FRISCO, Texas -- The pointed comments made by owner and general manager Jerry Jones about the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff after Sunday's loss to the New England Patriots have not affected the players in the locker room.

"Passion, emotion, the energy he brings, that is Line 1 for Mr. Jones, I feel like from my perspective," tight end Jason Witten, who has played 16 years for the Cowboys, said Tuesday. "He wants to win. He expects to win. He feels like he's put a great team together, which he has, and we haven't played to our expectations of where we should be. That's completely fair. I think it's just the raw emotion of it all. He's been around a lot of great football and knows what he wants it to look like."

After the game, Jones called Patriots coach Bill Belichick "masterful" and said the loss was a "significant setback," while calling into question the coaching staff, particularly with special teams after a blocked punt led to the game's only touchdown.

"With the makeup of this team, I shouldn't be this frustrated," Jones said after the loss.

Over the past two days, Jason Garrett, who does not have a contract beyond this season, has been asked about Jones' comments and gave similar answers.

"We just focus on what we need to do to coach and play our best and get ready for this ballgame," Garrett said Tuesday. "Buffalo's a good football team, so we'll just keep our attention right there."

Running back Ezekiel Elliott said he was unaware of what Jones said but admitted there is frustration with the Cowboys' 6-5 record.

"Just with us not winning, you're going to be frustrated," Elliott said. "Where we are grateful is that we do control our destiny and we can control our destiny in these last games and get into these playoffs."

The Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East over the Philadelphia Eagles (5-6), but they have yet to beat a team with a winning record. They have lost in their four chances against the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Patriots.

The Bills are 8-3 and are one of two teams currently with a winning record remaining on the Cowboys' schedule. They play the 6-5 Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 15.

"You have to be a team that wins those games, and right now we're not," linebacker Sean Lee said. "We need a find a way to do that ASAP because teams who win and get into the playoffs and then win in the playoffs, they win close games. So we need to get there."

NEW YORK -- Free-agent pitcher Sam Dyson has been accused of domestic violence by an ex-girlfriend and is being investigated by Major League Baseball.

The commissioner's office said Tuesday in a statement it is "aware of it and looking into it."

Dyson's agency, ISE, did not immediately respond to a text seeking comment.

The Athletic reported Tuesday that the allegation was made by an ex-girlfriend in posts on her personal Instagram account and on an account she writes in the voice of her cat.

The Athletic, citing a source who was not identified, reported that posts on the accounts alluding to an unidentified individual were about Dyson.

Dyson, 31, was acquired by the Minnesota Twins from the San Francisco Giants at the July 31 trade deadline and became a free agent after the season.

The right-hander was 5-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 61 relief appearances this season. He has spent eight seasons in the majors and has also played with Toronto, Miami and Texas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Seattle Mariners have added another option for their rotation by agreeing to a one-year contract with Kendall Graveman.

According to multiple reports, Graveman, who turns 29 next month, is guaranteed $2 million in his return from Tommy John surgery. He would earn $8 million if Seattle exercises a 2021 option and he pitches at least 150 innings in each season.

Graveman has not pitched in the major leagues since May 11, 2018, for Oakland and had surgery that July 24. Cut by the Athletics after the season, he signed a one-year, $575,000 deal with the Chicago Cubs and made a pair of three-inning minor league injury rehabilitation outings on Aug. 22 and Sept. 1.

He will have a chance to earn a spot in Seattle's starting rotation, which has a couple of openings. Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi and prospect Justus Sheffield are likely the only set starters for Seattle heading into the season.

"Kendall is a great bounce-back candidate," Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a release. "His makeup is off the charts, and we've done a fair bit of homework on him from his time in Oakland and more recently in Chicago. He was a work-horse, ground ball-oriented pitcher, with whom we saw a velocity spike prior to his Tommy John surgery.

"We really trust him and his ability to consistently throw strikes. At 28 years old, he has the ability to stay in our system for a period of time and gives us something to look forward to."

Graveman is 23-29 with a 4.38 ERA in five major league seasons.

He gets a $1.5 million salary next year, and Seattle has a $3.5 million option for 2021 with a $500,000 buyout, according to reports.

Graveman could earn $1.5 million in performance bonuses in each season based on innings: $100,000 each for 15, 25, 40, 50, 65, 75 and 90 and $200,000 apiece for 100, 115, 140 and 150.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A few weeks after announcing plans to return full time to the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series trail, Brent Marks has had a change of plans.

The native of Myerstown, Pa., will park his own car in favor of joining CJB Motorsports next season. Marks and the Chad and Jenn Clemens-owned team are planning a traditional outlaw schedule, with the team expected to partake in select World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions and Pennsylvania sprint car events.

CJB Motorsports announced in August it would part ways with Shane Stewart, who joined the team prior to the 2019 season. The combination struggled to find success, with Stewart only managing one World of Outlaws triumph this year at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville.

“Really everything just started coming together here in the last week,” Marks explained. “They gave me a call and we sat down and talked and worked out some details. They had presented to me, at the time, they weren’t looking to go on the full World of Outlaws tour, which I was totally OK with.

“I love racing with the series, nothing against the series at all. I really wanted to drive for that team and be able to work with Barry Jackson and follow what they wanted to do. I really like the schedule they presented me and we’re going to be able to hit every single big race in the country.”

CJB Motorsports Crew Chief Barry Jackson explained he’s had his eye on Marks for some time and has been impressed with his work ethic over the last few seasons, where Marks has been an owner-driver on the World of Outlaws tour.

“I’ve been looking at Brent for quite a while,” Jackson said. “He’s put a few years in on the outlaw tour now and has done a good job, especially for the situation that he’s been doing. He’s a family-owned deal. They work with their sponsors really well.

“He basically has to do a lot of the stuff himself, from car maintenance from engine maintenance to paying bills and driving the truck up and down the road. The whole deal.”

Marks will no longer have to worry about those things as he’ll now be 100 percent focused on driving as he joins the CJB Motorsports stable.

“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders as well, because I can just concentrate on being a driver and not have to deal with the pressure of being a car owner and trying to keep my own deal fully funded,” Marks said. “There are just a lot of other distractions for me with that.

“Really, I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to do that with my own team and it put me in this position to be able to allow me to race for a high-caliber team like CJB.”

Jackson revealed that CJB Motorsports was in talks with David Gravel about potentially returning to the organization in a part-time role with the team. However, Gravel, who raced for CJB Motorsports from 2016 to ’18, reached a deal to remain with Jason Johnson Racing.

“I was hearing different things about him (Gravel) possibly wanting to go NASCAR Truck racing. We offered him an opportunity if the 41 team wasn’t willing to give him a part-time ride,” Jackson said. “We weren’t trying to take a driver from another team, we were just offering an opportunity if he needed it.

“He chose to stay at JJR, which was the right decision.”

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LOS ANGELES -- Kings defenseman Alec Martinez is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery to repair a cut on his right wrist.

Martinez had the radial artery and two superficial radial nerves repaired after they were cut by a skate in the third period of the Kings' 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, the team said in a statement.

The 32-year-old defenseman made a headfirst dive to bat away a loose puck and was cut just above the glove by the skate of Melker Karlsson when the Sharks forward lost his balance. Martinez was taken after the game to Keck Medical Center, where the surgery was performed.

He will be evaluated weekly, but the team doesn't know yet when he may return.

Martinez has five assists in 24 games this season. He has 61 goals and 134 assists in 580 games over 11 NHL seasons. He became a fan favorite after scoring in overtime of Game 7 of the 2014 Western Conference finals against the Chicago Blackhawks and in Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers to win the Kings' second title in three seasons.

Expectations were sky high for last year's Boston Celtics, but a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and second-round playoff loss forced president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to reflect on the decisions he made.

"I think that in hindsight we should have cleaned out the roster a little bit to make it easier for (coach) Brad (Stevens), more joy for him to coach," Ainge told ESPN's Rachel Nichols.

The Celtics were expected to be title contenders in 2018-19 after losing in Game 7 of the conference finals the year before with a team devoid of injured stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. However, the duo's return to a rotation that featured Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown, Al Horford, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart led to a logjam of players.

"It just didn't mesh," Ainge said. "You know, it just didn't and I knew, and we talked about it."

Ultimately, Ainge said he refrained from trading any players last season because, after an uneven start, the team entered the All-Star break 37-21.

"So that's why I didn't do any deals, but in hindsight, you know, I would," Ainge told ESPN.

Going forward, Ainge said he'd be "a little bit more careful ... building another team that had such equal depth."

This year's Celtics are tied for the second-best record in the East at 12-4. They've done that without Irving and Horford, who each left in free agency, or Rozier, who was traded to Charlotte as part of a deal to acquire Kemba Walker.

And while some have attempted to cast blame on Irving for the failing of last year's Celtics, Ainge says that's unfair.

"I think it's silly that Kyrie is targeted as the guy just because he's not with us this year," said Ainge, who thinks he was also part of the problem.

"I'll blame all the players and I'll blame myself and we'll go from there."

Exclusive comment from Hyde Peters, who will no longer take on the UK Athletics CEO position

Zara Hyde Peters says she agreed with the UK Athletics (UKA) board that “for the good of the sport” she has not taken up the chief executive position at the national governing body.

Following confirmation from UKA that the former international distance runner would not be stepping into the role on December 1, she told AW: “I have agreed with the board of UK Athletics that for the good of the sport I will not take up the role of CEO in light of recent media reporting.

“This has been one of the most painful experiences I have ever had to face.

“Trial by media is almost impossible to deal with and is not a process that properly protects the rights of those caught up in it.

“I have been a lifelong participant in – and contributor to – the sport of athletics. I have always respected the interests of the sport and my fellow competitors, the officials, and all the many volunteers involved; these are the most important things to me.

“I have been so supported by the messages of support from athletes, coaches and friends from around the world.”

Willis Halaholo has hit back at critics of his selection for Wales' squad to play Barbarians.

The New Zealand-born centre qualified on residency at the start of November, but has been ruled out after suffering a serious knee injury.

His selection, along with fellow Kiwi Johnny McNicholl, led to some criticism on social media.

"[To] all the doubters, haters and people that don't think I belong here, you got your wish," he posted.

Halaholo was referring to tweets questioning whether players should be selected through residency rules.

And he continued: "you got 9 months to get better especially the ones that think it's ok for the other two Kiwi born to represent Wales but not me."

Halaholo was one of three New Zealand-born players in Wayne Pivac's first Wales squad.

The others are Hadleigh Parkes, who is already an established Wales international, and McNicholl who also qualified this month.

Halaholo's Tweet added: "I wasn't gonna say nothing but it's just sad to see people still live this way... if ur against the rule? Cool. If ur against me as a person then idk I wish u all the best...

"This country is in my heart now solidified. Because anyone that knows me knows FAMILY is huge for me. I have 2 welsh born daughters now that makes this country solidified in my heart.

"Nothing motivates me more than doubters and haters see u next season Peace and Love."

Halaholo will have surgery next week after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury and is likely to miss the rest of the season.

He became available for Wales after spending three years with the Cardiff Blues.

The residency qualification period for players in rugby union will be extended to five years from December 2020.