Ray Lewis leads list of finalists for National Football League Hall of Fame.

FOOTBALL Lewis among HOF finalists

Star linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher are among four first-time eligible former players selected among the 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018. Wide receiver Randy Moss and guard Steve Hutchinson also made the cut to the finals as first-year eligibles. They join center Kevin Mawae, tackles Joe Jacoby and Tony Boselli, receivers Isaac Bruce and Terrell Owens, safeties John Lynch and Brian Dawkins, guard Alan Faneca, running back Edgerrin James, cornerbacks Ty Law and Everson Walls for consideration. The seniors committee has nominated guard Jerry Kramer and linebacker Robert Brazile. The contributor’s nominee is Bobby Beathard, a former general manager and administrator for five franchises. The finalists were announced Tuesday. Voting by the Hall of Fame selectors will be Feb. 3 in Minneapolis. Inductions will be in August at the Canton, Ohio, shrine. The modern-era finalists were determined by a vote of the selection committee from a list of 108 nominees that was earlier reduced to 27 semifinalists during a year-long process. Kramer was a mainstay of the great Green Bay offensive lines from 1948-1968 and is famous for his block that led Bart Starr into the end zone for the winning touchdown in the Ice Bowl 50 years ago. Brazile was a linebacker with the Houston Oilers from 1975-1984. Beathard helped build championship winners and contenders in Kansas City, Atlanta, Miami, Washington and San Diego from 1966-1999. This is the second year as a finalist for Bruce, Boselli, Dawkins, James, Law and Mawae. In their third try are Faneca, Jacoby and Owens. Lynch is in his fifth year as a finalist. Walls made the final round for the first time in his 20th year of eligibility. Jacoby is also in his 20th year.

Bengals extend Lewis

Coach Marvin Lewis got a two-year contract extension Tuesday, providing more chances to try to get the Cincinnati Bengals that playoff victory that has eluded him for 15 seasons. The agreement came after a second consecutive losing season and two days of discussions with owner Mike Brown. Lewis has the second-longest active coaching tenure in the NFL, behind Bill Belichick’s 18 seasons with New England. Unlike Belichick, who has won five Super Bowls and made two other appearances in the title game, Lewis is 0-7 in the playoffs, the worst coaching record in NFL history. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest streak of futility in league history. Instead, Brown decided to stay the course and keep Lewis, who wanted more say over the coaching staff and the roster if he stayed. Brown’s aversion to change won out. Lewis planned to meet the media today. He said in a statement that he was committed “to making the necessary improvements to put this team in the best position to win.” Lewis has acknowledged that he would have been fired in any other NFL city.

Palmer retires

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is retiring after 15 NFL seasons. Palmer, who turned 38 last week, made the announcement in an open letter released Tuesday by the Cardinals. Palmer missed the last nine games of what would be his final season with a broken left arm. He called his long professional career “the most incredible experience of my life.” The statement came one day after Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians announced his retirement. Arians and Palmer spent the last five seasons together. Palmer was a Heisman Trophy winner at Southern California and the No. 1-overall pick by Cincinnati in 2002. He threw for 46,247 yards, 12th-most in NFL history, in a career with the Bengals, Oakland and Arizona. Acquired by the Cardinals for only a sixth-round pick and a swap of seventh-rounders, Palmer had some of his greatest success in Arizona. The 2015 season may have been his best. He set single-season franchise records and career highs for yards passing (4,671) and touchdowns (35) while leading the Cardinals to a 13-3 record, second-best in the NFC. He won his only playoff game in four tries that season, in overtime over Green Bay. Palmer twice came back from significant knee injuries.

Snyder returning to K-State

Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder will be back on the sideline next season. The 78-year-old coach told his assistants during a short meeting Tuesday that he will return for his 27th season with the Wildcats, a person familiar with his decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Snyder has not announced his plans. Snyder, who is 210-110-1 since taking over the program in 1988, said after a Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA last week that he was still mulling whether to return next season or retire for a second time. He stepped away briefly after the 2005 season. Snyder was diagnosed with throat cancer last offseason, but hardly missed a practice and headed into the year with high expectations. A series of early losses scuttled Big 12 title hopes, and it took a run at the end of the year just to become eligible for a bowl game. Now, the Wildcats will return most of their starters from a team that ultimately went 8-5 and won its second consecutive bowl game. Snyder has a contract that rolls over each year, which means he can essentially choose when to walk away. And he has said the last several years that he makes that decision on a yearby-year basis, based primarily on his health but also the wishes of his family.

BASKETBALL Irish forward out

Notre Dame senior forward Bonzie Colson will undergo surgery on Thursday for a left foot fracture suffered in practice this week. Colson, 6-foot-6, is expected to miss eight weeks of game action, the school announced Tuesday. Colson, a preseason All-America selection, is averaging 21.3 points and 9.8 rebounds, both team-leading, and is shooting 54 percent from the field. He also leads the Fighting Irish (103) in blocks (30) and steals (26). Notre Dame opens Atlantic Coast Conference play today at home against North Carolina State.

TENNIS Murray withdraws

Andy Murray’s long-term hip injury has forced him out of the Brisbane International in Australia, cast serious doubts over his participation in the Australian Open and has him contemplating surgery. Former No. 1-ranked Murray pulled out of the Brisbane event after failing to practice Tuesday, two days ahead of his scheduled return to competitive tennis for the first time since July. His withdrawal was confirmed hours after Garbine Muguruza, the Wimbledon champion and women’s top seed, retired from her opening match because of leg cramps. Muguruza fell to the court behind the baseline and had treatment on her legs before retiring from her opening match against Aleksandra Krunic while leading in the third set Krunic rallied from 5-2 down in the second set, forcing the third in a tiebreaker, and earned a spot in the quarterfinals with a a 5-7, 7-6 (3), 1-2 retired result after almost 2 ½ hours in humid conditions on Pat Rafter Arena. Murray, 30, is planning to stay in Brisbane for a few days before deciding whether or not to contest the Australian Open or fly home.