Looking for more big plays out of their safeties Josey Jewell Jersey Broncos , the Bengals drafted one who learned to track balls in the air while playing center field on high school fields in neighboring Indiana.

Jessie Bates III even hit a few home runs, too.

Cincinnati traded down in the second round of the draft Friday and focused on a defense that slipped last season, taking Bates III from Wake Forest with the 46th overall pick. They kept at it in the third round, picking defensive end Sam Hubbard from Ohio State and linebacker Malik Jefferson from Texas.

They added to all three levels of the defense �line, linebacker and secondary �in a one-day flurry.

"We did a lot in the early part of the offseason with our offense," coach Marvin Lewis said. "We wanted to address the defense today. That was our plan, and we were able to stick to it."

First, they went for a safety who has man-to-man coverage skills and a knack for being around the ball. He honed that skill while playing center field at Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also was a point guard on the basketball team.

"Baseball is the same thing: track the ball off the bat," Bates said in a conference call. "It's the same thing as reading the quarterback, reading his eyes. Basketball helped with that as well, with the anticipation, being able to read things, knowing how other players are thinking."

The Bengals could see how it translated.

"Kids that play baseball have a phenomenal feel for looking over the shoulder and tracking balls either way, and he can do that Steelers Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey ," safeties coach Robert Livingston said.

The Bengals had only 11 interceptions last season, tied for 10th-fewest in the league. Their safeties combined for three. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard led the team with two.

It was part of an overall slide by the defense, which finished 18th in yards allowed and 30th against the run. Coordinator Paul Guenther left to join Jon Gruden with the Raiders, and Teryl Austin was hired as his replacement. Austin ran a similar defense in Detroit, so Cincinnati won't have to make a significant change in its schemes.

One thing that Austin wants is more turnovers out of his new defense. Bates is known for it. He had nine interceptions as a high school senior, and five �including two for touchdowns �at Wake Forest in 2016. He had one interception last season, when he was in more man-to-man coverage.

Bates recalled his interview with the Bengals at the NFL combine, which included several math problems as part of the mental drills.

"I'm not sure what their philosophy was behind that, but I killed it," Bates said. "I don't know if it was about quick-thinking or what."

The Bengals have acquired three players from within driving distance �two from Ohio State �during the first two days of the draft.

They chose Ohio State center Billy Price in the first round on Thursday, a move to fix their biggest problem. The offense finished last in the league last season and has been the main focus of their offseason. Price grew up in eastern Ohio and was hoping to stay in-state in the pros.

They hit home with Hubbard, who grew up in Cincinnati and has regularly attended games at Paul Brown Stadium, including the Bengals' playoff loss to Pittsburgh in 2005 when Carson Palmer tore up his knee on his first pass attempt.

Five years ago, Hubbard had committed to playing lacrosse at Notre Dame when Ohio State coach Urban Meyer decided to recruit him. During the process, Lewis happened to be in Columbus talking to Meyer when Hubbard called the Ohio State coach. Meyer put Lewis on the phone Texans Authentic Jerseys , knowing the impact it would make.

"That was a great recruiting tool," Hubbard said.

Hubbard didn't think there was much chance he'd end up playing for his favorite NFL team.

"I watched every game the Bengals played," he said. "When they were blacked out on Sunday, I was really upset."

Digging deeper into a culture war that he¡¯s repeatedly stoked, President Donald Trump called off a visit to the White House by the Philadelphia Eagles, citing the dispute over whether NFL players protesting racial injustice must stand during the playing of the national anthem.

Trump said in a statement Monday that some members of the Super Bowl championship team ¡±disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.¡±

He said the team wanted to send a smaller delegation Tuesday, but ¡±the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.¡±

Instead, Trump said he would be hosting ¡±a different type of ceremony,¡± featuring the U.S. Marine Band and the U.S. Army Chorus, that ¡±will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.¡±

None of the Eagles took a knee during the anthem in 2017.

One of the people set to attend the ceremony told The Associated Press less than half of the team¡¯s 53-man roster planned to go. The person spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the decision.

PRO HOCKEY

WASHINGTON (AP) ¨C The Washington Capitals are one win away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history after a 6-2 blowout of the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 gave them a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals will get their first chance to hoist the Cup in Game 5 on Thursday night in Las Vegas. No team since the Detroit Red Wings in 1942 has blown a 3-1 lead in the Cup Final.

Evgeny Kuznetsov dished out four assists Giants Will Hernandez Jersey , T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson, Devante Smith-Pelly, John Carlson, Michal Kempny and Brett Connolly scored and Braden Holtby stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced.

The desperate Golden Knights outchanced the Capitals by a wide margin but fell apart after James Neal clanked a shot off the post instead of hitting a wide-open net early in the first period. The expansion team¡¯s Cinderella run is in danger of coming to a quick end.

Marc-Andre Fleury allowed six goals on 23 shots, and by the time Neal and Reilly Smith scored in the third period, it was too late.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Kyler Murray says he is committed to playing football for Oklahoma this season even after becoming a top-10 pick in the Major League Baseball draft.

Murray, the favorite to replace Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield as the Sooners¡¯ starting quarterback, was selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics on Monday night, putting him in position for a signing bonus of about $4.8 million to play baseball.

The speedy Murray has been a major league prospect since high school. He played outfield for the Sooners and hit .296 with 10 homers, 13 doubles and three triples in 189 at-bats this season.

Still, his selection so early in the first round was a surprise, and it could mean a change in career paths for the former five-star football recruit.

The slot value for the No. 9 pick is $4,761,500. If the A¡¯s don¡¯t sign him Armani Watts Jersey Chiefs , they would lose that amount from their available bonus pool of $9,553,200 this year but would get the No. 8 pick as compensation next year. The deadline for Murray to sign is July 6.

SOCCER

ZURICH (AP) ¨C FIFA can afford to have Morocco host the 2026 World Cup, according to President Gianni Infantino, even if the rival North American bid promises billions of dollars more in revenue.

Ahead of next week¡¯s vote by FIFA member federations in Moscow, Infantino said: ¡±FIFA can afford whatever the congress decides.¡±

¡±We have to live with that and to make the best of any decision which is taken,¡± said the FIFA leader, who Moroccan bid leaders have publicly suspected of favoring the joint United States-Canada-Mexico bid.

In a FIFA panel¡¯s evaluation of the candidates, the North American bid got the only maximum mark for its tickets and corporate hospitality sales plan.

A difference in projected ticket sales of $1.3 billion between the two bids helped lead the report to note ¡±significantly higher¡± forecast revenue of $14.3 billion from North Americans and $7.2 billion from Morocco.

TENNIS

PARIS (AP) ¨C Serena Williams called off her Grand Slam comeback, pulling out of the French Open because of a chest injury before she was supposed to play Maria Sharapova.

Williams announced her withdrawal at a news conference at Roland Garros on Monday.

Williams¡¯ voice quivered as she said she can¡¯t serve because of a problem with her tight pectoral muscle.

She and Sharapova were scheduled to play a fourth-round match Monday.

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