Saints’ Breaux needs surgery
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said cornerback Delvin Breaux needs lower leg surgery that will sideline him about six weeks and that an initial misdiagnosis of Breaux’s injury has sparked a shake-up in the team’s medical staff.
Payton said Breaux has a fibula fracture that was initially diagnosed as a contusion. He said the Saints will replace two orthopedic surgeons after the misdiagnosis and in the meantime receive help from Chargers physicians during joint practices in California leading up to their game Sunday at StubHub Center.
New York Jets wide receiver Lucky Whitehead will have surgery this week on his broken foot, leaving the team’s kickoff and punt return duties uncertain. Coach Todd Bowles said Whitehead could potentially return this season.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor were unanimously granted “a one-fight exception” by the Nevada State Commission to fight in lighter eight-ounce gloves for their unique Aug. 26 boxing match in Las Vegas.
Additionally, veteran referee Robert Byrd was named the third man in the ring for the bout that matches the 49-0, former five-division boxing champion Mayweather against UFC champion McGregor in his pro boxing debut.
The commission, on the recommendation of executive director Bob Bennett, also selected Burt A. Clements, Dave Moretti and Italy’s Guido Cavalerri as judges. Byrd worked Mayweather’s one-sided unanimous-decision victory over Robert Guerrero in May 2013. — Lance Pugmire
The two biggest cornerstones of the emerging Edmonton Oilers franchise are now locked up for the long haul. Six weeks after extending Connor McDavid for eight years and $100 million, the Oilers signed 21-year-old Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract with a sizable annual cap hit of $8.5 million. Paired primarily with McDavid, Draisaitl posted a career-best 77 points last season — eighth best in the NHL.
Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-0 to complete a 5-1 victory on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup, dominating its fiercest rival without the need of Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale. Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema provided the goals in the second leg for a Madrid side that showed every ounce of confidence that Barcelona sorely lacked.
Kyle Busch overcame a pitroad speeding penalty to drive his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota to a win in the Camping World Truck Series race at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway for his 178th victory in NASCAR’s top three series. Matt Crafton was second in a Toyota, and John Hunter Nemechek finished third in a Chevrolet.