Friday Sports in Brief
NFL
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is being charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution after police said Friday he was twice videotaped paying for and receiving sex at an illicit massage parlor.
Jupiter police told reporters Friday that the 77-year-old Kraft hasn’t been arrested. A warrant will be issued and his attorneys will be notified.
The charge comes amid a widespread crackdown on sex trafficking in the area surrounding Palm Beach County.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Kraft said they “categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.”
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says the Chicago Bears have decided to release embattled kicker Cody Parkey after one season.
The person spoke Friday on the condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced.
Signed to a four-year contract in March, Parkey made just 23 of 30 field goals during the regular season for the third-lowest conversion rate in the NFL. He was 42 of 45 on extra points. Six of his misses, counting the playoffs, hit uprights.
— By AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens defensive back Tavon Young has signed a three-year contract extension, part of the team’s effort to retain budding talent.
The 24-year-old Young had one year left on his rookie contract, but first-year general manager Eric DeCosta wanted to get a jump on keeping the slot cornerback.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Jim Boeheim will coach Syracuse against top-ranked Duke on Saturday night, his team’s next game after Boeheim struck and killed a pedestrian on a darkened highway.
Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said in a release Friday that Boeheim will resume coaching duties three days after the crash.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas senior guard and leading scorer Kerwin Roach II was suspended Friday for the third time in his career for a violation of team rules and the school has put no timetable on his return.
Texas said Roach was suspended “indefinitely.” Coach Shaka Smart released no statement or details on the suspension as the team traveled to Saturday’s matchup with Oklahoma.
Roach’s disciplinary history suggests he could have reached his limit with Smart. He was suspended for this season’s opener, as well as the season-opener for the 2016-2017 season. In both cases, Texas cited an unspecified violation of team rules.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NCAA will experiment with eliminating one-and-one free throws and change the way bonus free throws are awarded at this year’s NIT.
The experimental rules announced Friday also will include an extended 3-point arc, a wider free throw lane and new shot clock rules after offensive rebounds — rules all used at last year’s NIT.
The shot clock also will be reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound and the 3-point arc will be moved to 22 feet, 1.75 inches to match the FIBA line used in international competition.
Team fouls will be reset at the 10-minute mark of each half and two free throws will be awarded after the fifth team foul of each segment. If a team doesn’t reach five team fouls during a segment, two bonus free throws will be awarded after the second team foul committed in the final two minutes of each half.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa play-by-play announcer Gary Dolphin was suspended Friday for the rest of the season for referring to Maryland’s Bruno Fernando as “King Kong” during a game.
Hawkeye Sports Properties, the multimedia rights manager for Iowa’s athletic, announced the move just hours before the 21st-ranked Hawkeyes hosted Indiana.
BASEBALL
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Manny Machado calls San Diego “one of the best cities in the world” and says he was attracted to the Padres by the team’s strong farm system.
The 26-year-old infielder was introduced at a news conference Friday, a day after his $300 million, 10-year contract was finalized.
Machado will play third base for the Padres. General manager A.J. Preller was coy when asked whether more additions might be coming — Bryce Harper, Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are still free agents.
Preller says “we’re always open-minded.”
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has been shut down indefinitely after telling manager Dave Roberts that he “didn’t feel right” after two discouraging outings on the mound.
Kershaw worked out indoors at Camelback Ranch on Friday, but didn’t play catch. Roberts wouldn’t speculate on the left-hander’s next bullpen session.
NEW YORK (AP) — A 20-second pitch clock will be phased in in three stages during spring training, with the start of ball/strike penalties depending on negotiations with the players’ association.
Major League Baseball said Friday that the pitch clock will not be enforced this weekend and that beginning early next week umpires will issue reminders to batters and pitchers who violate the clock.
MLB did not give a date for when it might start ball/strike penalties.
NHL
NEW YORK (AP) — Edmonton Oilers All-Star Connor McDavid has been suspended two games for an illegal check to the head of the New York Islanders’ Nick Leddy during Edmonton’s 4-3 win on Thursday night.
McDavid was given a minor penalty for the hit, which occurred late in the first period. He later scored the game-winner in overtime.
McDavid said the hit, which occurred after Leddy bobbled the puck as he chipped it into the Oilers zone, was not intentional. McDavid stepped in front of Leddy as he tried to play the pick and hit the Islanders defenseman in the head with his shoulder.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Washington Capitals upgraded their blue line Friday by acquiring defenseman Nick Jensen from the Detroit Red Wings.
Washington sent a 2020 second-round pick and defenseman Madison Bowey to Detroit for Jensen and a 2019 fifth-round pick. The Capitals then signed the pending unrestricted free agent to a $10 million, four-year extension that carries a $2.5 million salary-cap hit through 2022-23.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Matt Duchene from the Ottawa Senators on Friday in exchange for a 2019 first-round draft pick and two top prospects, adding a veteran center as they make a push for a playoff spot.
The 28-year-old Duchene, one of the top players available ahead of Monday’s NHL trade deadline, was dealt for forwards Vitaly Abramov and Jonathan Davidsson. Columbus also got minor league defenseman Julius Bergman hours before the two teams played each other in Ottawa.
Columbus will send an additional 2020 first-round draft pick to Ottawa if it is able to sign Duchene to a contract extension.
AUTO RACING
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Dale Jr. will race at NASCAR’s track dubbed “Too Tough To Tame.”
Earnhardt Jr. announced Friday he’ll compete at Darlington Raceway’s Xfinity Series race on Aug. 31 during the track’s Southern 500 weekend.
Earnhardt Jr. retired from fulltime racing in 2017. He ran the Xfinity race at Richmond last September and finished fourth.
He said the main reason he picked Darlington was the track surface that puts a premium on being smart and managing tires.
SOCCER
Chelsea was banned Friday from signing players until after the 2019-20 season, the latest European power punished by FIFA for flouting rules protecting young talent from premature international moves.
FIFA punished the London club owned by Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich for violations of rules regarding the protection of minors that involve 29 players, Chelsea said. FIFA rules provide specific circumstances in which clubs may sign players under 18.
ZURICH (AP) — Peru will no longer host the Under-17 World Cup in October after being stripped of the tournament by FIFA on Friday over concerns about the infrastructure.
The decision was taken by the bureau of the FIFA Council which features the six regional confederation presidents and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
The tournament was due to be staged in October after Peru was awarded the competition last June. FIFA is evaluating alternative host countries, which were not specified.
