After 15 losses, Canada beats U.S. for first time

Steelers sign Skipper

Former NFA standout Tuzar Skipper was added the the Pittsburgh Steelers' 53-man roster on Tuesday after the linebacker was signed off the New York Giants' practice squad. Skipper made the Steelers initial 53-man roster at the start of the regular season but was waived prior to the Patriots game when Johnny Holton was promoted to the active roster. After he was waived, he was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants and played in six games with three tackles, a fumble recovery and half a sack. He was waived by the Giants on Oct. 22 and signed to the practice squad the following day. Skipper, who was a standout in the preseason for the Steelers, played college ball at Toledo where he earned All-MAC honors his senior season. He was tied for the team lead with 60 tackles and led the team and was fifth in the MAC with 8.5 sacks.

Dolphins release Walton

The Miami Dolphins released suspended running back Mark Walton on Tuesday, hours after he was arrested on charges of punching his pregnant girlfriend in the head. Police in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Davie said in a report that officers went to a home at 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, where Walton's girlfriend told them he had pushed her against the wall and punched her several times in the face and head, leaving her with a swollen left eye. The woman told officers she is five weeks pregnant with the couple's child and had told Walton about the pregnancy on Sunday. Walton, 22, was charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant person, a felony with a 15-year maximum sentence. It was his fourth arrest in less than a year. Because this is a domestic violence charge, Walton will have to appear before a judge before he can be released and he was not listed on the court's Tuesday afternoon calendar. His defense attorney, Michael A. Gottlieb, declined comment and his contract representatives, First Round Management, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The Dolphins announced Walton's release less than seven hours after his arrest. The second-year player had served two games of a four-game suspension for violating NFL conduct and substance abuse policies following three arrests last offseason in his hometown of Miami. "We were made aware of a police matter earlier this morning regarding Mark Walton. We hold our players to a high standard and take these matters very seriously. We will have no further comment at this time," General Manager Chris Grier said in a statement. The Dolphins signed Walton in May, one month after the Cincinnati Bengals released him because of the earlier arrests. The Bengals had drafted him in the fourth round of the 2017 draft out of Miami. As a high schooler, Walton starred at Miami powerhouse Booker T. Washington. In seven games with the Dolphins this season, Walton rushed 53 times for 201 yards, an average of 3.8 yards per carry. He also had 15 receptions for 89 yards.

Browns place Burnett on IR

The Browns have placed starting safety Morgan Burnett on injured reserve with a torn Achilles tendon, another setback for Cleveland's defense. Burnett got hurt during Thursday night's victory over Pittsburgh. He had five tackles and an interception against one of his former teams before leaving in the second quarter. The loss of Burnett complicates things for the Browns, who could be without star defensive end Myles Garrett for the remainder of the season following his indefinite suspension for hitting Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph with a helmet. The Browns may also be missing defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who was suspended one game for shoving Rudolph. Rookie safety Sheldrick Redwine could get more playing time now that Burnett's season is over. The fourth-round pick out of Miami was on the field for 33 plays against the Steelers. Tight end David Njoku could fill the open roster spot. He's eligible to play this week after being out since Week 2 with a broken wrist.

Patriots activate Wynn

The Patriots have activated left tackle Isaiah Wynn from injured reserve in hopes of bolstering their injury-plagued offensive line. New England announced the move Tuesday. In addition, the Patriots have placed rookie receiver Gunner Olszewski on IR with ankle and hamstring injuries. Wynn started the first two games of the season before suffering a foot injury in the first quarter of New England's 43-0 win at Miami on Sept. 15. It is the second straight season that Wynn has spent time on IR. A preseason Achilles tendon injury caused him to miss his entire rookie season in 2018. He rejoins an offensive line that also has had to adjust to losing starting center David Andrews in the preseason because of blood clots.

Gronkowski to host Super Bowl party

Rob Gronkowski will be in Miami for the Super Bowl. The former Patriots tight end won't be preparing for kickoff with Tom Brady and the rest of his old New England teammates. Instead, the man who retired from the Patriots and the NFL in March will be hosting his first Super Bowl party. And he's doing it Gronk style. The three-time Super Bowl champ is hosting the "GRONK BEACH" festival on Saturday, Feb. 1, on Miami Beach in an event featuring Gronkowski's favorites and combining a party with a music festival along with food and drinks. Gronkowski says it's because nobody really knows Super Bowl weekend like he does. "I may not be playing the game this year, but I will still be going to Miami and I'm going to be debuting my very own music festival and its Gronk Beach," Gronkowski said. "I mean, you can't ask for any other situation that better than that. Bring some wildness, some fun, to bring a music festival to Miami and not just on top of Miami, at the Super Bowl. It's really never been done like that before." Gronkowski is teaming up with sponsor Monster Energy with performers including Rick Ross, Flo Rida, DJ Carnage, Kaskade, Diplo and 3LAU. Patriots' fans have held out hope that the fun-loving, ball-spiking tight end would change his mind and rejoin New England ever since Gronkowski announced his retirement in March after nine seasons just shy of his 30th birthday. Gronkowski says they can console themselves by taking advantage of the chance to finally party with Gronk.

Late Monday Chiefs 24, Chargers 17

Daniel Sorensen picked off Philip Rivers' fourth interception at the goal line with 18 seconds to play, and Kansas City stayed on top of the AFC West with a victory over Los Angeles at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Patrick Mahomes passed for 182 yards and hit Travis Kelce for his only touchdown, while LeSean McCoy and Darrel Williams rushed for touchdowns as the Chiefs (7-4) hung on to win the fourth regular-season NFL game played in Mexico despite a few problems with Azteca's grass field and a one-sided first half favoring the Chargers (4-7), who racked up 312 yards without a touchdown. After throwing his second interception of the season in the first half, Mahomes led two sharp scoring drives in the third quarter with help from Kelce, who caught seven passes for 92 yards. The Chiefs held Los Angeles to eight points in the second half, and Sorensen grabbed Rivers' underthrown pass to Austin Ekeler at the goal line to secure the Chiefs' 10th win over Los Angeles in 11 meetings. Rivers passed for 353 yards during his first four-interception game since November 2016.

Madrid — Canada beat the United States in the Davis Cup for the first time on Tuesday, defeating the Americans 2-0 on the second day of the revamped team competition to end a run of 15 straight losses.

Vasek Pospisil edged Reilly Opelka 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) and Denis Shapovalov defeated Taylor Fritz 7-6 (6), 6-3 to give the Canadians an insurmountable lead in Group F of the inaugural Davis Cup Finals.

It was Canada's first win in 16 meetings with the United States in the 119-year-old competition, although the teams had not played since 1965. The Americans had lost only three matches in total against their neighbors in the previous 15 meetings.

"It's extremely disappointing because I felt like I definitely could have won, and it would have been big for the team," Fritz said. "Unfortunately, I didn't come up with the right shots at the right times sometimes. Ultimately, that's why I lost."

The result leaves the United States needing to beat Italy today to have a chance of advancing to the knockout stage. Italy lost to Canada 2-1 in the opening group tie on Monday.

"This is the toughest group, I think, so there is no easy match." U.S. team captain Mardy Fish said. "But you never know. We are going to go out there tomorrow and try to win the first one and try to put ourselves in position to do that."

In the new Davis Cup format, teams play only two singles and a doubles match in each tie, with the group winners advancing along with the two best second-place finishers in the six groups. The doubles match was not played. "They've got a great team," Fish said. "They're going to be around for a long time ... I imagine that we're going to have quite a few battles with them over the years."

The U.S. has won 32 Davis Cup titles, but its last came in 2007. If it fails to win in Madrid, it will equal the team's longest gap between titles.

Opelka and Fritz said they were not surprised by the small number of American fans cheering for the team in the Spanish capital. The Canadians largely outnumbered the Americans and were much louder throughout the matches.

"Being an American tennis player, you are kind of used to not getting the support," the 22-year-old Opelka said.

Fritz said there are just "more dedicated tennis fans in Canada."

"I'm not going to lie, I think the U.S. has so many other great sports, tennis isn't really the focus," he said. "The Canadian fans were strong and they flew out and they came out. I don't think it has anything to do with the federations or anything."

The new Davis Cup is being played in a World Cup-style format with all 18 teams playing in a single venue in the same week, instead of the headto-head confrontations that used to take place at varied sites over four weekends throughout the year.

"I think the new format is great," Opelka said. "I think it is easier to follow, it's easier to understand what's going on. The tournament starts, the tournament ends, you have a winner, you know when it's over. It's not dragging on throughout the whole year."

The revamped tournament is the result of a 25-year partnership between the International Tennis Federation and Kosmos, a group co-founded by Barcelona soccer player Gerard Piqué. The ITF said the change was made to make the competition more attractive and lucrative.