Associated Press
CORAL GABLES, Fla. ó Speaking out for the first time since Miami football players were accused of getting cash, gifts and prostitutes from an ex-booster, athletic director Shawn Eichorst vowed that “a better day” would be coming for the Hurricanes.
Some players also ended their silence to say the team is hurting because of the allegations.
Those messages came as the attorney for Nevin Shapiro, a convicted Ponzi scheme architect, defended her client’s accusations that he bankrolled a wild lifestyle for Hurricane players.
In a statement, Eichorst said the subjects of the NCAA and university investigation have his unconditional support. He urged a skeptical fan base to remain patient with a process that went on quietly for five months, then burst into the public eye Tuesday when Shapiro’s claims were published by Yahoo Sports.
NFL
Terrelle Pryor will have an opportunity to pursue his NFL dreams, with one significant caveat: The former Ohio State star must still pay for breaking NCAA rules while he was in college.
The league announced that Pryor is eligible for its supplemental draft, but he won’t be allowed to practice for the team that selects him until Week 6. Pryor gave up his final season with the Buckeyes following an investigation into the team’s memorabilia-for-cash scandal.
PHILADELPHIA ó Six former players and one current player have sued the NFL in Philadelphia over the league’s handling of concussion-related injuries, the first potential class-action lawsuit of its kind.
The players accuse the league of training players to hit with their heads, failing to properly treat them for concussions and trying to conceal for decades any links between football and brain injuries.
The plaintiffs include two-time Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon, who has said he played through five concussions but now frequently walks around “in a daze” and forgets why he entered a room.
The suit accuses the NFL of negligence and intentional misconduct in its response to the headaches, dizziness and dementia that former players have reported. The suit, filed Wednesday, seeks medical monitoring along with funds to pay for the care of injured players.
BASEBALL
DENVER ó Mike Jacobs has become the first player suspended by Major League Baseball for a positive HGH test under the sport’s minor league drug testing procedures.
The 30-year-old minor league first baseman, who was in the big leagues from 2005-10, received a 50-game suspension for taking the banned performance-enhancing substance and was subsequently released by the Colorado Rockies.
Jacobs said he took human growth hormone to overcome knee and back ailments.
Jacobs is the first North American pro athlete punished for taking HGH.
TENNIS
MASON, Ohio ó Rafael Nadal survived a three-set, three-tiebreaker match against fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (9) victory that kept him on court for 3 hours, 38 minutes.
Then, he played a doubles match that went an hour and 10 minutes. Nadal’s next match will be against seventh-seeded Mardy Fish, who beat Richard Gasquet 7-5, 7-5 with far less effort.
The top three players in the men’s bracket advanced. Novak Djokovic beat qualifier Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 in a ragged match, improving to 31-0 on hard courts this year and 55-1 overall. Roger Federer knocked off James Blake 6-4, 6-1 in the evening.