FOOTBALL

Patriots’ Ebner to play for U.S. Rugby in Hong Kong

New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner, trying to make the U.S. Rugby roster for the Summer Games, will get to play in Hong Kong. The Associated Press

New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner was called up to the U.S. Rugby Sevens for a tournament in Hong Kong as he tries to make the team that will play in the Rio Olympics.

Ebner was named an injury replacement for sprinter Carlin Isles on Thursday.

A rugby All-American at Ohio State, Ebner was a sixth-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2012. The NFL team gave him permission to train with the U.S. team as it prepares for the Summer Games.

The Olympic squad will be announced July 5.

• The Patriots signed unrestricted free-agent defensive lineman Markus Kuhn. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The 6-foot-4, 303-pound German player spent four seasons with the New York Giants, making 10 starts and playing in 39 games. He has 48 total tackles, 11/2 sacks and two fumble recoveries, one that he returned for a touchdown.

• Buffalo Bills linebacker A.J. Tarpley cited two concussions he sustained last year as the reason he has elected to retire from football after just one season. Tarpley’s agent confirmed his client’s decision a day after Tarpley announced the news on Instagram.

• The Oakland Raiders signed free-agent safety Reggie Nelson, giving them a replacement for retired Pro Bowler Charles Woodson.

The 32-year-old Nelson tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions for Cincinnati last season and was selected to the first Pro Bowl of his career.

HIGH SCHOOLS

SOFTBALL: York High pitcher Stephanie Rundlett signed her letter of intent to play for Division I Fordham University, the high school announced.

Rundlett went 15-2 for the Wildcats last year, striking out 246 in 117 innings while posting an ERA of 0.96.

She will join a Fordham program that went 38-20 and reached the women’s College World Series last season. The Rams are 24-15 this year.

TENNIS

VOLVO CAR OPEN: Venus Williams dropped out of the tournament at Charleston, South Carolina, losing to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakstan, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4.

Williams, seeded third and ranked 14th, had a chance to gain a place in the top 10 with a victory in the match. Instead, Putintseva won the final two games of the final set to beat Williams for the first time in four tries.

Williams became the fifth of the top eight seeds in Charleston to lose before the quarterfinals. Top-seeded Angelique Kerber avoided that earlier in the day with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova.

SOCCER

FIFA RANKINGS: Argentina has regained the lead in FIFA’s world rankings with South America’s top teams surging after playing World Cup qualifying matches.

Argentina ended No. 2 Belgium’s five-month reign, and Chile and Colombia rose to Nos. 3 and 4.

South American teams played two World Cup qualifiers in March that score higher than friendlies played by European teams.

World Cup winner Germany is No. 5 and European champion Spain is No. 6, followed by Brazil. The United States is up one at No. 29.

EUROPA LEAGUE: Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool held Borussia Dortmund to 1-1 on his return to his former club for the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal, while defending champion Sevilla beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 and Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Braga 2-1 in away matches.

AUTO RACING

FORMULA ONE: Motorsports’ governing body agreed for the series to revert to last year’s qualifying format after its new format proved massively unpopular with drivers and fans.

The move still needs to be approved by the F1 commission and World Motor Sport Council before the next race, the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 17.

The new rolling-elimination format – in which the slowest driver is eliminated every 90 seconds – was used in Australia and Bahrain, but heavily criticized both times for a lack of on-track action.

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