Wednesday Sports in Brief

NFL

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The Jacksonville Jaguars fired top executive Tom Coughlin on Wednesday, parting ways with the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach a little more than a day after the NFL Players Union took a sledgehammer to his reputation.

Coughlin served as executive vice president of football operations since 2017. It was his second stint with Jacksonville, the expansion franchise he helped build from the ground up in the mid-1990s.

The unbending taskmaster had been in trouble for weeks because of the team’s sagging record and several questionable roster moves. The NFLPA seemingly forced Khan’s hand after an arbitrator’s decision to undo millions in fines imposed by Coughlin himself.

The NFLPA said Monday that more than 25% of player grievances filed in the last two years have been against the Jaguars. The union’s take: “You as players may want to consider this when you have a chance to select your next club.”

Owner Shad Khan said general manager Dave Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone will each report directly to him on an interim basis.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) - Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott has a shoulder injury that is limiting him in practice but shouldn’t keep him out Sunday when the Cowboys try to qualify for the playoffs at Philadelphia.

The Cowboys and Eagles are tied for the NFC East lead at 7-7, and Dallas advances to the postseason with a victory.

Prescott didn’t throw during the portion of practice that was open to reporters Wednesday. Coach Jason Garrett said Prescott had an MRI and “everything seems to be OK.” Prescott was already dealing with injuries to his right index finger and left wrist.

BEREA, Ohio (AP) - Tired about speculation over his future, Browns star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said Wednesday he doesn’t want to leave Cleveland after one frustrating season.

Beckham dismissed reports that he’s unhappy with the Browns and said he’s committed to helping the team win.

“It’s done. It’s over with,” he said of the speculation. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here. We’re going to figure this thing out. It’s just too special to leave.”

Beckham’s first season with the Browns (6-8) hasn’t gone as expected, but the three-time Pro Bowler remains convinced the team has the pieces to be a Super Bowl contender.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Titans have made yet another move at kicker, placing veteran Ryan Succop back on injured reserve and signing Greg Joseph off Carolina’s practice squad.

The Titans announced the moves Wednesday, a day after waiving kicker Ryan Santoso after he struggled on kickoffs.

Joseph will be the fifth kicker the Titans (8-6) have had on the roster this season, and Tennessee ranks last in the NFL in field goal percentage at 44 percent. The Titans’ kicking issues have cost them in at least two games this season as they chase a playoff berth.

Succop had a 45-yard field goal blocked in Sunday’s 24-21 loss to Houston as Tennessee missed a chance to take the lead in the AFC South with two games to play. Succop was 1 of 6 on field goals since returning from injured reserve. He spent the first eight weeks on injured reserve trying to heal from offseason surgery on his right kicking leg.

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - The Oakland Raiders placed Trent Brown on season-ending injured reserve, one day after the big right tackle was named to his first Pro Bowl.

Brown, who this past offseason signed a contract making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, has missed the past two games because of a pectoral injury after sitting out one game earlier in the season with an ankle injury.

“His pec is just not getting any better,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday. “It’s disappointing. Obviously what he did put on tape was very impressive.”

The news came a day after Brown was named to the Pro Bowl despite playing 11 of 14 games. According to Pro Football Focus, Brown allowed one sack in 326 snaps this season.

MLB

NEW YORK (AP) - Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees finalized a record $324 million, nine-year contract.

The 29-year-old right-hander was introduced during a news conference at Yankee Stadium, where his face appeared on the large video boards outside the ballpark on Wednesday morning.

Cole’s deal is the largest for a pitcher in both its total and its average annual value of $36 million.

It appears to be the longest contract for a pitcher since Wayne Garland’s $2.3 million, 10-year deal with Cleveland before the 1976 season.

Cole was 20-5 with an AL-leading 2.50 ERA and a major league-leading 326 strikeouts for Houston last season.

To clear a roster spot, the Yankees designated right-hander Chance Adams for assignment.

NEW YORK (AP) - Boston will pay a Red Sox record $13.4 million luxury tax after failing to make the playoffs and the New York Yankees finished with a $6.7 million bill, likely a fraction of what they will pay next year.

Three teams owe tax, according to end-of-year figures sent to clubs Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press. The Chicago Cubs must pay $7.6 million following a season that ended with a September fade and no postseason berth.

New York has run up a total of $348 million in tax since the payroll restraint system began in 2003, owing money in each year except 2018. The Los Angeles Dodgers are second at $150 million, followed by the Red Sox at $50 million and the Cubs at $11 million.

This year’s initial tax threshold was $206 million, counting payrolls by average annual values and including earned bonuses, adjustments for cash transactions, option buyouts and just over $14 million per team in benefits.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Timmy Allen hit a tiebreaking floater with 1:14 left and Utah dodged a comeback try by No. 6 Kentucky for a 69-66 victory Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (8-2) used a 27-10 run to tie it at 68 on Ashton Hagans’ dunk with 1:43 remaining, but Allen put the Utes (9-2) back ahead with his basket.

Kentucky got off three more shots, including two in the final 11 seconds, but none connected.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Juicy Landrum set an NCAA record by making 14 3-pointers for all of her career-high 42 points, leading the No. 7 Baylor women to a 111-43 victory over Arkansas State on Wednesday.

Landrum attempted all but one of her 24 shots from 3-point range as the Lady Bears (9-1) shot 46% from beyond the arc (15 of 33) and 59% overall. The senior guard also had eight rebounds and seven assists.

Trinity Oliver had the other 3 in Baylor’s 56th consecutive home nonconference win since a loss to UConn in January 2014.

Landrum, whose previous career high was 23 points, missed her only two-point attempt. The previous record for 3s was 13 by Lamar’s Moe Kinard in 2018. Landrum shattered the Baylor mark of nine 3-pointers held by Odyssey Sims and Mandy Hayworth.

SOCCER

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Riot police clashed with protesters in the streets Wednesday night outside a soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, as authorities sought to keep Catalonia’s separatist movement from disrupting the game viewed by 650 million people worldwide.

The match in Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium began without incident and was halted only briefly when some fans threw balls onto the field bearing a message for the Spanish government to open a dialogue with the separatists.

The game, which drew nearly 100,000 spectators, ended in a scoreless draw.

Thousands of police and private security guards were deployed in and around stadium.

In the street clashes, riot police used batons to force the crowd back, some threw objects at officers lined up behind shields and other protesters fought among themselves. Authorities said nine people had been arrested, and Spain’s national news agency Efe reported that 12 were injured.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A Brazilian soccer player was arrested Wednesday on charges of domestic violence while vacationing in Florida, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Sao Paulo FC goalkeeper Jean Fernandes, 24, was charged with battery after sheriff’s deputies were called to an Orlando hotel where Fernandes was staying.

According to a heavily redacted arrest report, he and the woman had been arguing in their room when Fernandes punched her in the face. The sheriff’s deputy wrote that the woman’s face was swollen and she had bruises under both eyes.

The report said Fernandes also had a small bruise on his face. The woman, whose name was redacted in the report, told investigators she hit him with a “hair iron” in self defense.

The woman told investigators she did not want to press charges, the report said.

OBITUARY

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Herman Boone, the Virginia high school football coach who inspired the movie “Remember the Titans,” has died. He was 84.

Boone guided T.C. Williams High School to a state championship while navigating the early days of desegregation.

Aly Khan Johnson, an assistant coach for Boone beginning in 1972, said the coach died Wednesday at his home In Alexandria, Virginia. Johnson said a funeral home operated by his wife is handling the arrangements, which are not complete. He said Boone had been battling cancer. Johnson said he had visited the coach regularly and had planned to see him Wednesday when he learned of his death.

The North Carolina-born Boone led undefeated T.C. Williams High School to the state championship in 1971. His team and its initial success was also recognized as a galvanizing factor in helping bring the city through school consolidation.

Much of “Remember the Titans” covers the team’s uphill battle to win the state championship over 15 all-white teams. They have to overcome vindictive opponents, racist coaches and crooked referees.

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