Sports briefs 10/28
NFL
The Indianapolis Colts’ rebuild has started.
The Colts made two trades Tuesday involving key veterans.
One week after team co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired general manager Chris Ballard, who drafted guard Quenton Nelson with the No. 6 overall pick in 2018, Nelson was dealt to the Seahawks for two draft picks. Indy received a 2027 third-rounder and a 2028 fifth-rounder for Nelson.
A few hours later, the Colts sent Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to San Francisco. Indy will receive a 2027 fourth-round pick.
Nelson, the league’s third-highest paid guard, had been a stalwart on the offensive line for nearly a decade in Indy. But his contract expires after the season, and Nelson has been reluctant to discuss his future plans following the Ballard move.
Indy was willing to trade Nelson because it wants more draft capital to make up for the loss of 2026 and 2027 first-round picks that were sent to the New York Jets last November to acquire All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Meadows’ Smith to retire
Hollywood Casino at The Meadows announced Tuesday that longtime track superintendent Bruce Smith will be retiring from his position effective December 31.
Smith has been in charge of the track surface for more than 20 years.
“Bruce has been an invaluable part of our Meadows team,” said director of racing Michael Carter. “Under his care, we’ve seen numerous world records set, and Bruce has had an amazing record when it comes to keeping our track in outstanding racing shape. For a track located where we have both summer and winter storms to deal with, Bruce has kept us racing through some challenging times.So far in 2026, we’ve only lost half of one card due to weather. That’s a testament to Bruce and his crew.”
College basketball
Purdue coach Matt Painter will begin the college basketball season with a contract extension.
The 56-year-old Painter agreed to a deal that will keep him through 2030-31. School officials announced Painter will receive a pay raise and be eligible for enhanced performance bonuses but that other financial details will not be available until the deal is approved by the board of trustees.
Painter has 501 wins in 21 seasons with the Boilermakers, and he needs 12 more to pass Gene Keady as the school’s career leader. Painter played for Keady and spent one season on Keady’s staff as the head coach-in-waiting before replacing him in 2005-06.
Painter began his coaching career an assistant coach at Washington & Jefferson.
College football
Iowa running back Kamari Moulton will miss the rest of the season with an upper-body injury.
The Big Ten’s second-leading rusher left last week’s loss at Minnesota in the second quarter and did not return.
“Unfortunately, he’s going to be done,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said.
Moulton was averaging 90.2 yards per game with four touchdowns this season..
NBA
Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards needs an arthroscopic procedure to alleviate issues with his right knee and will miss several weeks, a person with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday.
Edwards has been listed on injury reports with a right knee issue, though it wasn’t clear what the problem was. The Timberwolves had listed him as questionable for their game against Golden State on Wednesday, before the decision was evidently made to go forward with the surgery.
Edwards was off to a flying start this season, averaging 33.3 points and leading Minnesota to three wins in its first four games.