FOOTBALL
Cowboys get Bills’ Cassel
Matt Cassel is headed to Dallas in a trade as the Cowboys try to bolster their depth at quarterback while Tony Romo is sidelined at least seven games because of a broken left collarbone. The Cowboys acquired Cassel from Buffalo on Tuesday, sending a fifth-round NFL draft pick in 2017 to the Bills and getting their seventh-round pick that year. Both teams announced the trade, and two people familiar with the deal told reporters about the draft picks involved because the rounds of the picks were not disclosed. Brandon Weeden is expected to start for Dallas on Sunday against Arizona, but Cassel is a veteran with far more experience than the fourth-year pro. He has 71 starts in 90 games over 11 seasons, not counting the opener this year.
TENNIS
Klizan advances in Metz
Sixth-seeded Martin Klizan advanced to the second round of the Open de Moselle in Metz, France, on Tuesday after local favorite Paul-Henri Mathieu retired with an Achilles’ tendon injury. Playing for the first time in Metz, Klizan led 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 3-2 when Mathieu called it quits after nearly two hours of play. Klizan will next take on Vasek Pospisil, who progressed with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Seventh-seeded Adrian Mannarino, a former semi-finalist at the indoor hard-court tournament, also advanced with a 6-2, 7-5 win over fellow Frenchman Vincent Millot. Edouard Roger-Vasselin came out on top of another all-French match, defeating Kenny de Schepper 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), setting up a second-round meeting with second-seeded Gilles Simon. Fernando Verdasco, playing in Metz with a wild card, rallied past Alexander Zverev 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-3 after hitting 13 aces.
TENNIS
Robredo beats Youzhny
Fifth-seeded Tommy Robredo beat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the second round of the St Petersburg Open in Russia on Tuesday. Youzhny won more points than his Spanish opponent overall, but lacked consistency on the key points in a match between two 33-year-old veterans. Robredo next plays Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. He won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 against Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, winner of the last edition of the tournament in 2013. Benoit Paire became the first seeded player to fall, with the sixth-seeded Frenchman retiring hurt from his first-round encounter with Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz. Paire was moving slowly when he quit, with Janowicz cruising at 6-4, 3-0.
SOCCER
Marseille fans sentenced
Three Olympique de Marseille supporters were handed prison sentences of between four and six months over violent incidents during the weekend clash between their side and Olympique Lyonnais. However, the three, aged between 18 and 29, may never see the inside of a jail cell, as they were released from the Marseille criminal court pending an appearance before the judge of first instance, who may decide to commute their sentences to community service. They had been charged with armed assault against public authority figures — they were caught throwing various objects including stones and glasses at police officers — in the confines of Marseille’s Stade Velodrome before Sunday’s match, which ended in a 1-1 draw. They were also banned from all Marseille matches — home and away — for two years, and from any Euro 2016 games. Two other supporters accused of the same crimes will be judged on Oct. 25, as will another fan accused of setting off a smoke bomb inside the stadium.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but