NFL reinstates Cowboys DE Gregory from yearlong suspension
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The NFL has reinstated Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory, who was suspended all of last season over multiple violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy.
The league said Tuesday that Gregory can join the Cowboys at training camp in California next week and will be eligible for games as long as he continues to meet the terms of his reinstatement.
Gregory was suspended just before the Cowboys lost a playoff game to Green Bay during the 2016 season. He had been banned 14 games that year and played in the final two regular-season games before the latest suspension, his third.
Dallas drafted the Nebraska standout late in the second round in 2015. Gregory slid in the draft over off-field concerns. He tested positive for marijuana during the NFL combine that year.
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Rams agree to 5-year extension with Brandin Cooks
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a five-year extension with wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
The Rams traded their first- and sixth-round picks in the 2018 draft to the New England Patriots for Cooks and a fourth-round pick earlier this year.
Before joining the Rams, Cooks played in 58 regular-season games with 46 starts, and had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past three seasons.
The fifth-year pro has 280 receptions for 3,943 yards and 27 touchdowns, and averages 14.1 yards per reception. He had nine 100-plus yard receiving games in 2016 with the New Orleans Saints.
“Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a class act on and off the field since the first day he joined our team,” Rams coach Sean McVay said in a statement. “He’s a proven professional in this league, and signing him to a long-term contract was always our goal. We’re excited to keep Brandin in a Rams uniform through 2023.”
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Resorts makes bid for fall sports betting in New Jersey
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Add Resorts casino to the list of gambling companies that want to offer sports betting in New Jersey by the time football season starts in September.
Casino President Mark Giannantonio told The Associated Press on Tuesday his company met the deadline by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement to apply for sports betting this fall.
The DGE wanted applications in by the end of the day Monday in order to give regulators enough time to assess them before football starts.
So far, two Atlantic City casinos, the Borgata and Ocean Resort, and two horse tracks, Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands, offer sports betting.
The Golden Nugget has applied for in-person and mobile sports betting. Hard Rock is awaiting approval of its application, and the three casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment have applied for in-person betting, mobile betting or both. In-person betting would be held at Harrah’s and Bally’s (which also would service the adjacent Caesars casino), and the company would offer mobile sports betting aligned with all three of its Atlantic City casinos.
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Gabe Rivera, Texas Tech star left paralyzed, dies at 57
By The Associated Press
Gabe Rivera, the College Football Hall of Famer who was paralyzed in a car accident while a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has died. He was 57.
Texas Tech, where Rivera was an All-America defensive lineman, confirmed Rivera’s death on Tuesday. He had been living in San Antonio with his wife, Nancy, who told KENS-TV her husband had taken ill last week and died Monday night.
Rivera, nicknamed Senor Sack, had five sacks and 62 tackles as a senior in 1982 for Texas Tech.
He was selected 21st overall by Pittsburgh in the 1983 NFL draft. He had two sacks in his first six games, but in October of that year he was in an automobile accident that left him a paraplegic.
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Mother of Brazilian soccer star rescued from kidnappers
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul said Tuesday that the mother of a famous soccer star was rescued from kidnappers.
Civil Police official Rafael Lopez said that Rosangela Freda, the mother of Brazilian striker Taison, was found in a rural area near the town of Monte Bonito.
Freda was kidnapped a day prior when she unknowingly opened a door for criminals who came to her house with a bouquet of flowers. The armed assailants took her into a vehicle and fled.
Lopez said the rescue operation was carried out by military police who recognized the kidnappers’ vehicle and tracked it down.
Three men and one woman were arrested, and another attacker managed to escape.
The police said Freda was in good health.
