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PRO BASKETBALLDALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says his decision to revoke the credentials of two ESPN writers who cover his team was driven partly by concern that automated game reports could eventually replace human-generated content. Andrew Wiggins Timberwolves Jersey .Cuban said Monday that he banned Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon from Mavericks home games to bring attention to the issue of companies using automation in sports coverage.The Associated Press, in a partnership with Automated Insights, produces automated stories on minor league baseball but does not use the technology for most of its sports coverage. The AP has at least one reporter at all games in the four major professional sports and most major college football and basketball games.The billionaire who made his fortune through internet technology told The Dallas Morning News that ESPN had informed the club that it wouldnt have a reporter at every game and would rely on wire services. Barry Bedlan, APs sports product manager, said ESPN has relied on us for years.BASEBALLNEW YORK -- Slugger Kris Bryant, pitchers Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, and manager Joe Maddon of the World Series champion Chicago Cubs are among the finalists for baseballs major postseason awards.The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the top three vote-getters in each category.The honors will be announced next week on MLB Network. Voting was completed by the end of the regular season.Bryant, Daniel Murphy of Washington and Corey Seager of the Dodgers are up for NL MVP. Jose Altuve of Houston, Mookie Betts of Boston and Mike Trout of the Angels are on the AL side.The AL Cy Young Award is between Clevelands Corey Kluber, Bostons Rick Porcello and Detroits Justin Verlander. In the NL, its Lester, Hendricks or Washingtons Max Scherzer.Maddon, Washingtons Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers are up for NL Manager of the Year. Clevelands Terry Francona, Texas Jeff Banister and Baltimores Buck Showalter are the AL candidates.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Toronto sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and second baseman Neil Walker were among 10 players to receive $17.2 million qualifying offers from their teams as general managers gathered for their annual meeting.Chicago Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler and Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and third baseman Justin Turner also received offers, as did major league home run leader Mark Trumbo of Baltimore. Texas outfielder Ian Desmond and Philadelphia pitcher Jeremy Hellickson got offers, too.Players have until Nov. 14 to accept. For players who dont and sign elsewhere, their new team loses a high selection in next Junes amateur draft and their old club gets an extra pick after the first round.Twenty players received qualifying offers last year, when the amount was $15.8 million. Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters, Houston outfielder Colby Rasmus and Colorado right-hander Chad Qualls were the only ones to accept.COLLEGE FOOTBALLCLEVELAND -- Kent State has indefinitely suspended star senior safety Nate Holley following his arrest on kidnapping charges.Portage County Sherriff Dave Doak said Holley was arrested on Friday. He posted $50,000 bond Monday and was given a court date.Holleys suspension comes one day before the Golden Flashes host No. 14 Western Michigan. Holley is the teams leading tackler.School spokesman Eric Mansfield confirmed the punishment, but did not provide any details about Holleys arrest.Holley is the Golden Flashes top defensive player, averaging 12.3 tackles per game. He leads the nation with 8.9 solo tackles per game.Holleys twin brother, Nick, took over as Kent States starting quarterback earlier this season following injuries to two other QBs.BAYLOR SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATIONSome of Baylor Universitys most prominent supporters, including a former Texas governor and the billionaire businessman whose name adorns the football stadium, called for a shakeup of the schools board of regents in the wake of the campus sexual assault scandal.The months of criticism over the response by the nations largest Baptist universitys to sex assault reports led to the firing of school president Ken Starr and popular football coach Art Briles.The Bears for Leadership Reform group says it wants to address regents transparency, appointments, conflicts of interest, structure and authority, as well as demanding more answers from the regents and the schools investigation into how it mishandled reports of sexual assaults for years.The groups leaders include Drayton McLane, whose name is on the $266 million football stadium built at the height of the programs success under Briles, and former Texas Gov. Mark White. White insisted the groups goal is not about defending Briles or the football program.MIXED MARTIAL ARTSUFC interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will serve a doping ban until next July after an arbitration panel denied his appeal of a positive test.Widely considered the worlds best pound-for-pound fighter, Jones was pulled from a July bout against Daniel Cormier shortly after news about the positive drug test.Jones claimed to have taken a sexual-enhancement pill but ended up testing positive for two banned anti-estrogen agents.The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which handles UFC testing, declared Jones ineligible. He took the case to arbitration and that panel delivered the maximum one-year suspension, saying Jones degree of fault verged on the reckless.Jones is eligible again on July 7, 2017.UFC issued a statement saying it was aware of the one-year ban, which began on July 6. Jerryd Bayless Timberwolves Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Luol Deng Jersey . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. http:///...timberwolves-jersey/ . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Match factsThursday, October 20, 2016 Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT)Big pictureIn a normal Indian season, this ODI would have been played on Wednesday and not Thursday, but it has been postponed to accommodate the festival of Karva Chauth. This is festival season in India; the Kolkata Test was advanced to avoid a clash with Durga Puja and Diwali, one of the biggest pan-Indian festivals, takes place during the ODI series.For India, the festivities seem to have extended to the field - they have beaten New Zealand in all four matches of the tour, the Dharamsala ODI being the latest. But it is easier to recover from a loss in ODIs than it is in Tests, even a comprehensive one.One defeat doesnt make New Zealand, the World Cup runners-up, an ordinary team, nor will one win make Indias ODI issues go away but there are enough trends to bother one and please the other. Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor havent joined the festivities, whereas Virat Kohlis unbeaten fifty showed he had no trouble putting aside a nine-month gap between ODIs.Excluding Zimbabwe, New Zealand last beat an international side in March in the World T20. These are the kind of things that begin to stack up; never mind the difficult conditions they have played in or the injuries. India will want to stretch that streak to leave New Zealand needing to win every game to win this series.Form guideIndia WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)New Zealand LWLWWIn the spotlightRoss Taylors miserable tour continued in Dharamsala where he got out first ball, poking at an outswinger. With 89 runs in seven innings, it will take a lot of mental strength from him to turn this tour around.This series is a great opportunity for Ajinkya Rahane to establish himself in the ODI XI beyond all doubt. KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are injured, but when they are back, wasted starts such as the 33 in the first game can hurt his prospects. Andrew Wiggins Jersey. Team newsSuresh Raina has been ruled out of the second ODI too with viral fever, which should mean another chance for Kedar Jadhav. Hardik Pandya, after three wickets and the Man-of-the-Match award on debut, should get another go with the new ball.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Umesh YadavAfter resting for the first ODI, Matt Henry is ready to return to the XI. If it is a normal ODI pitch, Ish Sodhi should be the one making way for him.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Tim SoutheePitch and conditionsThe Dharamsala pitch, which offered assistance to quicks early on, should be an aberration. With winter setting in, dew can be an issue so expect the side winning the toss to chase.Stats and triviaMS Dhoni is 61 short of becoming the fifth Indian to 9000 ODI runs.Luke Ronchi is third on the list of New Zealand wicketkeepers with most dismissals - 90Guptill needs another 144 runs to reach 5000 ODI runs. Only four New Zealand batsmen have done itQuotesEveryones determined to make amends, and there are areas to we can make adjustments in. Well be good and ready to go.Fast bowler Matt Henry knows New Zealand need to do much betterI love coming to this ground... Its a confi