NFL-NEWS
Cowboys land Dalton...Bears pass on Trubisky option
UNDATED (AP) — One veteran NFL quarterback has found a new team, while another appears to have worn out his welcome.
Andy Dalton is going home to Texas to be Dak Prescott's backup for the Dallas Cowboys. Dalton and the Cowboys have agreed on a one-year contract. The deal guarantees the former Cincinnati starter $3 million and could be worth up to $7 million. Dalton was born and raised in the Houston area and led TCU to its only undefeated season in the past 81 years in 2010. Cincinnati drafted him in the second round the next spring. The Bengals released Dalton after drafting LSU's Joe Burrow first overall.
The Houston native led TCU to an undefeated season that included a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin during the 2010 campaign. He led the Bengals to five playoff berths in his nine seasons with the team but was never able to win a playoff game.
Dalton owns most of Cincinnati’s passing records and started 13 games for the Bengals last season.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears are indicating they are running out of patience with Mitchell Trubisky.
A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press the Bears have declined their fifth-year option on the quarterback for the 2021 season.
The move is hardly a surprise considering the way Trubisky struggled in his third season since the Bears drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick. His 2019 statistics sagged across the board from the previous season as he finished with 3,138 yards passing, a 63.2% completion rate, 17 touchdowns and an 83 quarterback rating.
General manager Ryan Pace largely staked his reputation to Trubisky when he traded up a spot with San Francisco to draft him ahead of Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes and Houston's Deshaun Watson.
The Bears acquired 2018 Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles from Jacksonville in March and plan to hold an open competition for the starting job.
MLB-OBIT-KEOUGH
Matt Keough, former A's pitcher and executive, dies at 64
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Former Oakland Athletics pitcher and special assistant Matt Keough (KEE’-oh) has died at age 64.
Billy Beane, the A’s executive vice president of baseball operations, issued a statement saying, “Matt was a great baseball man and a proud Oakland A.”
Keough was an American League All-Star as a rookie in 1978 and was selected AL Comeback Player of the Year in 1980. He was 58-84 with a 4.17 ERA with Oakland (1977-83), the New York Yankees (1983), St. Louis (1985), Chicago Cubs (1986) and Houston (1986), then went 45-44 with a 3/73 ERA in Japan with Hanshin (1987-90).
Keough’s father, Marty and uncle, Joe, were major league outfielders.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS
Duplantis, Lavillenie share gold in backyard pole-vaulting
UNDATED (AP) — A men’s pole vault competition featuring three of the event's biggest names has resulted in a tie for the gold medal.
Mondo Duplantis of Sweden and Renaud Lavillenie of France each cleared a height of 16 feet 36 times over a span of 30 minutes. Both had one miss. Sam Kendricks of the United States wound up third by clearing the bar 26 times.
Each man competed from his own backyard. Duplantis, a world record holder, was at his base in Lafayette, Louisiana. Lavillenie, the 2012 Olympic champion, was on his farm in France. Kendricks was at his farm in Oxford, Mississippi.
Sunday’s competition was broadcast by World Athletics on its social media channels.
In other developments related to the coronavirus pandemic:
— Secretariat won a virtual Kentucky Derby against 12 fellow Triple Crown winners, 47 years after the chestnut colt won the real race at Churchill Downs. Secretariat was the 7-2 favorite, although there was no wagering. Instead, fans selecting the winning horse online were entered to win a VIP experience at the Derby this fall. Saturday’s 1 1/4-mile race featured computer-generated imagery and was held the same day the 146th Derby had been scheduled until it was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Derby has been rescheduled for Sept. 5.
— Scott McLaughlin won his second IndyCar iRace on Saturday in a wild finish that saw most of the leaders crash as they rushed toward the checkered flag. Formula One driver Lando Norris was headed for what appeared a 1-2-3 podium sweep for the Arrow McLaren SP entries on the final lap. But Norris ran into the back of Simon Pagenaud and the defending Indy 500 champion, to take himself out of contention. Conor Daly finished second and was followed by Santino Ferrucci, who figured there would be a lot of angry drivers after the 175-mile race.
— Brighton has become the first English Premier League club to publicly oppose plans to try to restart the season in neutral stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic. Brighton chief executive Paul Barber says the league’s integrity would be damaged if teams couldn’t play at home. The Premier League sees using only up to half of the 20 stadiums as the most viable way of completing the season, which was suspended almost two months ago. West Ham vice chair Karren Brady says “no one wants” neutral stadiums but government and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority would have to approve the locations of games.
— The chairman of Crystal Palace says the Premier League could face years of legal challenges if this season is not completed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Steve Parish offered public support for the league’s “Project Restart” plans after Brighton and West Ham expressed concerns about teams being forced to play their remaining games in neutral stadiums. The league is working with the government to find a safe way of players resuming group training and playing games by June at the earliest.
— Italy’s Serie A soccer clubs have been cleared to resume training this week on an individual basis following a clarification from the Italian government. A week ago the government had said that athletes in individual sports could resume training Monday and teams on May 18. That sparked confusion and frustration from Serie A clubs, which pointed out that their players would be allowed to train individually in public parks but not inside team training centers. Now the government says all athletes are allowed to take part in “individual sports activity, in public or private areas" while keeping a safe distance and “respecting the ban” on gatherings. Serie A has been suspended since March 9, when the government ordered a nationwide lockdown.
— Players from Spanish league clubs will be allowed to resume training on Monday as Spain eases some of the lockdown measures that had been in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. The government is allowing players to train individually at the clubs’ facilities while observing a series of safety measures pre-established by the league and local authorities. The league prepared a detailed four-phase training protocol that has already been distributed to clubs. Smaller group sessions and full squad sessions are likely to be allowed in the coming weeks.