College Football
Rams finally name their replacement for Grayson
FORT COLLINS– Colorado State head football coach Mike Bobo selected redshirt sophomore Nick Stevens as his starting quarterback.
Stevens will succeed Garrett Grayson, who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round.
Stevens of Murrieta, California, backed up Grayson last season. In mop-up duty, he completed 15-of-25 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, a 36-yard pass to Rashard Higgins against Tulsa.
Stevens beat out redshirt freshman Coleman Key, who will serve as Stevens’ backup.
Bobo, a longtime Georgia assistant in his first year as a head coach in Fort Collins, said Stevens won the job because he was more consistent than Key.
Board dismisses ruling to allow athletes to unionize
CHICAGO – The National Labor Relations Board dismissed a historic ruling that Northwestern University football players are school employees who are entitled to form what would be the nation’s first union of college athletes.
The NLRB released its decision Monday. The losing side does not have an option to appeal.
Northwestern had appealed last year’s ruling by a regional NLRB director in Chicago that led to a vote by football players on whether they wanted to form a union. Those ballots were sealed during the appeal and will now be destroyed.
Monday’s ruling says unionization could throw off the “competitive balance” between teams by setting different standards for practice, pay and other conditions at union and non-union schools.
Advocates say unionization would help athletes protect their health and financial interests.
A new age of training has arrived for players
OXFORD, Miss. – Mississippi quarterback Ryan Buchanan straps on a headset that covers his eyes, and instantly sees a scene that looks like a video game, all set from his perspective.
In about a minute, he runs through a handful of plays, checking his receivers, deciphering defensive coverages and making split-second decisions about where to throw the football.
Getting a few “mental reps” has never been easier at Ole Miss: The Rebels are one of a growing number of football programs in the NCAA and NFL dabbling in virtual reality technology to help supplement work on the field.
NFL
Los Angeles stadium could bring shift in AFC divisions
LOS ANGELES – Construction of an NFL stadium in the Los Angeles area could come with another change: a possible shift in division for the Oakland Raiders or the San Diego Chargers.
The teams have proposed a shared $1.7 billion stadium in the city of Carson – one of two stadium proposals being considered by the NFL near Los Angeles that could bring professional football back to the region after a two-decade absence.
Olympics
Sailors try to limit contact with polluted Rio venue
RIO DE JANEIRO – Mexico sailing coach Agustin Bellocchio offered a tip to sailors and windsurfers at this week’s Olympic test event in Rio de Janeiro’s polluted Guanabara Bay: Don’t swallow the water.
Much of the focus at the recent test events for sailing and rowing has been on having limited contact with the water. Amid reports of high pollution in Rio’s waters, athletes are getting advice from team doctors and their federations about precautions to avoid becoming ill.
Rio’s pollution has been in the spotlight since an independent five-month analysis by The Associated Press published July 30 showed dangerously high levels of viruses from human sewage at all Rio Olympic water venues.
Associated Press
