FOOTBALL

JETS CUT WR MCCAREINS, CB DYSON, OL CLARKE

Wide receiver Justin McCareins and cornerback Andre Dyson were released, and starting left guard Adrien Clarke was waived by the Jets yesterday. The veterans were cut three days before the start of the NFL’s free agent period as the Jets attempt to create additional salary cap room.

McCareins, acquired in 2004 in a trade with Tennessee, never developed into the impact receiver the Jets hoped he’d become. In four seasons in New York, he had 141 catches for 2,062 and seven touchdowns. He saw limited action last season, catching just 19 passes for 232 yards. Dyson, signed by the Jets as a free agent from Seattle in 2006, had five interceptions in two seasons with the Jets, but just one in nine games last season as a backup.

GOLF

COUPLES, NORMAN BECOME PRESIDENTS CUP CAPTAINS

Greg Norman put aside his differences with the PGA Tour and agreed to be captain of the International team at the Presidents Cup, joining Fred Couples of the United States as the first captains who have competed in the matches.

The announcement yesterday shifts the Presidents Cup into a modern era of captaincy. Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were captains at the last three competitions, and previous captains included Arnold Palmer, Ken Venturi, Hale Irwin, Peter Thomson, and David Graham.

Couples was a natural fit as the face of these matches, which were patterned after the Ryder Cup and began in 1994. He clinched victory for the Americans in the inaugural year with a spectacular 9-iron from the bunker to 2 feet, and two years later, his 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole in the last match secured another win.