LITTLE ROCK — FOOTBALL Joiner joins Bengals
Rookie linebacker Brandon Joiner was activated by the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday after completing six months of a three year prison term and being paroled. The Bengals signed Joiner out of Arkansas State as an undrafted free agent last year, knowing he would be going to prison in Texas over a robbery while he was at Texas A&M that led to his indictment in 2008 on two counts of aggravated robbery and one charge of felony drug possession. Police said Joiner and another former Texas A&M player broke into a College Station, Texas, apartment and robbed a drug dealer at gunpoint. Joiner was placed on a reserve list and missed all of last season while completing his sentence, which was the result of a plea deal that allowed Joiner to graduate before going to prison.
The Detroit Lions have released wide receiver Titus Young. The team made the announcement Monday. It wasn’t much of a surprise. Young was banished from the team in November for what Coach Jim Schwartz called unacceptable behavior and was later put on injured reserve. Young was also told to stay away from the team during its last off season for punching teammate Louis Delmas when the safety wasn’t looking. Detroit drafted Young out of Boise State in 2011 and he had 48 receptions for 607 yards and 6 touchdowns as a rookie. His production dropped off last season.
The Dallas Cowboys have reassigned receivers coach Jimmy Robinson to clear the way for former Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley. The Cowboys made the hiring of Dooley official Monday and said Robinson would be a senior coaching consultant. Robinson also was the assistant head coach. Dooley was fired at Tennessee in November after going 15-21 in three seasons.
Boise State officials said two players have been suspended from the school for violating university rules. The discipline creates uncertainty for the futures of safety Lee Hightower, who started the first seven games last season, and Hayden Plinke, a tight end who played in six games last year. Officials did not specify the rules violated or if either player would be allowed to return to school. Hightower had 31tackles and one interception before he was suspended by Coach Chris Petersen for violating team rules in the run-up to the Oct. 27 game at Wyoming. Plinke, who had two catches, was suspended the same week for the same reason.
BASEBALL
Athletics acquire Lowrie
The Oakland Athletics acquired infielder Jed Lowrie and right hander Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros for first baseman Chris Carter and minor leaguer right-hander Brad Peacock and catcher Max Stassi on Monday. Lowrie batted .244 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in 97 games with Houston, missing two months with ankle and thumb injuries. Despite the limited playing time, Lowrie tied for the fourth-most home runs among all shortstops last year. Rodriguez went 2-10 with a 5.37 ERA in 71 relief appearances last year. He struck out 78 batters in 70 1/3 innings. Carter batted .239 with 16 home runs and 39 RBI in 67 games with Oakland last year, platooning at first base with left-handed-hitting Brandon Moss. Peacock was acquired by Oakland from Washington in the deal that sent Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals following the 2011 season. He was ranked as Oakland’s top pitching prospect for 2013 by Baseball America. The 21-year-old Stassi was considered Oakland’s top catching prospect.
The Detroit Tigers have agreed to a one-year, $6,725,000 contract with right-hander Max Scherzer and avoided salary arbitration. Scherzer was 16-7 last season with a 3.74 and struck out 231, a total that trailed only teammate Justin Verlander. He was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in the postseason, helping Detroit reach the World Series. Scherzer has had a winning record in each of his three seasons with the Tigers and is 52-42 in his career.
The San Francisco Giants have claimed infielder Tony Abreu off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. The 28-year-old Abreu hit .257 with 1 home run and 15 RBI in 22 games for the Royals in 2012.
HOCKEY Wild acquire Rupp
The New York Rangers traded rugged forward Mike Rupp to the Minnesota Wild on Monday for forwards Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri. Rupp will provide Minnesota with a veteran, physical presence. In 565 NHL games over 10 seasons with New Jersey, Phoenix, Columbus, Pittsburgh and the Rangers, the 33-year-old winger has 53 goals, 41 assists and 765 penalty minutes. Rupp scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for New Jersey in 2003. The 27-year-old Powe has yet to record a point in eight games this season. He had six goals and seven assists while playing in all 82 games last season with the Wild. He played 204 games with the Philadelphia Flyers before joining Minnesota last season. Palmieri, 23, has 10 goals and 21 points in 40 games with Houston of the American Hockey League. He played nine games with the Wild last season and has 13 goals and 25 points in 87 NHL games with New Jersey and Minnesota.
The Detroit Red Wings put rookie Brendan Smith on injured reserve Monday and he will be out two to four weeks with a sprained right shoulder. The Red Wings also sent goaltender Thomas McCollum to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed defenseman Adrian Aucoin on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 29. Aucoin, scoreless with two penalty minutes in seven games this season, suffered a lower body injury at Minnesota on Jan. 29 and is listed as day-to-day.
HORSE RACING
Dominguez begins rehab
Jockey Ramon Dominguez has been transferred to a rehabilitation center as he recovers from a skull fracture suffered in a spill at Aqueduct last month. His wife Sharon issued a statement saying Dominguez was transferred Wednesday from the New York Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan to the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, N.Y. There is no timetable for his release from Burke. Dominguez, injured Jan. 18, has won the past three Eclipse Awards as the nation’s leading rider.
BASKETBALL Young tears ACL
Sophia Young, the leading scorer for the San Antonio Silver Stars last year, has a torn knee ligament and her status for 2013 is uncertain. The team said Monday that Young tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association playoffs last week. A magnetic resonance imaging in San Antonio confirmed the injury, and Young will have surgery this week. There is no timetable for her return. The WNBA season starts in late spring. Young led the Silver Stars at 16.3 points per game. The WNBA all-defensive team player was the team’s top rebounder at 7.2 per game and also led in steals at 2.2.
No. 3 Connecticut says backup point guard Brianna Banks will miss the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right leg. Banks suffered the injury during the first half of the Huskies’ 71-65 victory over St. John’s on Saturday. The sophomore from Newnan, Ga. had been averaging 7.3 points and 1.7 assists in just over 17 minutes per game. She was shooting 47.9 percent from the field.
Sports, Pages 20 on 02/05/2013