Morning Briefing July 28, 2010
Football
A person familiar with the situation said receiver Terrell Owens agreed to a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday and will report to training camp in a couple of days,
The Bengals were his first choice, giving him a chance to team with close friend Chad Ochocinco, who has already dubbed the pair Batman and Robin. The Bengals made an offer on Monday, and Owens accepted a day later.
Players are required to report for the start of training camp today in Georgetown, Ky. Owens is expected to show up when workouts begin on Thursday, said the person speaking on condition of anonymity because the team had made no announcement.
Jack Tatum, the Pro Bowl safety for the Oakland Raiders best known for his crushing hit that paralyzed Darryl Stingley in an NFL preseason game in 1978, has died. He was 61.
Nicknamed “The Assassin,” Tatum, died of a heart attack in an Oakland hospital, according to friend and former Ohio State teammate John Hicks. Hicks said Tatum had diabetes the past several years, and had lost his left leg because of circulation problems.
Boise State coach Chris Petersen said safety Jason Robinson was suspended for the first three games of the 2010 season.
Robinson pleaded guilty on May 25 to misdemeanor battery for breaking another man’s jaw during a fight at a downtown Boise bar. He was sentenced to 20 days on a county labor crew, ordered to pay $29,000 in restitution and perform 200 hours of community service.
The NFL will distribute a new poster to teams that warns of the dangers from concussions in much harsher language than the league had previously used.
Traumatic brain injury “may lead to problems with memory and communication, personality changes, as well as depression and the early onset of dementia,” the document reads. “Concussions and conditions resulting from repeated brain injury can change your life and your family’s life forever.”
The acknowledgment of such risks is a significant change from a pamphlet previously distributed to players, starting in 2007.
Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, co-chairman of the NFL committee that studies concussions, said that recent research — even reports that have come out in just the last few months — influenced the changes in wording.
Soccer
Diego Maradona was removed as coach of Argentina’s national team on, ending an erratic 21-month stint that mirrored his own long history of unpredictable behavior and culminated in a humiliating exit in the World Cup quarterfinals.
Swimming
USA Swimming acknowledged that it has a second list of people who are under suspicion for unscrupulous behavior, having already banned 46 coaches and officials for life, mostly for sexual misconduct.
The board met in Newark, N.J., to sign off on measures that will be voted on at the national convention in September, another step in its efforts to cope with numerous allegations of coaches abusing underage athletes. They included a new athlete protection policy, expanded background checks and a requirement that all adults who interact with swimmers become members of the organization.
USA Swimming president Jim Wood also said there’s a second list of people who’ve been “flagged” for alleged misconduct against swimmers but haven’t faced any disciplinary action because they aren’t current members. That will change — the board voted to take those cases before the National Board of Review.
— The Associated Press