Off the wire

FOOTBALL Cowboys LB arrested

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Damien Wilson has been arrested on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said. Frisco police said Wilson was arrested Tuesday outside of Toyota Stadium during the city’s Fourth of July celebration. Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas played Tuesday night at the stadium in Frisco, a suburb north of Dallas that’s also home to the Cowboys’ practice facility. During a dispute with some tailgaters at the soccer game, Wilson intentionally backed his truck into a woman while parking, then threatened a man by brandishing a rifle, police records show. Police said Wilson was released from jail after posting $20,000 bond. They said the case remains under investigation. Wilson is entering his third season with the Cowboys. Team spokesman Scott Agulnek said the Cowboys were gathering information and didn’t have immediate comment. Wilson is the second Dallas defender to be arrested this offseason. Cornerback Nolan Carroll, a free-agent pickup from Philadelphia, was charged with drunken driving in Dallas in May. The Cowboys also have two suspended starters in defensive ends David Irving and Randy Gregory. Carroll and Wilson could face suspensions even without convictions for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

BASEBALL Francona still hospitalized

Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona remained hospitalized Wednesday and missed his second consecutive game. Francona, 58, has been at the Cleveland Clinic since Tuesday. Doctors are running tests to determine what’s been making him feel light-headed. This is Francona’s third hospital stay in the past month. It’s not clear when he will be discharged. Francona is scheduled to manage the American League team at the All-Star Game next week in Miami. Francona has been wearing a heart monitor to help doctors better evaluate him. He left Cleveland’s game early on June 26 after feeling dizzy and experiencing a rapid heart rate. He had similar symptoms on June 13. While Francona is out, bench coach Brad Mills is handling managerial duties.

Fowler blames self for injury

The New York Yankees’ Dustin Fowler had a lot of feelings after suffering a season-ending injury in his major league debut, but wanting something to blame wasn’t one of them. The 22-year-old outfielder spoke with reporters at Yankee Stadium before Wednesday’s game for his first news conference since having surgery to repair the patellar tendon he ruptured during a collision with a metal box along the right foul line at Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field. He needed a pair of crutches to make his way across the hallway from the Yankees clubhouse to the interview room. His injured leg was encased in a device that keeps his knee from bending. Fowler attributed the injury to his style of play. “I’m always a guy that’s going to try and do everything I can to make the play. Got to it too aggressively,” he said. “I don’t really regret anything. I think I would give the same effort if I did it all over again.”

Dual championship winner dies

Gene Conley, one of the only players in history to win championships in two major professional sports, has died. He was 86. The Boston Red Sox, for whom Conley played for from 1961-63, said he died Tuesday. Conley helped pitch the Milwaukee Braves to a World Series championship in 1957 and won three NBA titles with the Celtics. Otto Graham won championships in the NFL and the NBL, a precursor to the NBA. Conley was a right-hander and three-time All-Star who spent 11 years in baseball with four teams. He was selected by the Celtics in the 1952 draft and, after spending most of the next six years playing only baseball, he returned to the NBA in 1958 and won three consecutive titles.

BASKETBALL

Van Gundy to lead U.S. men

Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy will lead the U.S. men’s basketball team through the early stages of qualifying for the 2019 Basketball World Cup. He will guide a team made up of mostly NBA G-League players in this summer’s FIBA AmeriCup 2017 tournament and in qualifying games between November and September 2018. USA Basketball announced Van Gundy’s appointment Wednesday. San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich will coach the Americans in the World Cup and the 2020 Olympics, should they qualify. But neither he nor NBA players can take part throughout the qualifying stages, because some will fall during the NBA season under FIBA’s new competition schedule. The World Cup in China will then serve as the qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics. Van Gundy went 430-318 as coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, leading the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals.

Jefferson returning to Cavs

Richard Jefferson isn’t messing with any retirement talk this summer. After saying he would stop playing after the Cavaliers won the NBA title in 2016 and changing his mind, Jefferson said Wednesday that he will be back with Cleveland next season — his 17th as a pro. The 37-year-old announced his plans on an episode of his “Road Trippin’” podcast. Jefferson, who had contemplated quitting, has one guaranteed season left on his contract worth $2.5 million. He averaged 5.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 79 games for the Cavs, serving mostly as a backup for LeBron James. He provided Cleveland with a big lift off the bench during the NBA Finals, when he was asked to guard Golden State’s Kevin Durant and was perhaps the Cavs’ most productive reserve. Jefferson’s return is the latest news in what has been an interesting offseason for the Cavs.

SOCCER

Saief out of Gold Cup

Midfielder Kenny Saief will miss the CONCACAF Gold Cup because of a groin injury and will be replaced by Chris Pontius on the U.S. roster. A 23-year-old midfielder with Gent in Belgium, Saief made his U.S. debut in Saturday’s 2-1 exhibition victory over Ghana, entering in the 71st minute. He made two appearances for Israel, then was given permission by FIFA to switch affiliation to the U.S. Saief was training with the Americans on Monday in Nashville, Tenn., ahead of Saturday’s opener against Panama. The U.S. Soccer Federation said Wednesday that Saief’s injury occurred during the European season and got worse. He was scheduled to return to Belgium later Wednesday. Pontius, who plays for Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, made his first two U.S. appearances last winter against Serbia and Jamaica.

GOLF

British Open to pay U.S. $

The British Open is paying its prize money this year in American dollars. Golf’s oldest championship announced Wednesday that the total purse will be $10,250,000, with $1.845 million going to the winner. The British Open is July 20-23 at Royal Birkdale along the Lancashire coast in England. R&A chief Martin Slumbers said the Open will not be using the British sterling this year because of what he called an increasingly global marketplace. He said the prize fund is in U.S. dollars because it is the most widely adopted currency for prize money in golf. Henrik Stenson earned 1,175,000 pounds last year, which equaled $1,549,590. The value of the pound began falling after Britain voted last year to leave the European Union.

Trump irons in auction

A set of irons used by Donald Trump before he became president is being auctioned off. Boston-based RR Auction said Trump used the TaylorMade RAC TP ForgedIrons golf clubs at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. Each of the irons has “D. Trump” engraved on its head. The auction house says Trump gifted the set to Andrew Lombardo, who caddied for Trump from 2004 to 2008. Lombardo says Trump used the clubs in rounds played at Bedminster with a variety of celebrities, business executives and pro golfers. The clubs have a presale estimate of $30,000. Bidding opened June 26 and concludes July 12.

OLYMPICS

Brazil seeks financial help

Almost a year after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Brazilian organizers are asking for help from the International Olympic Committee to satisfy creditors who are still owed about $40 million. A spokesman for the Rio organizing committee said officials will meet next week at IOC offices in Switzerland. Rio spokesman Mario Andrada said the IOC “might help us in the dialogue to get the government to pay.” However, the IOC was cautious in a statement on Wednesday to The Associated Press, saying it needs “reliable and understandable information from those in charge, something which regrettably at the present time we do not have.” Contractually, host cities and countries are obligated to pay Olympic debts. The Rio Olympics were battered by organizational problems and variable attendances, while the country faced a series of corruption scandals and the worst recession in decades.