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PRO BASKETBALLDALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says his decision to revoke the credentials of two ESPN writers who cover his team was driven partly by concern that automated game reports could eventually replace human-generated content.Cuban said Monday that he banned Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon from Mavericks home games to bring attention to the issue of companies using automation in sports coverage.The Associated Press, in a partnership with Automated Insights, produces automated stories on minor league baseball but does not use the technology for most of its sports coverage. The AP has at least one reporter at all games in the four major professional sports and most major college football and basketball games.The billionaire who made his fortune through internet technology told The Dallas Morning News that ESPN had informed the club that it wouldnt have a reporter at every game and would rely on wire services. Barry Bedlan, APs sports product manager, said ESPN has relied on us for years.BASEBALLNEW YORK -- Slugger Kris Bryant, pitchers Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, and manager Joe Maddon of the World Series champion Chicago Cubs are among the finalists for baseballs major postseason awards.The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the top three vote-getters in each category.The honors will be announced next week on MLB Network. Voting was completed by the end of the regular season.Bryant, Daniel Murphy of Washington and Corey Seager of the Dodgers are up for NL MVP. Jose Altuve of Houston, Mookie Betts of Boston and Mike Trout of the Angels are on the AL side.The AL Cy Young Award is between Clevelands Corey Kluber, Bostons Rick Porcello and Detroits Justin Verlander. In the NL, its Lester, Hendricks or Washingtons Max Scherzer.Maddon, Washingtons Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers are up for NL Manager of the Year. Clevelands Terry Francona, Texas Jeff Banister and Baltimores Buck Showalter are the AL candidates.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Toronto sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and second baseman Neil Walker were among 10 players to receive $17.2 million qualifying offers from their teams as general managers gathered for their annual meeting.Chicago Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler and Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and third baseman Justin Turner also received offers, as did major league home run leader Mark Trumbo of Baltimore. Texas outfielder Ian Desmond and Philadelphia pitcher Jeremy Hellickson got offers, too.Players have until Nov. 14 to accept. For players who dont and sign elsewhere, their new team loses a high selection in next Junes amateur draft and their old club gets an extra pick after the first round.Twenty players received qualifying offers last year, when the amount was $15.8 million. Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters, Houston outfielder Colby Rasmus and Colorado right-hander Chad Qualls were the only ones to accept.COLLEGE FOOTBALLCLEVELAND -- Kent State has indefinitely suspended star senior safety Nate Holley following his arrest on kidnapping charges.Portage County Sherriff Dave Doak said Holley was arrested on Friday. He posted $50,000 bond Monday and was given a court date.Holleys suspension comes one day before the Golden Flashes host No. 14 Western Michigan. Holley is the teams leading tackler.School spokesman Eric Mansfield confirmed the punishment, but did not provide any details about Holleys arrest.Holley is the Golden Flashes top defensive player, averaging 12.3 tackles per game. He leads the nation with 8.9 solo tackles per game.Holleys twin brother, Nick, took over as Kent States starting quarterback earlier this season following injuries to two other QBs.BAYLOR SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATIONSome of Baylor Universitys most prominent supporters, including a former Texas governor and the billionaire businessman whose name adorns the football stadium, called for a shakeup of the schools board of regents in the wake of the campus sexual assault scandal.The months of criticism over the response by the nations largest Baptist universitys to sex assault reports led to the firing of school president Ken Starr and popular football coach Art Briles.The Bears for Leadership Reform group says it wants to address regents transparency, appointments, conflicts of interest, structure and authority, as well as demanding more answers from the regents and the schools investigation into how it mishandled reports of sexual assaults for years.The groups leaders include Drayton McLane, whose name is on the $266 million football stadium built at the height of the programs success under Briles, and former Texas Gov. Mark White. White insisted the groups goal is not about defending Briles or the football program.MIXED MARTIAL ARTSUFC interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will serve a doping ban until next July after an arbitration panel denied his appeal of a positive test.Widely considered the worlds best pound-for-pound fighter, Jones was pulled from a July bout against Daniel Cormier shortly after news about the positive drug test.Jones claimed to have taken a sexual-enhancement pill but ended up testing positive for two banned anti-estrogen agents.The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which handles UFC testing, declared Jones ineligible. He took the case to arbitration and that panel delivered the maximum one-year suspension, saying Jones degree of fault verged on the reckless.Jones is eligible again on July 7, 2017.UFC issued a statement saying it was aware of the one-year ban, which began on July 6. . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. PHILADELPHIA -- Each time the 37-year-old, Dodger Blue version of Chase Utley stepped into the batters box Tuesday night, his former employers rolled out a new flourish to remind him of the gold-plated, Philadelphia red segment of his major-league career.As Utley strode toward home plate to face Vince Velasquez in the top of the first inning, the Phillies played his Led Zeppelin walkup song, Kashmir, in honor of his return to Citizens Bank Park. The crowd responded on cue, standing and cheering for almost 90 seconds as Utley doffed his helmet, patted his heart and showed some genuine emotion beneath that typically stoic exterior.During Utleys subsequent plate appearances, the scoreboard showed photos of him in his evolution from earnest first-round draft pick to franchise favorite. One minute he appeared on the Jumbotron as winner of the Paul Owens Award as the Phillies top minor-league position player in 2002. Two innings later, he reappeared beneath a ballcap and some facial stubble, exuding a Matthew McConaughey-like brand of cool in a pose from the teams 2006 Charity Calendar.All this reminiscing eventually got the juices flowing and prompted Utley to commandeer the drivers seat in the way-back machine. He launched a 96 mph fastball from Velasquez into the right-field seats in the fifth inning, and capped off his night with a grand slam two innings later to lead the Dodgers to a 15-5 rout of the Phillies.The win helped move the Dodgers into sole possession of first place in the National League West after the San Francisco Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates late Tuesday. Thats quite an achievement given the Dodgers season-long run of injuries and the early hole they dug for themselves. But on this night, pennant races and practical concerns took a backseat to a heartfelt reunion.Before the night was through, the Philadelphia crowd gave Utley three standing ovations and summoned him for two curtain calls. Philly fans have a reputation as cynical and hard-bitten. But when they fall for an athlete, they fall hard.Its completely overwhelming, Utley said in a postgame news conference. The standing ovation my first at-bat is something Ill never forget. It was truly special. It really shows how passionate and how great the Philadelphia fan base is. It was probably one of the most nervous at-bats Ill ever have at any level. I was glad to get it over with, to be honest with you.Its hard to articulate the full extent Phillies fans love Utley, and would never dream of letting him buy a beer in the confines of the 215 area code. Part of it is the consistent performance that places Utley near the top of so many offensive categories in franchise history. He ranks among the Phillies top 10 in games, hits, runs, doubles, homers, RBIs and walks. And with six All-Star Game appearances, Utley ranks fourth among Phillies behind Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt (12), Steve Carlton (seven) and Robin Roberts (seven).Beyond the numbers, Utley played the game with a Derek Jeter-like field awareness and a sense of his surroundings that Philadelphia fans hold near and dear. They paid attention when he ran out every ground ball, advanced from first to third on a single, and found a way to win games by anticipating situations. Utley enjoyed his signature, Jeter-like postseason moment in Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, when he threw out Tampa Bays Jason Bartlett after an artful deke at second base.I never really made it look easy out there, Utley said.dddddddddddd There are so many times Id meet a father with his son or even a mother who would praise the way I played, and would tell me they want their son to play that way. To me, thats a true compliment.It was a painful yet necessary and inevitable part of the Phillies rebuild when former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. traded Utley to Los Angeles for minor-league pitcher John Richy and infielder Darnell Sweeney on Aug. 19 of last season. But Utleys first trip back to Philadelphia was worth the wait, not to mention chock full of statistical oddities.During his tenure with the Phillies, Utley played 779 games at Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park and never hit two home runs and drove in five home runs in the same game. It took him five plate appearances as a Dodger to achieve the feat.According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Utley became only the second player to hit at least two homers in his first road game against a team that he played at least 1,500 games for. The other hitter to achieve the feat was Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who went deep twice for the Oakland Athletics against the Chicago White Sox in 2006.Nights like this have been less common as Utley tries to find a way to navigate the rigors of a long season at an advanced baseball age. Before Tuesdays barrage, he was hitting only .231 with four homers in 208 at-bats since the start of June. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts keeps running him out there in the leadoff spot because of what Roberts calls his consistently good at-bat quality.Roberts is also a sucker for leadership skills. Every day, he sees Utleys work ethic and example rub off on Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and the other young Dodgers in a way that can only benefit their development.If theres any player that you have to dig deeper than the numbers to find his value, Chase is head and shoulders above everyone else, Roberts said. When you want to play a certain style of baseball, to have Chase exude that every single day and not take a pitch off, its been invaluable for me as a first-year manager.Utley is all about style and substance. He sprinted around the bases after his first home run and picked it up a notch after the grand slam.Adam Rosales is probably the only guy youre going to catch with a faster home run trot, teammate Howie Kendrick?said.When asked if the second trot was the fastest of his career, Utley shrugged.I dont know, he said. Maybe you can check Statcast.Some numbers simply cant calculate a players impact on a roster, or a city. The outpouring of affection for Utley was a fitting tribute for his 13 years of hard, professional play, and his contribution to the Phillies extended run of success from 2007 to 2011. But unbeknownst to them, the 28,118 fans in attendance were on the receiving end of some equally fervent gratitude.I should be thanking them, Utley said. They motivated us and pushed us in the right direction. Im a true believer that the fans made us better players individually and gave us a chance to win on a daily basis. The true thank-you should be to them.Chase Utley, an athlete who has always taken pains not to reveal too much of himself for public consumption, rode adrenaline and love to a memorable homecoming Tuesday night. Now, to his everlasting relief, he can just go back to playing baseball. ' ' '
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