NFL suspends side judge Rob Vernatchi for one game for not managing clock

Nevada regulators ordered daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel to shut down, saying they can’t operate in the state without a gambling license.

The decision Thursday comes amid growing backlash by investigators and regulators over the sites, which have grown in popularity in the past year.

Participants on the sites can compete in games involving NFL or college players, paying an entry fee that goes into a larger pool. Then they try to assemble teams that earn the most points based on real-life stats in a given period of time with a certain percentage of top finishers earning a payout.

Entry fees on DraftKings range from 25 cents to more than $5,000. Some prizes top $1 million.

DraftKings and FanDuel say the sites provide games of skill and not of chance and are therefore protected by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act established in 2006, which has language protecting fantasy sports.

The games are legal in 45 states.

Nevada’s Gaming Control Board issued a notice saying the sites must stop offering their contests to residents in the state effective immediately. Operators face felony fines and 10 years in prison.

Pro football

The NFL suspended side judge Rob Vernatchi for one game for not managing the clock properly in the fourth quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Chargers in San Diego on Monday night.

After a kickoff that was not returned by the Steelers, 18 seconds ran off the clock. The side judge is in charge of monitoring the game clock, which is kept on the stadium scoreboard.

Vernatchi “will not officiate in Week 6 as a result of the failure to notice that the game clock was incorrectly started,” league spokesman Michael Signora said. Signora added Vernatchi is being taken off the field for one week and then will return to referee Pete Morelli’s crew.

Such a move is unusual for the NFL, which rarely publicly reprimands game officials. Vernatchi could file a grievance through the officials’ union.

“The mistake will also impact the evaluation of the other six members of the officiating crew,” Signora said. “Had the side judge or any of the other six on-field officials noticed the timing error, they could have corrected it.”

Signora said the status of the clock operator in San Diego, an NFL employee, was under review.

The NFL also reassigned Greg Wilson, the back judge who missed an end-zone penalty in the final moments of Detroit’s loss at Seattle the previous Monday night. Wilson did not call Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright for batting the ball out of the end zone, and Seattle held on for a 13-10 victory.

A person with knowledge of the move told the Associated Press that Wilson has been moved off Sunday night’s Patriots-Colts game and will work the Dolphins-Titans match instead.

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The Seattle Seahawks suspended Derrick Coleman after police arrested him in a hit-and-run investigation, but his lawyer insisted that if the fullback left the scene at all it was only because he was dazed.

Coleman was booked into King County Jail in Seattle early Thursday and denied bail until his first court appearance, which was expected Friday afternoon. Bellevue officers said they arrested him because he left the scene of the two-car accident Wednesday evening.

Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett said finding out why Coleman left will be a focus of their investigation.

“Regardless of the reason why, he has a duty to remain at the scene and provide certain information and render aid if he’s able to,” Mylett said.

Coleman’s agents said in a statement “it seems Derrick may have fallen asleep while driving home from a Seahawks’ facility.”

Witnesses told responding officers that Coleman’s truck was speeding through a 35 mph zone when it rear-ended a Honda Civic, Mylett said. After Coleman was helped from his vehicle, witnesses said, he left. Some told officers he ran; others said he walked.

Officers found Coleman two blocks from the crash within 10 minutes based on the descriptions from witnesses. Coleman reported no injuries, while the driver of the other vehicle was taken to a local hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries, Mylett said.

Steve Hayne, one of Coleman’s lawyers, stressed how close his client was to the crash when he was arrested. “He didn’t really leave the scene. He was in shock after the accident,” Hayne said. “He didn’t go very far, and he didn’t flee in any sense.”

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The Oakland Raiders plan to put defensive end Justin Tuck on season-ending injured reserve because of a torn pectoral muscle, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press.

Tuck was hurt while trying to tackle Denver running back C.J. Anderson early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 16-10 loss to the Broncos.

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New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara will miss two to four weeks with a partially torn pectoral muscle. He leads the team with seven passes defended.

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St. Louis Rams guard Rodger Saffold will require season-ending surgery for a right shoulder injury.

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Tennessee Titans rookie outside linebacker Deiontrez Mount will miss the rest of the season after tearing a ligament in his right knee at practice.

Etc.

Bode Miller said he would take a break from racing on the World Cup circuit this season to spend more time with his family, test out new ski equipment and help train a barn of horses he bought.

The six-time Olympic medalist isn’t leaning toward retirement just yet, but did say that competing at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea was, “really unlikely.”

The U.S. skier turned 38 earlier this week.

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Texas high school sports officials showed leniency after a former assistant football coach denied ordering two players to blindside a referee but acknowledged making comments that may have unintentionally instigated the hit.

In doling out final penalties for the Sept. 4 incident, the University Interscholastic League suspended former San Antonio John Jay assistant Mack Breed for the rest of the school year and placed him on two years’ probation. Breed could have been suspended for up to three years, but UIL officials said his willingness to testify helped reduce the sanctions.

Breed said he wanted to “clear my name” and got choked up when defending himself.

Head Coach Gary Guttierez was given a public reprimand and two years’ probation and the two players involved were suspended from all sports or extracurricular activities for the rest of the academic year.

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Novak Djokovic defeated 15th-seeded Feliciano Lopez, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters, extending his winning streak to 14 straight matches dating back to his title run at the U.S. Open.

Andy Murray saved all seven break points he faced and held on to beat big-serving John Isner, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4; Rafael Nadal defeated Canada’s Milos Raonic, 6-3, 7-6 (3); and Stan Wawrinka topped Marin Cilic, 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-4.

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Caroline Wozniacki became the latest seeded player to suffer an early exit at the Generali Ladies, losing to Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round in Linz, Austria. Wozniacki’s defeat left the indoor event without any of its top-six seeded women in the quarterfinals.

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Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open by beating Wang Yafan of China. 6-0, 6-2.

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All 54 European soccer nations backed UEFA President Michel Platini’s fight to clear his name and overturn FIFA’s suspension.

The support, which was announced through a UEFA statement, did not follow a vote in the meeting of UEFA members at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, and offered no view on the case itself.

Platini and FIFA President Sepp Blatter were suspended for 90 days last week by the FIFA ethics committee following an investigation into a payment from soccer’s world governing body.

While Blatter has been replaced at FIFA by acting President Issa Hayatou, Platini retains the UEFA presidency and salary despite officially being banned.