NFL
Pro Bowl exhibition will get a fantasy football facelift
NEW YORK – The NFL Pro Bowl rosters for next year will be selected in a draft by team captains, with Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice assisting as alumni captains.
The NFL will abandon the AFC vs. NFC format that has been in place since 1971.
The league said Wednesday fan voting will determine the players in the draft pool. The draft will be televised by the NFL Network on Jan. 22. The game will be played Jan. 26 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Other changes are coming to the game, too:
The ball will change hands at the end of each quarter, which could double the opportunities for two-minute drills.
Kickoffs – and return specialists – will be eliminated. Teams will start on their own 25-yard line.
Defenses will be allowed to play cover-2 and press coverage in addition to man.
Several clock tweaks have been instituted to speed up the game and prompt offensive play.
College Football
Sanction’s up: Penn State players free to transfer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The NCAA rule connected to Penn State’s sanctions that had the earliest impact on the football program is set to expire Thursday.
The rule allowing Nittany Lions to transfer without having to sit out a year at a new school will elapse Aug. 1, according to school officials. On that front at least, Penn State will return to a level playing field with other FBS schools a year after the NCAA levied its landmark penalties for the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
USA Basketball
Colorado Springs to Tempe, ASU will host Team USA
TEMPE, Ariz. – USA Basketball is moving from Colorado Springs to a new facility next to Arizona State University.
USA Basketball announced Wednesday it will relocate its headquarters and training center to a $350-million development project that will be called USA Place.
The 10.5-acre site in downtown Tempe will include a 4,500-seat event center, a 330-room hotel, 500 luxury apartments, a 30,000-square-foot conference center and 200,000 square feet of office space.
USA Basketball is expected to relocate in fall 2015. It had been located in Colorado Springs since 1993, sharing facilities with other sports at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
Soccer
MLS plans to expand to 24 teams by the 2020 season
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Major League Soccer isn’t content to rest once its latest franchise joins the fold in 2015. Instead, the league plans to expand to 24 teams by the 2020 season.
Commissioner Don Garber announced MLS’s plan to add four more clubs during halftime of its annual All-Star game Wednesday night, which Roma won 3-1 to run the league’s record to 7-3-1 against its international foes under this format. The location of the teams has yet to be decided, but Garber said the league already has had discussions with potential owners.
The news came one day after Hunt Sports Group announced it was selling the Columbus Crew to investor Anthony Precourt, and with New York City FC beginning play in two years.
Tennis
U.S. Open gets a record 35-percent bump in payouts
All singles players at the U.S. Open are getting a big raise this year, from the record $2.6 million each champion will take home to the $32,000 for everyone losing in the first round.
The total payout, including per diems for players, will be $34.3 million, up from $25.5 million in 2012 – a 35-percent increase.
Last year’s singles champions at Flushing Meadows, Serena Williams and Andy Murray, won $1.9 million apiece.
Associated Press
