MCILROY READY FOR BREAK FROM GOLF
N.Y.» After recently
OLD WESTBURY, debating whether to shut himself down for the year because of injury, Rory McIlroy told ESPN on Tuesday he is planning to play five more tournaments before taking a 3½-month break.
“I’m OK to play these next four out of five weeks,” McIlroy said, “but then I do need a prolonged period off at some point in 2017 to be ready for 2018.”
A week and a half ago, McIlroy concluded a 22nd-place finish at the PGA Championship by telling reporters that he was unsure whether a recurring rib injury would preclude him from competing again in the near future. It’s the same injury that caused him to miss more than a month on two occasions this year.
He also revealed after the PGA Championship that he was enduring spasms and numbness in his left arm.
McIlroy committed to this week’s Northern Trust event, the first of four FedEx Cup playoff tournaments.
Venus’ phone data turned over.
FLA.» Records from WEST PALM BEACH,
Venus Williams’ cellphone will be turned over to attorneys representing the family of a 78-year-old Florida man who died after a June car crash with the tennis star.
An agreement for the records was reached prior to a court hearing in a lawsuit filed against Williams. Jerome Barson’s family sought the records to find out if Williams was on the phone and distracted just prior to the crash.
Williams’ lawyers said they will turn over phone records that span a 2½-hour period before and after the June 6 crash. Her lawyers say Williams wasn’t distracted.
Jones flagged for failed test.
VEGAS» Jon Jones could face a
LAS lengthy suspension from mixed martial arts after the UFC light heavyweight champion was notified of his second potential violation of the promotion’s anti-doping policy.
Jones is widely considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, but his potential violation stems from a sample collected after his weigh-in July 28 for his title fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 in Anaheim, Calif.
Hall of Fame announcer dies.
MIAMI» Rafael “Felo” Ramirez, a Hall of Fame baseball radio broadcaster who was the signature voice for millions of Spanish-speaking sports fans over three decades, died. He was 94.
He began his broadcasting career in Cuba in 1945 before calling 31 AllStar games and World Series in Spanish.
Barcelona sues Neymar for $10M.
SPAIN» Barcelona is suing BARCELONA,
Neymar for the $10 million bonus it paid the Brazilian soccer striker for signing a contract he then broke to join Paris Saint-Germain on a worldrecord transfer.
Barcelona said it wants Neymar to pay back the bonus for a contract in October 2016 that tied him to the club through 2021. It also wants an additional 10 percent interest.
Neymar left Barcelona this month after PSG paid $262 million to trigger a release clause in his contract.
CSU women’s hoops hires staff.
COLLINS» The Colorado State FORT women’s basketball team hired Carissa Thielbar and Amber Cunningham to fill assistant coach positions and added Brooke Butkovsky as director of player development.
The moves finalized the Rams’ staff for the upcoming season.
Footnote.
The time for the Nuggets preseason game at Golden State on Sept. 30 was changed to 6:30 p.m. MDT.