BRONCOS SAFETY WILL PARKS’ DOMESTIC CHARGES DISMISSED
Colorado prosecutors say they have dismissed charges of harassment and nonphysical domestic violence against Broncos safety Will Parks.
District Attorney Dave Young’s spokeswoman, Sue Lindsay, said Thursday the woman who made the allegations didn’t show up to testify when subpoenaed.
Parks was arrested last March. Court documents say his exgirlfriend told authorities that Parks accused her of taking some of his belongings and made threatening phone calls to her after she went to his home in Englewood to pick up her belongings.
Parks has denied threatening the woman.
The Broncos and the NFL didn’t return messages Thursday seeking comment. The league can penalize players with or without a conviction if it determines a violation of the player code of conduct occurred.
• The NFL Players Association has created a medical guide for players, a 107-page reference book written by scientific professionals with extensive material on concussion detection, treatment and the league’s game-day protocol for head injuries.
The union’s inaugural “health playbook” was distributed electronically to NFLPA members this week.
The NFLPA health playbook also includes information on joint injuries and wear and tear, high blood pressure and cholesterol, plus performance-related topics such as sleep, nutrition and mental health.
• Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler has been sentenced to a year of probation and 75 hours of community service for a parking lot attack on a man.
News outlets reported that Fowler was sentenced Thursday after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery, criminal mischief and petty theft. He could still be disciplined by the NFL.
Rocky Mtn. Showdown moved.
The Rocky Mountain Showdown game between the Colorado Buffaloes and Colorado State Rams is getting an early start in 2018.
The longtime football rivals will meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday on Aug. 31 at the Broncos’ stadium, it was announced Thursday in conjunction with the release of the Mountain West’s schedule. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
Tickets for the CU-CSU game are anticipated to go on sale early this summer.
• The Sun Belt Conference signed a new eight-year contract with ESPN that gives the network exclusive multimedia rights to all of the league’s sports.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Sun Belt announced that the new agreement included enhancements to the current contract with ESPN that runs through the 2019-20 academic year. The new deal runs through 2027-28.
• North Carolina added Henry Baker to its coaching staff.
Baker coached cornerbacks at Rutgers last season and spent six seasons coaching that position at Delaware before that.
Vinolas advances at Brazil Open.
Top seed Albert Ramos Vinolas advanced to the quarterfinals of the Brazil Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-4 sweep of Brazilian Guilherme Clezar.
The Spaniard will next face Chilean Nicolas Jarry, who beat sixthseeded Guido Pella of Argentina 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6.
Fourth-seeded Gael Monfils of France was upset by Argentina’s Horacio Zeballo, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Zeballo will face either Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva or Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker in the clay-court tournament.
• Lucas Pouille moved to within a win of reaching three consecutive tennis finals when he overcame Yuichi Sugita 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships.