Barkley to get start at QB for Bills today
The Buffalo Bills have ruled out rookie Josh Allen and announced that Matt Barkley is expected to start today against the New York Jets. Barkley gets the nod instead of turnover-prone Nathan Peterman despite having just two weeks of practice experience in Buffalo. He was signed Oct. 30 and will become the fourth quarterback to start for the team this season. It will be his first start in two years. Allen will miss his fourth straight game since spraining his right throwing elbow in a 20-13 loss at Houston on Oct. 14. The first-round pick practiced on a limited basis this week and will get additional time to recuperate with Buffalo entering its bye week after playing the Jets. Veteran backup Derek Anderson already had been ruled out with a concussion. The Jets signed quarterback Davis Webb from the practice squad and placed tight end Neal Sterling on season-ending injured reserve. Webb will serve as the backup to Josh McCown today . ... The New Orleans Saints placed newly acquired wide receiver Dez Bryant on injured reserve, promoting receiver Keith Kirkwood from the practice squad to the active roster before today’s game at Cincinnati. Bryant was injured during his second practice with New Orleans on Friday. A person familiar with the situation said Bryant has a torn Achilles tendon . ... Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was fined $30,000 by the NFL for using a phone as a prop for a touchdown celebration in last week’s victory over the Rams.
Baseball: Japan routs MLB stars
Yuki Yanagita homered and drove in four runs to lead Japan to a 12-6 win over the MLB All-Stars and a 2-0 lead in the six-game exhibition series in Tokyo. Yanagita, who hit a game-ending two-run homer in Friday’s 7-6 win, singled in a run in the first inning at Tokyo Dome and hit a two-run homer in the third to give his team a 5-0 lead. National League Rookie of the Year finalist Juan Soto got the MLB All-Stars on the board in the fifth, hitting a homer down the left field line for the second straight game. Enrique Hernandez and Kevin Pillar drove in runs in the seventhand J.T. Realmuto hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning. Infielder Dylan Moore agreed to a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners after splitting last season at Double-A and Triple-A in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization.
Misc.: Rider dies at Churchill Downs
Exercise rider Odanis “Cuba” Acuna died in a training accident at Churchill Downs when his horse broke down with catastrophic injuries. The 42-year-old rider for trainer Kenny McPeek was breezing unraced 2-year-old New York Harbor when the horse fell about a sixteenth of a mile before the finish line at around 5:45 a.m. yesterday . ... Barbora Strycova and Katerina Siniakova won their singles for the Czech Republic to take a commanding 2-0 over the defending champion United States in the Fed Cup final in Prague. Strycova rallied from a set down to defeat Sofia Kenin 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4. Siniakova stretched the advantage by dispatching Alison Riske 6-3, 7-6 (2) . ... Former French Open finalist Lucie Safarova will retire after the Australian Open in January due to health concerns and will not play in any tournaments before then.