In Brief
CHICAGO — Jurors at a civil trial focused on the market value of Michael Jordan’s identity have handed him a major win, ordering a grocery-store chain to pay him $8.9 million for invoking his name in a steak ad without his permission.
The amount was close to the $10 million his attorneys said the one-time use of his name was worth and Jordan hugged his lawyers after the decision was read Friday night in a federal court in Chicago, where Jordan won six NBA titles with the Bulls.
DENVER — Yoenis Cespedes put on quite a show at Coors Field.Cespedes hit three home runs, including a grand slam, and had a career-high seven RBIs and the New York Mets overpowered the Colorado Rockies 14-9 on Friday night.Travis d'Arnaud and Michael Conforto also had home runs in the seventh inning in the Mets' first five-homer game since Sept. 5, 2014, against Cincinnati.Cespedes led off the eighth with a chance to tie the major league record for most home runs in a game. He singled off reliever Tommy Kahnle for his fifth hit of the game, a career best.
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball can suspend players with pay when legal charges are pending in “exceptional cases” under a new domestic violence policy.The 13-page deal signed Friday by the league and players' association, which followed a series of high-profile domestic violence cases involving NFL players, allows the baseball commissioner to issue discipline for “just cause,” the same standard used under the sport's collective bargaining agreement. Discipline is not dependent on a criminal conviction.The commissioner can place a player accused of domestic violence, sexual assault or child abuse on paid “administrative leave” for up to seven days before a disciplinary decision, which can be appealed to the sport's arbitration panel, chaired by an independent arbitrator. The commissioner also may defer a discipline decision until the resolution of criminal charges.
CLEVELAND — Josh McCown's right ring finger isn't badly injured. Still, the Browns won't let him raise his index finger just yet.McCown will not miss any practice time after hurting the finger on his throwing hand during an exhibition loss Thursday night to Buffalo. McCown threw interceptions on Cleveland's first two drives, raising questions about whether backup Johnny Manziel, who threw a touchdown pass and made a sensational play, was threatening to jump him on the depth chart.But Browns coach Mike Pettine said Friday that Cleveland's depth chart at quarterback remains unchanged.
MASON, Ohio — Novak Djokovic played his best match. Serena Williams? Well, she needed to pull a Serena to move on.Taking different approaches, the top seeds at Cincinnati reached the semifinals, moving a step closer to a title that's been tough for either of them to win.Djokovic beat fifth-seeded Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-1, knocking off the player who beat him for the French Open title. Williams followed on center court, struggled with her serve, and had to rally to beat Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.Third-seeded Andy Murray reached the semifinals by beating Richard Gasquet 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.From wire reports