Pro Football

Former Dolphins sue NFL over concussions

Nearly two dozen former NFL players are suing the league over severe and permanent brain damage they say is linked to concussions suffered on the job.

The complaint filed on Thursday in Miami follows a similar one in Atlanta earlier this week.

It is the latest in a series of recent lawsuits against the NFL by ex-players.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of ex-Miami Dolphins teammates Patrick Surtain, Oronde Gadsden and 19 other players.

It accuses the NFL of deliberately omitting or concealing years of evidence linking concussions to long-term neurological problems.

The NFL denies the charges and says player safety has long been a priority.

The players claim the NFL made misrepresentations about the seriousness of their injuries "with the intent of inducing NFL players, including Plaintiffs, to return to play as soon as physically possible after having suffered a football-related concussion and to promote an aggressive style of football that would attract viewers."

Sprained ankle keeps Roethlisberger out

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would not start the team's game against the St. Louis Rams.

Roethlisberger is dealing with a sprained left ankle and did not practice this week following a 20-3 loss to San Francisco on Monday. He will be replaced by veteran Charlie Batch, who is 4-2 as a spot starter since joining the Steelers in 2003.

Roethlisberger said on Wednesday he would prefer to play and believed his ankle was in pretty good shape after throwing for 330 yards and three interceptions against the 49ers. Yet he watched both practices this week in sweat pants as Batch took the snaps with the first team.

Roethlisberger last missed a start due to injury in 2009, when a concussion forced him to sit out a loss to Baltimore.

Baseball

Nationals get Gonzalez from Athletics

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has kept his eye on Gio Gonzalez for the last decade or so. Now, the left-hander is a member of Rizzo's starting rotation.

Capping trade talks that began about a month ago, the Athletics and Nationals completed a six-player swap on Friday that sends Gonzalez from Oakland to Washington, where he joins a promising pitching staff that already included right-handers Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann.

Track and field

Six Indian women suspended for a year

Six Indian women athletes, including Asian Games double gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji, have been given one-year suspensions after testing positive for banned anabolic steroids earlier this year.

India's 400m runners Akkunji, Jauna Murmu, Mandeep Kaur, Priyanka Panwar, Sini Jose and Tiana Mary Thomas were found guilty in June and July and were provisionally suspended by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA).

All six athletes had tested positive for methandienone, while Thomas and Kaur's samples also featured the banned steroid stanozolol.

The one-year bans will be effective from the date of the athletes' provisional suspension, a NADA disciplinary panel, chaired by Dinesh Dayal, ruled on Friday.

Basketball

Timberwolves sever ties with Bonzi Wells

The Minnesota Timberwolves have waived veteran guard Bonzi Wells.

Wells has not appeared in an NBA game since 2008. He spent the past two years playing in China and Puerto Rico and came to Wolves camp hoping to revive his career. Wells had a history with Wolves coach Rick Adelman, and Adelman brought him in to give his younger players some guidance during training camp.

Wells played in both preseason games for the Wolves. He averaged 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game in the exhibitions.

With the maximum 15 players already under contract, Wells was always a long shot to make the team. The Wolves made the move on Friday, one day before teams are required to get down to the 15-player limit.

Soccer

Wenger says Arsenal may bring in Henry

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is considering trying to bring Thierry Henry back to the club on a two-month loan from the New York Red Bulls to fill the void left by strikers going to the African Cup of Nations.

Henry won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups during a hugely successful eight-year spell at Arsenal, establishing himself as the club's all-time top scorer.

After leaving London for Barcelona in 2007, Henry moved to New York in 2010 but he has been back at Arsenal to train during the Major League Soccer offseason.

A statue of the 34-year-old Frenchman was unveiled at the Emirates Stadium last month to coincide with the club's 125th anniversary.

Tennis

Ankle will keep Sharapova out of Brisbane

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Brisbane International because of her continuing recovery from a left ankle injury.

Sharapova was hurt at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in September.

Sharapova told Brisbane tournament officials in a statement released on Saturday that "unfortunately my ankle is not 100 percent and I won't be able to make it this year."

It would have been her first appearance at the Brisbane event, which begins Jan 1.

She said the injury, which also forced her to withdraw from the China Open and later the WTA Championships in Istanbul after two losses, should not affect her chances of competing at the Australian Open, which she won in 2008 and which begins Jan 16 in Melbourne.

Associated Press-Reuters

(China Daily 12/25/2011 page7)