FOOTBALL

Detroit Lions sign former UMaine tight end Mulligan

The Detroit Lions signed Maine native and former UMaine tight end Matthew Mulligan. Prior to Maine, Mulligan, 31, attended Penobscot Valley High in Howland.

Mulligan was undrafted out of Maine and spent the first three seasons of his career with the New York Jets from 2009 to 2011. He has also appeared in games for the Bills, Titans, Bears, Patriots and Rams.

 Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy won’t be charged over a Philadelphia nightclub brawl that left two off-duty police officers injured.

District Attorney Seth Williams said he can’t prove who initiated the fight and says it’s legal to act in self-defense or the defense of others.

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 The Oakland Raiders signed free agent pass rusher Aldon Smith to a two-year contract to return to the team after his yearlong suspension ends next November.

Smith will not be able to re-join the team until after his suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy ends Nov. 17.

• The New York Jets signed free-agent linebacker Bruce Carter to a one-year contract.

Carter is expected to compete with the recently re-signed Erin Henderson for the middle linebacker spot opposite David Harris.

COLLEGES

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Brandon Ingram made it official – he’s the latest one-and-done player to come through Duke.

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The freshman announced his decision Monday in a story posted on The Players’ Tribune website. Duke spokesman Cory Walton said Ingram is hiring an agent and is staying in the draft.

The Kinston, North Carolina, native is the seventh Duke freshman since 2011 to head to the NBA, a run that started with eventual NBA rookie of the year Kyrie Irving and continued last year when three freshmen made the jump after winning the program’s fifth national title.

SOCCER

GERMANY: The German football federation opened proceedings against Cologne sporting director Joerg Schmadtke for throwing chewing gum toward the Hoffenheim coaching area during a Bundesliga game Sunday.

Schmadtke reacted furiously when Kevin Volland scored a late equalizer for Hoffenheim to salvage a 1-1 draw while a Cologne player, Lukas Kluenter, was lying on the pitch after what seemed a foul from Eduardo Vargas.

GOLF

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PGA: Fred Couples is out of the Masters because of acute back pain – the first Masters the 56-year-old former champion has missed since 1994.

Couples won the green jacket in 1992 and remains relevant at Augusta National. He shared the 36-hole lead in 2012 and was one shot behind going into the weekend in 2013.

OLYMPICS

RIO DE JANEIRO: Four months before the Olympic Games begin, troubling issues are suppressing ticket sales and causing Brazil to consider how it might fill empty seats.

Worries about the Zika virus, a political crisis and ongoing concerns about crime in the country have contributed to depressed sales.

The opening ceremony is set for Aug. 5, and the country is less stable than it was when the Games were awarded. Brazil is locked in a recession that has forced budgetary cuts, President Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment and the national public security chief suddenly resigned last week.


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