FOOTBALL

Jake Scott, the star safety who was the most valuable player in the Super Bowl that completed the Miami Dolphins’ 1972 perfect season, died Thursday in Atlanta. He was 75.

Scott died after a fall down a stairway that left him in a coma, former teammate Dick Anderson said.

Scott played in three straight Super Bowls, won back-to-back titles and made the Pro Bowl five years in a row. He had two interceptions against Billy Kilmer and Washington as the ‘72 Dolphins won 14-7 to finish 17-0.

SOCCER

FIFA: Female soccer players should soon get their maternity rights protected under new employment rules announced Thursday by FIFA.

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The governing body of soccer is preparing to mandate that clubs allow at least 14 weeks of maternity leave paid at a minimum two-thirds of a player’s full salary. National soccer bodies can insist on more generous terms.

“Her club will be under an obligation to reintegrate her into football activity and provide adequate ongoing medical support,” FIFA said.

Any club that ends a player’s contract for becoming pregnant faces having to pay compensation and a fine, and being banned from the transfer market for one year.

“The idea is to protect female players before, during and after childbirth,” FIFA chief legal officer Emilio Garcia said on a conference call.

The move is seen as a key step in professionalizing women’s soccer – and respecting players’ family lives – after a successful 2019 World Cup and more investment by elite clubs in having a women’s team.

At least eight weeks of the 14-week minimum maternity leave must be after the player gives birth. FIFA also plans to help clubs by letting them register a player outside of a transfer window as a temporary replacement during a maternity leave.

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GOLF

PGA: Camilo Villegas made a 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 6-under 64 and a share of the lead with Matt Wallace in the RSM Classic at St. Simons Island, Florida.

They were a shot ahead of eight players, a group that included Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire and Robert Streb, who won his only PGA Tour title at Sea Island five years ago. They each had 5-under 67 on the Plantation course, which played about three-quarters of a shot harder. Villegas and Wallace played the Seaside course.

LPGA: Women’s British Open winner Sophia Popov shot a 6-under 64 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead over Ashleigh Buhai in the Pelican Women’s Championship at Belleair, Florida.

EUROPEAN TOUR: South Africans Wilco Nienaber and Shaun Norris both shot an 8-under 63 to share the first-round lead at the Joburg Open in Johannesburg.

The duo was one shot ahead of American Johannes Veerman and Aaron Cockerill of Canada. Rhys Enoch, Adilson da Silva, Richard McEvoy, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño were another shot back.

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TENNIS

ATP FINALS: Rafael Nadal advanced to the semifinals for the first time in five years, knocked out defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory in London.

BASEBALL

MLB: The major league minimum salary will rise to $570,500 next season, a hike of $7,000.

MLB announced last February that it is raising 2021 minimums for minor league contracts, from $290 weekly to $400 at rookie and short-season levels, from $290 to $500 at Class A, $350 to $600 at Double-A, and $502 to $700 at Triple-A.

• The Detroit Tigers requested unconditional release waivers on utilityman Brandon Dixon so he can pursue an opportunity in Japan.

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Dixon led the Tigers with 15 home runs in 2019, but the 28-year-old had only 13 at-bats in the majors during this year’s shortened season.

• The Washington Nationals are moving their Triple-A affiliate to Rochester, New York, after two years in Fresno, California.

The change ends the Rochester Red Wings’ 18-year affiliation with the Minnesota Twins.

HOCKEY

GERMAN PRO LEAGUE: The German hockey league will resume play next month for the first time since March.

The 2020-21 season will begin on Dec. 17 with the 14 clubs split into a pair of seven-team regional groups and playing fewer games than normal. The playoffs will be best-of-three games rather than best-of-seven.

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The start of the new season was delayed twice as clubs faced an uncertain financial future while playing in empty arenas. The league says clubs have received assurances of financial help from German politicians.

The league suspended play last season on March 10 and no champion was named.

TRACK AND FIELD

JUMPER SUSPENDED: American triple jumper Omar Craddock was suspended in another case related to missing doping tests.

The Athletics Integrity Unit said the Pan American Games champion has been charged for whereabouts violations and is under provisional suspension awaiting a hearing.

Craddock was a two-time NCAA champion at Florida and won gold at the PanAm Games last year in Lima, Peru. His best result at the world championships came in 2015 when he finished fourth.

Athletes can be banned for two years if they are unavailable for testing, or fail to update details where they can be found by sample collection officials, three times within 12 months.

World champion sprinter Christian Coleman was given a two-year whereabouts ban last month after escaping an earlier suspension on a technicality, and former 1,500-meter world champion Elijah Manangoi was banned for two years last week.


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