Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Bills releasing Jordan Poyer, Mitch Morse
and Tre’Davious White
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. | The Buffalo Bills’ salary cap-related purge of players cut deep into the team’s core with veteran safety Jordan Poyer and center Mitch Morse being among five players the team announced it had released on Wednesday.
And cornerback Tre’Davious White is also being cut, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity because the Bills did not announce White being cut because of the timing of his release. White, who is recuperating after tearing his right Achilles tendon in Week 4, is being designated as a post-June 1 cut, which provides the Bills additional cap savings.
The three players alone combined for 27 seasons of NFL experience, with 16 of those years spent with the Bills. The moves made by the four-time defending AFC East champions were necessitated with Buffalo entering the offseason being a projected NFL-high $44 million over the 2024 season cap.
Also cut were sixth-year backup cornerback Siran Neal, backup receiver Deonte Harty and running back Nyheim Hines.
The moves represent the breakup of a veteran secondary that was formed in 2017, when Buffalo signed Poyer and Micah Hyde in free agency, and then selected White in the first round of the draft a month later. Hyde’s future is uncertain with the 33-year-old contemplating retirement after completing the final year of his contract.
White, who had two seasons left on his contract, is coming off his second season-ending injury after he hurt his right knee in November 2022.
Morse spent five seasons in Buffalo, where he established himself as the offensive line’s unquestioned leader while building a close bond with quarterback Josh Allen. Morse had one year left on his contract, and was signed in free agency after spending his first four seasons in Kansas City.
The Bills also announced the re-singing of backup offensive lineman David Edwards to a two-year contract extension, and punter Matt Haack to a one-year extension.
The 26-year-old Edwards had completed his one-year contract with Buffalo, and was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week. Primarily an interior lineman, Edwards appeared in all 17 games in a backup role last season.
He’s projected to take over at left guard, with Connor McGovern making the switch to replace Morse at center.
Edwards’ return to Buffalo comes two days after the Bills acquired a fifth-round draft pick by trading backup interior lineman Ryan Bates to Chicago in a salary cap savings-related move.
Edwards signed with Buffalo in free agency a year ago after spending his first four seasons with the Los Angele Rams. He was selected by L.A. in the fifth round of the 2019 draft out of Wisconsin, and had 45 starts in 53 games with the Rams.
Washington Commanders are signing veteran tight end Zach Ertz
The Washington Commanders are signing veteran tight end Zach Ertz, two people with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the deal had not been announced. One person familiar with the signing said the contract for next season is worth up to $5 million.
Ertz, 33, reunites with Kliff Kingsbury, Washington’s offensive coordinator who coached him with Arizona. He played parts of three seasons with the Cardinals before being released in late November.
A Super Bowl champion with Philadelphia, Ertz returns to the NFC East as the first big addition for new Commanders general manager Adam Peters. Ertz replaces Logan Thomas, who was released last week along with two offensive linemen: starting left tackle Charles Leno and center Nick Gates.
Ertz has played in 159 NFL regular-season and playoff games since making his debut in 2013 after being a second-round pick of the Eagles. Over the past decade, he has caught 745 passes for 7,815 yards and 48 touchdowns.
Who he’ll be catching passes from with Washington remains to be seen. The Commanders have the second pick in the draft and could use that on a quarterback or be active in free agency, with Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins among the veterans expected to be available.
Spain fines its soccer federation for not having harassment protocol
BARCELONA, Spain | The Spanish soccer federation and Barcelona soccer club have been fined an undisclosed sum by Spain’s labor ministry for not meeting workplace regulations regarding gender equality.
The ministry said Wednesday that the federation, along with Barcelona and two second-division clubs, failed to meet regulations obliging workplaces with at least 50 employees to have “equality plans” in place.
The ministry said in an email to The Associated Press that it ordered an inspection of clubs with women’s soccer teams and the national soccer federation after the federation president caused an international uproar when he kissed forward Jenni Hermoso during the trophy presentation at last year’s Women’s World Cup. He has since lost his job and now faces trial for sexual assault.
The inspection found that the federation had also failed to have a working protocol to handle cases of sexual harassment, as required by law, at the time of the incident.
“We sent our world champions (to the World Cup) without an equality plan and without harassment protocols, which is very serious,” Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz told Spain’s National Radio. “(With these fines) we are sending a strong message that this has to change. There is no place for sexism in sports.”
Spain’s players boycotted their national team for a month after the World Cup until the federation agreed to overhaul the way it ran the women’s team.
The ministry did not disclose the sum of the fines. But the maximum fine for not having an equality plan or a sexual harassment protocol is 7,500 euros ($8,100) each.
The federation said in a statement that it has had a plan for gender equality since 2022. It added it has also recently created a department of equality and said that it currently “complies with all regulations” in this regard.
Of the 16 clubs inspected, Barcelona and second-tier Catalan clubs Espanyol and Europa were found to not have proper equality plans. They did have sexual harassment protocols in place.
Barcelona said that it “rejected any statement that put in doubt the historic commitment that the club has with gender equality policies.” It said that it has had an equality plan in place since 2013, and that at the time of the inspection by the ministry it was working on updating its plan.
Barcelona’s women’s team won the Champions League last season and provided the backbone of players to Spain’s World Cup-winning side, including Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas.
Rangers, Panthers, Avalanche and Oilers make pre-deadline day trades
Stanley Cup contenders aren’t waiting until the NHL trade deadline day to shore up depth for what they hope is a long playoff run.
The league-leading Florida Panthers got deeper on the wing on Wednesday by acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from Ottawa, Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers added a pair of centers in Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim, the New York Rangers traded with Seattle for a player they coveted in Alexander Wennberg and the Colorado Avalanche loaded up by getting defenseman Sean Walker from Philadelphia and center Casey Mittelstadt from Buffalo in separate deals.
Colorado traded a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick and center Ryan Johansen to Philadelphia for Walker and a fifth-rounder in 2026 and got Mittelstadt in a one-for-one trade that sent defenseman Bowen Byram to the Sabres.
The Panthers dealt a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft to Ottawa for Tarasenko, and the fourth-rounder would upgrade to a 2026 third-rounder if Florida wins the Cup this season. Ottawa also is getting a third-round pick from Florida in 2025, while the Senators are retaining half of Tarasenko’s salary.
“Vladimir is a highly skilled and experienced scoring winger who provides our club with another dynamic offensive option as we embark on the remainder of our season,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “We are excited for him to join our team, and to compete for the Stanley Cup once again.”
The Rangers sent a 2024 second- and a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Kraken for Wennberg, considered one of the top pending free agent centers available. Seattle is retaining half of Wennberg’s salary.
Henrique was another top center rental, and Edmonton’s deal for him was far more complicated, sending its first-rounder this year and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2025 to Anaheim and a 2026 fourth-rounder to Tampa Bay for retaining a quarter of his salary. The ‘25 pick becomes a fourth if the Oilers win the Cup, which stands better odds now after getting Henrique and Carrick.
“Both are quality individuals and character players that spent more than seven years with us, and they will serve the Oilers well,” Ducks GM Pat Verbeek said. “For us, this was a situation driven by contract status, and it was our desire to add another high draft pick to our core going forward.”
After word of the trades emerged, Florida became the Cup favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook, followed by Edmonton and Colorado. The Rangers are seventh.
All their moves came less than 24 hours after the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights got the ball rolling by trading with Washington for 20-goal scorer Anthony Mantha. More moves are expected before 3 p.m. EST Friday deadline.
After taking on Johansen’s contract, which has $4 million annually left on it through next season, the Flyers immediately put him on waivers. GM Danny Briere, whose team is in third place in the Metropolitan Division and an unexpected playoff contender, said “everything’s on the table” for Philadelphia at the trade deadline as he looks to build for the future.
One of those things is a new contract for Walker’s former defense partner, Nick Seeler, a favorite of coach John Tortorella who went on injured reserve Wednesday after taking a puck off his left foot during a game earlier in the week. The Flyers and Seeler agreed to terms on a four-year deal that begins next season and is worth $10.8 million.
Extension talks were not happening between the Senators and Tarasenko, who had a full no-trade clause as part of his $5 million, one-year contract that allowed him to choose his preferred destination. Another pending free agent who signed just for this season, Washington’s Max Pacioretty, is in the same boat.
Tarasenko, 32, has 17 goals and 24 assists in 57 games with Ottawa this season. He has tons of playoff experience — 97 games in 10 years — and helped St. Louis win the Stanley Cup in 2019 with 11 goals in 26 games.
And selling him on Florida likely was easy. Tarasenko owns a home in South Florida, has a relationship with Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and now joins a team good enough to win a title.
“Florida is probably a little bit different echelon than us right now,” Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “Florida is a really good team. What they’ve been doing of late is nothing short of extremely impressive.”
The Avalanche have been up and down lately, and getting Walker and Mittelstadt may just be the start of the excitement in Denver. The Avs are soon expected to get versatile winger Valeri Nichushkin back from the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, and there’s even a chance captain Gabriel Landeskog returns for the playoffs after missing a second consecutive season following knee surgery.
“The best trade deadline asset we can add is Val Nichushkin,” Mikko Rantanen said before the trades were made. “He’s looking good, I think, and he’s feeling well, so just a matter of time when he can get back to playing.”
Mittelstadt, 25, is on the verge of having a career year. He was the Sabres’ leading scorer with 47 points, including 14 goals — one short of matching his career high set last season.
Walker, a right-handed shot, gives Colorado more stability on the blue line as it tries to win the Cup for the second time in three years. Him coming off the board could lead teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs to circle back on other defensive options, such as Joel Edmundson of the Capitals.
Paralympics organizers bar Russians and Belarusians from ceremonies
BONN, Germany | Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred Wednesday from marching in this year’s Paralympics opening ceremony in Paris, even if they are approved to compete as neutrals.
The International Paralympic Committee set limits on athletes from the two countries which are stricter than those detailed by the International Olympic Committee for the Paris Games that open one month earlier. The IOC in December decided against a blanket ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes over the invasion of Ukraine.
“As the athletes will participate in an individual and neutral capacity, they will not march in the Opening Ceremony on Aug. 28 or have a flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony on Sept. 8” the IPC said.
At the Paris Olympics, Russian and Belarusian athletes approved as neutrals — first by governing bodies of individual sports, then in further vetting overseen by the IOC — can take part in the July 26 opening ceremony. That ceremony is set to be a parade of boats on the River Seine toward the Eiffel Tower.
The Paralympics and Olympics have broadly the same criteria for athletes to be approved as neutrals — that they have not actively supported the war, and are not tied to the military and national security agencies in Russia and Belarus.
The IPC has previously taken a tougher stand on Russia than the IOC.
The Russian team was excluded from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics in fallout from a scandal of state-backed doping and cover-ups. The IOC let almost 300 Russians compete at the Rio Olympics.
—From AP reports
