NFL:
Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott's appeal of a six-game suspension over a domestic violence case will be heard by arbitrator Harold Henderson, who reduced Greg Hardy's ban when the defensive end was with the Cowboys two years ago.
Henderson is one of the people approved by Commissioner Roger Goodell to hear appeals under the NFL's personal conduct policy.
The league concluded after a yearlong investigation that Elliott, the 2016 NFL rushing leader as a rookie, had several physical confrontations that left his girlfriend with bruises last summer in Ohio. Prosecutors didn't pursue the case, citing conflicting and inconsistent information.
Elliott hasn't spoken to reporters since training camp started, but wrote on Twitter after last week's ruling that he "strongly" disagreed with the NFL's findings.
New York Jets coach Todd Bowles will not stand in the way of any of his players protesting during the national anthem.
No Jets players have indicated that they would opt to not stand during the performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner," as then-San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick did last season. But Bowles made it clear that those actions would be each player's prerogative.
New York Jets wide receiver Lucky Whitehead will have surgery this week on his broken foot.
The team's kickoff and punt return duties are now likely to fall to Frankie Hammond, Romar Morris, Chris Harper and Marcus Murphy. Coach Todd Bowles says that Whitehead could potentially return this season, but it's uncertain how much time he will miss.
Saints coach Sean Payton says cornerback Delvin Breaux needs lower-leg surgery that will sideline him about six weeks and that the initial misdiagnosis of Breaux's injury has sparked a shake-up in the team's medical staff.
Payton says Breaux has a fibula fracture that was initially diagnosed as a contusion. Breaux has missed more than a week of practice and Payton says he had been getting frustrated with the pace of Breaux's recovery, based on the initial diagnosis.
The coach says the Saints will replace two orthopedic surgeons and in the meantime receive help from Chargers physicians during joint practices in California leading up to their game Sunday in Los Angeles.
Breaux has been a starter since joining New Orleans in 2015, but missed most of last season with leg and shoulder injuries.
The Seattle Seahawks have added depth to their secondary by signing former San Francisco starting cornerback Tramaine Brock.
Seattle added Brock to its roster today, a day after meeting with him.
Brock started 31 of 32 games over the past two seasons for the 49ers, but was released during the offseason after he was arrested and accused of hitting a woman he was dating. Brock was charged with felony domestic violence in June, but those charges were dismissed last week by the Santa Clara County district attorney's office after the office said there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case because the accuser declined to cooperate.
Seattle is looking for a starting cornerback opposite Richard Sherman after DeShawn Shead suffered a major knee injury in last season's playoffs. Rookie Shaquill Griffin and veteran Jeremy Lane have been the two most likely to step in for Shead.
The New York Jets have signed wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins and waived/injured safety Doug Middleton.
Thompkins returns to the Jets after playing seven games with them during the 2015 season. He was waived/injured by New York last September after a groin injury.
With 70 career catches in stops with New England, Oakland and New York, Thompkins steps in as the Jets' most experienced wide receiver. The team lost projected No. 1 receiver Quincy Enunwa to a neck injury on Aug. 5.
Thompkins might be best remembered by Jets fans for having the ball knocked from his hands in a Week 17 loss to Buffalo, a game New York needed to win to make the playoffs.
Middleton tore a pectoral muscle in the Jets' preseason-opening win over Tennessee.
MLB:
— Aaron Judge launched a titanic home run, Didi Gregorius snapped a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double and the New York Yankees beat the Mets 5-3 for their third straight victory in the Subway Series.
After taking the first two matchups in the Bronx this week, the Yankees kept up their winning ways when the crosstown rivalry shifted to Queens.
— Mookie Betts lined a two-run double off the left-field wall with two outs in the ninth inning, capping a three-run rally that lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Xander Bogaerts hit a solo homer for the AL East-leading Red Sox, who won for the 12th time in 14 games and maintained their 4 1/2-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees.
Yasiel Puig's two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Chicago White Sox 5-4 for their second comeback win in as many games.
Puig sent a 3-2 pitch from Jake Petricka into center field, scoring Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Trevor Story had two homers and a career-high six RBIs, Jon Gray pitched six strong innings, and the Colorado Rockies broke out of an offensive slump in a big way to beat the Atlanta Braves 17-2. Mark Reynolds also homered and drove in four runs, and DJ LeMahieu had his fifth four-hit game of the season for the Rockies, who had scored three or fewer runs in their previous eight games, going 2-6 in that span.
— Elvis Andrus had the go-ahead home run among his four RBIs, Cole Hamels won again despite a shaky outing and the Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 12-6 victory. Andrus snapped a 4-all tie when he led off the fifth with his 16th homer, and added a two-run single when the Rangers scored four more times an inning later.
— Elvis Andrus had the go-ahead home run among his four RBIs, Cole Hamels won again despite a shaky outing and the Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 12-6 victory. Andrus snapped a 4-all tie when he led off the fifth with his 16th homer, and added a two-run single when the Rangers scored four more times an inning later.
— Anthony Rizzo hit a grand slam in the first inning and Javier Baez scored on a wild pitch in the ninth as the Chicago Cubs overcame a late Cincinnati Reds rally to win 7-6. Baez opened the bottom of the ninth with a double off Wandy Peralta and pinch-hitter Jon Jay walked. Then, Ben Zobrist moved the runners with a groundout. Reliever Blake Wood came in and struck out Albert Almora Jr. On the next batter, Wood threw a breaking pitch that got away from catcher Tucker Barnhart for the game winner.
— Josh Reddick hit a two-run homer as part of a four-run eighth, Charlie Morton threw 6 1/3 solid innings and the Houston Astros defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-5. After Arizona closed within 5-4 in the top of the eighth, Juan Centeno scored on a David Hernandez wild pitch, and Derek Fisher scored on a Jose Altuve sacrifice fly before Reddick capped the inning with his 12th home run of the season that just made it over the right field wall.
— Marcus Stroman pitched 6 1/3 innings, Steve Pearce homered and scored twice and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2. Stroman allowed two runs and six hits to beat the Rays for the first time in five career meetings at Rogers Centre. The right-hander entered 0-3 with a 6.38 ERA in four home starts against the AL East rivals.
— The Minnesota Twins have postponed their game against the Cleveland Indians because of rain, scheduling a split doubleheader to finish the series. With wet and stormy weather forecast throughout the night in Minnesota, the Twins pulled the plug on the middle game of the series. They'll play the division-leading Indians twice on Thursday.
— Alex Gordon hit a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth after Oakland tied it in the bottom of the eighth, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Athletics 7-6.
Alcides Escobar doubled to start the ninth against Blake Treinen (1-1), matching his season high with three hits. Then Gordon delivered his second run-scoring single of the series finale.
— Recently acquired Yonder Alonso hit his first homer for Seattle and drove in three runs, and Marc Rzepczynski struck out Chris Davis with the bases loaded to end the Mariners' 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Alonso, acquired in a trade with Oakland on Aug. 6, hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, his 23rd of the season. He added an RBI single during a three-run fifth and also singled in the seventh.
— Clayton Richard pitched a three-hitter for his first shutout since 2012 and Wil Myers stole three bases in an inning as the San Diego Padres blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 for a three-game sweep.
Richard relied on his effective sinker, inducing the Phillies to ground into 17 outs for his third career shutout. He struck out six and walked one and ended his four-game losing streak.
— Giancarlo Stanton's homer streak is over. But he singled, stole a base and scored in a four-run first inning to help the Miami Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-1. Stanton, who had homered in a team-record six consecutive games, didn't come close to his 45th of the year. He was hit under his left arm by a 91-mph pitch in the second inning, tapped out to the pitcher in the fourth, grounded out to short with the bases loaded to end the fifth and singled in the eighth.
— Luis Valbuena and Kole Calhoun homered, Ricky Nolasco bounced back from a rocky first inning before exiting with an injury and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Washington Nationals 3-2 to split their two-game series. The Angels won for the seventh time in eight games. Tanner Roark allowed four hits in seven innings for Washington, but was done in by the two home runs.
— Manny Pina hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pina's one-out shot to right field, one of five home runs by the Brewers, came off Pirates reliever Juan Nicasio.
NHL:
The Edmonton Oilers have signed center Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of $8.5 million.
The extension runs through the 2024-25 season, similar to the eight-year, $100-million extension superstar captain Connor McDavid signed with the team in July.
With the signings, the Oilers are banking on McDavid and Draisaitl providing a potent one-two punch for the team as it looks to build on last season's return to the playoffs after a decade of futility.
Draisaitl, a 21-year-old German, had 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists) last season, his third in the NHL.
He finished eighth among NHL scorers, and second on the Oilers behind McDavid.
He led the Oilers in scoring during the 2017 playoffs, posting 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 13 games.
Draisaitl was selected third overall by the Oilers at the 2015 draft.
NCAA:
More than two years after first being charged with five top-level violations, North Carolina finally appeared Wednesday before an NCAA infractions committee panel amid its long-running academic scandal.
School representatives — including chancellor Carol Folt, athletic director Bubba Cunningham and men's basketball coach Roy Williams — spent nearly all day in a closed-door hearing to start a two-day session in Nashville, Tennessee, before wrapping up in the evening.
In an email to The Associated Press, NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said the hearing would resume Thursday morning but declined additional comment. UNC officials who attended the hearing left without stopping to speak to reporters waiting outside the room in the Nashville hotel.
A strength and conditioning coach fired after a Kent State University football player died following a summer workout says he was upfront with the university about his credentials.
The Ohio university says it fired Ross Bowsher because he gave false information about his certification.
Bowsher says in a statement released Wednesday he was working toward certification and had been transparent with university officials about his credentials.
Freshman offensive lineman Tyler Heintz died following a morning workout on June 13. A final autopsy report on his death is expected within the next few months.
OBIT:
Tommy Hawkins, the first black athlete to earn All-America honors in basketball at Notre Dame and who played for the Los Angeles Lakers during a 10-year NBA career, has died. He was 80.
Hawkins died Wednesday in Malibu, according to the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he once worked as director of communications.
He graduated from Notre Dame in 1959. Hawkins was inducted into the school's Ring of Honor and his 1,318 career rebounds remain the oldest record on the books in Fighting Irish basketball history.
Hawkins was selected by the Minneapolis Lakers in the first round of the 1959 NBA draft. He played for them as well as the Cincinnati Royals, and notched 6,672 career points and 4,607 rebounds.
Gene Bennett, who was with the Cincinnati Reds organization for more than 60 years as a scout and executive, died Wednesday. He was 89.
Bennett began scouting with the Reds in 1958 and became scouting supervisor in 1975. His signings included Don Gullett, Barry Larkin and Paul O'Neill.
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