Wednesday's Sports In Brief

Jul 9, 2015 - 5:39 AM GOLF

Rory McIlroy pulled out of the British Open at St. Andrews on Wednesday with an ankle injury, the first time in 61 years the defending champion will not be playing.

McIlroy made the announcement by posting a photo on Instagram that showed his left ankle in an air cast, propped up as he watched Wimbledon on television. That will be his only view of St. Andrews next week, a blow to the world's No. 1 player and to the oldest championship in golf.

McIlroy said he ruptured a ligament in his left ankle over the weekend while playing soccer with friends in Northern Ireland. He was hopeful that he would recover in time for The Open, but decided two days later it was not worth risking a full recovery.

''After much consideration, I have decided not to play in the Open Championship at St. Andrews,'' McIlroy said. ''I'm taking a long-term view of this injury and, although rehab is progressing well, I want to come back to tournament play when I feel 100 percent healthy and 100 percent competitive.''

He said he hoped to be back to golf as soon as he could.

Ben Hogan in 1954 was the last British Open champion who did not defend.

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NFL

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) A federal judge has ordered the Patent and Trademark Office to cancel registration of the Washington Redskins' trademark, ruling that the team name may be disparaging to Native Americans.

The ruling Wednesday by Judge Gerald Bruce Lee affirms an earlier finding by an administrative appeal board.

In his 70-page ruling, Lee emphasized that the organization is still free to use the name if it wishes - the team would just lose some legal protections that go along with federal registration of a trademark.

The team had sued to overturn a ruling against it by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The team argued that cancellation of its trademark infringed on its free-speech rights because it required the government to judge whether the name is offensive.

The organization can appeal.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers say cornerback C.J. Wilson injured one of his hands in a Fourth of July accident.

In a statement Wednesday, the team didn't describe the nature of the accident but said its ''primary concern at this moment is for his long-term health.''

Wilson was injured near his hometown of Lincolnton, North Carolina. He played at North Carolina State and has played in four NFL games over two seasons, two coming last year with the Bucs.

Maj. Lee Caskey of the Lincoln County sheriff's office says there was no call for an ambulance or emergency medical care that night, though a fire department and the sheriff's office were eventually called to a local hospital where Wilson had been taken for treatment.

Caskey didn't have details about Wilson's injury.

Boger City Fire Department Chief Mitch Burgin said firefighters responded to a report of a fire in a car parked at the hospital that night, though it was out by the time they arrived.

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BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - The Reds' Todd Frazier is paired with two-time champion Prince Fielder of Texas in the first round of Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby in Cincinnati.

In this year's new format, Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant is in a pairing with the Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols, Toronto's Josh Donaldson is in a bracket with the Chicago Cubs' Anthony Rizzo, and Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson takes on Baltimore's Manny Machado.

The Frazier-Fielder winner faces Donaldson or Rizzo, and the Bryant-Pujols winner goes against Pederson or Machado.

Brackets were based on season home run totals through Tuesday.

Each batter gets five minutes per round, and home runs in each batter's final minute stop the clock. Players can earn up to 1 minute, 30 seconds of bonus time based on home run distance.

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NBA

DALLAS (AP) - DeAndre Jordan gave the Dallas Mavericks his word. Then he gave the Los Angeles Clippers his signature.

After a Clippers contingent including Blake Griffin, J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers descended on Jordan's home in Houston on Wednesday night for a last-ditch push to keep their defensive pillar, Jordan backed out of a verbal agreement with the Mavericks to stay with the only NBA home he's ever had.

The Clippers announced Jordan's deal late Wednesday night. It's a four-year pact worth more than $87 million, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The terms, first reported by USA Today, include a player option after the third season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team was not releasing contract details.

The Clippers also sent out a tweet welcoming Jordan back to Los Angeles.

''WE'RE OFFICIALLY CENTERED,'' the tweet read.

Once and for all.

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POKER

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The $10 million winner of last year's World Series of Poker main event won't get to defend his title this year, but plenty of poker pros and a few celebrities are still chasing a $7.68 million top prize.

A total of 4,371 card players remained in the tournament at the start of a second session of no-limit Texas Hold `em on Wednesday, as tournament officials announced the $60.3 million prize pool to be split among the top 1,000 finishers.

Swedish poker player Martin Jacobsen was among 6,420 entries into the series' premiere event but last year's winner was knocked out on Tuesday.

Each entry cost players $10,000 for the chance at poker supremacy. The tournament has fewer entries than last year, when 6,683 players entered.

Pro players Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey are all still in. So are celebrities Ray Romano and Brad Garrett, stars of ''Everybody Loves Raymond.'' Film actors Jennifer Tilly and James Woods were also in the running still as of Wednesday afternoon.

Actor Aaron Paul of ''Breaking Bad'' and Phoenix Suns center Earl Barron busted out.