Rihanna-CBS battle heats up
A battle between CBS and singer Rihanna over the use of one of her songs for its “Thursday Night Football” telecast escalated when the network said it would drop the song from the prime-time show. The decision came after Rihanna took to Twitter to rail against the network for its decision to scrap the song last week, instead focusing on the NFL’s growing domestic-violence scandal. CBS said Tuesday that it would open the show with original theme music. Neither CBS nor Rihanna directly acknowledged that the singer’s history as a victim of domestic violence played a role in the decision. She was assaulted by singer Chris Brown, then her boyfriend, on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards. Hardy update: The NFL is considering intervening in the Greg Hardy case, either to advise the Panthers in the handling of it or to take action against the Pro Bowl defensive end, according to an NFL.com report. Pro Football Talk reported Tuesday that the league might suspend Hardy without pay for violating its personalconduct policy. Panthers sources said they had not heard from the league and still are investigating the charges. Hardy is awaiting a jury trial after a district judge found him guilty in July of assaulting and threatening to kill his exgirlfriend. Extra points: Suspended Browns WR Josh Gordon pleaded guilty to driving while impaired in Raleigh, N.C. He received a 60-day suspended sentence and 12 months unsupervised probation. ... Giants CB Walter Thurmond III (pectoral muscle) and WRJerrel Jernigan (sprained foot) were placed on seasonending injured reserve. ... The Redskins waived S Bacarri Rambo, clearing a roster spot for Brandon Meriweather, who was reinstated from a twogame suspension. ... The Bengals placed 10-year veteran TE Alex Smith (biceps) on season-ending IR and signed free agent Kevin Brock. ... Dolphins C Mike Pouncey, who had hip surgery in June, returned to practice but is not expected to play Sunday against the Chiefs. ... The Colts signed DT Kelcy Quarles off the Patriots’ practice squad.