No recusal for Goodell

People with knowledge of the decision say NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will hear Tom Brady’s appeal of his four-game suspension for his role in the deflated footballs scandal. The NFL told the players’ union Friday that Goodell will not recuse himself. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because Goodell’s decision has not been made public. The commissioner considers it his responsibility to hear the appeal. The union asked Goodell to withdraw from that role because it said he was not impartial and would be called as a witness. Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season after a league-sanctioned report by lawyer Ted Wells found the New England quarterback “at least generally aware” of a scheme to deflate footballs used in the AFC title game.

Cornerback Orlando Scandrick has the raise he sought by skipping the first two weeks of voluntary offseason workouts with the Dallas Cowboys. The eighth-year veteran signed a one-year contract extension Friday, adding $9.5 million to what’s now a five-year deal worth $20 million through 2019. It’s the second time in three years the Cowboys have reworked contract terms for Scandrick, 28, who missed the first two weeks of voluntary offseason workouts in hopes of getting more money. He reported this week.

The Montreal Alouettes have signed defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL. The club said the free agent has agreed to a two-year deal. Sam came out before last year’s draft. He was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams and cut in training camp. The Dallas Cowboys signed him to their practice squad but released him in October. He is to be introduced at a news conference Tuesday in Montreal.