Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — FOOTBALL Jones-Drew has foot surgery

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew had surgery on his left foot Friday and will be out at least until May. The operation came 10 weeks after Jones-Drew hurt his foot at Oakland on Oct. 21. The Jaguars placed Jones-Drew on injured reserve and filled his roster spot by signing rookie defensive tackle Jerome Long off Kansas City’s practice squad. Jones-Drew, who led the league in rushing in 2011, finished with 414 yards and a touchdown this season. The Jaguars rank 30th in the league in rushing. Jones-Drew skipped the entire off season program, sitting out training camp and the preseason during a 38-day holdout while looking for a new contract. The Jaguars didn’t budge, refusing to renegotiate since he had two years remaining on a five-year deal worth $31.5 million. He made $4.45 million this season and is due to get $4.95 million next year. He said last week he doesn’t anticipate missing anything mandatory during the off season.

Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed was fined $55,000 by the NFL for his high hit on the New York Giants’ Victor Cruz last weekend. Reed struck the wide receiver in the head and neck area, and was penalized for the hit in the game. He had a one game suspension for several helmet to-helmet hits reduced to a $50,000 fine last month. Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher also was fined $10,000 for a chop block against the Giants. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was fined $21,000 for abusive conduct toward a game official, and another $10,000 for kicking Oakland’s Tommy Kelly after a play was over. Newton shouted at and bumped referee Jerome Boger in the fourth quarter of Carolina’s 17-6 victory. Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was fined $25,000 for striking Oakland quarterback Carson Palmer in the back with his helmet. Palmer suffered cracked ribs and a bruised lung on the play and will not play in the team’s season finale, being replaced by Terrelle Pryor. Carolina safety Charles Godfrey was fined $21,000 for striking a defenseless player in the head and neck area. New England’s Vince Wilfork was docked $30,000 for hitting Jacksonville offensive lineman Steve Vallos in the head with his forearm on a play in which possession changed. Tennessee defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks was fined $7,875 for a face mask against Green Bay. Houston cornerback Kareem Jackson was fined $21,000 for unnecessary roughness for hitting Minnesota wide receiver Jarius Wright (Warren, Arkansas Razorbacks) in the head and neck area. Safety Danieal Manning was fined $10,000 for grabbing an opponent by the face mask. Minnesota offensive tackle Matt Kalil was fined $10,000 for striking an opponent late against Houston. San Francisco’s Anthony Davis was fined $10,000 for a late hit on Seattle cornerback Jeremy Lane.

Chris Ault announced Friday he was stepping down at Nevada, leaving as the winningest coach in school history, already a Hall of Famer, and having changed the way teams play offense nationwide. Under Ault, the Wolf Pack went from Division II to I-AA to I-A, winning at every level with some of the most prolific and innovative offenses in the country, including his introduction of the Pistol. The 66-year-old coach won 10 conference championships and took the Wolf Pack to the postseason 16 times, including 10 bowl games in 12 Football Bowl Subdivision seasons. He finished with a record of 233-109-1.

BASKETBALL Varejao still out

Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao would like to return to action as soon as possible. Unfortunately for the NBA’s leading rebounder and his team, it’s unclear when he’ll be on the court again. Varejao will miss at least one more game because of a bruised right knee. He sat out Friday night’s home game against Atlanta and will not travel with the team for today’s game in Brooklyn so he can get more treatment. Varejao already has missed four games since hurting his knee Dec. 18 against Toronto. Varejao is averaging 14.4 rebounds for the Cavs.

HOCKEY U.S. loses to Russia

Andrei Makarov made 41 saves to help Russia beat the United States 2-1 Friday at the world junior ice hockey championships in UFA, Russia. Jacob Trouba scored a tying, power-play goal on a slap shot from the blue line midway through the second period, but Vladimir Tkachyov scored from close range four minutes into the third. Russia withstood a late two-man advantage for the Americans to hold on for the victory. Albert Yarullin gave Russia an early lead with a slap shot from the left circle 2:42 into the first period. U.S. goalie John Gibson had 28 saves. Earlier, Ryan Strome scored two goals to help Canada beat Slovakia 6-3. Canada leads Group B with six points. Russia is second, a point behind. The United States has three points after two games while Slovakia has one point and Germany has lost both its matches.

The NHL made a new offer to the players’ association, hoping to spark talks toward ending the long lockout and saving the hockey season. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Friday the league presented its proposal Thursday and was waiting for a response. The sides haven’t met in person since a second round of talks with a federal mediator broke down Dec. 13. The lockout has reached its 104th day, and the NHL said it doesn’t want a season fewer than 48 games. That means a deal would need to be reached by mid-January. A person familiar with key points of the offer told The Associated Press that the league proposed raising the limit of individual free-agent contracts to six years from five - seven years if a team re-signs its own player; raising the salary variance from one year to another to 10 percent, up from 5 percent; and one compliance buyout for the 2013-14 season that wouldn’t count toward a team’s salary cap but would be included in the overall players’ share of income.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the new offer were not being discussed publicly. The NHL maintained the deferred payment amount of $300 million it offered in its previous proposal, an increase from an earlier offer of $211 million. The initial $300 million offer was pulled off the table after negotiations broke off earlier this month. The latest proposal is for 10 years, running through the 2021-22 season, with both sides having the right to opt out after eight years.

FOOTBALL Sources: Saints, Payton agree to terms on deal

NEW ORLEANS - Suspended New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton has agreed in principle to a multiyear contract extension, according to two people familiar with the deal.

The people told The Associated Press about the deal Friday on condition of anonymity because it hasn’t been signed and final details regarding the length of the contract and financial compensation are still being worked out.

Payton was due to begin his seventh season as the Saints’ head coach in 2012 before being suspended for the whole season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in connection with the NFL’s bounty investigation.

Payton signed an extension in 2011, but Goodell objected to certain language in that deal, leaving Payton’s future uncertain until the deal was reached Friday.

Payton is the only coach in Saints history to win a Super Bowl, a title earned at the end of the 2009 season. But his legacy was tarnished by the NFL’s bounty probe, as Goodell ruled that Payton failed to exert proper institutional control over a cash for-hits bounty program run by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams from 2009-2011.

Although the Saints objected to the characterization of what coaches and players have said was nothing more than a performance pool for big plays, Goodell suspended Payton for the entire season. The commissioner also suspended General Manager Mickey Loomis for half of the season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six games.

Payton is 62-34 as in regular-season games as Saints head coach and 5-3 in the postseason. During the three seasons before his suspension, the Saints won 41 regular-season and playoff games combined, more than any other team in the NFL.

Without Payton on the sideline this season, the Saints missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

The Saints headed into Sunday’s season finale against Carolina at 7-8, hoping to avoid their first losing season since they went 7-9 in 2007.