La Crosse Tribune Sports News

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints coach Sean Payton is prepared to quit calling offensive plays — something he loves and has done most of his career — if it helps him manage his entire football team better.

TORONTO (AP) — Former Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has been hired by the Toronto Blue Jays as vice president of baseball operations.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rookie Joey Bosa missed Wednesday's padded practice, increasing the likelihood that he'll miss the San Diego Chargers' home opener against Jacksonville on Sunday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Titans coach Mike Mularkey believes Marcus Mariota got a very important reminder that taking a sack is much better than turning the ball over.

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — To become a playoff contender, the Miami Dolphins know they need to fare better within their division.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have been awarded their waiver claim on cornerback Tharold Simon from the Seattle Seahawks.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Anthony Davis on Wednesday denied reports that he was considering retirement over the weekend for the second time in 15 months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The NHL is revamping its concussion monitoring system for the upcoming season.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Markus Wheaton is optimistic his sprained shoulder will be good to go in time for Sunday's home opener against Cincinnati.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have acquired veteran right-handers Josh Collmenter and Joe Wieland in deals with the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners.

Three Big 12 teams were still undefeated going into November last season and four other teams got into conference play before suffering their first losses.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tomas Plekanec banked a backhander off Connor Hellebuyck's pads with just over 8 minutes remaining and the Czech Republic held off Team North America 3-2 in a World Cup of Hockey exhibition Wednesday.

The only other sophomore captain was former Badgers coach Mike Eaves in 1975-76, the first of three years he wore the "C" on his sweater.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tanner Roark pitched seven scoreless innings and Wilson Ramos homered in the seventh inning for the game's only run as the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 1-0 on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner missed a chance at his milestone 100th career win and the San Francisco Giants wasted another chance for a potential push in the NL West, losing to the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Wednesday…

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck can see and hear the reminders of the Indianapolis Colts' slow starts every day.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — New players. New coaches. New schemes.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Bill Belichick doesn't need any extra incentive heading into this week's home opener against division rival Miami.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Andrew Luck didn't need to see the film of Cam Newton getting clobbered to realize Denver's defense can put a serious hurt on the quarterback.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Eric Kendricks had an up-and-down rookie year for Minnesota, learning on the job as the starter at middle linebacker, and a hamstring injury during training camp kept him out of all four preseason games last…