Ravens terminate contract of safety Thomas; Taurasi scores 34 to lead Mercury

The action stems from Thomas’ fray with defensive back Chuck Clark at practice after Thomas admittedly blew a coverage assignment.

Had Thomas been released outright, Baltimore would have taken a $15 million salary-cap hit this year and $10 million in 2021. By voiding his $10 million guaranteed salary for conduct detrimental to the team, he will count $5 million against the cap this season and $10 million next year.

• The NFL had 77 coronavirus tests from 11 teams, deemed to be false positives, re-examined by a New Jersey lab and all of them came back negative.

The league asked the New Jersey lab BioReference to investigate the results, and those 77 tests are being re-tested once more to make sure they were false positives. There are five labs nationwide that service the 32 teams, with only the New Jersey facility having the false positives this weekend.

Amid the reports, several teams canceled practices Saturday or held those players out of practice Sunday.

• Thin at linebacker, the Cleveland Browns signed ex-49er and former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith. The Browns needed help at the position after starter Mack Wilson hyperextended his left knee at practice this week.

• Arizona signed cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick to boost its secondary after a season-ending injury to Robert Alford.

Taurasi scores 34

to lead Mercury

Diana Taurasi hit seven 3-pointers and finished 34 points, both season highs, as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Washington Mystics 88-87 in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Fla.

Phoenix was without six-time All-Star center and two-time WNBA defensive player of the year Brittney Griner for the second consecutive game. Griner left the WNBA bubble Saturday for personal reasons.

• In other games, Betnijah Laney had 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to help the Atlanta Dream end a 10-game skid with a 78-75 win over the Minnesota Lynx. ... Candace Parker had 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, Brittney Sykes scored a season-high 23 points, and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Dallas Wings 84-81 for their seventh consecutive win.

Tennis: No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova, No. 2 Sofia Kenin and 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens are out at the Western & Southern Open in New York. Pliskova, the 2016 U.S. Open runner-up, lost 7-5, 6-4 to Veronika Kudermetova; Kenin, who won the Australian Open this year, fell to Alize Cornet 6-1, 7-6 (7); Stephens lost to Caroline Garcia 6-3, 7-6 (4).

• Novak Djokovic pulled out of the doubles event, citing neck pain. He remained in the singles draw, where he is seeded No. 1 and is scheduled to play his second-round match Monday. He received a first-round bye.