Bryant pays a visit to Cleveland
Dez Bryant is getting to know the Cleveland Browns better and vice versa.
The three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver visited the team’s headquarters in Berea, Ohio, yesterday, and there’s a chance the meeting could lead to Bryant signing with the team.
Before meeting with team officials, Bryant posted a photo on Twitter signing autographs at Cleveland’s airport. Later, he stopped in the studio of the team’s in-house radio show and gave an update of his stopover.
“I’m happy to be here, you know excited, you know just trying to work out some things,” Bryant said. “It’s a lovely place.”
The 29-year-old was released in April by the Dallas Cowboys after eight seasons and has been waiting to latch on with another team. He turned down a threeyear contract offer from the Baltimore Ravens, who may still have interest in him.
The Browns have plenty of room under the salary cap to offer Bryant a multi-year deal. The team may opt to sign him to a short-term contract. The Browns also must decide if they’re ready to take on a player who clashed with Cowboys coaches.
Last week, general manager John Dorsey, who has been looking for receiving help because of the uncertainty surrounding troubled star Josh Gordon, said he had been trying to contact Bryant with no success. Gordon is away from the team to work on his health.
After Dorsey reached out to Bryant through the media, Bryant posted on Twitter that he intended to visit the Browns.
“For real. I wouldn’t mind playing for the browns ... I just want to be right first,” Bryant wrote.
Several Cleveland players, including starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor and receiver Jarvis Landry, have expressed they would love Bryant to join them.
Bryant has been one of the NFL’s top deep threats. He has amassed 531 catches for 7,459 yards and 73 touchdowns. Last season, Bryant caught 69 passes for 838 yards and six TDs . . . .
Johnny Manziel described his condition as a “delayed onset concussion” and said he had headaches and the quarterback was placed under concussion protocol by the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
Tennis: Keys advances
Madison Keys used her forehand to beat Angelique Kerber 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 and advance to the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio, between more bursts of rain, as three matches from the previous night had to be completed first.
Sloane Stephens didn’t fare so well, getting upset by Elise Mertens 7-6 (8), 6-2. The thirdranked Stephens couldn’t overcome 37 unforced errors.
Top-ranked Simona Halep completed a gritty comeback that was put on hold overnight by the rain, beating qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets. Two other secondround matches were completed.
Amanda Anisimova beat qualifier Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3, and, on the men’s side, fourth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro beat Hyeon Chung 6-2, 6-3 . . . .
The Davis Cup will be decided with a season-ending, 18-team tournament beginning next year.
The new format replaces the one in which the Davis Cup is played over four weekends throughout the year.
Beginning in 2019, 24 nations will compete in a home-or-away qualifying round in February, with the 12 winners advancing to the final tournament. They will be joined by the four semifinalists from the previous year, along with two wild-card teams.
The first championship will be Nov. 18-24, 2019, in either Madrid or Lille, France.
Soccer: France is No. 1
World Cup champion France is No. 1 in the FIFA rankings for the first time in 16 years.
Germany, the previous World Cup champion, dropped from first to 15th after its elimination in the group stage. The United States, which did not qualify for the World Cup, advanced three spots to No. 22.
France beat Croatia 4-2 last month for its second World Cup title, and jumped six places to reclaim the top spot it last held in 2002. Belgium, which lost to France in the semifinals, moved up one place to second . . . .
A regular-season Spanish league game is coming to the United States, possibly as early as this year, with Real Madrid or Barcelona potentially involved but unlikely to play each other. The league plans to play a match in North America as part of a new 15-year partnership with sports and entertainment group Relevent to promote soccer across the Atlantic.