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NFL
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have suspended radio analyst Tim Ryan for one game for saying Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson was adept at carrying out fakes because of his "dark skin color with a dark football."
Ryan made the comments Monday in an interview on the 49ers' flagship radio station KNBR when describing Jackson's ability to fake handoffs and keep the ball on runs that hurt San Francisco in a 20-17 loss to the Ravens last week.
Ryan issued a statement of apology through the team Wednesday
The 49ers said in a statement that they are "disappointed" in Ryan and that he won't broadcast Sunday's game at New Orleans.
The 49ers also said they apologized to the Ravens.
Ryan played four seasons in the NFL with Chicago. He was a TV analyst on Fox for 11 years and has spent the past six seasons calling 49ers games on the radio.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers amid Adam Vinatieri's continuing struggles.
McLaughlin, a rookie from Illinois, has appeared in four games with the Los Angeles Chargers and three with San Francisco this seaoson. He's made 13 of 17 field goals and all 15 extra points.
The 46-year-old Vinatieri, meanwhile, has had one of the worst seasons of his career. He's missed 14 kicks — eight field goals and six extra points. And he missed three field goals in last weekend's 31-17 loss to division rival Tennessee.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Panthers quarterback Cam Newton will have surgery on his injured left foot next week, interim coach Perry Fewell said on Wednesday.
Newton suffered a Lisfranc injury in the preseason and started two games in the regular season before being placed on injured reserve.
Fewell said he had no other details about the procedure or how long it will take for Newton to recover.
Carolina must make a decision on Newton's future after the season. Newton will cost $21.2 million under the salary cap next season, but the team can save $19 million by trading or releasing him.
NBA
DETROIT (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to their 13th consecutive victory, 127-103 over the Detroit Pistons.
The last time the Bucks had a longer winning streak than this was when they won 16 in a row spanning the end of the 1972-73 season and the beginning of 1973-74. They also had a 13-game run shortly after that 16-game streak ended.
Milwaukee had won its previous two games by 41 and 44 points, and the Pistons had won their previous two by 34 and 33. This one wasn't close either. The Bucks have dominated Detroit of late.
Milwaukee won all eight matchups with the Pistons last season — four in the regular season and four in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks also beat Detroit last month in their first meeting of 2019-20.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California has decided to retain Clay Helton, extending the head coach’s improbable 4 ½-year tenure atop the West Coast’s winningest college football program.
New athletic director Mike Bohn announced the decision four days after the No. 24 Trojans (8-4, 7-2 Pac-12) missed out on a trip to the conference title game when they finished one game behind No. 5 Utah in the Pac-12 South.
Helton’s current Trojans beat the Utes and won five of their final six games, but his 13-11 record over the past two seasons has instilled widespread dissatisfaction in many fans and deep-pocketed alumni around a program with perennial national championship ambitions.
But for the second straight year, Helton has avoided a widely anticipated dismissal. Bohn, who was only hired Nov. 7, waited 11 days after the Trojans’ regular-season finale to officially stick with Helton, who has a lucrative contract through 2023.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Five minutes after being introduced as the Rutgers football coach for a second time, Greg Schiano gave a clear indication why he might be the man to make the Scarlet Knights competitive in the Big Ten Conference.
With his litany of thank-yous out of the way, Schiano stood in front of a news conference packed with media and supporters and started speaking from the heart. His voice got louder and there was an unmistakable passion present.
It was impressive, the type of talk capable of swaying young players who might be interested in turning around a Rutgers program that has won seven games in the past three seasons, and has lost 21 consecutive conference games.
Schiano, whose eight-year, $32 million contract was approved by the university’s board of governors on Tuesday, would not put a timetable on transforming a program that has struggled since joining the Big Ten in 2014.
BASEBALL
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The mayor of St. Petersburg says the city will not allow the Tampa Bay Rays to pursue a plan to split home games between new stadiums that would be built in Florida and Montreal.
Mayor Rick Kriseman informed the City Council in a memo that he and the team agree that the “best path forward” is to abide by an existing contract that requires the Rays to play at Tropicana Field through 2027.
The Rays have played home games in St. Petersburg since their inception in 1998. Principal owner Stuart Sternberg has been trying to garner support for a replacement to Tropicana Field for nearly a decade and envisions building two open-air stadiums to house the team as a viable solution.
Major League Baseball granted the team permission in June to explore the prospect of splitting games in open-air stadiums that would be built in St. Petersburg and Montreal, which has not had a team since the Expos left Canada after the 2004 season and became the Washington Nationals.
Kriseman rejected the notion then and reiterated Wednesday the city will not commit public money to fund a new ballpark for a part-time occupant. The mayor said instead, St. Petersburg remains open to helping build a stadium for a full-time team.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels acquired right-hander Dylan Bundy from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade for four minor league pitchers.
The 27-year-old Bundy has been a durable starter with a nasty slider for the past four seasons with the Orioles, who chose him with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft. The Angels got him for four prospects, none ranked among their top 20 by most estimates.
Baltimore general manager Mike Elias said his latest trade "represents a big step toward our stated goals to accumulate and develop as much young talent as possible."
Bundy's durability and consistency are extremely enticing to the Angels, whose starters last season had the majors' second-worst ERA amid a mind-boggling string of injuries. Angels general manager Billy Eppler also weighed the importance of Bundy being under club control for two more seasons before free agency.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies filled their biggest need quickly.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler and the Phillies agreed to a $118 million, five-year contract, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
Both people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement, which is subject to a successful physical, had not been announced.
The 29-year-old Wheeler stays in the NL East after spending his first seven seasons with the New York Mets. He was 11-8 with a 3.96 ERA last season after going 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 2018. Wheeler missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons following Tommy John surgery.
He will join a rotation led by Aaron Nola that also includes Jake Arrieta. The Phillies may pursue another front-line starter — Stephen Strasburg, perhaps — to join a staff that has Zach Eflin, Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta.
