SPORTS digest

Argentine soccer player aboard missing plane

PARIS

The search for the missing plane taking Argentine soccer player Emiliano Sala to his new team in Wales was called off for the night on Tuesday with authorities not expecting to find any survivors in the English Channel.

Police said floating objects had been seen in the water but they were unable to confirm whether they were from the light aircraft that disappeared from radar Monday night off the coast of Guernsey as it made the journey from Nantes.

The 28-year-old Sala had spent the previous hours saying farewell to teammates at the French city’s soccer team after Cardiff signed him for a club-record fee last week.

“After all this time, the weather’s quite cold, the water is very cold out there ... I am not expecting anyone to be alive,” Channel Islands Air Search chief officer John Fitzgerald told The Associated Press. “We just don’t know how it disappeared at the end of yesterday. It just completely vanished.”

Authorities have found no sign of those on board.

Chiefs fire defensive coordinator Sutton

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

The Chiefs fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton on Tuesday, just two days after Kansas City failed to stop Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on what turned out to be the only possession of overtime in a crushing 37-31 playoff defeat.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced the firing in a brief statement. It came one day after he said he would evaluate all aspects of the team but declined to address Sutton’s future specifically.

“Bob is a good football coach and a great person. He played an integral role in the success of our team over the last six seasons,” Reid said. “I’ve said before that change can be a good thing for both parties, and I believe that is the case here for the Chiefs and Bob.”

The 67-year-old Sutton had been defensive coordinator since 2013, when he joined Reid’s initial staff in Kansas City. The longtime college and NFL assistant had previously spent more than a decade with the New York Jets, including a stint as defensive coordinator.

U.S. men’s soccer team announces player cuts

CHICAGO

Colorado midfielder Kellyn Acosta has been cut from the U.S. soccer roster for upcoming exhibitions against Panama and Costa Rica.

New coach Gregg Berhalter also dropped Salt Lake defender Justen Glad on Tuesday along with goalkeepers Alex Bono of Toronto and Tyler Miller of Los Angeles FC.

The U.S. team has been training in Chula Vista, California, ahead of matches against Panama on Sunday at Glendale, Arizona, and versus Costa Rica on Feb. 2 at San Jose, California. Twenty-three players remain on the roster, all from Major League Soccer, including 11 who could make their national team debuts.

Just four players have more than six international appearances: midfielders Michael Bradley (142), Paul Arriola (17) and Wil Trapp (11), and forward Gyasi Zardes (40). Among defenders, Walker Zimmerman has the most appearances with four.

Berhalter will not have his full player pool available until March exhibitions. His first competitive matches will be at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June.

Mavs’ Doncic fined $10,000 for kicking ball

DALLAS

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been fined $10,000 for kicking the ball into the stands, which led to his ejection from a game against Indiana.

Doncic kicked the ball after a basket by the Pacers late in the third quarter of their 111-99 victory over the Mavericks on Saturday night. The NBA announced the fine Tuesday.

The 19-year-old rookie sensation from Slovenia said he didn’t intentionally kick the ball into the stands. The ball ricocheted off the back of the backboard into the first couple of rows of seats. Because Doncic had received a technical earlier in the game, his second technical resulted in the first ejection of his career.

Associated Press