BASKETBALL
Cavs' Smith injured
Cavaliers starting guard J.R. Smith needs surgery on his right thumb and will be sidelined indefinitely. Smith got hurt late in the first half of Tuesday night's game in Milwaukee and didn't return after halftime. The team won't know how long he'll be out until after the operation. Smith's injury is the latest and most serious medical setback for the defending NBA champions. Kevin Love, who is having an All-Star season, missed Tuesday's game with a bruised knee and Chris "Birdman" Andersen suffered a season-ending knee injury last week in practice. After Smith helped them win the title last season, the Cavs signed him to a four-year, $57 million contract following a short holdout. However, Smith has had a bumpy start this season, missing five games with an ankle problem and a hyperextended knee.
FOOTBALL
Petty back for Jets
Quarterback Bryce Petty was a full participant at practice Wednesday and is on track to start the New York Jets' game at New England on Saturday. Coach Todd Bowles said Petty was cleared after the quarterback suffered a bruised chest against Miami last Saturday night. X-rays and a CT scan on Petty's chest were negative despite him being forced out of the game after being sandwiched by Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh while completing a pass in the fourth quarter. Running back Matt Forte (knee, shoulder), cornerback Nick Marshall (illness), linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin (ankle) and defensive tackle Steve McLendon (hamstring) sat out practice.
Peterson questionable
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson did not practice Wednesday and his outlook for the game against Green Bay on Saturday is in question. Peterson said he had "a couple of nicks" that he was getting treatment for after playing his first game in three months on Sunday. Peterson played 12 snaps in his return from surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee, but the Vikings lost to the Colts, 34-6. Peterson said he is taking things "day by day," but would not speculate if he would be ready to play against the Packers. Before he returned against the Colts, Peterson said he would likely not play if the Vikings (7-7)were eliminated from playoff contention.
Floyd alcohol level high
A police report released Wednesday says wide receiver Michael Floyd had a blood-alcohol level of 0.217 when arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and other charges earlier this month in Scottsdale, Ariz. Arizona's legal blood-alcohol level is 0.08. Floyd played for the Arizona Cardinals at the time, but the team released him two days after his arrest. The New England Patriots then claimed him off waivers. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Floyd was taken into custody early the morning of Dec. 12 after being found unconscious behind the wheel of his running Cadillac Escalade at an intersection in Scottsdale. He was booked and released from the Scottsdale jail later that morning.
More UNC charges
UNC-Chapel Hill has received a third notice of allegations from the NCAA in the academic fraud case, several weeks after appearing before the association's Committee on Infractions in a rare procedural hearing. The fresh set of charges from the enforcement agency marks yet another unusual turn in a case that has now stretched beyond five years. Rick White, a UNC spokesman, confirmed in an email that the third notice had been delivered. The case involves 18 years of bogus classes offered by a former manager of the African and Afro-American Studies department, Deborah Crowder, and former department chairman Julius Nyang'oro. Half of the roughly 3,100 students who took the classes were athletes, with football and men's basketball having the highest enrollments. The classes never met and had no instructor. Those who turned in a paper received a high grade, regardless of its quality.
Stoops: No tolerance
Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said running back Joe Mixon would be off the team if he had punched a woman now instead of 2 1/2 years ago. Mixon was suspended by the Sooners for a year after punching Oklahoma student Amelia Molitor in 2014. Stoops said he believed that the then-18-year-old Mixon could redeem himself. On Wednesday, he said times have changed, and society now has a no-tolerance policy on such incidents. He said that's a good thing. Mixon entered an Alford plea, acknowledging there was likely enough evidence to convict him of misdemeanor assault while still asserting his innocence. He did not serve jail time and was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and undergo counseling.
Saban: Can't blame players
Alabama Coach Nick Saban said it's hard to blame players for skipping their bowl games when the playoffs have overshadowed most of them anyway. Saban reiterated concerns Wednesday that he has voiced before that switching to the playoff format would diminish the importance of other bowl games, and he said that has happened. LSU tailback Leonard Fournette and Stanford tailback Christian McCaffrey have announced they won't play in their teams' bowl games to focus on preparing for the NFL draft. Saban said after practice that "Everybody's interested in the playoff. Nobody's interested in anything else. So now that that's trickled down to the players, how can you blame the players for that? I can't blame the players for that."
TENNIS
Kvitova’s surgeon: She’ll return in six months
PRAGUE — Petra Kvitova could return to tennis in about six months, the surgeon who operated on the two-time Wimbledon champion’s left hand said Wednesday.
Kvitova was injured Tuesday when a knife-wielding intruder attacked her at her home in the town of Prostejov. The attacker is still at large and police have asked the public for help.
Kvitova underwent nearly four hours of surgery Tuesday at a specialized clinic in the northern town of Vysoke nad Jizerou.
“When we talk about [playing tennis], it will take about six months,” said surgeon Radek Kebrle of the Hand and Plastic Surgery Institute. “It’s a serious injury and we have to deal with that accordingly.
“She’s young and healthy and has long, slim fingers. That’s a good prognosis.”
Earlier Wednesday, Kvitova’s spokesman, Karel Tejkal, said the surgery was successful and the Czech player was feeling good.
Kvitova sustained damage to the tendons in her left hand, along with injuries to all five fingers and two nerves.
She was taken to the clinic in Vysoke nad Jizerou, an elite institution in the country, after initial treatment at a hospital in Prostejov. Doctors decided to operate on her hand immediately.
Shortly after the attack, Kvitova wrote on Twitter that she expected to recover and get back to playing tennis, saying “if you know anything about me, I am strong and I will fight this.”
Kvitova won the Wimbledon title in 2011 and 2014. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 in 2011, but finished the 2016 season as No. 11.
In April 1993, Monica Seles was at the height of her success when she was stabbed in the back during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg. A man reached over a courtside railing and knifed her, leaving an inch-deep slit between her shoulder blades.
Seles returned to the game 27 months later and reached the 1995 U.S. Open final.
Sports on 12/22/2016