FOOTBALL
Falcons fined, lose pick
In the midst of two losing seasons, the Atlanta Falcons tried to pump up the noise. It’s going to cost them. The NFL announced Monday that it had fined the team $350,000, stripped away a draft pick and suspended team president Rich McKay from the league’s powerful Competition Committee for at least three months after the Falcons conceded pumping artificial crowd noise into the Georgia Dome. For owner Arthur Blank, the whole episode has been a huge embarrassment on top of firing long-time coach Mike Smith after last season and dealing with criticism over a pricey seat-licensing plan to help fund the team’s new stadium. Throughout the 2013 season and into the 2014 season, according to the NFL, the Falcons violated league rules that state “at no point during the game can artificial crowd noise or amplified crowd noise be played in the stadium.” The league also said Roddy White, the team’s former director of event marketing, was directly responsible for the violation and would have been suspended without pay for the first eight weeks of the 2015 regular season had he still been with the club. White, who coincidentally has the same name as one of the team’s top receivers, was fired by the Falcons after the issue came to light. Atlanta must forfeit its fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft. If the team has multiple picks in that round, the highest selection will be taken away. Beginning Wednesday, McKay will be suspended from his position as chairman of the Competition Committee, an influential group that considers rules changes. He can petition Commissioner Roger Goodell for reinstatement no sooner than June 30. The Falcons accepted the penalties handed down by the NFL. Blank told The Associated Press in early February that he had seen enough of the NFL’s investigation to acknowledge wrongdoing by his club in 2013, when the Falcons were touted as a Super Bowl contender but struggled to a 4-12 record. Last season, Atlanta went into the season finale with a chance to make the playoffs in the weak NFC South, but got blown out by Carolina at home and finished 6-10. The Falcons said 101 of 103 games have been sellouts since Blank bought the team in 2002. Last season, Atlanta ranked 10th among the 32 NFL teams with its average home attendance of 72,130 in 2014, though there were clearly more empty seats as the team struggled. Construction is underway for a new $1.4 billion stadium that will replace the Georgia Dome in 2017.
Cleveland Browns General Manager Ray Farmer has been suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for sending text messages to the sideline during games last season. The league announced its punishment on Monday, ending an investigation that hung over the franchise during yet another turbulent offseason and threatened to undermine the Browns’ upcoming draft. Farmer, who acknowledged sending the messages weeks ago, will not be paid during his suspension. The league said his ban begins on midnight of the Sunday preceding the Browns’ first regular-season game and will end immediately after the fourth regular-season game. Farmer cannot be involved in any club matters and is prohibited from being at the team’s offices, practice facility or games, the league said. The Browns were also fined $250,000, but that’s pocket change considering what they could have lost. Cleveland has 10 picks in the upcoming draft, including two in the first round (Nos. 12 and 19) and six of the first 115.
Nick Saban and the Alabama football program are dealing with the weekend arrests of two Crimson Tide players in separate incidents, including domestic violence case involving a player that some said should have never been on the team. Defensive back Geno Smith and defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor are facing legal trouble again. Smith was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol Saturday for the second time in his career. Alabama has not announced any disciplinary actions for Smith, who apologized on social media to fans for his arrest. Taylor’s case is potentially more of a problem for the program, even though he was kicked off the team a day later. The player signed with the Tide months after his dismissal from Georgia and was arrested Saturday for similar allegations of domestic abuse. The case in Georgia is still pending. Saban has kicked Taylor off the team, saying the player knew he was signed under a “zero tolerance policy.” His case has been referred to the university’s judicial affairs, according to school spokesman Deborah Lane. Taylor has been charged with domestic violence third-degree assault and domestic violence third-degree criminal mischief, police said. The Associated Press does not routinely identify people who say they are victims domestic violence. The 6-foot-4, 335-pound lineman was dismissed from Georgia in July 2014 following his arrest on aggravated assault and family violence charges for allegedly punching and choking his girlfriend. It is unclear if the incidents involved the same woman. Taylor also was among four Georgia football players arrested in March 2014 for receiving double payments for checks of $71.50 issued by the school’s athletic department. He played last season at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi.
BASKETBALL
Beverley out for season
Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (Arkansas Razorbacks) will undergo surgery today to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist and will miss the remainder of the season, the team said. Beverley injured the wrist during the Rockets’ victory over the Indiana Pacers on March 23. He had averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 56 games for the Rockets this season.
Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson said it’s his “full intention” to play during New Orleans’ upcoming three-game road trip. Anderson has been out of the lineup for more than a month with a sprained right knee. New Orleans begins a West Coast swing Wednesday night in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Lakers, followed by games at Sacramento and Portland. Anderson, who averages 14.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, has missed 18 games since injuring his knee in Miami on Feb. 21.
SOCCER
Seattle, NY make deal
The Seattle Reign FC and Western New York Flash have swapped U.S. women’s national team stars as part of a major trade in the National Women’s Soccer League. Seattle on Monday sent forwards Sydney Leroux and Amanda Frisbie to Western New York in exchange for the rights to Abby Wambach, midfielder Amber Brooks and a first-round pick in the 2016 NWSL draft. Wambach had previously announced her intention not to play in the NWSL this season because of the World Cup in Canada. Seattle said Wambach — the all-time international goal scoring leader — is still not expected to play this season even with the trade. Leroux, 24, appeared in 22 games last season and had five goals for Seattle.
TENNIS
Venus beats Wozniacki
Venus Williams beat former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 7-6 (1) Monday to reach the Miami Open quarterfinals in Key Biscayne, Fla. Williams, 34, is a three-time Key Biscayne champion, but her most recent title came in 2001. Seeded 16th, she’s into the quarterfinals at the tournament for the first time since 2012. She could meet her sister Serena Williams in the final. Serena Williams, who has won the tournament a record seven times, advanced by beating 2006 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3. American Sloane Stephens eliminated 18-year-old Belinda Bencic 6-4, 7-6 (5). In men’s third-round play, four-time champion Novak Djokovic beat qualifier Steve Darcis 6-0, 7-5 and will next face Alexandr Dolgopolov. No. 4 Kei Nishikori and No. 5 Milos Raonic also won.