Steelers won’t put tag on running back Bell
PITTSBURGH — Le’veon Bell is free to go. Antonio Brown, maybe not so much.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have no plans to place a transition tag on Bell, allowing the star running back to reach the open market when free agency begins next month. And while the team will explore moving Brown, general manager Kevin Colbert stressed Wednesday the Steelers will not cut the talented but turbulent star wide receiver. more NFL: Panthers running backs coach Jim skipper has retired from coaching after 32 years in the NFL, including 15 with Carolina. Carolina ranked in the top 10 in rushing yards eight times in Skipper’s 15 seasons, including each of the last five years . ... Two leading advocates for retired NFL players have teamed up in pushing for increased pension benefits for pre-1993 retirees. The Pro Football Retired Players Association, a nonprofit chaired by Hall of Famer Jim Brown, donated $100,000 to Fairness for Athletes in Retirement, a nonprofit advocating for pension parity in the upcoming negotiations over the league’s next collective bargaining agreement. Golf: steve stricker was appointed Ryder Cup captain on Wednesday, his seventh straight time taking part in the matches, this time in charge of an American team trying to win back the gold trophy in his home state of Wisconsin in 2020 at Whistling Straits. soccer: Atletico Madrid’s Jose maria Gimenez and Diego Godin scored in a 2-0 win over Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League’s round of 16. ... Leroy sane got the equalizer in the 85th minute and raheem sterling scored the winner in the 90th minute in Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Schalke in the Champions League round of 16. ... Kylian mbappe scored his league-leading 20th goal as Paris Saint-germain beat Montpellier 5-1 in the French league. tennis: roger Federer will play at the Madrid Open, set for May 3-12, as part of his return to the clay court . ... Former champions petra Kvitova (over American Jennifer Brady 7-5, 1-6, 6-3) and simona halep (over Lesia tsurenko of Ukraine 6-3, 7-5) overcame windy conditions to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships.