All sides say there has been a settlement in the defamation lawsuit filed by two former Syracuse University ball boys against Coach Jim Boeheim. An email Thursday from lawyers for Bobby Davis and Mike Lang includes a joint statement from Boeheim and the university saying the coach "regrets" saying the men were lying when they reported being sexually abused as children by longtime assistant coach Bernie Fine. A statement from Davis and Lang said they're glad the case has been settled and satisfied they've helped the cause of people who fear retribution for claims of childhood sexual abuse. Fine denied the allegations and never faced criminal charges. He was put on leave and later fired by Syracuse. Terms of the settlement were not released.
• South Carolina's two-time SEC player of the year Tiffany Mitchell had foot surgery last week. The school said in a statement Thursday the surgery to her left foot shouldn't keep Mitchell out of the lineup when the Gamecocks open the season in November. Mitchell injured her ankle last month in an exhibition game for the U.S. team while competing in the Pan Am Games. A stress-related injury was discovered in her foot. Mitchell led the Gamecocks in scoring the past two years and averaged 14.4 points last season. She was a first-team All-American and won the Dawn Staley Award, which is named for South Carolina's coach and given to the best guard in the country.
• Utah Jazz point guard Dante Exum suffered a torn ACL this week while playing for the Australian National team, the Jazz confirmed in a release Thursday. The 20-year-old was driving into the lane in a game Tuesday and came to a jump stop when his left knee buckled. Exum was drafted by the Jazz with the No. 5 pick in 2014 and started 41 games last year. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.4 assists.
BASEBALL
Mets pitcher breaks arm
New York Mets pitcher Jerry Blevins broke his arm again after slipping off a curb and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. The Mets said Thursday that he'll have surgery in Boston next week on the radius bone that was fractured by a line drive during a game April 19 at Citi Field. The team said the left-handed Blevins had resumed throwing but fell Monday.
• The San Diego Padres placed outfielder Will Venable on paternity leave before Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers and called up infielder/outfielder Alex Dickerson from Class AAA El Paso. Dickerson was batting .306 over 102 games with 10 home runs and 59 RBI for the Padres' Class AAA club in Albuquerque.
HORSE RACING
Ready for Rye closes strong
Ready for Rye set a scorching early pace and closed with a flourish for a 1 1/2-length victory Thursday in the $100,000 Quick Call at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Jockey Javier Castellano kept the normally front-running Ready for Rye in a stalking spot as Beantown Saint led a field of 10 grass sprinters through a quarter-mile in 20.87 seconds and a half in 43.76. Favored at 9-5, Ready for Rye collared the leaders and went on to win in 1:01.47 over 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf course, returning $5.40, $3.30 and $2.80 for his second consecutive victory on grass. The Great War paid $5.20 and $4.30, and Disco Partner returned $7.90 to show. In the co-feature, long-shot Choral Society took the lead over the final jump and finished strong to hold off Martini Brother and 1-2 favorite Demonstrative in the Grade I $125,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial steeplechase. It was the first stakes victory for Petticoats Loose Farm's 6-year-old gelding, trained by Jack Fisher and ridden by Paddy Young. He ran 2 1/16 miles in 3:51.77 and returned $34.40, $13.80 and $4.20. Martini Brother paid $11.80 and $4.10, and defending Eclipse Award-winning steeplechaser Demonstrative returned $2.10 to show.
GOLF
Barlow leads in Kansas
Craig Barlow shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Web.com Tour's Digital Ally Open in Overland Park, Kan. Barlow had five consecutive birdies and six in seven holes on his opening nine at the Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate. Wes Roach, the winner of the El Bosque Mexico Championship, was two strokes back along with Ryan Yip, Tyler Duncan and Australia's Ashley Hall. Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) was three shots off the lead, a stroke ahead of Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) and two ahead of Zack Fischer (Little Rock) who is at 4 under.
MOTOR SPORTS
Aleshin to make return
Mikhail Aleshin will return to IndyCar competition nearly a year after he was injured preparing for the 2014 season finale. Aleshin will drive the No. 77 Honda for SMP Racing in the Aug. 30 season finale at Sonoma Raceway in California. He also will test the car Aug. 20 as a warmup. The Russian suffered a concussion, chest injuries, fractured ribs and a broken shoulder when he crashed during practice Aug. 29 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. He was treated in Indianapolis but eventually returned to Russia to recover. SPM also will use the test to get Indy Lights driver Jack Harvey some seat time. He'll split the test session with Ryan Briscoe.
Sports on 08/07/2015