Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Off the wire
NFL Chiefs’ tackle arrested
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Roy Miller was arrested early Saturday in Florida on a domestic battery charge, according to Duval County jail records. Miller was jailed shortly before 5 a.m. by the Jacksonville sheriff’s office. The incident involved a minor injury, but no other details were available about the alleged battery. The Chiefs, who are off this week, said in statement to The Associated Press that they were aware of the incident and are gathering facts. They declined any further comment. Miller, 30, who was drafted out of Texas by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spent the past four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Miller signed a $1.4 million deal with Kansas City this past offseason but has only appeared in 7 games with 2 tackles.
Cowboys’ lineman injured
Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith will miss today’s game against the Falcons because of back and groin injuries. The Cowboys said Saturday that Smith and tight end Geoff Swaim were downgraded from questionable to out and didn’t make the trip to Atlanta. Swaim injured a knee in practice Thursday. A four-time Pro Bowl selection who protects quarterback Dak Prescott’s blind side, Smith has been battling back issues since last season, when he missed three games. The 26-year-old injured a groin in last weekend’s victory over Kansas City. Chaz Green will make his sixth career start in Smith’s place.
Dolphins’ tackle on IR
Miami Dolphins right tackle Ja’Wuan James has been placed on injured reserve because of a left hamstring injury, ending his season. James was hurt in last Sunday night’s loss to Oakland. Jesse Davis, who has two career starts, will take over at right tackle Monday night at Carolina, ending James’ streak of 25 consecutive starts.
Lions activate Decker
The Detroit Lions have activated tackle Taylor Decker from the physically-unable-to-perform list before today’s game against Cleveland. Decker has been out all season because of a shoulder injury. He started every game for the Lions as a rookie last season after being drafted in the first round. Detroit also announced Saturday that it has activated tackle Corey Robinson from injured reserve-designated for return. The Lions waived wide receiver Jace Billingsley. The Lions will be without guard T.J. Lang against the Browns because of a concussion.
TENNIS
U.S., Belarus tied at Fed Cup
U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens lost in three sets to Aryna Sabalenka as host Belarus and the United States ended the opening day of the Fed Cup final in Minsk evenly poised at 1-1. Sabalenka beat Stephens 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Saturday after CoCo Vandeweghe earlier
defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 6-4 to give 17-time champion United States a 1-0 lead. The Americans are looking to break a 17-year championship drought, while Belarus is playing in its first Fed Cup final. Sabalenka’s carefree and often careless tennis resulted in 31 winners and 57 unforced errors. She won on a fourth match point when Stephens netted a forehand.
NBA
Irving suffers broken bone
Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving has a broken bone in his face and is doubtful for their next game. The team called the fracture minor. Irving left Friday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets in the first quarter after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face from teammate Aron Baynes. Irving was bleeding from the nose as he was escorted to the locker room. Also Saturday, the Celtics said Al Horford probably would be able to return for today’s game against the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics have won 11 consecutive games.
MOTOR SPORTS
Xfinity Series field set
Justin Allgaier, William Byron, Elliott Sadler and Daniel Hemric took the four spots next week in the Xfinity Series championship race. All four berths in the championship were on the line Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, where Byron raced to his fourth victory of the season. The other three drivers made it into the Homestead-Miami finale on points. It made for an enjoyable race for the final spot between Hemric and Cole Custer, as the two battled for position in the closing laps. Custer was fourth and Hemric fifth, and if they stayed that way, Hemric had the spot. But Christopher Bell chased Hemric, who couldn’t afford to give up a position between Custer. Bell used a three-wide pass on the outside to get by both drivers, and Hemric eventually passed Custer and finished fifth.
GOLF
Three-way tie in Mexico
Rickie Fowler woke up at 5 a.m. Saturday and played three holes in the OHL Classic at Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was enough to get him a three-way share of the 36-hole lead going into a marathon finish. Fowler saved par from a bunker on the 18th hole for a 4-under 67. Patrick Rodgers finally make his first bogey of the tournament on his 17th hole had to settle for a 65. They shared the lead at 10-under 132 along with Patton Kizzire. The last three groups didn’t have enough light at El Camaleon Golf Club to even start the third round, leaving them a 36-hole finish today. More thunderstorms, with heavy downpours, were in the forecast for the next two days. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) was 5 under after two holes. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) was 4 under after 9. Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) was 1 under after 4.