Off the wire

FOOTBALL Texas fires former QB

Texas has fired former star quarterback Vince Young from his part-time role as a development officer for poor performance and often being absent from work or not in touch with his supervisors. The move also comes after Young had a second drunken-driving arrest within three years on Feb. 4. Young’s March 1 firing letter said he was dismissed “for not demonstrating significant and sustained improvement in the performance of [his] job responsibilities and failing to maintain standards of conduct suitable and acceptable to the university.” He had been given job warnings dating back to 2017. The Associated Press obtained the letter and Young’s personnel file through an open records request. Young declined to comment Saturday. His file included several good performance reviews and a February letter from Young saying he’d done good work for the school building relationships with donors.

Lee returning to Cowboys

Sean Lee and the Dallas Cowboys have determined that the linebacker will return for a 10th season, and the two sides are working on how that looks contractually, sources said. Lee is entering the final year of his contract and is scheduled to make $7 million, a figure that will be reduced once discussions are done. At the conclusion of the season, the linebacker acknowledged that if the Cowboys wanted him back, he understood it would be as a reserve. He left the door open for a pay cut to reflect a diminished role, saying a decision to continue his career wouldn’t be driven by money. Separate hamstring injuries limited Lee to seven games last season. He started five games but lost his job in the starting lineup to rookie Leighton Vander Esch, who earned a Pro Bowl berth. Lee finished the season with a career-low 37 tackles. He recovered a fumble and was credited with half a sack.

Chiefs, Hyde agree

A person familiar with the move tells The Associated Press that the Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a one-year, $2.8 million deal with Carlos Hyde, giving them another veteran running back in their thin backfield. The deal includes $1.6 million guaranteed, according to a person familiar with the terms. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday because the terms were not disclosed. Hyde, 28, was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday, and the Chiefs moved swiftly in inviting him for a visit. They were seeking help behind Damien Williams and Darrel Williams, who became their top two running backs when Kareem Hunt was released last season. Hyde was a second-round pick of the 49ers in 2014. He signed with the Browns last year, then was traded in October to the Jaguars for a fifth-round pick.

GOLF Fitzpatrick in lead

Matt Fitzpatrick managed to avoid bogeys on a Bay Hill course so firm he could barely find any pitch marks on the greens. It led to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy going into the final round today of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Orlando, Fla. McIlroy, who has never successfully defended any of his 22 victories worldwide, birdied three of his last four holes for a 66. This will be the third time in five events this year that he plays in the last group. Fitzpatrick, who has five European Tour victories, was at 9-under 207. So demanding was Bay Hill that it was the highest 54-hole score to lead this tournament since Ben Crenshaw was at 210 in 1993.

Wilson out front

Oliver Wilson of England grabbed the sole lead of the Qatar Masters by shooting a 3-under 69 in the third round on Saturday despite making his first bogey of the tournament. Wilson finished with a birdie on the 18th for a 10-under total of 206, putting him one shot clear of a quartet of players that included second-round leader Mike Lorenzo-Vera of France, who shot a 71. Nick Cullen of Australia (68), Spaniard Nacho Elvira (69) and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen (70) were tied with Lorenzo-Vera on 9 under. South African duo George Coetzee and Justin Harding, who shared the second-round lead with Lorenzo-Vera, fell back into a tie for 10th place after both carded a 73.

TENNIS Kerber advances

Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber dropped just two games in winning her second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif. Kerber beat Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-2 on Saturday, breaking serve to open the match on her way to winning the first 10 games in a row. Kerber, seeded eighth, converted 93 percent of her first serves and moved on to a thirdround match against qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Other seeded winners were No. 9 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 11 Anastasija Sevastova, No. 21 Anett Kontaveit and No. 24 Lesia Tsurenko. No. 30 Laslo Djere won on the men’s side. There were several upsets on Day 4 of the combined ATP-WTA event. No. 9 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost to Roger Federer in both the Australian Open semifinals and the final in Dubai last week, was ousted by Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2. Also losing on the men’s side were No. 11 Borna Coric and No. 23 Alex de Minaur. In the women’s draw, No. 17 Madison Keys, No. 26 Carla Suarez Navarro and No. 28 Donna Vekic lost.