BASKETBALL
Jefferson traded, released
Veteran Richard Jefferson has been traded from Cleveland to Atlanta and waived. The Cavaliers and Hawks finalized their trade on Saturday with Jefferson and guard Kay Felder going to Atlanta with a pair of second-round draft picks and $3 million. Cleveland needed to clear two roster spots and will now save over $12 million in potential luxury-tax penalties. The teams agreed to terms of the deal Friday night and got league approval Saturday. The Cavs, who had to get their roster to 15 before Tuesday's opener, will also acquire the draft rights from Atlanta to forward Dimitrios Agravanis and guard Sergey Gladyr. Jefferson spent two seasons with Cleveland and contributed to the club's run to back-to-back NBA Finals, appearing in 35 postseason games. He's now a free agent.
NFL
Chiefs' Conley on IR
The Chiefs placed Chris Conley on injured reserve Saturday with a ruptured Achilles tendon and elevated fellow wide receiver Marcus Kemp from the practice squad to the active roster. Kansas City also changed wide receiver Albert Wilson's status for today's game against Pittsburgh to questionable. Wilson was not listed on the final injury report after dealing with knee pain this week. Conley ruptured his Achilles tendon last Sunday in Houston, but the Chiefs were considering their options before making the move to put him on IR. They decided to bring Kemp off the practice squad with Wilson questionable for the Steelers game.
Falcons promote Hall
With Mohamed Sanu sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Atlanta Falcons promoted receiver Marvin Hall to the active roster Saturday and waived running back Brian Hill. Hall was signed to the practice squad at the beginning of the season. He spent time on the Arizona practice squad in 2016. Vic Beasley Jr. will be back on the field today for the Falcons after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury. The NFL's 2016 sack leader was injured in a Week 2 victory over Green Bay.
LB in car accident
New England Patriots linebacker Harvey Langi has been involved in a car accident in Foxborough and hospitalized. The Patriots say Langi, a rookie from BYU, was stopped at a traffic light Friday night when he and another passenger were rear ended by another car. The team says the two "are receiving medical attention," and there is no immediate word on their condition. Langi, 25, signed with New England as an undrafted free agent after this year's NFL Draft. He's seen action in one game so far for the Patriots and has one tackle.
49ers add tight end
The San Francisco 49ers have promoted tight end Cole Hikutini from the practice squad to the active roster. He was added to the roster Saturday to take the spot vacated when linebacker NaVorro Bowman was released. Hikutini was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in May and was added to the practice squad after he failed to make the initial 53-man roster. He had 69 catches for 1,016 yards and 11 TDs in two years at Louisville.
MOTOR SPORTS
Kligerman wins truck race
Parker Kligerman won the Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, where the focus was on John Hunter Nemechek's desperate push to advance in the playoffs. Nemechek entered Saturday's elimination race last in the eight-driver field, but could advance into NASCAR's Round of 6 with some help. He got it very early in the race when Chase Briscoe headed to the garage with a mechanical problem, then Kaz Grala wrecked. But Nemechek was involved in his own accident and Briscoe got back on track. His wounded truck was wrapped tightly in tape, and Nemechek seemed to barely hang on as he dodged and weaved several accidents to grab a hard-earned sixth-place finish. It gave him the final spot in the playoffs. Kligerman won his second career Truck Series race, both at Talladega. This was just his seventh race of the year.
BOXING
Groves retains WBA belt
George Groves stopped Jamie Cox in four rounds in the first defense of his WBA super middleweight belt at Wembley Arena in London. Cox did his best to close the ring on Groves and force the close-range fight he favored, but when Groves escaped his greater power, variety and accuracy wore down his old Britain amateur teammate. The end came in the fourth when Cox left himself open, Groves threw a big right to the body, and Cox sank to his knees, unable to rise on the count of 10 by referee Steve Gray. Groves, who took the belt from Fedor Chudinov in May, improved to 27-3 (19 KO) and handed Cox his first loss in 25 fights.
GOLF
Three share SAS lead
Phillip Price, Colin Montgomerie and Jerry Kelly shared the second-round lead at 8-under 136 on Saturday in the PGA Tour Champions' SAS Championship. Price and Montgomerie shot 67s at Prestonwood Country Club in the 50-and-over tour's regular-season finale. Kelly birdied four of his last six holes to shoot 68 and join them atop the leaderboard. Five players were a stroke back: Tom Byrum, Vijay Singh, Doug Garwood, Corey Pavin and Glen Day (Little Rock). Byrum shot a 66 while the rest had 68s. Both Price and Montgomerie seem to be in good shape in the chase for the tour's playoffs, with Montgomerie entering in seventh place in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and Price at No. 33. The top 72 will advance to the playoff opener next week in Richmond, Va.
Perez extends Malaysia lead
Pat Perez turned in an 8-under 64 at the third round of the PGA Tour's CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to open up a four-shot lead over closest rival Xander Schauffele. The American, who led by a single stroke coming into Saturday, turned on the style on the back nine with six birdies, giving him nine for the day against just one bogey. After three rounds, Perez is on 21-under 195. Schauffele remained within sight of his compatriot after a 5-under 67 -- including an eagle on the 10th -- while South Korea's Sung Kanghoon is a further shot away after a 7-under 65.
MOTOR SPORTS
Earnhardt on pole for final race at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the pole for his final scheduled Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Earnhardt is retiring from full-time competition at the end of the season, and the Alabama crowd has always embraced NASCAR’s most popular driver. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared race day “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day” across the state.
The field will be led to green by Donnie Allison, a two-time Talladega winner and original member of the Alabama Gang, while driving the late Dale Earnhardt’s No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Talladega officials presented Earnhardt Jr. with the car , which his father raced during his 1979 rookie season, as well as some races during his 1980 championship season, as a retirement gift.
Now, with the pole — the first of his career at Talladega — it has turned into quite the special weekend for Earnhardt.
“This place has meant a lot to me,” he said. “It’s awesome to hear those fans happy for us and hopefully we’re going to give them a lot more to cheer about before this weekend is over.”
Could he add a seventh victory?
“Certainly,” he grinned. “You think about that every time you suit up and get in the car, you imagine if that’s going to be the day you get a win. But, this would be a real important one if we could win for all the fans, all year long, we certainly owe them a win.”
Earnhardt is winless this season and didn’t make the playoffs. He’s got just six races left before he turns over his No. 88 Chevrolet to Hendrick Motorsports and replacement driver Alex Bowman.
On Saturday, Earnhardt turned a lap at 190.544 mph to knock teammate Chase Elliott from the top starting spot. Elliott wound up second with a lap at 190.412 mph in a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the front row.
“We’ve been fighting our teammate Chase and his group for poles at these tracks for a long time and it’s been a lot of fun to be honest with you, how these two teams have pushed and elevated each other,” Earnhardt said. “Really, all the credit for getting a pole at a place like this goes to the team. … I just hold the wheel straight and try not to bounce into the apron. There ain’t much to it as a driver.”
Joey Logano was third in a Team Penske Ford, followed by Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer.
Sports on 10/15/2017