Tuesday Sports in Brief

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Notre Dame are the top four teams in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.

The 13-member selection committee released the first of its five weekly top 25s before the four-team field is set for the College Football Playoff semifinals on Dec. 2.

Michigan is fifth, followed by Georgia and Oklahoma.

The top four teams were no surprise. The same four teams are Nos. 1-4 in the latest Associated Press college football poll, except with Notre Dame third and LSU fourth.

Next week’s rankings figure to look a lot different. Four games matching top-20 teams will be played Saturday, including Alabama at LSU.

UCF was the highest ranked team from outside the Power Five conferences at 12th.

BALTIMORE (AP) - DJ Durkin is poised to return as head of a splintered Maryland football program, coming back to the sideline following multiple investigations involving the death of a player and bullying by the coaching staff.

Not everyone is happy about the University System of Maryland board of regents recommendation Tuesday that Durkin, who has been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 11, should retain his job, along with the university president and athletic director.

The decision not only opens the door for Durkin to return to the team as soon as this week, but raises questions on and off the field.

Durkin was placed on administrative leave after offensive lineman Jordan McNair collapsed during practice, which spawned an investigation into the potential dangerous culture of the football program.

NFL

MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Green Bay Packers have traded running back and kick returner Ty Montgomery to the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore was sending a seventh-round draft pick to Green Bay in what was a busy trade deadline day for Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Green Bay also traded starting safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the Washington Redskins for a 2019 fourth-round draft pick. Clinton-Dix, who can become a free agent after this season, was drafted out of Alabama in the first round in 2014.

Montgomery is moving on two days after fumbling a kickoff return with about two minutes left in a 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after being told by coaches to take a touchback if the kick went into the end zone. The turnover cost the Packers a chance to drive for a potential game-winning score.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Eagles have acquired wide receiver Golden Tate from the Detroit Lions for a third-round draft pick next year.

Tate has 44 catches for 517 yards and three touchdowns this season. He joins Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews, giving Carson Wentz another target.

The 30-year-old Tate averaged 93 catches, 1,056 yards receiving and five TDs the past four seasons in Detroit.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - The Denver Broncos traded nine-year veteran Demaryius Thomas to the Houston Texans on Tuesday.

Thomas won’t have to wait long to play his old team - the Texans (5-3) visit the Broncos (3-5) this weekend.

The Broncos will also send a 2019 seventh-rounder to Houston and will receive fourth and seventh-round picks in the 2019 draft.

The Texans found themselves thin at wide receiver when they lost Will Fuller for the season to a torn knee ligament and have had trouble keeping rookie Keke Coutee on the field.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Dante Fowler is headed to an actual Super Bowl contender.

The slumping Jacksonville Jaguars traded the fourth-year pro and 2015 first-round pick to the undefeated Los Angeles Rams just before the NFL trading deadline Tuesday.

The move gives the Rams an even more formidable front, which already had Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers.

The Jaguars received a third-round draft pick in 2019 and a fifth-rounder in 2020, decent compensation for a backup who would have become a free agent at the end of the season.

LONDON (AP) - The NFL says it will play four regular-season games in London next year, two at Wembley Stadium and two at the new stadium being built for Premier League team Tottenham.

The NFL did not say which teams would be making the trip, or when the games will be played.

The league played three games in London this year in three straight weeks. All three games were at Wembley. One game had been scheduled for Tottenham but it was moved because the stadium is not ready.

RENTON, Wash. (AP) - The Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday released wide receiver Brandon Marshall, whose role within the offense had diminished significantly.

Marshall appeared in all seven games this season and had 11 catches for 136 yards and one touchdown, which came in the season opener. But his involvement in the offense dropped significantly after Week 3 and he had just two catches for 16 yards in the past four games. Marshall played just two offensive snaps in Seattle’s 28-14 win over Detroit last Sunday.

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - Oakland Raiders cornerback Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie abruptly retired Tuesday, two days after not playing a single snap on defense for the second time this season.

The two-time Pro Bowl defensive back made the announcement on social media , not long after notifying team officials of his decision to call it quits after seven games with the Raiders.

Rodgers-Cromartie’s retirement came hours before the NFL trade deadline, during which the Raiders were surprisingly quiet.

NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL has suspended Seattle Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks for eight games for his role in an insider trading scheme.

The suspension announced Tuesday for a player who won a Super Bowl with Philadelphia last season includes time served.

Kendricks pleaded guilty in September to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced in December.

Kendricks was suspended indefinitely by Commissioner Roger Goodell on Oct. 2. He is eligible to rejoin Seattle for Week 12 at the end of November. But he can’t play again until Week 14, when the Seahawks host the Vikings for a Monday night game Dec. 10.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - New York Giants rookie backup quarterback Kyle Lauletta has been arrested on motor vehicle and related disorderly persons offenses while driving near a road construction site to practice.

Weehawken police said the 22-year-old Lauletta was stopped Tuesday morning for failing to obey a police officer’s order to continue driving straight in his 2017 Jaguar.

The report says Lauletta almost hit the officer while making an illegal turn. He was stopped by a second police officer and refused to produce a driver’s license or exit the car.

Police said Lauletta’s car was involved in a similar incident Monday but summons were mailed because the vehicle did not stay at the scene.

BASEBALL

BOSTON (AP) - The Red Sox have exercised their $15 million option for next season on ace left-hander Chris Sale.

Sale will earn $15 million in the final season of a five-year contract he signed with the Chicago White Sox before the 2013 season that guaranteed $32.5 million, including a 2017 option buyout. He had a $12.5 million salary this season in the first of two option years and will wind up earning $59 million over seven seasons plus award bonuses.

Sale can become a free agent after the 2019 World Series.

In addition, infielder Eduardo Nunez exercised his $5 million player option rather than become a free agent.

SEATTLE (AP) - The Mariners have declined their part of outfielder Denard Span’s $12 million mutual option for next year in favor of a $4 million buyout, making the 34-year-old a free agent.

Span, who exercised his part of the option, was acquired by Seattle last May in a trade with Tampa Bay and became one of the Mariners most consistent hitters. Span hit .272 with 15 doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBIs in 94 games with the Mariners, often batting in the middle of Seattle’s order. He played 87 of those games in the outfield, almost all in left field.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Jason Hammel’s $12 million mutual option has been declined by the Kansas City Royals, who will pay the 36-year-old right-hander a $2 million buyout.

Hammel set a career-high for losses, going 4-14 with a 6.02 ERA in 18 starts and 21 relief appearances. He was dropped from the rotation in early July after losing six straight starts.

He agreed to a $16 million, two-year contract before the 2017 season and went 12-27.

DENVER (AP) - The Colorado Rockies have declined their $12.5 million option on outfielder Gerardo Parra and will pay a $1.5 million buyout.

The 31-year-old, who became a free agent, hit .284 with six homers and 53 RBIs in his third season with the Rockies. He started 90 games in left field in 2018 and seven in right.

Parra saw action in three games during the Rockies’ postseason run, including a start in Game 2 of the NL Division Series. He was 4 for 8 with a run scored.

SEATTLE (AP) - Edgar Martinez is stepping down as the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners and moving into a new role as a hitting adviser for the entire organization, the club announced Tuesday.

Martinez said the move is largely based around his desire to spend more time with family, but with the help of the Mariners he was able to create a role that gives him the flexibility he seeks while still keeping him connected with the major league team and the organization.

GYMNASTICS

DOHA, Qatar (AP) - The juggernaut led by Simone Biles keeps right on rolling, kidney stone or no kidney stone.

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team cruised to a gold medal at the world gymnastics championships Tuesday, extending a run of dominance that only seems to be picking up momentum.

The Americans had a team score of 171.629 in winning their fourth straight world title, well clear of silver medalist Russia and bronze medalist China.

The 8.766 margin of victory is the largest at a major international competition since the U.S.’s streak began in 2011. The gap between first and second was more than two times the margin between second and eighth.

Biles, the reigning Olympic champion, is dealing with a kidney stone diagnosed last week and is attempting to fight through the pain.

NBA

CLEVELAND (AP) - Cleveland said goodbye to its biggest NBA All-Star this summer. In four years, the city will host all of them.

The Cavaliers have been selected to hold the 2022 All-Star Game at Quicken Loans Arena, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday. An announcement is expected later this week, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not yet made Cleveland’s selection official.

Crain’s Cleveland Business was first to report the midseason event will be in Cleveland.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Third-ranked Gonzaga will be without forward Killian Tillie for up to eight weeks after the junior had surgery for a stress fracture in his ankle.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few announced Tillie’s injury on Tuesday. Tillie re-aggravated the ankle injury during fall practice and additional imaging revealed the stress fracture.

The 6-foot-10 Tillie averaged 12.9 points and shot 58 percent last season as a sophomore.

AUTO RACING

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Sauber Formula One driver Marcus Ericsson will move to IndyCar in 2019 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The team plans to keep a seat for injured driver Robert Wickens.

The team announced Tuesday that Ericsson will pilot the No. 7 Honda. The Swedish driver is expanding his racing career into North America and won’t join Schmidt Peterson until after the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Ericcson will remain a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team after his move to IndyCar.

Wickens is paralyzed from the chest down from injuries suffered in an August crash at Pocono Raceway. He drove the No. 6 Honda in SPM’s two-car lineup alongside Canadian childhood friend James Hinchcliffe.

Wickens said last week the extent of his injuries are unclear. But he’s hopeful he’ll be walking in 24 months.

SPORTS GAMBLING

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The company that owns the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and a major New Jersey sports arena is going all in on promoting sports betting.

Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment on Tuesday announced its second deal in five days to open a sports lounge at Newark’s Prudential Center to promote sports betting to customers with gambling accounts on their mobile phones.

This time it’s a deal with Caesars Entertainment for a restaurant and bar on the main concourse.

It follows last week’s deal opening of a sports lounge with bookmaker William Hill.

Neither facility can accept cash bets, something reserved for casinos and racetracks.

SOCCER

LONDON (AP) - FIFA President Gianni Infantino is braced for a release of private information gained by hackers after world soccer’s governing body said its computer network was subject to another cyberattack.

The disclosure comes in the same month the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI said Russia’s military intelligence body was responsible for a hack on FIFA in 2016, which led to evidence from anti-doping investigations and lab results being published.

FIFA did not provide details about the data gained in the latest attack this year on email systems, but it has been contacted by media outlets about internal information contained in private exchanges.

OLYMPICS

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Another bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics is at risk, with Calgary’s city council poised to vote on whether to kill the bid over financial concerns.

The council has scheduled a vote for Wednesday on motions to kill the bid and to cancel a vote scheduled for next month by Calgary residents on whether they want the games or not.

An end of the bid by Calgary, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988, would leave Stockholm and a combined bid from two Italian cities as the only remaining contenders for the 2026 Games.

Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are the Italian cities bidding on the games. The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to vote in June.

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