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ButAllenhadtogo.It had to happen. For Derek Carr. The Raiders franchise quarterback is learning how to play this game at this level in the middle of this mess. The Raiders desperately need some- body to come in and make sure he's learning in the best environment pos- sible. The injury to Carr on Sunday showed just how bad things have got- ten. He's hobbling and limping, trying to play through it. Eventually he comes off and no one helps him off. That's not a sign of a team that's together, all in. That's not the mark of a team learning how to win, even while los- ing. And while the Raid- ers have several veterans, leadership starts with the coach. Carr is watching how the veterans on the team regard the coach. He's watching how hard oth- ers work, he's learning how to prepare for games, he's developing his sense of professionalism. This example begins with the coach, and it matters. Ask Alex Smith. The Raiders' chief pri- ority is no longer cram- ming as many wins as they can. I know it sounds good, its-about-winning talk. But the Raiders aren't good enough. The priority has to be develop- ing the franchise quarter- back. Grooming him in an environment of chaos, un- certainty or indifference is not good. There are a few other reasons to fire Allen, including his 8-28 re- cord as coach. He isn't getting the best ef- fort from his players. His scheme and adjust- ments were suspect. Not having the talent doesn't help, but you could still expect more from this team than what's been shown. Raiders FROMPAGE1 "The more times you hit the ball hard, the better off you are," he says. But his success goes well beyond that. Bumgarner batted .162 with two hom- ers in 2012, but dropped to .107 with zero bombs a year ago. He found him- self in between pitches in almost every at bat, late on fastballs and far ahead of breaking balls. So one of the game's best pitch- ers vowed to think along with his counterparts when he stepped into the box. He tries to pick a side of the plate and a pitch he thought was coming — and then he lets it rip. The increased focus and jump in production paced a staff that hit a league- worst .096 last year and made improving on that number a priority. The Gi- ants pitchers played "pep- per" in spring training and do situation drills during batting practice, although Bumgarner doesn't always worry about moving the runner over. "His situational hitting is, 'Let me try to hit it 20 rows deep,'" fellow starter Tim Hudson said, laugh- ing. "That's the situation he thinks about." When Bumgarner can't pull that off, he finds other ways to impact the game. Baserunners were 27 for 37 when trying to steal off Bumgarner in 2012. After that championship season, he made fixing the hole in his game the priority. "If you got on first base that year and you had any speed at all, you might as well say, 'Here, go to sec- ond, too," Bumgarner said. "It seemed like I could be doing something better. I started trying to find a way to make it a little easier." Bumgarner looked at peers like Adam Wain- wright, a similarly tall, long-armed pitcher who still found a way to stop opponents from running wild. Already known for tirelessly practicing his pitching mechanics in front of a mirror, Bumgar- ner started doing the same with his pickoff move. During spring training, he would do pickoff drills with teammates at first and then ask them what they saw. Bumgarner is not big on watching video, but he leans on the railing of the dugout when he's not starting, watching for ten- dencies when fast runners reach first. He learned to read body language and to vary his times and looks, and he started incorporat- ing a slide step more often, stepping directly toward the plate instead of using a high leg kick. The result? Bumgarner tied for the league lead with six pickoffs and al- lowed only seven stolen bases in 17 attempts. In a Baseball America sur- vey of N.L. managers this season, Bumgarner's pick- off move was selected as the best in the league just two seasons after it was a huge liability. It is the lat- est weapon Bumgarner has added to a game that is as well rounded as any. "All the little things you can do might not make a huge impact, but just picking off one guy might prevent a run and get you a win in April or May, and we've seen how important one win can be," he said. He's hoping the same holds true in October. Giants FROM PAGE 1 Bywireservices Police arrested Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps on a DUI charge early Tues- day morning, and officials say he was speeding and failed field sobriety tests when officers pulled him over. Phelps, 29, was charged with driving under the in- fluence, excessive speed and crossing double lane lines in the Fort McHenry Tunnel on Interstate 95 in Baltimore, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority. This is Phelps' second DUI charge in Maryland. A native of Baltimore County, he faced the first charge in 2004 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Media FCC ENDS SPORTS BLACK- OUTS The FCC wants an end to sports blackouts. The Federal Commu- nications Commission voted to spike a decades- old rule preventing cable and satellite operators from airing sports events that were blacked out on local TV. The commission says the rule was outdated and unnecessary. It was orig- inally adopted to help boost ticket sales in the 1970s. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says NFL teams have hidden behind the rule for 40 years, but no more. NFL CALL ON CHIEFS' ABDUL- LAH NOT NECESSARY The NFL says Kansas City Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah should not have been penalized for drop- ping to his knees in prayer in the end zone after an interception. NFL spokesman Michael Signora said that "the of- ficiating mechanic in this situation is not to flag a player who goes to the ground as part of religious expression." Signora says "there should have been no penalty on the play." College football MICHIGAN APOLOGIZES AF- TER QB INJURY MISTAKE Michigan announced changes to its injury pro- tocol, admitting it made a mistake in handling quar- terback Shane Morris fol- lowing a suspected concus- sion because of a "serious lack of communication" and "confusion" among the coaching staff. Coach Brady Hoke has been criticized for not im- mediately sitting Morris for the rest of the game after the sophomore took a hard hit in the fourth quarter against Minnesota on Sat- urday. Soccer WOMEN'S WCUP TO BE PLAYED ON TURF A FIFA official visiting Canada in advance of the Women's World Cup next summer says there are no plans to reconsider playing the pre- mier tournament on artifi- cial turf. A group of players are currently preparing a law- suit in protest of the turf surface, claiming that it exacerbates injuries, and changes the way the ball moves and the players re- act. At the heart of the matter is gender discrim- ination, because the men's World Cup would never be played on fake grass, the athletes say. NEWS+NOTES RICKRYCROFT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Authorities say Phelps has been arrested on a DUI charge in Maryland. Transit police say they stopped the 29-year-old Phelps at the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore around 1:40a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. Phelps arrested for DUI FCC votes to drop sports TV blackouts Scoreboard Baseball MLBPOSTSEASON Tuesday, Sept. 30:Oakland(Lester 16-11) at Kansas City (Shields 14-8), 5:07 p.m. (TBS) Wednesday, Oct. 1: San Francisco (Bumgarner 18-10) at Pittsburgh (Volquez 13-7), 5:07 p.m. (ESPN) (Best-of-5) Baltimore vs. Detroit Thursday, Oct. 2: Detroit (Scherzer 18-5) at Baltimore (Tillman 13-6), 5:37 or 3:07 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3: Detroit (Verlander 15-12) at Baltimore, 12:07 or 12:07 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5: Baltimore at Detroit (Price 15-12), 12:45 p.m. x-Monday, Oct. 6: Baltimore at Detroit (Porcello 15-13), TBD x-Wednesday, Oct. 8: Detroit at Balti- more, TBD Los Angeles vs. Oakland-Kansas City winner Thursday, Oct. 2: Oakland-Kansas City winner at Los Angeles, 9:07 or 6:37 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3: Oakland-Kansas City win- ner at Los Angeles, 9:37 or 7:07 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5: Los Angeles at Oakland- Kansas City winner, 4:37 p.m. x-Monday, Oct. 6: Los Angeles at Oakland-Kansas City winner, TBD x-Wednesday, Oct. 8: Oakland-Kansas City winner at Los Angeles, TBD Washington vs. San Francisco-Pitts- burgh winner Friday, Oct. 3: San Francisco-Pittsburgh winner at Washington (FS1), 12:07 or 12:07 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4: San Francisco- Pi tt sb ur g h w in ner a t W as hi ng t on ( FS 1) , 2:37 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6: Washington at San Francisco-Pittsburgh winner (FS1 or MLBN), TBD x-Tuesday, Oct. 7: Washington at San Francisco-Pittsburgh winner (FS1), TBD x-Thursday, Oct. 9: San Francisco-Pitts- burgh winner at Washington (FS1), TBD Los Angeles vs. St. Louis Friday, Oct. 3: St. Louis (Wainwright 20- 9) at Los Angeles (Kershaw 21-3) (FS1), 3:37 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4: St. Louis at Los Angeles (MLBN), 6:37 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6: Los Angeles at St. Louis (F S1 o r M LB N) , T BD x-Tuesday, Oct. 7: Los Angeles at St. Louis (FS1), TBD x-Thursday Oct. 9: St. Louis at Los Ange- les (FS1), TBD Football AMERICAN CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA San Diego 3 1 0 .750 102 63 Denver 2 1 0 .667 75 67 Kansas City 2 2 0 .500 102 79 Oakland 0 4 0 .000 51 103 EAST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Buffalo 2 2 0 .500 79 75 Miami 2 2 0 .500 96 97 New England 2 2 0 .500 80 90 N.Y. Jets 1 3 0 .250 79 96 SOUTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Houston 3 1 0 .750 87 67 Indianapolis 2 2 0 .500 136 95 Tennessee 1 3 0 .250 60 110 Jacksonville 0 4 0 .000 58 152 NORTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Cincinnati 3 0 01.000 80 33 Baltimore 3 1 0 .750 103 60 Pittsburgh 2 2 0 .500 97 99 Cleveland 1 2 0 .333 74 77 NATIONAL CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Arizona 3 0 01.000 66 45 Seattle 2 1 0 .667 83 66 San Francisco2 2 0 .500 88 89 St. Louis 1 2 0 .333 56 85 EAST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Philadelphia 3 1 0 .750 122 104 Dallas 3 1 0 .750 115 86 N.Y. Giants 2 2 0 .500 103 91 Washington 1 3 0 .250 95 109 SOUTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Atlanta 2 2 0 .500 131 113 Carolina 2 2 0 .500 73 96 New Orleans 1 3 0 .250 95 110 Tampa Bay 1 3 0 .250 72 119 NORTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Detroit 3 1 0 .750 85 62 Green Bay 2 2 0 .500 92 96 Minnesota 2 2 0 .500 91 84 Chicago 2 2 0 .500 92 100 Thursday's game N.Y. Giants 45, Washington 14 Sunday's games Green Bay 38, Chicago 17 Houston 23, Buffalo 17 Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 17 Baltimore 38, Carolina 10 Detroit 24, N.Y. Jets 17 Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24 Miami 38, Oakland 14 San Diego 33, Jacksonville 14 San Francisco 26, Philadelphia 21 Minnesota 41, Atlanta 28 Dallas 38, New Orleans 17 Open: Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, St. Louis Monday's game Kansas City 41, New England 14 Thursday, Oct. 2 Minnesota at Green Bay, 5:25 p.m. THE AP TOP 25 COLLEGE POLL The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first- place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 27, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: Record Pts Pv 1. Florida St. (27) 4-0 1,416 1 2. Oregon (13) 4-0 1,405 2 3. Alabama (13) 4-0 1,387 3 4. Oklahoma (7) 4-0 1,357 4 5. Auburn 4-0 1,272 5 6. Texas A&M 5-0 1,206 6 7. Baylor 4-0 1,149 7 8. UCLA 4-0 975 11 9. Notre Dame 4-0 972 8 10. Michigan St. 3-1 944 9 11. Mississippi 4-0 906 10 12. Mississippi St. 4-0 848 14 13. Georgia 3-1 788 12 14. Stanford 3-1 643 16 15. LSU 4-1 636 17 16. Southern Cal 3-1 560 18 17. Wisconsin 3-1 502 19 18. BYU 4-0 450 20 19. Nebraska 5-0 445 21 20. Ohio St. 3-1 298 22 21. Oklahoma St. 3-1 246 24 22. East Carolina 3-1 237 23 23. Kansas St. 3-1 216 25 24. Missouri 4-1 145 NR 25. TCU 3-0 109 NR Others receiving votes: Arizona St. 97, South Carolina 61, Clemson 52, Arizona 43, Marshall 40, Georgia Tech 37, West Virginia 24, Arkansas 18, Maryland 5, Louisville 4, N. Dakota St. 3, Washington 2, NC State 1, Virginia 1. AMWAY (COACHES) TOP 25 POLL The Amway Top 25 football coaches poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 27, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and previous ranking: Record Pts Pvs 1. Alabama (15) 4-0 1477 2 2. Florida State (26) 4-0 1468 1 3. Oklahoma (14) 4-0 1442 3 4. Oregon (7) 4-0 1407 4 5. Auburn 4-0 1312 5 6. Baylor 4-0 1191 6 7. Texas A&M 5-0 1172 7 8. Notre Dame 4-0 1072 8 9. UCLA 4-0 1007 10 10. Michigan State 3-1 975 9 11. Mississippi 4-0 907 11 12. Georgia 3-1 824 13 13. Stanford 3-1 735 14 14. Mississippi State 4-0 708 16 15. LSU 4-1 587 18 16. Wisconsin 3-1 578 17 17. Nebraska 5-0 559 19 18. Ohio State 3-1 474 20 19. Brigham Young 4-0 473 21 20. Southern Cal 3-1 392 22 21. East Carolina 3-1 255 24 22. Kansas State 3-1 253 25 23. Oklahoma State 3-1 216 NR 24. Arizona State 3-1 148 12 25. TCU 3-0 86 NR Others receiving votes: Missouri 83; South Carolina 82; Clemson 81; Arizona 59; Marshall 49; Georgia Tech 39; Washington 10; Louisville 8; Duke 7; Arkansas 5; Iowa 3; Minnesota 3; Cincinnati 1; Texas 1; West Virginia 1. Hockey NHL PRESEASON GLANCE Monday's Games N.Y. Rangers 6, Philadelphia 3 Detroit 3, Toronto 0 Minnesota 4, Pittsburgh 1 Columbus 3, Nashville 0 Dallas 5, Florida 4 Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 1 Arizona 4, Vancouver 2 Tuesday's Games N.Y. Islanders 5, Boston 3 Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Rangers 2 Winnipeg 2, Ottawa 1 St. Louis 3, Carolina 1 Tampa Bay 5, Dallas 1 Colorado at Calgary, (n.) Los Angeles at San Jose, (n.) Wednesday's Games Washington at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Carolina at Columbus, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Montreal at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Arizona at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Thursday's Games Philadelphia at Washington, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Minnesota at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Winnipeg at Calgary, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Los Angeles vs. Colorado at Colorado Springs, CO, 6 p.m. Tennis CHINA OPEN RESULTS Tuesday At The National Tennis Center Beijing Purse: Men, $3.76 million (WT500); Women, $5.43 million (Premier) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles MEN First Round Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Guill- ermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain, 6-2, 6-1. Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Richard Gasquet, France, 6-4, 6-0. Tomas Berdych (3), Czech Republic, def. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 6-1, 6-2. Andy Murray (6), Britain, def. Jerzy Janowicz, Poland, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-2. Ernests Gulbis (7), Latvia, def. Fabio Fognini, Italy, 6-3, 6-4. John Isner (8), United States, def. San- tiago Giraldo, Colombia, 6-1, 6-3. Peter Gojowczyk, Germany, def. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. Martin Klizan, Slovakia, def. Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (3), 6-4. Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, def. Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4. Pablo Andujar, Spain, def. Julien Ben- neteau, France, 6-4, 6-1. Tommy Robredo, Spain, def. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2. WOMEN Second Round Serena Williams (1), United States, def. Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 6-2, 6-3. Simona Halep (2), Romania, def. Zhu Lin, China, 7-5, 6-4. Maria Sharapova (4), Russia, def. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine, 6-2, 6-2. Roberta Vinci, Italy, def. Agnieszka Radwanska (5), Poland, 6-4, 6-4. Angelique Kerber (7), Germany, def. Zarina Diyas, Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-1. Sabine Lisicki, Germany, def. Eugenie Bouchard (8), Canada, 6-2, 6-4. Ana Ivanovic (9), Serbia, def. Romina Oprandi, Switzerland, 6-4, 6-2. Ekaterina Makarova (12), Russia, def. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, 7-5, 6-0. Lucie Safarova (13), Czech Republic, def. Mona Barthel, Germany, 6-3, 6-3. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain, def. Flavia Pennetta (14), Italy, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Andrea Petkovic (15), Germany, def. Madison Keys, United States, 6-2, 6-3. Venus Williams (16), United States, def. Caroline Garcia, France, 6-4, 6-3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, def. Kurumi Nara, Japan, 6-3, 6-1. ATP WORLD TOUR RAKUTEN JAPAN OPEN RESULTS Tuesday At Ariake Colosseum Tokyo Purse: $1.37 million (WT500) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles First Round Tatsuma Ito, Japan, def. Stan Wawrinka (1), Switzerland, 7-5, 6-2. Milos Raonic (3), Canada, def. Bernard Tomic, Australia, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Michal Przysiezny, Poland, def. Jo- Wilfried Tsonga (5), France, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9). Roberto Bautista Agut (6), Spain, def. Gilles Simon, France, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 1-2, retired. Jeremy Chardy, France, def. Rajeev Ram, United States, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Donald Young, United States, def. Go Soeda, Japan, 6-4, 6-2. Benjamin Becker, Germany, def. Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, 7-5, 4-1, retired. Jurgen Melzer, Austria, def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, France, 7-5, 4-1, retired. Doubles First Round Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez (3), Spain, def. Jamie Delgado, Britain, and Gilles Muller, Luxembourg, 6-2, 6-1. Kei Nishikori and Yasutaka Uchiyama, Japan, def. Mariusz Fyrstenberg, Poland, and Treat Huey, Philippines, 6-2, 6-4. Jamie Murray, Britain, and John Peers, Australia, def. Steve Johnson and Jack Sock, United States, 6-3, 5-7, 10-7. Soccer MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA x-Seattle 18 9 3 57 57 46 x-Los Angeles16 5 9 57 63 31 Salt Lake 13 7 10 49 50 38 FC Dallas 14 10 6 48 52 40 Vancouver 9 8 13 40 38 40 Portland 9 9 12 39 54 51 Colorado 8 14 8 32 41 54 San Jose 6 12 11 29 34 42 Chivas USA 6 18 6 24 25 58 EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA D.C. 15 9 6 51 46 34 New England14 13 3 45 44 42 Kansas City 13 11 6 45 45 37 Columbus 11 9 10 43 43 36 New York 10 9 11 41 48 46 Toronto FC 11 11 7 40 42 45 Philadelphia 9 10 11 38 45 44 Houston 10 13 6 36 35 50 Chicago 5 8 16 31 37 45 Montreal 6 18 6 24 34 54 Note: Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth Thursday, Oct. 2 Chicago at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 Kansas City at D.C. United, 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 Houston at New York, 6 p.m. FC Dallas at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Columbus at New England, 7:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. Portland at San Jose, 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 Seattle FC at Colorado, 3 p.m. Montreal at Chicago, 5 p.m. Salt Lake at Chivas USA, 7 p.m. Golf WORLD GOLF RANKING 1. Rory McIlroy NIR 11.65 2. Adam Scott AUS 8.99 3. Sergio Garcia ESP 7.76 4. Jim Furyk USA 7.60 5. Henrik Stenson SWE 7.46 6. Justin Rose ENG 7.23 7. Bubba Watson USA 7.07 8. Jason Day AUS 6.67 9. Matt Kuchar USA 6.39 10. Rickie Fowler USA 5.83 Motorsports NASCAR SPRINT CUP MONEY LEADERS Through Sept. 28 1. Brad Keselowski, $6,412,706 2. Jeff Gordon, $6,029,628 3. Jimmie Johnson, $5,696,528 4. Joey Logano, $5,587,043 5. Kevin Harvick, $5,385,031 6. Matt Kenseth, $5,377,787 7. Jamie McMurray, $5,308,170 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr., $5,290,619 9. Kyle Busch, $5,138,435 10. Denny Hamlin, $4,762,553 Odds GLANTZ-CULVER LINE For Oct. 1 Major League Baseball TONIGHT NATIONAL LEAGUE Favorite Line Underdog San Francisco -110/+100 at Pittsburgh THURSDAY AMERICAN LEAGUE Detroit -120/+110 at Baltimore FR ID AY NATIONAL LEAGUE at Los Angeles -200/+185 St. Louis ODDS TO WIN SERIES Detroit -150/+130 Baltimore Los Angeles -175/+155 St. Louis NFL TOMORROW Favorite Today (O/U) Underdog at Green Bay 91/2 (471/2) Minnesota SUNDAY at Carolina 21/2 (451/2) Chicago at Tennessee 2 (45) Cleveland at Philadelphia 7 (471/2) St. Louis at N.Y. Giants 4 (50) Atlanta at New Orleans 101/2 (48) Tampa Bay at Dallas 4 (46) Houston at Detroit 7 (44) Buffalo at Indianapolis 31/2 (48) Baltimore Pittsburgh 61/2 (46) at Jacksonville at Denver 7 (491/2) Arizona at San Fran. 61/2 (441/2) Kansas City at San Diego 61/2 (431/2) N.Y. Jets at New England Pk (46) Cincinnati MONDAY Seattle 7 (451/2) at Washington Transactions BASEBALL American League Texas Rangers: Signed a two-year player development agreement with High Des- ert (Cal) through the 2016 season. National League Atlanta Braves: Announced the resigna- tion of hitting coach Greg Walker. FOOTBALL National Football League Arizona Cardinals: Released LB Victor Butler. Atlanta Falcons: Placed C Joe Hawley and OT Lamar Holmes on the injured reserve list. Placed S William Moore on the on the injured reserve/return list. Signed S Sean Baker, OT Cameron Bradfield and G Harland Gunn. Signed S Kimario McFadden and G Adam Replogle to the practice squad. Buffalo Bills: Signed TE Jamie Childers to the practice squad. Released TE D.J. Tialavea from the practice squad. Chicago Bears: Signed WR Chris Wil- liams from the practice squad. Waived WR Rashad Ross. Cleveland Browns: Signed LS Charley Hughlett to the practice squad. Placed DL Calvin Barnett on the practice squad/injured list. Dallas Cowboys: Released G Ronald Patrick from the practice squad. Signed G Rishaw Johnson to the practice squad. Indianapolis Colts: Signed CB Jalil Brown. Signed WR Chandler Jones and LB Rob Ruggiero to the practice squad. Signed LB Robert Mathis to a one-year contract extension through the 2016 season. Miami Dolphins: Signed RB LaMichael James to the practice squad. New York Jets: Re-signed FB John Con- ner. Placed FB Tommy Bohanon on the injured reserve list. Oakland Raiders: Promoted offensive line coach Tony Sparano to interim coach. Washington Redskins: Signed LB Gabe Miller and NT Robert Thomas to the practice squad. Released DL Hebron Fangupo from the practice squad. HOCKEY National Hockey League NHL: Announced the Board of Governors today unanimously approved the purchase of a minority stake in the New York Islanders by Scott Malkin and Jona- than Ledecky. The purchase remains subject to completion of documentation and further League review before the transaction can be closed. Buffalo Sabres: Assigned F Matt Ellis, D Drew Bagnall, F Joel Armia, F Tim Schaller, D Nick Petrecki, G Nathan Lieuwen and G Andrey Makarov to Rochester (AHL). Chicago Blackhawks: Assigned Fs Cody Bass and Pierre-Cedric Labrie to Rockford (AHL). Dallas Stars: Assigned C Justin Dowling, C Radek Faksa, D Julius Honka, D John Klingberg, LW Curtis McKenzie and RW Brendan Ranford to Texas (AHL). Florida Panthers: Assigned G Dan Ellis to San Antonio (AHL). Nashville Predators: Signed F Taylor Beck to a one-year contract. New Jersey Devils: Released F Ruslan Fedotenko and D Tomas Kaberle. OLYMPIC SPORTS USA Luge: Named Lubomir Mick as- sistant coach and Keith Younger team manager. COLLEGE Baruch: Named Michael Kotrozos women's assistant basketball coach. Chattanooga: Promoted Brooks Savage to men's assistant basketball coach and Alex Wharton to director of men's basketball operations. Cincinnati: Fired Antrione Archerm, football director of player welfare and development, after being arrested on a misdemeanor sexual abuse charge in northern Kentucky. Mississippi: Announced sophomore S Anthony Alford has left the football pro- gram to pursue a professional baseball career with the Toronto Blue Jays. | SPORTS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014 2 B