NFL reinstates Gordon for Week 16
Josh Gordon was conditionally reinstated by the NFL on Thursday and can begin the process of joining the Seahawks' roster as early as today.
Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Gordon after nearly a one-year suspension following his latest off-field transgression for violations of the league's substance abuse policies. The former All-Pro receiver was suspended in December 2019 for violating the league's drug policy. He tested positive for performance enhancers and “substances of abuse,” the league said in a statement at the time. It was the eighth time overall Gordon, 29, had been suspended by his team or the NFL, including six times since 2013, mostly for violating the league's policies on banned substances.
The league said Gordon can begin COVID-19 testing on Friday and may begin attending team and individual meetings Wednesday should his tests come back negative. He can also begin individual workouts and strength and conditioning.
Gordon cannot practice with the team until Dec. 21. He would be eligible to play in the final two regular-season games.
College basketball: Emon Washington had 30 points and Illinois State scored the fourth-most points in NCAA Division I history with a 177-108 victory over visiting Division III foe Greenville on Wednesday night. The Redbirds (2-1) sit behind Loyola Marymount and LIU Brooklyn in the record book. LMU scored 186 points in 1991 and 181 in '89, LIU Brooklyn totaled 179 in '97 and Oklahoma had 173 in '89.
College football: Texas Tech announced
Thursday that coach Matt Wells tested positive for COVID-19. Wells will isolate at home and continue his coaching duties remotely. ... President Donald Trump presented College Football Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. The 83-year-old Holtz, who's been an outspoken supporter of the president, led Notre Dame to the 1998 title. He coached at six other schools, including William & Mary, and spent one season as coach of the NFL's Jets, going 3-10 in 1976. Holtz was among the speakers at this year's Republican National Convention, offering Trump a strong endorsement while attacking the president's Democratic rival, Joe Biden. In his remarks, Holtz called Biden a Catholic “in name only.” President-elect Biden is a practicing Catholic.
Golf: Annika Sorenstam was elected president of the International Golf Federation, replacing the outgoing Peter Dawson. Sorenstam, 50, a 72-time winner on the LPGA Tour and former No. 1, will take up the position Jan. 1. Her first major task will be to help oversee the federation's strategic planning for next year's Olympics. ...
Russell Knox of Scotland shot an opening-round 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead the PGA Tour's Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Joaquin Niemann of Chile, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina and Tom Hoge were tied for second. ... Britain's Charley Hull shot an opening-round 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over three players when play was suspended due to darkness with 16 players left on the course at the LPGA Tour's Volunteers of America Classic in The Colony, Texas.