Stabler had CTE

Former Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler, the late NFL most valuable player and Super Bowl winner who is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has been diagnosed with the brain disease CTE, Boston University researchers said.

Stabler, who died of colon cancer at 69 in July, had Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Dr. Ann McKee said. McKee said the disease was widespread throughout his brain, with “quite severe” damage to the regions involving learning, memory and regulation of emotion.

Roger Federer had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus and will miss tennis tournaments in the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates this month. It is a rare injury setback for the 34year-old Federer, who had minor back problems in 2008 and 2013.

A statement on Federer’s website did not specify which knee was injured, though it said it happened Friday, one day after his Australian Open semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic. His next scheduled tournament is in Indian Wells, starting March 7.

American midfielder Stuart Holden 30, is retiring from soccer, unable to recover from knee injuries that have sidelined him for most of the last four years.

The Toronto Blue Jays are installing a dirt infield at the Rogers Centre for the first time but said it was too early to determine whether they would replace artificial turf with grass in the future. Toronto and Tampa Bay are the only major league teams with artificial surfaces at their ballparks.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a three-under-par 69 in the Coates Golf Championship in her first round of the season, leaving her four strokes behind leader Ha Na Jang in Ocala, Fla. Ko tied for second last year in Ocala to reach No. 1 in the world ranking.