Off the wire

FOOTBALL

Peterson turns himself in

Running back Adrian Peterson, who was indicted in Texas for using a switch to spank one of his sons, turned himself in early Saturday at a jail in Montgomery County, near Houston, where he has a home. He was processed and released, according to a jail records official. Peterson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said the charge of injury to a child accuses his client of using a switch to punish the boy, whose age was not disclosed. The Vikings, about an hour after stating their acknowledgment of the matter, said Peterson would be on the inactive list for their home opener today against the New England Patriots. The Vikings made a move to compensate for Peterson's absence by signing running back Joe Banyard to the roster from the practice squad. To make room for Banyard, fullback Zach Line was waived Saturday. Matt Asiata and rookie Jerick McKinnon are the two other backups to Peterson, with Asiata expected to start today. The NFL did not respond to requests for comment on Peterson's situation. The charge of child abuse was especially jarring, given the tragedy that unfolded around Peterson last season. Not long after finding out that he had a 2-year-old son living in South Dakota, Peterson rushed to a hospital there after police said the boy was brutally beaten by his mother's boyfriend. The boy died, and a 28-year-old man is scheduled for trial next month on second-degree murder charges.

• Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker won't be suiting up today. Neither will Dallas Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick. Despite the union's approval, the NFL didn't sign off on a new drug policy before Saturday's roster deadline, meaning players potentially eligible for reinstatement remained on the reserve/suspended list. That includes Welker and Scandrick, who are both serving four-game punishments. The NFL Players Association approved a new policy Friday that would introduce human growth hormone testing and significantly increase the threshold for positive marijuana tests. Other changes could result in suspended players seeing their punishments reduced or rescinded. Despite the union's OK, the NFL didn't approve the new policy by the 3 p.m. Central deadline for the 53-man rosters to be set for today's games. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press on Friday night that significant issues remained unresolved. On Saturday morning, the NFLPA issued a statement saying, "We hope to have final agreements, including effective date for players with adjusted discipline, very soon." Welker was suspended for amphetamine use in the offseason, but punishment for that is being switched from the performance enhancers policy to the substance abuse program -- except for in-season violations. Scandrick, whose Cowboys play Tennessee today, blamed his positive drug test on a recreational drug he took in Mexico that he didn't know contained an amphetamine.

• The Jacksonville Jaguars have promoted safety Craig Loston to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and waived rookie defensive end Chris Smith (Arkansas Razorbacks). The Jags made the move Saturday, one day before playing at Washington. Smith, a fifth-round selection, is the first draft pick cut in General Manager Dave Caldwell's two seasons. If Smith clears waivers, he will be signed to the practice squad. Jacksonville made the move because it's down starting safety Johnathan Cyprien (concussion), leaving the team with three healthy safeties. Loston signed with Jacksonville as a rookie free agent from LSU and spent the preseason with the team before being waived during final cuts. He spent the past two weeks on the practice squad.

• The St. Louis Rams have signed defensive end Robert Quinn, who led the NFC with a franchise-record 19 sacks last season, to a four-year contract extension through the 2019 season. The 24-year-old Quinn bested the team record of 17 by Kevin Carter in the 1999 Super Bowl championship season. He also forced seven fumbles and recovered two fumbles, returning one of them for his first career touchdown. In the past three seasons, Quinn has 29 1/2 sacks, second most in the NFL behind J.J. Watt's 32. He was the 14th overall pick in 2011.

Ray Rice attended a football game at his high school in New Rochelle, a New York City suburb, on Saturday, his first public appearance since a video surfaced showing him punching the woman who became his wife. The recently released running back was seen by several media outlets at New Rochelle High School with his wife, Janay Rice, and their daughter. Rice was released by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Monday after video of him throwing punches in an Atlantic City casino elevator was released by TMZ. Previously, he had been suspended two games by the league and the Ravens organization had announced its support for him. The high school also removed Rice's jersey from its wall of fame and took down a placard honoring him.

LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather Jr. refused to allow Marcos Maidana to turn their rematch into a brawl, boxing masterfully to win a 12-round unanimous decision Saturday night in their welterweight title fight.

Mayweather remained unbeaten in 47 pro fights, drawing upon his 18 years of experience and frustrating Maidana the entire night. The fight was a marked contrast to their first bout in May, when Maidana roughed up Mayweather in a close fight.

Two ringside judges scored it 116-111 for Mayweather, while the third had it 115-112. The Associated Press had it 117-110.

“I felt sharper in the first fight, my rhythm was off,” Mayweather said. “I got hit with some shots tonight I shouldn’t have gotten hit with, but that comes with the sport.”

The fight was held up momentarily in the eighth round when Mayweather complained that Maidana bit him on the wrist while the two were tied up. Maidana was penalized for tripping Mayweather in the 10th round.

Mayweather complained long after the first fight in May that Maidana was a dirty fighter and complained even more when Maidana seemed to try to hit him below the belt in a clinch in the eighth round, then apparently tried to bite him.

Mayweather immediately jumped back and gestured to referee Kenny Bayless that Maidana bit him on the wrist. He went to his corner and showed Bayless where the bite was, then went over to the Showtime announcers table to complain.

“He bit me!” Mayweather yelled.

Maidana was later penalized a point for tackling Mayweather as he tried desperately to find something that would work against the undefeated champion. By the end of the ninth round, Maidana was so out of sorts he went to the wrong corner when the bell rang.

“I thought I won the fight,” Maidana said.

HORSE RACING

Dancing takes Stakes

Ball Dancing beat Xcellence by a half-length, giving trainer Chad Brown a 1-2 finish in the $500,000 Sands Point Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf Saturday at Belmont Park. The two Brown trainees rallied in tandem in the deep stretch, with Ball Dancing edging clear in the final strides in her U.S. debut. She had won two of five starts this year in France. Joe Bravo was the rider as Ball Dancing ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.18 on the rain-softened course labeled firm. Ball Dancing paid $12.60, $6.80 and $3.90 as the stablemates ran as separate betting interests. Xcellence returned $5 and $2.90. The pacesetting Sea Queen, the 5-2 favorite, paid $2.90 as she held on for third. Ball Dancing earned $300,000 for the partnership of W.S. Farish and Steve Mooney. Earlier, Annecdote rallied from ninth to post a 2 3/4-length win in the $200,000 Noble Damsel for older fillies and mares on the grass. The 4-year-old trained by Christophe Clement and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., was also making her first start in the U.S. after compiling a 5-for-13 mark in England. She paid $10.20 to win.

BASKETBALL

Hawks apologize

The Atlanta Hawks have released an open letter of apology to the team, fans and city of Atlanta, saying the organization "did not do the right thing" to correct racially inflammatory words and innuendos. The apology, signed by CEO Steve Koonin, was released Saturday, one day after the team announced General Manager Danny Ferry was taking an indefinite leave of absence following his racially charged comments about Luol Deng. Last Sunday, co-owner Bruce Levenson announced he will sell his controlling share of the team following the release of his racially inflammatory comments in an email to Ferry and the team's other owners. Koonin says the Hawks "must own these shortcomings and failures." He says the team will work with a diversity consultant and hire a chief diversity officer.

• France came from behind in the final quarter to beat Lithuania 95-93 to win the bronze medal at the Basketball World Cup at Madrid on Saturday. Lithuania led by seven points entering the fourth period, and center Jonas Valanciunas scored five points to put Lithuania ahead by three points with three minutes to play. But Boris Diaw drove twice to score contested lay-ups as France went ahead and held on. The final minute became a parade of both teams exchanging free-throw attempts, but France's shooters didn't waver. Nicolas Batum led France with a game-high 27 points, while Diaw added 15. Valanciunas paced Lithuania with 25 points to go with nine rebounds. The United States plays Serbia today in the final.

MOTOR SPORTS

Ambrose leaving NASCAR

Marcos Ambrose has informed Richard Petty Motorsports he will leave NASCAR at the end of this season and return to his native Australia. The announcement Saturday comes amid mounting speculation that Ambrose will join Roger Penske as the team prepares to enter Australia's V8 Supercar Series. Penske acknowledged in July he was "looking at the opportunity" to work with Ambrose in Supercars. RPM wanted Ambrose back in the seat of the No. 9 Ford and said his future with the team was in Ambrose's hands. Ambrose has been with RPM since 2011, and has two victories and 44 top-10 finishes. He had a shot to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field at Watkins Glen, but finished second.

Sports on 09/14/2014

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