Former NFL player Dorsey Levens

Former NFL player Dorsey Levens, left, walks to the U.S. Courthouse Tuesday in Philadelphia for a hearing to determine whether the NFL faces years of litigation over concussion-related brain injuries.

Ex-players call NFL brain-injury panel a 'sham'

PHILADELPHIA | Lisa McHale wishes her husband had lived long enough to learn more about the links between concussions and long-term brain injuries.

Cuba eyes semi-pro league to reinvigorate boxing

HAVANA | Protective headgear has been the rule of the ring for more than 50 years in Cuba, which banned professional boxing shortly after the 1959 revolution.

Cuba eyes semi-pro league to reinvigorate boxing

Youths train at the Rafael Trejos boxing gym in Old Havana, Cuba, early Thursday. Cuba banned professional boxing shortly after the 1959 revolution. Now the island is on the verge of partially reversing five decades of strictly amateur boxing. While officials caution that no decision has bee…

Emmert prefers NCAA's more common-sense approach

NCAA President Mark Emmert, right, speaks at the NCAA's convention keynote luncheon Wednesday in Grapevine, Texas. O'Neal spoke about the importance of education in his life and the value his three degrees bring in his post-NBA basketball career.

Emmert prefers NCAA's more common-sense approach

INDIANAPOLIS | Mark Emmert is trying to make common sense a common practice in college sports.

Colts GM ready to chase free agents who can help

INDIANAPOLIS | Now that general manager Ryan Grigson has money to spend in free agency, he's devising a new game plan.

Drop the puck: NHL, players settle labor dispute

NEW YORK | They walked into a Manhattan hotel, knowing they were running out of time to save their season.

Drop the puck: NHL, players settle labor dispute

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, left, and Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players' Association, reached a tentative agreement early Sunday to end a nearly four-month-old lockout that threatened to wipe out the season.

Drop the puck: NHL, players settle labor dispute

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, left, talks to the media as Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players' Association, stands next to him, in New York, early Sunday. A tentative deal to end the 113-day NHL lockout was reached early Sunday morning following a marathon 16-hour negotiating…

Mediator gets NHL, union back together

NEW YORK | A federal mediator has finally been able to get the NHL and the players' association back together Saturday for their first face-to-face meeting since talks broke down two days earlier.

Mediator gets NHL, union back together

In this Dec. 6, 2012, file photo, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly speak to reporters in New York. Bettman has told the players union that a deal must be in place by Jan. 11 in order for a 48-game season to be played beginning eight days later.

All quiet as deadline for full NHL season nears

NEW YORK | The NHL's deadline for playing a full, 82-game season arrived Thursday with no new discussions between the league and its locked-out players.

Stern to retire as NBA Commissioner in 2014

NEW YORK | David Stern spent nearly 30 years growing the NBA, turning a league that couldn't even get its championship series on live prime-time TV into a projected $5 billion a year industry.

Stern to retire as NBA Commissioner in 2014

NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, left, listens as Commissioner David Stern speaks during a basketball news conference following Board of Governors meetings in New York on Thursday. Stern announced he will retire on Feb. 1, 2014, 30 years after he took charge of the league. He will be rep…

Dempster to Texas

The Texas Rangers acquired Ryan Dempster from the Cubs for minor leaguer infielder Christian Villanueva and pitcher Kyle Hendricks on Tuesday.

NFL offseason busier than ever, not in a good way

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was one of three players critical to their teams' chances this season who were arrested just one week before some camps open. The others were Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil.

NFL offseason busier than ever, not in a good way

NEW YORK | Bounties and bans. Replacement refs and rules changes. Tebow and Manning.

High MLB draft picks sign for $1,000 apiece

NEW YORK | At 5-foot-11, Kyle Kraus didn't expect to be a high pick in the Major League Baseball draft after going 7-6 with a 2.03 ERA as a senior at the University of Portland.

NFL denies appeals of bounty suspensions

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has rejected the appeals of four players suspended in connection with the league's bounty investigation of the New Orleans Saints.