NFL
NEW YORK – First-year eligibles LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor and Brian Dawkins are among 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Also making the finals are Morten Andersen, Tony Boselli, Isaac Bruce, Don Coryell, Terrell Davis, Alan Faneca, Joe Jacoby, Ty Law, John Lynch, Kevin Mawae, Terrell Owens and Kurt Warner.
In the contributors’ category, the nominees are former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The class of 2017 will be elected Feb. 4.
HOUSTON – Brock Osweiler will start at quarterback for the Houston Texans on Saturday in their wild-card game against the Oakland Raiders.
Coach Bill O’Brien announced the decision on Tuesday with Tom Savage, who had started the past two games, still recovering from a concussion he suffered on Sunday.
Osweiler started the first 14 games this season before being benched on Dec. 18 against Jacksonville after throwing interceptions on consecutive drives in the second quarter.
CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was jailed Tuesday on charges he head-butted police and spit on a nurse after being arrested for disorderly conduct in his latest brush with the law. Authorities said he was so combative that he had to be placed in a restraint chair.
A lawyer representing Jones at his initial court appearance told a judge he “vehemently denies” the allegations against him. The Hamilton County judge set bond at $37,500 for Jones and ordered that he submit to a blood test.
Court records show Jones, who has a history of trouble with the law during his NFL career, is accused of pushing and poking a man in the eye, then struggling with Cincinnati police officers by head-butting, kicking and refusing to get into the police car. He then spit on a nurse’s hand while being booked into the jail, police said.
NHL
NEW YORK – Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators were voted as divisional captains for the 3-on-3 tournament at the upcoming NHL All-Star Game.
Crosby will serve as captain of the Metropolitan Division, Price the Atlantic, McDavid the Pacific and Subban the Central, if he’s healthy. Subban has been out of the lineup since Dec. 15 with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss more time.
Soccer
CHICAGO – The U.S. will play Jamaica in an exhibition on Feb. 3 at Chattanooga, Tennessee, a rare game for the Americans on artificial turf.
The match, announced Tuesday, is the second under coach Bruce Arena. The game will be played at Finley Stadium and will be the first for the U.S. in Chattanooga.
Arena, the U.S. coach from 1998-2006, replaced Jurgen Klinsmann in November following losses to Mexico and Costa Rica in the first two games of the final round of World Cup qualifying.
With a roster of players primarily from Major League Soccer, the Americans open a training camp at Carson, California, on Jan. 10 and play Serbia on Jan. 29 at San Diego. The full player pool returns for qualifiers on March 24 at home against Honduras and four days later at Panama.
Associated Press
