College Football
Porter returns to the Rams, then turns himself in
FORT COLLINS – Former Colorado State and NFL standout Joey Porter did more than return to college and become an undergraduate student assistant coach when he went back to Fort Collins to finish his degree.
The Coloradoan reports Porter turned himself in Wednesday for a failure to appear warrant dating back to 1999. He was freed on a $1,100 cash bond.
Porter was ticketed for speeding and driving while his license was under restraint in May 1999. Fort Collins police opened a warrant for his arrest after he missed a final court date. Porter was believed to have been in training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers by the final court date.
The Coloradoan said its efforts to reach Porter for comment through Colorado State were unsuccessful.
Cycling
Former Iron Horse champion wins Stage 3 in Utah
PAYSON, Utah – Australia’s Lachlan Morton won the third stage of the Tour of Utah on Thursday to take a 22-second lead over Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet in the overall standings.
Morton, riding for Garmin-Sharp, completed the 119.5-mile stage from Richfield to Payson in 4 hours, 20 minutes, 21 seconds. Van Avermaet was second, 34 seconds back for BMC.
Morton was the 2011 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race champion.
American Lucas Euser, riding for UnitedHealthcare, was third – also 34 seconds behind. Euser was third overall, 40 seconds behind Morton with three stages left.
The fourth stage Friday is a five-lap, 33.8-mile ride in Salt Lake City.
NHL
Coming soon to NHL 2014: Six more outdoors games
NEW YORK – The NHL has limited its outdoor games to one – maybe two – a year since it first began playing them 10 years ago.
In January, that’s set to change. There will be four games that month, and two more in March. To the rest of North America, the events could begin to seem ordinary. For fans, the league is confident they’ll remain a strong draw.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said “we can’t do enough of them,” and in 2014 that will be put to the test with six outdoor games.
The week before the Super Bowl is played in New Jersey, the Rangers will play their two local rivals at Yankee Stadium. On Jan. 26, they’ll play an afternoon game against the New Jersey Devils. On Jan. 29, it’s a night game against the Islanders.
Financially strapped Devils close to being sold
NEWARK, N.J. – A person familiar with the negotiations said several groups are vying to buy the financially strapped New Jersey Devils, and a deal should be completed by the start of the NHL season.
The source spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday and requested anonymity because the negotiations between Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek and the groups remain active.
Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris heads one group trying to buy the three-time Stanley Cup champions, and Calgary billionaire Bill Gallacher is another, although the source said multiple groups are bidding on the deal that includes the operating rights to the Prudential Center.
The Devils moved to New Jersey in 1982, playing at the Meadowlands after relocating from Colorado.
Soccer
For the first time in 2 years, USA back in the FIFA top 20
ZURICH – The United States has broken into the top 20 of the FIFA rankings for the first time in more than two years after winning last month’s Gold Cup.
The U.S. rose three places in the rankings released Thursday to No. 19, the same spot it reached in March 2011. The Americans replaced No. 20 Mexico as CONCACAF’s highest placed team for the first time since 2011.
Spain leads an unchanged top 10. Germany is second and Colombia third.
Associated Press
