Off the wire
Untrapped wins at Remington
Untrapped, Oaklawn Parkraced and Arkansas-owned, bided his time around the far turn under Ricardo Santana Jr., then swung out for racing room to wear down favored Battle of Midway and win Sunday’s Grade III $400,000 Oklahoma Derby by 1¾ lengths at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. Untrapped, owned by Jonesboro’s Mike Langford and trained by Steve Asmussen, has 2 victories in 10 starts and has finished in the money 8 times with earnings of $601,755. The Oklahoma Derby was the fifth consecutive “Derby” for Untrapped, a son of Trappe Shot out of a Giant’s Causeway mare. He previously finished unplaced in the Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby, and then most recently finished third in both the Ohio and Indiana Derbys. Grade I Haskell winner Girvin, the second choice at 8-5, finished fifth, beaten 5 lengths. Untrapped paid $24.60, $7.80, and $4.80. Battle of Midway returned $2.80 and $2.40, while Gato Del Oro paid $3.80 for the show. Final time for the nine furlongs was 1:48.62.
NFL
Rams DL arrested Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks was arrested Friday night when a gun was found in his vehicle after a traffic stop near Bakersfield. Westbrooks, 26, was initially stopped for speeding on Interstate 5 in Kern County, Adam Taylor, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol’s Buttonwillow division, said Monday. Westbrooks said he had spoken to Coach Sean McVay about the incident.
Sproles’ ‘double whammy’ The Eagles suffered a “devastating loss” on Monday when it was learned that 34-year-old running back Darren Sproles has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and a broken right forearm, injuries that will sideline the respected running back and punt returner for the season and potentially end his career. Sproles, a 13-year veteran, took a handoff around the left side in the second quarter of Sunday’s 27-24 victory over the New York Giants and appeared to injure his knee while trying to cut, and his Arkansas-owned Untrapped arm hit the shoe of Giants safety Darian Thompson when he fell to the ground. Sproles walked off the field under his power, but Coach Doug Pederson confirmed the “double whammy” injury during a Monday news conference.
Benjamin’s ACL not torn Carolina Panthers Coach Ron Rivera expressed relief Monday after an MRI revealed wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin has no structural damage to his left knee. Rivera says it’s too early to know if he will play Sunday at New England. Benjamin’s left knee got bent backward after being dragged down from behind on the final play of the first quarter of Carolina’s 34-13 loss to New Orleans on Sunday. He did not return to the game. Rivera says doctors told him the MRI “came back pretty good, and they’re going to see how his treatment goes.” The Panthers had concerns about the severity of the injury particularly because Benjamin tore the ACL in that same knee in 2015 and missed the entire season.
Bears safety breaks arm Chicago Bears safety Quintin Demps suffered a broken arm in Sunday’s 23-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers and will be out an indefinite period of time. Demps was acquired from Houston after the Bears struggled to defend against the pass and made a franchise record-low eight interceptions each of the last two seasons. Bears Coach John Fox did not characterize Demps’ injury as a season-ending one. The Bears play at Green Bay on Thursday night.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Media upset Vols’ Jones Tennessee Coach Butch Jones expressed his displeasure with the “drama” of Tennessee’s media coverage and also used the term “fake news” during Monday’s news conference. Jones was asked whether a teammate caused the injury that prevented defensive tackle Shy Tuttle from playing last week in a 17-13 victory over Massachusetts. Jones started out by saying “football is an emotional and a competitive game” before noting the injury wasn’t caused by a teammate and that Tuttle merely landed on a helmet. Jones expressed optimism Tuttle will be available Saturday when Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) hosts No. 7 Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC). The exact nature of Tuttle’s injury hasn’t been specified.
Huskies lose receiver Sixth-ranked Washington will be without starting wide receiver Chico McClatcher for the rest of the season after he broke his left ankle during Saturday’s 37-10 victory over Colorado. McClatcher was the Huskies’ second-leading receiver with 10 receptions for 128 yards despite playing in only three of Washington’s four games. A season ago, McClatcher had 34 receptions for 574 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also has 5 rushing touchdowns in his career.
S. Alabama OC fired South Alabama Coach Joey Jones has fired offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent. Jones said Monday he made the decision after Vincent came to him “and expressed concern about our current status and what is best for our program moving forward.” Offensive line coach Richard Owens will take over the offense and work with the quarterbacks. The Jaguars are 1-3 and coming off a double-overtime loss to Idaho. They rank 109th in total offense, 105 in passing offense and 91st in scoring.
NBA
Cavs: Thomas progressing Isaiah Thomas could be running the point for Cleveland by the end of the year. The All-Star point guard, acquired from Boston this summer, has made progress with his hip injury, and the Cavaliers expect him to be playing games by January. Cleveland acquired him in a trade that sent All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to Boston, its biggest challenger in the East. The Eastern Conference champions have been encouraged by his recovery, but they will not rush him back. While he gets healthy, Derrick Rose, another summer acquisition, will start at point guard. Thomas averaged 28.9 points last season for the Celtics, who sent him along with forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and a 2018 first-round draft to Cleveland.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Frazier: Injured fan improves
New York Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier said the condition of the young girl injured by his foul ball last week has improved and she could be leaving a hospital soon. The girl was hurt by a 105 mph drive off his bat into Yankee Stadium’s lower deck behind third base last Wednesday and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Frazier has been in contact with her father. Frazier plans to meet with the family. “The father has been very gracious — enough to call me and text me back,” Frazier said. “We’ve been having a really good relationship so far. I’ve still been praying for her every day and hoping for the best.”
TENNIS
Stephens, Keys ousted U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and runner-up Madison Keys were knocked out of the Wuhan Open in China in the first round on Monday. In their first matches since the final at Flushing Meadows, the 17th-ranked Stephens lost to Wang Qiang of China 6-2, 6-2, while the 12th-ranked Keys was beaten by fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 7-6 (4). The last time Grand Slam finalists lost their next match was after 2005 Wimbledon, where Venus Williams beat Lindsay Davenport.