the United States on Friday. (GOLF-SOLHEIM/FRIDAY, expect by 5 PM ET, by Tony Jimenez, 400 words) - - Lee's stomach bug disrupts American Solheim Cup plans ST LEON-ROT, Germany - United States captain Juli Inkster's Solheim Cup plans have been damaged by a stomach bug sustained by Alison Lee and the rookie is struggling so much that her participation in the event is in doubt. (GOLF-SOLHEIM/LEE, moved, by Tony Jimenez, 406 words) See also: Pairings for opening Solheim Cup foursomes on Friday (GOLF-SOLHEIM/) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Kang hurt in Pirates' matinee PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Pirates rookie infielder Jung Ho Kang leaves in the top of the first inning today with an apparent left leg injury after the Chicago Cubs' Chris Coghlan slid into him while unsuccessfully trying to break up a double play. (BBO-PIRATES-CUBS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by John Perrotto, 280 words) - - Closer Perkins closing in on return to Twins MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins are one step closer to bolstering their bullpen as the club gets ready for perhaps its biggest home series in four years this weekend when the Los Angeles Angels come to Target Field. (BBO-TWINS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, Dan Myers, 342 words) - - Padres' Johnson braces for another surgery PHOENIX - Right-hander Josh Johnson plans to undergo a third Tommy John surgery after a recent injury, but San Diego Padres manager Pat Murphy says he believes Johnson will be back. If so, Johnson would join Jason Isringhausen as the only players to pitch in the majors after three elbow reconstruction operations. (BBO-PADRES-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 410 words) - - Pham a smash for St. Louis MILWAUKEE - With the St. Louis Cardinals inching closer to full strength, rookie Tommy Pham knows his playing time will become harder to come by, so he's trying to make the most of his chances. He certainly did Wednesday, belting a pair of homers and driving in four in the Cards' 5-4 win at Milwaukee. (BBO-CARDINALS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Andrew Wagner, 380 words) - - MLB Notebook News and notes from around the diamond. (BBO-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Today's MLB schedule at a glance - - American League Oakland at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 PM ET Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 7:10 PM ET (PIX) Kansas City at Cleveland, 7:10 PM ET (PIX) Houston at Texas, 8:05 PM ET (PIX) Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota, 8:10 PM ET (PIX) - - National League Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 12:35 PM ET (PIX) Miami at Washington, 7:05 PM ET (PIX) St. Louis at Milwaukee, 8:10 PM ET (PIX) - - Interleague Toronto at Atlanta, 7:10 PM ET (PIX) - - MLB Roundup Running capsule recaps of all the games on the MLB schedule. (MLB-ROUNDUP/, expect first version ASAP after conclusion of the first game of the day, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION NBA roundup News and notes from around the NBA. (BKN-ROUNDUP/, expect by 7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 280 words) - - - - WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Playoffs begin for Sky Recaps of the first round of the WNBA playoffs. (BKW-RECAP/, expect ASAP after Thursday's games at 8 PM ET, 10 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 200 words) - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE NHL roundup The latest news and notes from the NHL. (HKN-ROUNDUP/, expect by 7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - SOCCER Swiss OK extradition of Figueredo to U.S. in soccer probe ZURICH - Swiss authorities approve the extradition of Uruguayan citizen Eugenio Figueredo to the United States as part of an investigation into suspected corruption in soccer, the government says. (SOCCER-FIFA/FIGUEREDO UPDATE 1), moved, 277 words) See also: U.S. Soccer may withdraw from Copa tourney (SOC-NEWS/) - - - - AUTO RACING Ironman Gordon riding into sunset Jeff Gordon's final races are in front of him and he'll set at least one more record on his way to retirement. (CAR-COLUMN/ expect by 3 PM ET, by Jonathan Ingram, The Sports Xchange, 940 words) - - Californian Alexander Rossi shocked by sudden call-up SINGAPORE - No-one was more surprised than Alexander Rossi when he got the call from the Manor Marussia team saying he would make his Formula One debut at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix. (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/ROSSI (PIX), moved, by Julian Linden, 569 words) See also: Hamilton: Focus on championship, not Senna feat (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/HAMILTON (PIX, TV) Vettel still on maximum attack for title (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/VETTEL (PIX) - - - - TENNIS Britain calls up Evans for Davis Cup semi-final LONDON - Britain gives Dan Evans, ranked 300th in the world, a surprise call-up as its second singles player for the Davis Cup semi-final against Australia in Glasgow this weekend. (TENNIS-DAVIS/BRITAIN, moved, 211 words) See also: Murray has Kokkinakis in his sights at Davis Cup semi (TENNIS-DAVIS/BRITAIN (UPDATE 1)) Murray pledges to make every ace count for refugees (TENNIS-MURRAY/REFUGEES) - - - - RUGBY Rugby World Cup Ireland primed to shake off the rust against Canada CARDIFF - Ireland is firmly focused on its opening World Cup Pool D match against Canada in Cardiff on Saturday after a sluggish build-up that cast doubt on its title credentials. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/IRELAND-CANADA (PREVIEW), moved, by Ed Osmond, 484 words) - - Hookers, grubbers and cauliflower ears: a beginner's guide LONDON - For the next six weeks images of mud-clad men wrestling each other for an egg-shaped ball will flash up on television screens around the globe. Do not be alarmed. sets. This is 'rugby union' and starting on Friday teams from 20 countries will compete for the sport's World Cup in England. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/JARGON, moved, by John Geddie, 505 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)