Off the wire

NFL Bears’ LB suspended

The NFL has suspended Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan for two games for his frightening hit against Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams. The league announced the punishment on Saturday. Trevathan has three business days to appeal the suspension. Adams was taken off the field on a stretcher in the third quarter Thursday night after getting hit in the head during a tackle by Trevathan. The game was delayed for about 5 minutes while medical personnel tended to Adams. He tweeted Friday that he was at home and “feeling great.” Trevathan was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty following Adams’ 8-yard catch but was not ejected. He is eligible to return following Chicago’s game against Baltimore on Oct. 15.

Crabtree doubtful

The Oakland Raiders leading receiver Michael Crabtree is doubtful to play this week against Denver because of a chest injury. The Raiders announced Saturday that Crabtree had been downgraded from questionable to play today against the Broncos. Crabtree got hurt last Sunday in Washington and missed Friday’s practice. He had been limited earlier in the week. Crabtree has 13 catches for 170 yards and a team-high three touchdowns through three games, but is coming off his worst performance of the season when he and Amari Cooper were each held to one catch in the Raiders’ 27-10 loss at Washington last week. Crabtree has played in all 35 regular-season games since signing with Oakland in 2015.

Chiefs’ Ford out

Kansas City outside linebacker Dee Ford has been ruled out of the Chiefs’ home game Monday night against the Washington Redskins because of a lower-back injury. Ford sat out two practices and was ruled out Saturday. The Chiefs are 3-0.

Lions add Armbrister

The Detroit Lions have signed linebacker Thurston Armbrister to the active roster from the practice squad and placed guard Zac Kerin

on injured reserve with a knee injury. The Lions also announced Saturday that they have signed wide receiver Andy Jones to the practice squad. Jones began the 2017 season with the Houston Texans. He was acquired by Houston via waivers from Dallas and appeared in his first career game in the Texans’ season opener against Jacksonville.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL Former Purdue coach dies

Joe Tiller, who guided quarterback

Drew Brees at Purdue and was the school’s winningest football coach, died Saturday. He was 74. He died at home of natural causes in Buffalo, Wyo., the Harness Funeral Home said. Tiller and Brees carried Purdue football to rare heights at a school better known for basketball. Together, they led Tiller’s “basketball on grass” spread offense to the 2001 Rose Bowl, where Purdue lost to Washington 34-24. “Coach Tiller was an important person in my life and to so many other guys who played for him,” said Brees, the New Orleans Saints star who played for Tiller from 1997 to 2000. “He did so much more than teach us how to win. He taught us life lessons and how to be great leaders and men.” Tiller had an 87-62 record at Purdue from 1997 to 2008. Besides Brees, he coached two other NFL quarterbacks — Kyle Orton and Curtis Painter. They led offenses that rewrote the Big Ten’s record books.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL A&M’s PG suspended

Texas A&M’s J.J. Caldwell has been suspended for the first five games of the season for violating school policy. The school did not elaborate on the reason for his suspension, but Brazos County court records indicate that he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated in May. That case was dismissed Sept. 20. Caldwell will be able to practice during his suspension and will be eligible to return on Nov. 24 against Pepperdine. The point guard redshirted last season after he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA.

NBA Former Lakers assistant dies

Frank Hamblen, who won seven NBA championships as an assistant to Phil Jackson in Los Angeles and Chicago, died Saturday. He was 70. The Lakers said Hamblen died in Del Mar, Calif. They did not provide a cause of death. Hamblen helped the Lakers win three consecutive titles from 2000-2002, then back-toback championships in 2009-2010. He also was an assistant to Rudy Tomjanovich in between Jackson’s stints in Los Angeles and was briefly the head coach after Tomjanovich stepped down in February 2005. Hamblen also spent three seasons as a Bulls assistant, helping them to their final two titles under Jackson in 1997 and ’98. “Frank Hamblen was a great coach and a good friend,” said Lakers Coach Luke Walton, who was a rookie player in the organization when Hamblen coached. “He was not only beloved by everyone in the Lakers organization but by those in the NBA community as well.”