VIKINGS-PETERSON INDICTED
Attorney: Adrian Peterson indicted on child abuse
UNDATED (AP) β The Minnesota Vikings benched Adrian Peterson for Sunday’s game after his attorney said he had been indicted by a Texas grand jury on a charge of child abuse.
Attorney Rusty Hardin says the charge accuses Peterson of using a branch, or switch, to spank his son. He says Peterson has cooperated with authorities and “used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son.” Hardin says Peterson regrets the incident but never intended to harm the boy.
The Vikings say Peterson will not be active for Sunday’s home game against New England.
The allegations come during a week in which the NFL has been under heavy scrutiny for the way it handled a domestic violence case involving former Ravens running back Ray Rice and his then-fiancee.
MLB-ORIOLES
Davis suspended
NEW YORK (AP) β Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 25 games after testing positive for an amphetamine. The loss of Davis is a blow for the Orioles, who lead the American League East. He has hit 26 home runs with 72 runs batted in.
Davis apologized in a statement, saying he took Adderall which is used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He says he previously had permission to use the drug but did not have a current therapeutic use exemption.
The suspension will start immediately and run into the playoffs.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Orioles rally to win
UNDATED (AP) β Pinch-hitter Jimmy Paredes had a two-run double in the 11th innings giving Baltimore a 2-1 win over the Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader. Paredes’ bases-loaded hit came with two outs and gave the AL East-leading Orioles their fifth straight win.
Chris Young broke the scoreless tie in the top of the inning for the Yankees with his third homer of the season.
The closest race remains the American League Central, where Kansas City leads Detroit by a half game and Cleveland by four. The second-place Tigers and third-place Indians open a key three-game series tonight in the Motor City. At the same time the Royals are home to Boston.
In the American League wild card race the Tigers and Athletics currently hold the two spots with Seattle a half game out, Cleveland and Toronto 3 1-2 back and the Yankees 4 1-2 back. The Mariners are entertaining the A’s tonight in the first game of a weekend series. Toronto is home to Tampa Bay.
In the National League the tightest race is in the West as the Dodgers top the Giants by just two games. Tonight those longtime rivals open up a big weekend series in San Francisco. The race in the NL Central is very tight as well as the Cardinals start the day 2 Β½ games in front of charging Pittsburgh with Milwaukee four back. On the schedule the Cardinals are home to Colorado while the Pirates are home to the Cubs and the Brewers are hosting the Reds. The two wild card clubs are the Pirates and San Francisco with Atlanta and Milwaukee two games back and the Marlins five.
Tonight the Braves are in Arlington to play Texas while the Marlins are in Philadelphia.
The remaining games tonight have the NL East-leading Nationals in New York to face the Mets, the AL West-leading Angels entertaining Houston, and San Diego at Arizona.
The Twins at the White Sox game has been postponed by rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday.
MLB-MARLINS
Stanton tweets an update
MIAMI (AP) β Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins has tweeted that he’s feeling “much better,” one day after sustaining facial fractures and other injuries when he was struck in the face by a fastball. A front-runner for the National League MVP award, Stanton’s season likely ended Thursday night when he was struck in the face by a pitch. Blood poured from Stanton’s mouth before he was taken to a hospital.
Stanton leads the NL with 37 home runs and 105 RBIs.
NBA-HAWKS-FERRY
Ferry takes leave
ATLANTA (AP) β Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry has taken an indefinite leave of absence after coming under fire for making racially charged comments about a player.
Hawks CEO Steve Koonin has resisted calls for Ferry to be dismissed, but said the GM asked for the leave.
Ferry made inflammatory comments about Luol Deng during a conference call with the Hawks’ ownership group in June as he team was pursuing free agent Luol Deng. The GM described Deng as someone who “has a little African in him.”
Ferry released a statement apologizing, saying “no words can adequately describe my remorse for the hurt that I have caused many people through the statements I repeated, most importantly Luol Deng.”
T25 FOOTBALL
No. 8 Baylor hits the road
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) β The eighth-ranked Baylor Bears are in Buffalo tonight for a game with the Bulls of the Mid-American Conference. The Big 12 champion Bears are unbeaten in two games while the Bulls are 1-1. This is Baylor’s third game in 13 days. A year ago the Bulls were blitzed by the Bears 70-13. Baylor has been an offensive powerhouse of late, having scored 40-plus points in 27 of their past 34 games.
NASCAR-CHICAGO
First Chase race this weekend
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) β Kyle Busch will start the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship on the pole for Sunday’s opening race at Chicagoland Speedway. Busch got the top spot when rain washed out qualifying and the field was set by practice times from earlier in the day. Starting next to Busch on the front row will be Ryan Newman, with Carl Edwards right behind him.
PGA-TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Horschel moves in front
ATLANTA (AP) β Billy Horschel shot a second straight 4-under-66 in the Tour Championship in Atlanta to take a two shot lead after two rounds. Horschel tops Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Chris Kirk on the leaderboard. There are four players tied at minus-4.
This is the last of four FedEx playoff tournaments with the overall points leader at the end of play Sunday taking home the $10 million bonus.
Heading into the tournament, Kirk was ranked No. 1 and Horschel No. 2.
LPGA-EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Lincicome leads
EVIAN-LES-BAINES, France (AP) β Brittany Lincicome (LIHN’-sih-kohm) shot a 6-under 65 to take the lead after two rounds of the LPGA’s Evian (ay-vee-AWN’) Championship. Her 10-under total puts her a shot ahead of South Korean teenagers Hyo Joo Kim.
Fellow South Korean Mi Jung Hur is in third at 7-under while Suzann Pettersen (PEHT’-ur-suhn) and Karrie (KAHR’-ee) Webb are tied at 6-under.
This is the final major of the year in women’s golf.
BASKETBALL-WORLD CUP
Serbia makes finals
MADRID (AP) β Milos Teodosic scored 24 points and Serbia reached the championship game of the Basketball World Cup by beating France 90-85 tonight. The Serbians will face the defending champion and unbeaten U.S. in the title game on Sunday.
PISTORIUS-VERDICT
Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) β A South African judge has found Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The judge ruled that the prosecution didn’t present enough evidence to convict the former Olympian of a premeditated murder charge. Prosecutors said they were disappointed by the ruling but would decide on whether to appeal only after sentencing.
The sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 13.
