NFL hires female official
The roster of NFL rules arbiters this season will include eight rookies on the field and the league’s first female instant replay official in the booth, Terri Valenti.
Valenti has worked on instant replay for the NFL for the past five years, prior to her promotion. Each of the 17 crews has an instant replay official. The league announced the assignments yesterday, with all 17 referees returning to their lead roles for 2017.
Valenti has previously served as an on-field official for high school, college, minor league and international league games. The instant replay official determines when the game should be stopped for reviews after scoring plays, turnovers and the two-minute warnings, and throughout overtime.
The instant replay official is the gobetween for the on-field referee and the NFL’s centralized operations in New York, where final decisions on reviews are made. The authority shift from field to office was approved by league owners in March.
The head linesman position was also renamed down judge to more accurately depict the responsibility of ensuring correct down and distance and eliminate the gender-based description. . . .
Former Tennessee Titans running back Antonio Andrews received six months of supervised probation after making a conditional plea on a misdemeanor assault charge in Nashville, Tenn. Andrews played for the Titans from 2014-16. . . .
Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Letroy Guion smelled of alcohol and marijuana, stumbled when he walked and spoke with slurred speech when police pulled him over in a Porsche in Hawaii, according to arrest records obtained by The Associated Press in Honolulu.
Colleges: McKay pure gold
Louisville’s Brendan McKay won USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player. The first Louisville player and fifth Atlantic Coast Conference player to win the award, McKay starred for the Cardinals as both a pitcher and hitter. McKay was drafted fourth overall by Tampa Bay and agreed to a $7,005,000 signing bonus. . . .
The older brother of Texas basketball recruit Mo Bamba says Bamba took improper gifts and money from a Detroit financial adviser that would make him ineligible to play in college.
Ibrahim Johnson posted a rambling, profanity-laced, 20-minute Facebook video Wednesday, accusing adviser
Greer Love of giving Bamba money and gifts. Love previously worked in New York and was involved in youth sports in Harlem, where he got to know Bamba’s family. . . .
Saying the matter had been “resolved to the satisfaction of all parties,” prosecutors in Chapel Hill, N.C. dismissed sexual-battery and assault charges against UNC-Chapel Hill football player Allen Artis.
Soccer: Germany in final
Leon Goretzka scored two quickfire early goals as Germany reached the Confederations Cup final by exploiting Mexico’s defensive frailties to win 4-1 yesterday in Sochi, Russia.
A competition Joachim Loew is using to assess his pool of talent, by bringing an inexperienced squad, could end with more silverware for the world champions if Germany beats Chile Sunday in St. Petersburg.
After Goretzka netted in the sixth and eighth minutes, Timo Werner and Amin Younes scored in the second half. . . .
England striker Jermain Defoe has joined Bournemouth on a threeyear deal, securing a return to a club where he scored in 10 straight league games during a loan spell in 2001. . . .
The U.S. women’s soccer team will play a pair of exhibitions on Nov. 9 and Nov. 12 against Canada. . . .
Goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez’ application to switch affiliation to the United States from Mexico has been approved by FIFA.
Misc.: Venus at fault
Tennis star Venus Williams caused a car crash earlier this month that led to the death of a passenger in another vehicle, according to a police report released yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Palm Beach Gardens police say witnesses told investigators that Williams ran a red light in her 2010 Toyota Sequoia SUV, causing a June 9 crash that injured 78-year-old Jerome Barson, who died two weeks later. . . .
Novak Djokovic converted his fourth match point to beat Donald Young 6-2, 7-6 (9) and advance to the semifinals at the Eastbourne International, a warmup event for Wimbledon.