IN BRIEF
BOSH PLANS TO REPORT TO HEAT TRAINING CAMP Miami Heat forward Chris
Bosh, who missed the last two months of the last two seasons because of health issues, including blood clots, said on Uninterrupted’s Open Run podcast that he planned to play this NBA season, starting at training camp next week in the Bahamas. “I’m ready to play. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. We released the statement back in May, saying as soon as I’m ready to play, as soon as possible, we’ll play, and I’m ready,” Bosh said on the podcast. “I’ve done all my work. I’ve done what I need to do, working with the doctors.” However, it is not known if Heat doctors will clear Bosh to play. “I’ve made it clear from the jump if I’m ready to play I want to play,” Bosh said. “I’ll be there (at camp). Will I be cleared? I don’t know. That’s out of my hands. I will play basketball in the NBA. I’m confident.” Bosh also announced he will produce and direct and a series of short videos for Uninterrupted that will focus on his training, visits with medical professionals and his off-court passions such as music, travel, filmmaking and cooking. “I just do it for the love of it,” Bosh said.
— Jeff Zillgitt
NFL PLEDGES $100M MORE ON HEAD INJURY FRONT The NFL will spend an additional $100 million to develop technology and support more medical research into the growing problem of head injuries. Commissioner
Roger Goodell announced the “Play Smart. Play Safe” initiative in an open letter Wednesday. Under the initiative, $60 million will be devoted toward developing technology such as improved helmets and $40 million will be allotted for medical research.
NHL OVERHAULS CONCUSSION MONITORING The NHL is overhauling its concussion monitoring system. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly says the league will have four concussion spotters watching all games from a centralized location in Toronto or New York, as well as spotters at each game. Spotters will have the authority to have players removed from games. The NHL is in the midst of a concussion suit filed by former players alleging that it had the resources to better prevent head trauma, failed to properly warn players of such risks and promoted violent play that led to their injuries.
ORIOLES NIP RED SOX, CLOSE IN ON FIRST IN AL EAST
Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 42nd home run,
Kevin Gausman outpitched Rick Porcello over eight innings and the Baltimore Orioles pulled within a game of the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox with a 1-0 win Wednesday. Baltimore took two of three in the series and also pulled a game ahead of the slumping Toronto Blue Jays for the top AL wild card. The Blue Jays lost at home to the Tampa Bay Rays 8-1.
NASCAR STIFFENS PENALTIES FOR POST-RACE INFRACTIONS NASCAR announced Wednesday that an update to its rulebook that deals with post-race infractions — missing lug nuts and the failure to make it through the la- ser inspection platform — will be viewed as “encumbered finishes” beginning with the Chase for the Sprint Cup. If a winning car is ruled to have an encumbered finish, the benefits for a victory — automatic advancement in the Chase or even the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway — would be canceled out. The result would still stand in the official rundown, but the win would not count. — Jeff Gluck
ACC TO MOVE NEUTRAL-SITE CHAMPIONSHIPS OUT OF N.C. The Atlantic Coast Conference said Wednesday that it would move its neutral-site championships out of North Carolina for the 2016-17 season in response to the state’s controversial HB2. The law prevents cities and counties from passing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. And public schools must require bathrooms or locker rooms be designated for use only by people based on their biological sex. The ACC follows the lead of the NCAA, which announced Monday that it would relocate its championships for 2016-17. “The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount,” ACC Commissioner
John Swofford said in a statement. — Eddie Timanus
TAR HEELS PLAYER RELEASED ON BOND IN ASSAULT CASE A North Carolina football player turned himself in on an arrest warrant Wednesday morning on charges of sexual battery and assault on a female student in February. In a news release, the Orange County, N.C., Sheriff ’s Office said Allen Anthony Artis, 21, was released by the magistrate on a $5,000 unsecured bond. Artis didn’t attend a brief court appearance Wednesday afternoon on the misdemeanor charges, and his attorney, Sam Coleman, left the courtroom through a side door to avoid reporters. The arrest warrant stated Artis had sex with the woman against her will when he “should have reasonably known that the other person was mentally incapacitated and physically helpless.” Artis has one tackle in two games this season.
NFL FINES MARSHALL, STEWART FOR NEWTON HITS Big dents to their bank accounts for helmet-to-helmet hits on
Cam Newton aren’t deterring Denver Broncos defenders Bran
don Marshall and Darian Stewart. “I’ll do it again,” Marshall declared shortly after saying he’ll fight his $24,309 fine for launching himself at the quarterback in the 21-20 win against the Carolina Panthers in the NFL opener last week. “I’m not going to change the way I play the game,” asserted Stewart, who was fined $18,231 for his high hit against the league’s reigning MVP. Marshall wasn’t flagged for his hit, which the NFL deemed an “impermissible use of the helmet (including illegal launching),” according to its 2016 schedule of fines. Stewart was fined for roughing Newton in the final minute, a penalty that was nullified on the field when Newton was whistled for intentional grounding. Although Stewart’s hit left Newton motionless on the ground, he wasn’t checked for a concussion until after the game. Super Bowl MVP Von Miller and cornerback Bradley Roby
didn’t find FedEx envelopes in their lockers like Marshall and Stewart did Wednesday as they avoided any fines for their own helmet-to-helmet hits on Newton. The four hits on Newton, three of which weren’t flagged, sparked a debate about league safety, the viability of option quarterbacks in the NFL and the notion that Denver plays dirty. Newton dismissed news of the fines. “My job is to win football games, not lobby for my health,” Newton said Wednesday. Marshall and Stewart said they’d appeal their fines.
TOMLINSON, WARD AMONG FOOTBALL HALL NOMINEES LaDainian Tomlinson, Hines
Ward and Brian Dawkins are among the 94 players and coaches nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2017. Joining those first-time eligible nominees are Jason Taylor, Donovan McNabb, Chad Johnson, Olin Kreutz, Joey Porter, Derrick Mason and Bob Sanders. Already chosen to be discussed by the voting panel the day before the Super Bowl in February are senior finalist Kenny Easley and contributor finalists Jerry
Jones and Paul Tagliabue.