Football

Hall of Famer apologizes — Pro Football Hall of Famer Lem Barney is apologizing for comments he made Friday, when he said the sport might be eliminated in 10 to 20 years because it’s so dangerous. The former Detroit Lions star shared his thoughts at the Sound Mind Sound Body Football Academy while sitting next to coaches such as Michigan’s Brady Hoke, Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio and Wisconsin’s Gary Anderson, along with Denver Broncos defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson. On Sunday, Barney said he believes his comments were truthful, but the camp was not the right forum for them. He says he doesn’t want to discourage young men from their love of the game, he just wants the game to be safe. Barney is among the hundreds of former football players suing the NFL over how it handled head injuries.

Putin says Super Bowl ring was gift — Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying insinuations that he stole New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl ring that’s on display in the Kremlin, but says he’s ready to buy him another ring as a gift. Putin was reacting Sunday through a spokesman to a New York Post story quoting remarks made by Kraft at an awards gala at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel last Thursday. “I took out the ring and showed it to (Putin). And he put it on and he goes, ‘I can kill someone with this ring,’ ” Kraft said, as quoted by the Post. “I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.” The diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring worth about $25,000 changed hands while Kraft was visiting St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2005 with an American business delegation that met Putin. At the time, Kraft had said he gave the ring to Putin as a gift.

Cycling

Costa wins Tour de Suisse — Rui Costa of Portugal kept his Tour de Suisse title Sunday in Switzerland after winning the final stage by 21 seconds. The Movistar rider finished the 16.7-mile time trial in 51 minutes, 56 seconds, holding off Tanel Kangert of Spain and the Netherlands’ Bauke Mollema. Costa finished 1:02 ahead of Mollema overall. Switzerland’s Mathias Frank began the final stage in the lead but finished fifth after coming in 19th in the stage.

Hockey

Ovechkin says foot is healing well — Alex Ovechkin says his broken left foot is healing well after playing almost three full games on it last month. The Washington Capitals’ captain, who won his third Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP, sustained a hairline fracture in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the New York Rangers. He did not miss any time, playing in Game 7 the next night and then at the world championship days later. Ovechkin says he knew something was wrong but said during a conference call Sunday he did not have an MRI until after playing for Russia in Stockholm.

Tennis

Federer wins title — Roger Federer won his first title of the year, overcoming a sluggish start to beat unseeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, on Sunday. Returning to grass in his favorite warm-up for Wimbledon, the top-seeded Federer looked lethargic until the middle of the second set against a player he had never lost to in 14 previous matches. The 31-year-old Federer won his first title since Cincinnati in August and his sixth in Halle.

Murray beats Cilic — Top-seeded Andy Murray rallied to beat defending champion Marin Cilic 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Queen’s Club tournament in London for the third time. It is the 27th career title for the Briton, who also claimed the trophy in 2009 and ’11, and his second of the season after winning at Miami in March.

Hantuchova wins — Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova won her sixth career title Sunday, beating Croatian teenager Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the final of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England.

— From wire reports