Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. was named the NFC’s defensive player of the week on Wednesday after intercepting two passes in Minnesota’s 23-13 win in New Orleans.

It’s the fourth straight week a Vikings’ player has earned a player of the week award. The three previous honors were for special teams. Kicker Will Reichard was honored after Week 4 against Miami, returner Myles Price after Week 3 against Tampa Bay and Isaiah Rodgers for Week 2 at Chicago.

Minnesota is the first team to secure a player of the week award in four of the first five weeks of the season since the 1991 Buffalo Bills.

It’s Murphy’s second such honor after winning the defensive player of the week with the Arizona Cardinals for Week 3 in 2021.

— Staff report

College basketball

Fixer in betting scheme sentenced

A man charged with rigging college basketball games as part of an elaborate point-fixing scheme that raked in millions was sentenced to six years in federal prison, prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced on Tuesday.

It was the first penalty handed down as part of an investigation that revealed a sprawling network of professional gamblers and college basketball players who, prosecutors say, profited off fixed games.

Prosecutors said Jalen Smith, 30, played a “central role” in helping fix games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 NCAA Division I basketball seasons, placing bets and recruiting players with the promise of a big payment for purposefully underperforming during a game, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said on Tuesday. Bettors would then wager against the players’ teams in those games, defrauding sportsbooks and other gamblers, authorities said. Smith pleaded guilty earlier this year to bribery and wire fraud charges.

The sentencing comes at the start of the 2026-27 NCAA basketball season, when bettors will wager billions of dollars both legally and illegally on games nationwide. In the meantime, law enforcement, regulators and sports leagues have struggled to keep up with gambling’s growing popularity in collegiate and professional sports alike.

Smith’s attorney, Rocco Cipparone, said his client took full responsibility for crimes at the sentencing hearing and apologized to those impacted. Cipparone also noted that the federal judge seemed to take Smith’s apology as sincere, sentencing him to less time than what prosecutors recommended.

Hardaway willing to spend own money

Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway says he’s willing to pay up to $2.6 million this year toward the program’s revenue-sharing total in order to field a competitive team.

The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee, initially reported on Monday that Hardaway had written a $2.6 million check that helped land Serbian big man Nemanja Popovic and Florida Atlantic transfer Maxim Logue.

Ed Scott, the school’s athletic director, clarified on Tuesday during an interview with Gary Parrish of Grind City Media that Hardaway had not written a check, but that the athletic department had essentially loaned Hardaway $2.6 million because the coach said he could raise that money by the end of the fiscal year.

Scott said the Tigers’ revenue-sharing budget for the upcoming season was $6.4 million, but that Hardaway wanted $9 million to build his roster. The two reached a compromise.

“That’s when Penny said, ‘Look, I think I can raise the $2.6 million,’” Scott said. “I said, ‘Listen, if you can raise the $2.6 million and have pledges that say it will be paid by the end of the fiscal year, we can front the money.’”

NHL

Red wings sign DeBrincat for 7 years

The Detroit Red Wings signed two-time All-Star forward Alex DeBrincat to a seven-year contract worth $13 million per season on Wednesday.

The move provided desperately needed good news for a franchise mired in a decade-long postseason drought with an interim general manager, a former captain in limbo and an unsigned restricted free agent.

The 28-year-old DeBrincat has established himself as a productive offensive player in the NHL with 298 career goals and 603 points. He led the team and set a career high with 85 points last season and matched his career high with 41 goals, becoming the first player to have at least 40 goals for the Red Wings since Marian Hossa in 2009.

DeBrincat leads the Red Wings with four goals and eight points this season.

soccer

new women’s club competition planned

The U.S. Soccer federation announced Wednesday it plans a new national women’s club competition that will include teams from the National Women’s Soccer League and the Gainbridge Super League.

There is no launch date yet for the Arthur M. Blank Crest Cup, which will have a prize pool of $1.5 million. The single-elimination competition will serve as a national championship and a pathway to qualification for the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.

“We’re working very closely with both the NWSL and the Gainbridge Super League to figure out what is the optimal time to do this,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said. “Obviously, we want to put it into play as soon as possible, but we also want to be respectful of each league’s calendar and how do we best go forth and do this. And I’ve got to say, I’ve been very impressed with both leagues and how much they’re leaning in and collaborating and cooperating to make this happen.”

Parlow Cone said the competition could be open to other clubs, including amateur teams, much like the men’s U.S. Open Cup.

— From news services