Sports briefs
Mixon’s charges dropped
Bengals running back Joe Mixon no longer faces a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing over allegations that he threatened and pointed a gun at a woman in Cincinnati.
A Friday order dismissing the case in Hamilton County Municipal Court said only that the city prosecutor’s office requested the dismissal “in the interest of justice.”
A warrant for Mixon was issued Thursday. A police officer’s accompanying affidavit alleged that the 26-year-old pointed a firearm and told the victim: “You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you, the police (can’t) get me.”
Ukraine pushes Russia Olympics ban
With next year’s Paris Olympics on the horizon and Russia’s invasion looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister on Friday renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join.
Such a move could lead to the biggest rift in the Olympic movement since the Cold War era.
No nation has declared it will boycott the 2024 Summer Games. But Ukraine won support from Poland, the Baltic nations and Denmark, who pushed back against an International Olympic Committee plan to allow delegations from Russia and ally Belarus to compete in Paris as “neutral athletes,” without flags or anthems.
In college football
Alabama is hiring Notre Dame assistant coach Tommy Rees to be its offensive coordinator.
Rees is replacing Bill O’Brien, who left to take the offensive coordinator position with the New England Patriots. The former Houston Texans coach left last month to rejoin the Patriots, where he was an assistant before becoming Penn State’s head coach in 2012.
Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, has been an assistant there since 2017 and offensive coordinator since 2020. He also spent a year with the San Diego Chargers in 2016 before returning to South Bend, Indiana.
Wrestling
Freedom defeated West Greene 36-27 in a non-section match wrestled Thursday night.
John Lampe (189) had a first-period fall for the Pioneers and Noah Collins pinned his opponent in the second period.
In tennis
Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul and Mackenzie McDonald, who beat Rafael Nadal at Melbourne Park, gave the United States a 2-0 lead over host Uzbekistan in Davis Cup qualifying on Friday.
Paul beat Khumoyun Sultanov 6-1, 7-6 (6) after McDonald’s Davis Cup debut produced a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Sergey Fomin on an indoor hard court in Tashkent.
The best-of-five-match series finishes Saturday with one match in doubles followed by two in singles. The Americans can clinch a spot in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals if Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek defeat Fomin and Sanjar Fayziev in doubles.
In the NBA
Mikal Bridges scored 25 points and Dario Saric had 14 with 13 rebounds Friday night to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 106-94 victory over Boston and send the NBA-leading Celtics to their fourth loss in six games.
Chris Paul added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Phoenix, which had a 20-point, second-quarter lead trimmed to one by the end of the third.
Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.