Newsmakers

Arrested Former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla has been arrested on drug-related charges in Eugene. Lyerla, who left the No. 2 Ducks earlier this month and plans to enter the NFL draft in April, was held in the Lane County Jail following his arrest on Wednesday. The sheriff’s office says in a statement that Lyerla was observed by a drug investigation unit snorting a white powdery substance while sitting in a parked car. He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of cocaine and interfering with a police officer. Awarded Olympic champion swimmer Katie Ledecky has won the U.S. Olympic Committee’s SportsWoman of the Year award. The award will be presented on Oct. 29 in New York. The 16-year-old from Bethesda, Md., won four gold medals and set two world marks at last summer’s world championships in Spain.

Requested A request that stadium officials in Minneapolis avoid using the Redskins name and logo when Washington faces Minnesota for a nationally televised game Nov. 7, is spurring conversation but may not produce action. Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority chief Michele Kelm-Helgen says the agency is meeting with people raising concerns and consulting attorneys. But she says its power is limited during NFL events.

Rising With the Boston Red Sox back in the World Series, television ratings jumped for the opener. Boston’s 8-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday drew an 8.6 fast national rating and 14.4 million viewers, Nielsen Media Research. The rating was up 13 percent from the 7.6 for San Francisco’s 8-3 victory over Detroit last year, which was a record low for a World Series opener.

Protesting Furious over a government plan to impose a tax on them, French soccer teams have unanimously agreed to scrap matches scheduled for Nov. 29-Dec. 2 as a protest. The government plans to implement a temporary 75 percent marginal tax on employers for paying salaries above a million euros a year. Jailed British soccer fan Barry Rogerson has been jailed 12 months for punching a police horse in the head after Newcastle United’s 3-0 loss to Sunderland on April 14. Judge Paul Sloan sentenced him to 12 months in prison for violent disorder and issued a six-year ban from attending any soccer matches in the U.K.

Died Boxing promoter Fernando Beltran announced in a statement that Francisco Leal has died at a San Diego hospital from a cerebral contusion suffered in a fight in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Saturday. Leal was immediately rushed to the hospital after Raul Hilares knocked out the 26-year-old during the eighth round of the bout.