College Football

HOOVER, Ala. – The College Football Playoff will consider moving future semifinals off New Year’s Eve if it can help increase viewership.

Executive director Bill Hancock told reporters at Southeastern Conference Media Days the conference commissioners who make up the playoff management committee are open to changing future schedules, starting in 2019 when the semifinals are scheduled for New Year’s Eve.

The first College Football Playoff after the 2014 season drew record television ratings for ESPN when the semifinals were played on New Year’s Day. The first game, the Rose Bowl, kicked off around 3:30 p.m. TV ratings dropped 36 percent for the semifinals.

NBA

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James and fellow NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade opened the ESPY Awards with a plea to address racial profiling and end the nation’s spate of gun violence.

They stood on stage at the Microsoft Theater on Wednesday night and took turns commenting on what Anthony called “the realities of the current state of America.”

Paul, nephew of a police officer, recited the names of several black men who have been killed, most by guns.

James urged his fellow professional athletes to return to their communities and invest time and resources in helping rebuild them. He asked them to educate themselves and renounce violence.

NFL

NEW YORK – The NFL has agreed to curtail its marketing of fantasy football to children ages 6 to 12.

Last season, the league marketed fantasy football to youngsters on its NFL Rush Fantasy website and app, offering cash prizes and game consoles to contest winners. It also promoted an elementary school curriculum that encouraged children to play the fantasy game.

The NFL confirmed Wednesday it has informed several advocacy groups that it will make significant changes to the game. The school curriculum based on the game has been discontinued and the league has promised it will not promote fantasy sports in schools in the future.

BEREA, Ohio – Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell said he will donate about $35,000 to a fallen officers fund in Dallas as part of his apology for posting a drawing on Instagram last week showing a police officer getting his throat slashed.

Crowell, in a video posted on Facebook, apologized again for the post and said he would donate his first game check to a fund for the police officers slain and injured during a sniper attack last week. He didn’t say what the exact amount would be, but his yearly salary is $600,000 covering 17 weeks of the NFL season, including a bye.

Skiing

VIENNA – The Austrian ski federation said Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer will get back on skis next week, seven months after breaking two vertebrae in a World Cup crash.

Wearing a protective air bag, Mayer spun around and flew down the hill backward before landing hard on his right side during the Dec. 19 downhill in Val Gardena, Italy.

It was the first time an air bag inflated during a World Cup race, prompting a debate among skiers whether Mayer’s safety system caused the serious injury or prevented him from getting hurt even worse.

Associated Press