FOOTBALL
McFadden questionable
Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (Arkansas Razorbacks) is questionable for Sunday's game against Miami with a groin injury, and inexperienced backups could lead to some shuffling behind him. McFadden was a limited participant in practice for the second consecutive day Friday after he wasn't listed on the first injury report of the week Wednesday. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on his radio show that the team was being cautious with McFadden, whose career as the fourth overall pick by Oakland in 2008 was derailed by a litany of injuries. He signed with Dallas a day after reigning NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray left for Philadelphia in free agency. After the Cowboys released Christine Michael this week, the only backups were undrafted rookies Rod Smith and Trey Williams, with their two combined carries this season. Smith had both those carries with Seattle before the Seahawks waived him and the Cowboys picked him up. Dallas signed Williams off Washington's practice squad. Because of that inexperience, the Cowboys (2-7) might be forced to activate Robert Turbin against the Dolphins (4-5) even though the fourth-year player has only been with the team since Wednesday. Dallas added him about a week after he was released by Cleveland. "He has made a great impression," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said Thursday. "This guy is a veteran. He's played."
BASEBALL
Rays claim Whitley
The Tampa Bay Rays have claimed New York Yankees pitcher Chase Whitley off waivers while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The Rays made the move Friday. The Yankees were seeking to clear roster spots ahead of the winter meeting draft. Whitley, 26, made his big league debut in May 2014. The right-hander was 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA in four starts last season when he was inserted into the rotation for injured Masahiro Tanaka. Whitley left a start at Tampa Bay on May 14 in the second inning because of elbow pain. He had ligament replacement surgery five days later. New York also added three players to its 40-man roster, protecting them from the winter meeting draft on Dec. 10: right-handers Johnny Barbato and Rookie Davis, and outfielder Ben Gamel.
• The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed pitcher Spencer Patton from the Texas Rangers on Friday for minor league infielder Frandy Delarosa. Patton, 27, went 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in nine major league relief appearances in 2015 before splitting last season between the Rangers and Class AAA Round Rock. Patton is 2-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 36 major league relief outings the last two years. Delarosa, 19, hit .273 with 20 doubles, two triples and 30 RBI in 62 games for short-season Class A Eugene last season. Chicago's 40-man roster now stands at 33 players.
• New Brewers General Manager David Stearns has made a trade for the third consecutive day, dealing infielder Luis Sardinas to the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Ramon Flores. Sardinas was acquired by Milwaukee in January as part of the swap that sent pitcher Yovani Gallardo to Texas. Sardinas hit .196 with four RBI in 36 games with the Brewers this season while playing second base, shortstop and third. Flores batted .308 with nine home runs and 41 RBI at Class AAA this year in the New York Yankees and Seattle organizations. Stearns also acquired infielder Jonathan Villar from Houston for pitcher Cy Sneed on Thursday, one day after obtaining infielder Javier Betancourt from Detroit for reliever Francisco Rodriguez.
• The United States scored five runs in the fourth inning to beat Mexico 6-1 and reach the Premier12 baseball final on Friday in Tokyo. The U.S. team, made up of players not on 40-man MLB rosters, takes on South Korea in the final today. Mexico took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a solo home run by Humberto Sosa, but the U.S. quickly rallied at the Tokyo Dome. After Adam Frazier's two-out RBI single, Dan Rohlfing hit a two-run double to make it 3-1. Elliot Soto followed with a single to right, driving in Rohlfing and advancing to third on an error. Jacob May capped the five-run outburst with a line drive that scored Soto. Zeke Spruill gave up 1 run on 5 hits over 5 innings for the victory.
TENNIS
Wawrinka in semis
Stan Wawrinka grabbed the last semifinal spot at the ATP World Tour finals in London by beating Andy Murray 7-6 (4), 6-4 Friday in the last group-stage match at the season-ending tournament. Murray led 4-2 in the first-set tiebreaker but then lost the next five points and was broken in the first game of the second to put Wawrinka in control. The French Open champion broke again for a 5-2 lead but needed two attempts to serve out the match. He saved two break points at 5-4 before converting his second match point when Murray's backhand went wide. Wawrinka will play Swiss compatriot Roger Federer today, while Rafael Nadal faces Novak Djokovic in the other semifinal. Nadal beat David Ferrer 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 earlier to finish the group stage unbeaten.
GOLF
Purses on rise
Purses on the LPGA Tour will rise by $4 million in 2016, and officials are aiming for a second event in China. The tour released next year's schedule on Friday, with 18 of the 33 official events held in the United States. Purse money will rise from $59.1 million to $63.1 million, a tournament has been added in Michigan and the LPGA will take a three-week break to accommodate the return of golf to the Olympics in August. "Stability with growth," LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said. "We've had some dramatic things we needed to address in the last six years ... and the numbers, I think, kind of speak for themselves." In 2011, the LPGA had 23 official events and $40.5 million in purse money with 220 hours of television coverage. The TV hours will increase again to about 410 next year. The LPGA also announced Friday a partnership with the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin for a tournament that will start in 2017 and offer a $2 million purse. "It's an exciting time," Whan said.
HOCKEY
Players to get break
In exchange for accepting the new 3-on-3 overtime format, NHL players got a little something in return -- an extended break during their schedule next season. For next season, the NHL will implement a de facto bye week into each team's schedule, with each team getting a five-day break in the schedule between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the move, though he hesitated to call the breaks "bye weeks." Daly said the break will only be for next season -- for now. "We'll see how it goes," Daly said. During the five-day break, teams will not be allowed to practice, unless there is a game immediately after the fifth day. In that case, the teams may practice after 4 p.m. on the fifth day off. The NHL this season has adopted a new 3-on-3 overtime format. The league also changed the format of the All-Star Game with each division entering a 3-man team in a mini-tournament with $1 million going to the winning team.
MISCELLANEOUS
Fantasy fees mounting
Documents filed at the court examining the legality of daily fantasy sports in New York show a rapidly growing national business built on billions of dollars in entry fees. An estimate by DraftKings says the industry will take in up to $4 billion in entry fees in the United States this year, and could reach up to $20 billion in 2017. Daily fantasy companies like FanDuel and DraftKings generally charge roughly 10 percent of each wager for hosting games. The insights into the industry are contained within court exhibits as the companies fight New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is attempting to halt what he considers illegal gambling under state law. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday. The companies say their games are legal and based on player skill. Court exhibits say FanDuel and DraftKings had a combined 96 percent market share last year among 20 daily fantasy companies. The documents say FanDuel and DraftKings spent $34 million on TV advertising with NBC and Comcast through Oct. 28.
Sports on 11/21/2015