S CAROLINA-SURGERIES
3 South Carolina baseball players have surgery
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) β South Carolina will not have outfielder Gene Cone, pitcher Taylor Widener or catcher Chris Cullen for fall baseball practice after each needed surgery.
The school said Tuesday that Cone had an operation to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. Widener and Cullen each underwent ulna nerve transposition surgery on their right arms.
Cone started all 57 games as a sophomore last spring, hitting .257 with 48 runs scored, two homers and 12 RBIs.
Widener will be a junior next spring and made 19 appearances and led the Gamecocks with nine saves. He had a 1-5 record with a 4.78 earned-run average.
Cullen is a 6-5 freshman who picked the Gamecocks over Georgia and Vanderbilt last year.
All three are expected to be ready for spring workouts in January.
SAINT AUGUSTINE’S-COACH
St Augustine’s places football coach on administrative leave
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) β Saint Augustine’s has placed football coach Michael Morand on administrative leave without pay for two weeks.
Officials at the Division II school announced the move Wednesday but did not disclose the reason for it.
They also say further action may be taken after an internal investigation is completed.
School officials say they will announce an interim coach Thursday.
TEXANS-MALLETT
AP source: Mallett to start at QB for Texans Sunday
HOUSTON (AP) β A person with direct knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press that Ryan Mallett will start at quarterback for the Houston Texans on Sunday at Carolina.
The person spoke Wednesday on the condition of anonymity because the team is not expected to disclose its starting quarterback until game day.
Brian Hoyer started the season-opener, but had two turnovers early and was benched in the fourth quarter. Mallett took over and led the Texans on two scoring drives in the last six minutes of the 27-20 loss to Kansas City.
Hoyer was signed in the offseason after starting for the Browns last year and beat Mallett for the job in training camp.
NFL Network first reported the Mallett decision.
TENNESSEE-MAGGITT
Tennessee coach clarifies timetable on Maggitt’s return
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β Tennessee coach Butch Jones says defensive end/linebacker Curt Maggitt remains several weeks away from returning to action.
Jones had said Monday that Maggitt would miss “an extended period of time” after getting hurt last week in a 31-24 overtime loss to Oklahoma. Jones clarified the timeline somewhat Wednesday by saying that “it could be eight weeks, it could be six weeks, it could be 10 weeks.”
Jones says Maggitt has a chipped bone in his hip and that the fifth-year senior from West Palm Beach, Florida, “does not as of today need surgery.”
Maggitt has seven overall tackles and three tackles for loss this season. He had 15 tackles for loss and a team-high 11 sacks last year.
Tennessee (1-1) hosts Western Carolina (1-1) on Saturday.
BLUE JAYS-BRAVES
Price wins again, 1st-place Blue Jays top Braves 9-1
ATLANTA (AP) β David Price allowed one run in seven innings, Russell Martin hit a homer and drove in four runs, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Shelby Miller and the Atlanta Braves 9-1 on Wednesday night to protect their lead in the AL East.
Price (16-5) gave up six hits and had nine strikeouts as he improved to 7-1 since coming to Toronto in a trade with Detroit. He lowered his ERA to 2.42.
The Blue Jays stayed three games ahead of second-place New York in the division. The Yankees beat the Rays 3-1.
Toronto had 12 hits as it returned to its customary high-scoring pace after managing only a combined two runs in two straight losses. Martin hit a two-run double in the four-run first and added a two-run homer off Ryan Kelly in the ninth.
