La Crosse Tribune Sports News

Illinois coach Lovie Smith got a fantastic two-for-one deal when he hired Hardy Nickerson as his defensive coordinator. Once Nickerson arrived in Champaign, his son decided to follow as a graduate transfer from California.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets have waived tight end Brian Parker after he failed his physical, and added four players to their practice squad.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have signed linebacker Tank Carradine to a one-year contract extension through the 2017 season.

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins have activated first baseman Justin Bour from the 60-day disabled list, putting him in position to play for the first time since July 2.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is in the starting lineup one day after hurting his right hand.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have activated right-hander Miguel Gonzalez from the disabled list.

NEW YORK (AP) — There are two weeks left in the regular season and the WNBA playoff picture is quite blurry.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay has fired hitting coach Derek Shelton and replaced him with Chad Mottola, the organization's minor league hitting coordinator.

This week's film room hits on the offensive line, T.J. Watt, the secondary and Bart Houston.

It marks UW's highest ranking since the Badgers were No. 10 in the final AP poll in 2011.

NEW YORK (AP) — AP POLL ALERT: 'Bama rules, Houston soars to sixth, 'Dawgs ninth, Badgers 10th, Longhorns 11th; Sooners, LSU, Irish tumble.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have signed kicker Connor Barth to replace Robbie Gould.

NEW YORK (AP) — Philipp Grubauer will replace injured goaltender Frederik Andersen and Anze Kopitar will serve as captain for Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach will miss Wednesday's opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in order to attend a state event in Germany.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have signed quarterbacks Zac Dysert and Aaron Murray to the practice squad.

Leon Jacobs will play both ways for the University of Wisconsin the rest of the season after sophomore inside linebacker Chris Orr suffered a season-ending knee injury against LSU on Saturday, according to Badgers coach Paul Chryst.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Aaron Williams has returned to practice after missing nearly a month recovering from a concussion and is set to start in the team's season opener at Baltimore on Sunday.

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones indicated that the team will keep quarterback Tony Romo on the active roster as he recovers from a compression fracture in his back. "We don't have anybody valuable enough to take up…

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills have signed receiver Brandon Tate in the team's latest bid to upgrade its special teams return position.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island Superior Court judge has approved a partial $25.6 million settlement in the lawsuit over the state's disastrous deal with 38 Studios, the video game company started by former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.