Off the wire

GOLF Two share lead

Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Shane Lowry will take a twostroke lead into the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open at Antalya, Turkey. Kiradech started the third round on Saturday five shots behind leader Nicolas Colsaerts, and Lowry was six shots back. But Colsaerts, who led by five at the turn, carded a 2-over-par 73 and gave the field hope. Lowry shot a 6-under 65 and Kiradech posted a 66 to reach 14 under for the tournament. Colsaerts was two behind, along with Justin Rose (64) and Padraig Harrington (64) at Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort. Defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen was in a group of six which was four off the lead.

Pair at 9 under lead

Beau Hossler and J.J. Spaun shared the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open lead Saturday after another breezy day at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Hossler, 22, birdied the par-4 15th and 18th holes for a bogey-free 5-under 66 — the best round of the day in the difficult conditions. Spaun, 27, the leader after the completion of the second round in the morning, bogeyed the par-3 17th and saved par with a 10-footer on the 18th for a 73. Hossler and Spaun, both winless on the PGA Tour, were at 9-under 204 — the highest leading third-round total by six strokes since the tournament went to one course in 2008. Tony Finau was three strokes back after a 69. Tom Hoge (67), Gary Woodland (68), Chesson Hadley (69) and Patrick Cantlay (70) were 5 under. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 70 and was even after three rounds. David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) had a 75 and was 2 over. Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) had a 73 and was 3 over.

TENNIS Krajinovic advances

Qualifier Filip Krajinovic reached the Paris Masters final after an upset 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5) victory against ninth-seeded John Isner on Saturday. The 25-year-old Serb slid onto his back and sobbed, his arms raised, after sealing the victory on his first match point. Krajinovic then knelt and kissed the court. He will play for his first career title against 16th-seeded American Jack Sock, who comfortably beat home favorite Julien Benneteau 7-5, 6-2. Sock has never won a Masters title and can qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals London if he does so here. Krajinovic was helped by not having to play his quarterfinal because top-ranked Rafael Nadal pulled out with a right knee injury. Nadal has not said whether he will be fit enough to play in the season-ending ATP Finals, starting Nov. 12 in London.

Elite Trophy final today

Julia Goerges will take on CoCo Vandeweghe in the WTA Elite Trophy final today in Zhuhai, China. Vandeweghe advanced with a convincing 6-3, 6-3 victory over rising Australian star Ashleigh

Barty on Saturday, while Goerges held serve throughout in her 6-3, 6-3 victory over seventh-seeded Anastasija Sevastova. Vandeweghe is looking for her first WTA title of the year. After this tournament she will travel to Minsk to be part of the United States team at the Fed Cup final against Belarus. Goerges has won eight consecutive matches, including the Kremlin Cup title in Moscow last month.

BOXING Wilder defends title

Deontay Wilder sent Bermane Stiverne to the canvas three times in the opening round to defend his WBC heavyweight title Saturday night at Barclays Center in New York. Wilder, 32, jabbed through much of the first round while Stiverne, who hadn’t fought in two years, moved slowly and cautiously around the ring. Suddenly, Wilder lashed out with a huge right that felled Stiverne (25-3-1). Already, Wilder was celebrating, but Stiverne got up. Unwisely, it turned out, because another big right as part of a flurry of punches sent the 38-yearold challenger back down. At that point, Wilder climbed atop the ropes in a neutral corner, shouting at Stiverne’s trainer to end things. When they didn’t, another right and then a mammoth left hook sent down the challenger for the final time.” Wilder is 39-0 with 38 knockouts.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS St. Pierre wins title

Georges St. Pierre returned from a four-year layoff to choke out Michael Bisping to win the middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 217 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. St. Pierre, 36, showed no ring rust in the 185-pound bout as he ended his self-imposed sabbatical and controlled the majority of the fight. St. Pierre (26-2) had his forehead busted open and bled down his face and onto his chest. But it didn’t phase him. He slapped on the rear naked choke at 4:32 of the third round and won his 13th consecutive UFC fight. St. Pierre was one of the UFC’s biggest stars and pay-per-view draws during his long reign atop the 170-pound division, but the Canadian star walked away in November 2013. St. Pierre took down Bisping in each of the first two rounds as the Garden crowd roared for the fan favorite. He made it 3 for 3 for the challengers in UFC 217 title bouts. T.J. Dillashaw won the bantamweight championship and Rose Namajunas won the strawweight title.

FOOTBALL Colts missing Davis

The Indianapolis Colts will be missing starting cornerback Vontae Davis today in Houston. Team officials announced Saturday that Davis did not make the trip because of a non-injury-related issue. No additional details were given. Davis, a two-time Pro Bowler, was not listed on the injury report this week. There were rumors earlier in the week that Davis might be dealt before Tuesday’s trade deadline, but no move was made. He told reporters Monday that he would always consider Indianapolis a special place because his career “blossomed” with the Colts. It’s not clear who will replace Davis in the lineup against the Texans. Rookie cornerback Quincy Wilson already was ruled out with a knee injury.

Giants’ Richburg on IR

The New York Giants have placed starting center Weston

Richburg on injured reserve with a concussion. The Giants announced Saturday that Richburg would miss his fourth consecutive game. Bret Jones has started for Richburg since he was hurt. The team signed defensive back Tim Scott off its practice squad to take Richburg’s place on the roster for today’s game against the Los Angeles Rams (5-2). New York (1-6) is short of defensive backs, with Janoris Jenkins suspended indefinitely for missing a workout Monday and fellow cornerback Donte Deayon nursing an ankle injury. Scott was signed by the Giants on Aug. 24 and played in two preseason games. He was the team’s second-leading tackler in the preseason finale against New England. He was waived during the final cut and signed to the practice squad. He has not played in a regular-season game.

Thomas gets $3M raise

Injured Pro Bowl tackle Joe

Thomas has received a $3 million raise from the Cleveland Browns. Thomas recently had surgery for a season-ending triceps injury. A team spokesman said Saturday that the Browns had agreed to the pay bump before Thomas, a 10-time Pro Bowler, was injured and they’ll stick to their plan. Thomas will get a $1.5 million roster bonus this season and a $1.5 million increase to his 2018 salary, pushing it to $10.3 million. ESPN first reported the raise for Thomas, who had never missed a play in his career — a streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps — before he was hurt on Oct. 22. Thomas originally signed a seven-year, $80.5 million deal through the 2018 season. Before having surgery, Thomas said he would wait until after the season before deciding if he would continue playing.

MOTOR SPORTS Jones cruises to victory

Erik Jones cruised to a Texas season sweep in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday night at Fort Worth, holding off fellow Cup driver Ryan Blaney while the championship spots remained up for grabs with one race left to set the field for the final four. Jones led 137 of 200 laps on the 1.5-mile Texas track after qualifying on the pole a couple of hours before the race. He has three Xfinity victories this season, the first two coming back-to-back in the spring at Texas and Bristol, Tenn. It was also Jones’ third Xfinity victory in Texas. Elliott Sadler was the top finisher among the playoff contenders, taking fourth, one spot ahead of fellow playoff driver Cole Custer. Sadler moved from third to first in the point standings, five ahead of William Byron, who took ninth. Justin Allgaier, the points leader coming in, finished 11th and dropped to third in points. The championship field for the finale at Homestead will be set in Phoenix. Jones’ Xfinity sweep was the first at Texas since Kyle Busch in 2009.