MLB:
Christian Colon and Salvador Perez hit RBI singles in the bottom of the 12th to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 9-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card game. The A's had an 8-7 lead until Eric Hosmer tripled and scored on Colon's high chopper down the third-base line. The A's wasted a nice game by Brandon Moss, who hit a two-run homer and a three-run blast while Oakland was building a 7-3 lead. Tonight the San Francisco Giants face the Pirates in Pittsburgh at 8 for the NL Wild Card spot. Bumgarner is pitching for the Giants while Volquez hits the mound for the Pirates.
NFL:
The Oakland Raiders have promoted offensive line coach Tony Sparano to interim coach to replace the fired Dennis Allen. Sparano takes over a winless team after four games.
He had a 29-32 record as head coach in Miami from 2008-11.
The NFL says Kansas City Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah should not have been penalized for dropping to his knees in prayer in the end zone after an interception in Monday night's game. NFL spokesman Michael Signora writes in an email to The Associated Press that "the officiating mechanic in this situation is not to flag a player who goes to the ground as part of religious expression."
The flag thrown in the fourth quarter of Kansas City's 41-14 victory over New England last night touched off a firestorm on social media, with many wondering how it was different from players dropping to one knee in Christian prayer.
NCAAF:
Michigan has announced changes to its injury protocol, admitting a mistake in handling quarterback Shane Morris' suspected concussion Saturday. The school blamed the problem on a "serious lack of communication" and "confusion" among the coaching staff. Coach Brady Hoke has been criticized for not immediately sitting Morris for the rest of the game after he took a hard hit in the fourth quarter against Minnesota. Athletic director Dave Brandon says Michigan plans to have a medical professional in the press box or video booth at future football games. University President Mark S. Schlissel apologized to Morris, his family and teammates.
Swimming:
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has apologized for his arrest early Tuesday on a DUI charge in Baltimore.
Officials say he was doing 84 miles per hour in a 45-mile-an-hour zone and that he failed field sobriety tests when officers pulled him over. Phelps says in a statement that he takes full responsibility for his actions.
This is Phelps' second DUI charge in Maryland. He faced the first charge in 2004.
FCC:
Originally adopted to help boost ticket sales in the 1970s, The Federal Communications Commission has voted to end the rule preventing cable and satellite operators from airing sports events that were blacked out on local TV. However, This may not spell the end to sports blackouts. The NFL would still be able to privately negotiate its own rules with cable and satellite companies that would not have the backing of the federal government.
Meanwhile FCC chairman Tom Wheeler says the agency will consider a petition to ban the Washington Redskins nickname from the public airwaves.
A law professor has challenged the use of the name on broadcast television, saying it violates FCC rules against indecent content. Native American and other groups have demanded the name be changed, calling it a racial slur.
Wheeler did not offer a timetable for a ruling on the matter.
Basketball – U.S. Women’s:
The U.S. women's national team beat Angola 119-44 last night to close out preliminary play at the women's world championship. Nneka Ogwumike scored 18 points. The U.S. will next play on Friday in the quarterfinals against the winner of France and Brazil.
Local:
New London High School principal Tommy Thompson says members of his high school's football team were subjected to racist taunts from a group of adults in an eastern Connecticut town where his team had played an away game and lost. A fight broke out after fans in Plainfield used the N-word in taunts against the players, called them "monkeys" and told them to "get back in their cages."
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