Quick Hitters
Tonga Earns Player of the Week from ACCAC
Sophomore middle blocker Lauolive Tonga was pivotal in the Matadors’ weekend sweep of the Yavapai Roughriders, which earned her the honors of ACCAC Player of the Week honors.
Tonga recorded 18 kills in the two victories while adding nine blocks, four digs and two aces to propel AWC in two crucial conference matches.
Tonga ranks 4th in the ACCAC in blocks per set (1.05) and 5th in hitting percentage (.317).
NCAA board approves athlete compensation
The NCAA took a major step Tuesday toward allowing college athletes to cash in on their fame, voting to permit them to “benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.”
The nation’s largest governing body for college sports and its member schools now must figure out how to allow athletes to profit — something they have fought against doing for years — while still maintaining rules regarding amateurism. The NCAA Board of Governors, meeting at Emory University in Atlanta, directed each of the NCAA’s three divisions to create the necessary new rules immediately and have them in place no later than January 2021.
Bengals bench Andy Dalton, turn to rookie after 0-8 start
CINCINNATI — Coach Zac Taylor decided Tuesday to bench Dalton, ending his nine-season run as a starter. The move came two days after a 24-10 loss to the Rams in London left Cincinnati 0-8 for the first time in 11 years .
The first-year coach decided to use the bye week to get Ryan Finley — a fourth-round pick from North Carolina State — ready to face the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 10 at Paul Brown Stadium. It’s less a referendum on Dalton than an indication that the franchise is looking long term now that the season has slipped away.
Rams send CB Aqib Talib, pick to Dolphins for laterounder
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams have traded injured cornerback Aqib Talib and a fifthround pick to the Miami Dolphins for an undisclosed future draft choice.
Talib played in eight regularseason games last year and five more this year, making just one interception and struggling with injuries in both seasons with the Rams. But he returned last year to start all three playoff games for Los Angeles, including the Super Bowl.