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Cycling
Former pro injured in crash near Boulder
BOULDER– Former professional cyclist Phil Zajicek was seriously injured when he crashed his bike into a flatbed truck while riding down a steep and curvy road in the foothills west of Boulder.
Zajicek, who lives in Boulder, was in a group of about six to eight cyclists heading down Flagstaff Road on Tuesday when he hit a truck heading in the opposite direction. He severed his arm in the crash but is expected to survive.
In 2011, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency banned Zajicek from professional cycling for life following a series of failed drug tests.
Belgian wins Tirreno-Adriatico title by only 1 second
SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO, Italy – Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet won the Tirreno-Adriatico title by one second on Tuesday, 39 years after compatriot Roger de Vlaeminck.
The final 10.1-kilometer time trial was won by Fabian Cancellara of Trek-Segafredo, with BMC Racing’s Van Avermaet more than 30 seconds back in 24th place but crucially still only seven seconds behind Peter Sagan.
NCAA
Blacks playing hoops, football behind in degrees
PHILADELPHIA – Young black men playing basketball and football for the country’s top college teams are graduating at lower rates than black male students at the same schools – despite having financial and academic support that removes common hurdles preventing many undergraduates from earning a degree.
While 58 percent of black male undergraduates at the 65 schools in the Power 5 conferences got degrees within six years, 54 percent of black male student-athletes at the same schools graduated, according to an analysis of the 2014-2015 academic year by University of Pennsylvania researcher Shaun Harper.
Only 1.2 percent of college men’s basketball players are drafted by the NBA and only 1.6 percent of college football players are drafted by the NFL.
The statement also said graduation rates rose 13 percentage points in football and 15 percentage points in basketball for black student-athletes at all Division I programs between 1995 and 2005.
Nationwide, black men comprise 2.5 percent of undergraduate students, but make up 56 percent of college football teams and 61 percent of men’s college basketball teams.
NFL
Official links football, CTE; could it affect $1B deal?
PHILADELPHIA – Critics of the NFL’s proposed $1 billion plan to settle concussion claims say a league official’s acknowledgement of a link between football and the brain disease CTE is a game changer.
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia is weighing a challenge to the settlement that would exclude future cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The pending deal would instead pay for prior deaths involving CTE and for illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
NFL senior vice president Jeff Miller told a congressional panel Monday that brain research on former NFL players “certainly” shows a link between football and CTE.
Sled Dog Racing
Iditarod winner Seavey has knack with few dogs
NOME, Alaska – Dallas Seavey did more with less this year at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
He set a record pace early Tuesday morning when he won his third consecutive Iditarod and fourth race in the last five years. And he did it with just six dogs, after starting with 16.
Seavey completed the nearly 1,000-mile race in a record time of 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes, 16 seconds.
Associated Press
