Former Ohio State assistant Smith denies beating ex-wife

Fired Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith denies that he beat his ex-wife and blames the university president for an investigation that led to the suspension of coach Urban Meyer.

In a series of tweets, the 34-year-old Smith also lashed out at the media, contended the investigation into his behavior was botched and said he hopes Meyer was forced by the university to apologize. He also posted a picture of his two children to tell critics that “your reckless & complete disregard for human beings hurts innocent children.”

Meyer was suspended for three games after an investigation found he mishandled domestic-abuse accusations and other bad behavior from Smith, the grandson of former Ohio State coach and Meyer mentor Earle Bruce.

Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne has a bone bruise in her left knee and will be listed as questionable for Game 3 of the WNBA semifinal series Friday against the Atlanta Dream.

USA Basketball is expanding its men’s junior national team program, partnering with the NBA, NCAA and NBA Players Assn. to bring about 80 high school players to training camps.

The collaboration, a first of its kind among the organizations, will bring about 20 athletes from each high school class to participate in six camps during the 2018-19 season.

The camps should help strengthen the U.S. teams that have already been dominating at the junior level, while giving the NBA earlier access to evaluate top young players.

A former top South American soccer official was sentenced to nine years in prison for pocketing millions of dollars in cash bribes as part of the sprawling FIFA corruption scandal.

Juan Angel Napout, of Paraguay, received the sentence in federal court in New York City, where he and another soccer official from Brazil were found guilty late last year of racketeering conspiracy and other charges.

The trial stemmed from a U.S.-led investigation resulting in charges against dozens of people and entities accused of orchestrating tens of millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.

Jade Gortarez and Megan Baltzell hit home runs to lead the U.S. to a 5-1 victory over Canada in the Women’s Baseball World Cup in Viera, Fla. The U.S. plays the Dominican Republic on Thursday.

French rider Rudy Molard took the overall lead of the Spanish Vuelta, while Australia’s Simon Clarke won the fifth stage.