National Football League

Wednesday’s Sports in Brief

Published Apr. 13, 2018 6:46 a.m. ET

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NBA

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Orlando Magic fired coach Frank Vogel, one day after the team wrapped up its sixth consecutive losing season.

Vogel was with the Magic for two years, going 54-110. He came to Orlando after six seasons with Indiana, where he won 250 regular-season games and got the Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals in three consecutive seasons. But with the Magic, he went 29-53 and 25-57.

Vogel had one year left on his contract with the Magic.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - A'ja Wilson was the top pick in the WNBA draft by the Las Vegas Aces.

The South Carolina star post player will bolster the relocated franchise's frontcourt. The Aces, who moved to Las Vegas from San Antonio this past winter, had the first pick for the second straight season. Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell went second to the Indiana Fever.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Lindsay Whalen is going to be busy this year: She was hired as the women's basketball coach at Minnesota, her alma mater, and will continue to play for the WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx.

The 13-year WNBA veteran said becoming coach and being a Gopher again ''is a dream come true.''

The WNBA regular season begins in early May and runs through mid-August. The Gophers won't open their season until October.

Whalen, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, announced in February that she was retiring from international competition after first joining the U.S. team in 2002.

The Hutchinson, Minnesota, native finished her career as Minnesota's all-time points leader, along with being second all-time in assists and third in steals. Whalen led the Gophers to their only Final Four in 2004. She replaces Marlene Stollings, who left Minnesota after four years to take over the program at Texas Tech.

HOCKEY

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was suspended one game for an illegal check to the head of Vegas Golden Knights forward William Carrier during Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. With the Kings trailing 1-0 in the series, Doughty will miss Game 2 on Friday night in Las Vegas.

BASEBALL

BOSTON (AP) - Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly and the Yankees' Tyler Austin were suspended by Major League Baseball for their roles in Wednesday's brawl between the AL East rivals at Fenway Park.

Kelly was suspended for six games and Austin received a five-game penalty. Each player appealed his punishment and remains eligible to play until the process is complete.

Kelly, Austin, Boston manager Alex Cora and New York third base coach Phil Nevin also were fined. Four players on the disabled list also were fined for entering the field during the skirmish: Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, and Red Sox infielders Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, and Marco Hernandez.

PRO FOOTBALL

CINCINNATI (AP) - Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict will be sidelined to start a season for the fourth year in a row, this time serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancers.

The NFL rejected Burfict's appeal without comment and upheld the full suspension. It's the third time the volatile linebacker has been suspended by the league in the past three years.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was charged with felony domestic violence after being accused of dragging his girlfriend and punching her in the head, leaving her with a ruptured eardrum, authorities said.

Foster was arraigned in San Jose. A judge ordered him not to have any contact with his girlfriend.

Foster was accompanied to court by 49ers teammate Richard Sherman. He did not enter a plea and was released after posting $75,000 bail.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - The Buffalo Bills placed Richie Incognito on their reserve/retired list in a move confirming the offensive guard's intention to abruptly quit football after 11 seasons.

The Bills announced the move two days after Incognito indicated he was ''done'' in a series of interviews and messages posted on his Twitter account. Incognito cited health concerns involving his liver and kidneys as the reasons to retire. He also expressed second thoughts over accepting a pay cut when restructuring the final year of his contract.

GOLF

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) - Tiger Woods filed his entry to play in the U.S. Open for the first time since 2015.

The USGA said Woods officially entered, four days after he tied for 32nd in the Masters. Even exempt players have to formally enter the U.S. Open.

Woods hasn't played the U.S. Open since he missed the cut at Chambers Bay with rounds of 80-76.

The U.S. Open is June 14-17 at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, where Woods made his U.S. Open debut in 1995 as the U.S. Amateur champion. He is in the last year of a 10-year exemption after winning the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska quarterback Patrick O'Brien said he plans to transfer because he isn't a fit for the spread-option offense being installed by new coach Scott Frost.

The school said O'Brien's request for a release will be granted. Former coach Mike Riley recruited O'Brien to play in a pro-style offense. Frost brought his spread-option with him from Central Florida, and O'Brien realized after eight spring practices that it wasn't for him.

SOCCER

NEW YORK (AP) - Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey was suspended an additional game for an incident on March 18 against FC Dallas.

That brings the suspension to two games. Dempsey sat out the Sounders' game against Montreal on March 31, and he'll miss this weekend's match against Sporting Kansas City.

Dempsey was also fined an undisclosed amount by the MLS Disciplinary Committee, according to a league release. The statement said the suspension was for ''violent contact.''

Dempsey was shown a red card and ejected from the Dallas game after a video review for elbowing Jacori Hayes.

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