Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — FOOTBALL Wright, Childs sign

Former Arkansas wide receivers Jarius Wright and Greg Childs are among six draft picks who havesigned with the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Tuesday. Wright and Childs, both from Warren, were taken in the fourth round. Wright holds the UA career record for receptions (168), single-season records for receptions (66), yards (1,117)and touchdowns (12) and the singlegame record for yards (281). He also tied the school’s single-game record for receptions with 13. Childs had 18 receptions for 273 yards and 2 touchdowns last season coming off knee surgery. The others to sign were safety Robert Blanton, kicker Blair Walsh, linebacker Audie Cole and defensive tackle Trevor Guyton.

The NFL made thigh and knee pads mandatory equipment for the 2013 season, something the players’ union was not pleased with. Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, chairman of the competition committee, said Tuesday at an owners meeting in Atlanta that because this is a playing rule, the league can apply it unilaterally. McKay said the league will meet with NFL Players Association representatives on the issu, but the NFLPA argued that the move should be negotiated. The pads rule would not go into effect on the field until next year so equipment manufacturers can work on safety and comfort. Should a player not have the pads on when he enters a game, he will be sent off the fieldby a game official. The owners also voted to move the trading deadline from after Week 6 to after Week 8, and to allow one “marquee” player placed on injured reserve to return to practice after the sixth week of the schedule and to the lineup after the eighth week. That player must be on the 53-man roster after the final preseason cut.

ATHLETICS

Sun Belt invite accepted

A person familiar with the decision says Texas-Arlington has accepted an invitation to become anonfootball-playing member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2013. The person spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday on condition of anonymity because no public announcement has been made about the decision. A conference call is scheduled for this morning. The person says Texas-Arlington’s decision to join the Sun Belt still must be approved by the University of Texas board of regents, which will meet by phone Thursday.

BASEBALL Getz goes on DL

The Kansas City Royals placed second baseman Chris Getz on the 15-day disabled list with a ribcage injury Tuesday. Getz has a bruised left ribcage and strained cartilage between his ribs, making it uncomfortable to breathe at times. He is batting .277 with no home runs, 8 RBI and 6 stolen bases. Getz aggravated the injury Monday night when he slid into second base and was tagged out trying to stretch a single.Getz originally got hurt in a collision at first base with Baltimore’s Chris Davis last week.

The Boston Red Sox placed outfielder Cody Ross on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. Ross has a small fractured bone in his left foot. The injury occurred when he fouled aball of his foot in Friday night’s game against Philadelphia. General Manager Ben Cherington said Monday that Ross could be sidelined for 6-8 weeks.

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Mat Gamel had surgery Tuesday to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Gamel was hurt May 1 while trying to catch a foul pop-up in an 8-3 victory at San Diego. He was hitting .246 with 1 home run and 6 RBI this season.

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a contract with veteran infielder Orlando Hudson for the rest of the season and put third baseman Brent Morel on the 15-day disabled list because of a lower back strain. A two-time NL All-Star and four-time Gold Glove second baseman, Hudson, who was waived by San Diego, will probably see time at third even though he has never played there in the majors. The White Sox will be his sixth team in 11 seasons. Morel ranks third among AL third basemen in fielding percentage (.962).

The Detroit Tigers placed infielder-outfielder Ryan Raburn on the bereavement list. The team disclosed no further information on Raburn’s family situation. The earliest he can return is Friday against Minnesota. Raburn was hitting only .144 with 1 home run and 6 RBI in34 games.

HORSE RACING I’ll Have Another ‘great’

Triple Crown contender I’ll Have Another is recovering well from Saturday’s Preakness victory. The colt arrived at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Sunday to prepare for the June 9 Belmont Stakes, where I’ll Have Another will attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. Jack Sisteron, an assistant to trainer Doug O’Neill, says “he looks great, fantastic.” Sisterson says the colt will return to the track sometime later this week.

BASKETBALL Irving unanimous pick

Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving of Cleveland is the lone unanimous choice to the NBA’s All-Rookie team.Irving received 58 points Tuesday in voting done by the league’s 30 head coaches, who could not vote for their own player. Joining him on the first team were Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio (49 points); Denver’s Kenneth Faried (46); Golden State’s Klay Thompson (43); and New York’s Iman Shumpert, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Detroit’s Brandon Knight, who all had 40 points. Irving, the No. 1 pick in the draft, became one of only six rookies to average at least 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steal while shooting at least 45 percent from the field.

TENNIS Florida women repeat

Lauren Embree and Alex Cercone won their singles matches to help Florida take its second consecutive national title with a 4-0 victory over UCLA on Tuesday in Athens, Ga. The Gators (27-1) were up 3-0 when Embree sealed the championship with a backhand that McCall Jones had no chance to reach. Embree, selected the tournament’s most outstanding player, beat Jones 6-4, 6-0. Cercone knocked off ChanelleVan Nguyen 6-2, 6-0.

The United States fell to its second consecutive defeat at the Team World Cup on Tuesday in Dusseldorf, Germany. Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek won their singles in straight sets, Berdych defeating Andy Roddick 6-1, 6-2 and Stepanek cruising past James Blake 6-2, 6-1.

FOOTBALL NFL wins salary cap fight with Redskins, Cowboys

ATLANTA - An arbitrator upheld the NFL’s salary cap reductions on the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins for this season and next.

Stephen Burbank ruled Tuesday in favor of the league and dismissed the grievances by both teams. The Redskins lost $36 million over two years. The Cowboys lost $10 million for overloading contracts during the uncapped 2010 season despite league warnings about such maneuvering.

The Cowboys and Redskins, who filed their grievances against the league and players’ association, said in a joint statement they would “abide by the arbitrator’s decision to dismiss.”

“We will continue to focus onour football teams and the 2012 season,” the NFC rivals said.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones compared the dynamics of the salary cap with using a credit card.

“The way you work around the salary cap is you kind of use the credit card to spend money that you won’t be spending in the future,” Jones said Tuesday at the owners meeting. “So it caused us to do more credit card spending in the future.”

Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen said the team is “obviously disappointed.” Asked how losing another $18 million might inhibit the Redskins, he said: “We’ll see. We’ll have time to talk about it.”