Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — FOOTBALL

Jaguars claim Edwards

The Jacksonville Jaguars claimed former Buffalo Bills starter Trent Edwards off waivers Tuesday. Edwards is expected to sign a contract this morning and join his new teammates at practice later in the day. Edwards started the first two games for Buffalo this season, completing 29 of 52 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. He also threw two interceptions and lost both games, prompting Coach Chan Gailey to turn to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Edwards, a third-round draft pick by Buffalo in 2007, started 32 games for the Bills. He has thrown for 5,739 yards, with 25 touchdowns and 27 interceptions for a 76.8 passer rating.

Veteran kicker John Carney is returning to the New Orleans Saints. Carney’s agent, Jack Mills, confirmed in an e-mail Tuesday to The Associated Press that his client would be signing a contract with his former team. Terms of the deal were not released. Carney, who is 46, worked out for the Saints on Tuesday after starting kicker Garrett Hartley missed a 29-yard field goal in overtime Sunday in a 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. For the season, Hartley is 4 for 7 on field goal attempts.

New York Giants safety Michael Johnson has been placed on injured reserve because of a herniated disk in his back. A seventh-round draft pick in 2007 out of Arizona, Johnson started 14 games last season. He played the first two games this season then was inactive last week.

The NFL is investigating a confrontation between Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins and a fan after Monday night’s loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press the league is “in the process of reviewing all the facts” and Bears spokesman Scott Hagel said the team is doing the same thing. Milwaukee’s WITI-TV aired video in which Collins is seen yelling at a fan as he left the field. Collins then appears to throw his mouthpiece into the stands. According to the station’s report, Collins said the fan spit on him and used a racial slur. WITI said Collins apologized for “losing his cool.”

The NFL and its players’ union discussed a proposal to change to an 18-game regular season during a bargaining session Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The league and the NFL Players Association issued a joint statement about the meeting, saying that negotiations “focused on several matters,” including the longer regular season, a rookie wage scale and improvements for retired players. “Both sides look forward to continuing these discussions and reaching a new collective bargaining agreement,” the statement said. The current collective bargaining agreement expires in March.

The Seattle Seahawks have signed former Denver wide receiver Brandon Stokley, reuniting him with offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates. Stokley played in all 16 games last season for Denver but had just 19 catches. Two years ago, when Bates was the Broncos offensive coordinator, Stokley had 49 receptions, second most in his career.

A spokesman for Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Rayfield Wright said the former Dallas Cowboys player is doing well after a heart attack. Jeannette DeVader, director of The Rayfield Wright Foundation, said the 65-yearold Wright was released from a Fort Worth hospital late Saturday, three days after a “moderate to severe heart attack.” DeVader said Wright’s prognosis is good. Wright was a two-time Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowl pick while playing his entire NFL career with the Cowboys from 1967-79. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

BASKETBALL

No action against Kentucky

The NCAA “plans no further action” regarding an investigation into the eligibility of former Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe. NCAA spokesman Chuck Wynne said Tuesday in an e-mail the “initial eligibility decision stands” after school district officials in Birmingham, Ala., decided to allow Bledsoe to keep a grade that helped make him eligible. Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said a teacher claims Bledsoe completed makeup work to justify a higher grade in an algebra course during the 2008-09 school year. The mark was switched from a “C” to an “A.” Witherspoon said an investigation found no documentation to justify the improvement. But, he said, it didn’t prove the change was improper, either. Bledsoe is now with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sylvia Fowles scored 15 points and Diana Taurasi added 14 to help the unbeaten United States rout Belarus 107-61 Tuesday at the women’s basketball world championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Candice Dupree had 12 points and Swin Cash 11 for the United States (5-0), which shot 68 percent.

Former Michigan State basketball star Jay Vincent pleaded guilty Tuesday to two crimes linked to a $2 million Internet scam. Vincent, 51, pleaded guilty to a fraud charge and a tax charge in federal court in Grand Rapids, Mich., just six weeks after he was indicted. Prosecutors say Vincent and an associate, Anthony Portee, defrauded 20,000 people by charging them to become certified home inspectors through a business called Foreclosure Bank Inspection Co. No inspectors were hired, and the business had no contracts with banks, according to the government. Vincent will be sentenced Feb 7. Vincent and Magic Johnson, who both grew up in Lansing, played on the 1979 Michigan State national championship team.Vincent spent the 1980s in the NBA with Dallas, Washington, Denver, San Antonio, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 15 points a game.

HOCKEY

Leighton, Laperriere out

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Michael Leighton has a bulging disc in his back and will miss a month, while forward Ian Laperriere is out indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome. Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren said Leighton will not need surgery and should be fine with rehabilitation and rest. Laperriere was hit by a puck blocking a shot late last year and fought his way back to the lineup. Holmgren said Laperriere will have a magnetic resonance imaging Friday.

HORSE RACING

Real Quiet dies at 15

Real Quiet, the slightly built colt who in 1998 won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and missed the Triple Crown by a nose, has died at 15. The former champion 3-year-old died Monday following a fall in his paddock, Penn Ridge Farms owner Mike Jester said. The horse broke his neck when his left shoulder hit the ground. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, owned by Mike Pegram and ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Real Quiet narrowly missed the Triple Crown a dozen years ago. He beat Victory Gallop in both the Derby and the Preakness before Victory Gallop edged him at the wire in the Belmont.

TENNIS

Top seed wins

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the third round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, while Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan celebrated her 40th birthday with a victory over Daniela Hantuchova on Tuesday. Wozniacki defeated Greta Arn of Hungary 6-1, 6-3. Date Krumm was leading 2-6, 6-0, 4-0 when Hantuchova was forced to retire with a right shoulder injury. Wozniacki next faces 16th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the third round. Pavlyuchenkova beat Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1. Also, No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia overpowered Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-3, No. 7 Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Yaroslav Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-0, 6-1and No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3.

Juan Martin del Potro’s return from an eight-month injury layoff ended in a 7-6 (7), 6-4 loss to Olivier Rochus at the Thailand Open on Tuesday in Nonthaburi. The 2009 U.S. Open champion hasn’t played since the Australian Open in January. He withdrew from several tournaments before having surgery on his right wrist in May. In other first-round play, eighth-seeded Michael Berrer was upset 6-4, 7-6 (4) by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Marcos Baghdatis routed Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1 Tuesday in his first match after a month’s layoff to reach the second round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.

GOLF

U.S. wins Junior Ryder Cup

The United States held off the European team Tuesday to win the Junior Ryder Cup with a 13 1 /2-10 1 /2 victory. Leading 9-3 going into the 12 singles matches at Gleneagles, Scotland, the Americans needs to win only three matches. They got that with victories by Jordan Spieth, Doris Chen and Justin Thomas. Spieth won all three of his matches. He tied for 16th in the Byron Nelson Championship this year. The series is for European and American boys and girls younger than 18. The Junior Ryder Cup began in 1997, and the competition is now even at 3-3-1.