Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS ó With its players again barred from work, the NFL told a federal appeals court the fight over whether the lockout is legal wonít get in the way of the 2011 season. The rest of the labor fight? Thatís anyoneís guess.
The league filed an 18-page brief with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, arguing that the lockout should remain in effect permanently while appeals play out.
The appeals court put U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelsonís order lifting the 45-day lockout on hold temporarily last week. The owners reinstated the lockout a few hours later, and they want a more permanent stay of Nelsonís order so they can argue that it should be overturned altogether.
BOSTON ó Dave Duerson, a former NFL player who committed suicide in February, had ěmoderately advancedî brain damage related to blows to the head, according to the researcher who made the diagnosis.
The findings were announced as part of an effort conducted by the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston Universityís School of Medicine. The CSTE Brain Bank has the brains of more than 70 athletes and military veterans, with football players comprising more than half of the athletes.
The body of Duerson, who was 50, was found in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., on Feb. 17. He left a note asking that his brain be given to the NFLís Brain Bank. He shot himself in the chest, ěpresumablyî to preserve his brain for study, said Chris Nowinski, co-director of the CSTE.
NBA
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ó The Kings and the NBA gave Sacramento one last chance to prove it deserves to be an NBA city. Now itís up to Mayor Kevin Johnson and the business community to come up with a viable plan for a new arena after so many failed attempts in the past.
The decision by the Maloof family to keep their team in Sacramento rather than apply for relocation to Anaheim, Calif., is only temporary. Co-owner Joe Maloof and NBA Commissioner David Stern made clear that the team will leave after next season if an arena plan is not in place.
MLB
LOS ANGELES ó Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 28 games with an infield single that capped a three-run fifth inning in a 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Ethier, halfway to the record 56-game streak Joe DiMaggio had in 1941, kept his alive with a grounder to deep shortstop that Starlin Castro couldnít make a play on. The All-Star right fielder is three games shy of the Dodgers franchise record, set by Willie Davis in 1969.
Ethier is batting .393 during his streak with three homers and 17 RBIs, a stretch in which the Dodgers have gone 13-15.
NCAA FOOTBALL
HICKORY ó Fred Goldsmith, whose football coaching career spanned 45 years and includes a stint at Duke, has announced his retirement as head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne.
Goldsmith announced his decision on Tuesday. He led the Bears to a 17-27 record in four years, including a 7-4 mark in 2010 that was the teamís first winning season in 16 years.
During his four years at Duke, Goldsmith was named Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year and led the Blue Devils to the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1995. Before Duke, Goldsmith was head coach at Rice. He was an assistant coach at Air Force, Arkansas and Florida A&M, and also coached high school football in western North Carolina.
Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Mike Houston will serve as acting head coach.
GOLF
GLADSTONE, N.J. ó The top 44 players on the LPGAís official money list are part of the preliminary field list for the LPGA Sybase Match Play Championship in two weeks at the Hamilton Farm Club.
Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer confirmed they will play in the event scheduled for May 19-22.
Also entered are Yani Tseng, the leading money winner on the womenís tour this year, and defending champion Sun Young Yoo, who posted her first LPGA win last year by beating Angela Stanford in the final. Stanford is back along with notables Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb, Morgan Pressel, Jiyai Shin and Cristie Kerr.
RACING
SAO PAULO ó Will Power of Australia won IndyCarís Sao Paulo 300 a day after the race was postponed because of heavy rain on the streets of South Americaís biggest city.
Graham Rahal was second and Ryan Briscoe third on a wet track at the 2.5-mile, 11-turn Anhembi temporary street circuit.
Power, who started from the pole position, drove to victory for Penske after Japanís Takuma Sato had to pit for fuel with about 10 minutes left. Sato led for 23 laps but finished eighth after his gamble failed.
Power finished 4.672 seconds ahead of Rahal and 7.904 in front of Briscoe. It was his second win in four races this season, giving him the points lead going into the Indy 500 later this month.
He has started from the pole in all four races.
PARIS ó Formula Oneís governing body has given Bahrain until June 3 to decide if a new date can be set for the Bahrain Grand Prix this year.
The FIA announced the decision on its website, saying the ědecision was taken after consultation with the relevant Bahraini authorities and Formula One Management, the international promoter.î
The Bahrain GP was originally scheduled to be the season-opening F1 race on March 13. It was canceled by Bahrainís Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa after anti-government protests in the country.
The FIA had originally set a deadline of May 1 for a decision. The new date coincides with the FIAís World Motor Sport Council meeting in Barcelona.