FOOTBALL
NCAA probes Cincy
The NCAA wants to know what the University of Cincinnati knew about former quarterback Brendan Sorsby and his gambling issues during his two seasons with the program. According to reports by multiple media outlets, the NCAA has sent an official letter of inquiry to the school regarding Sorsby, who was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA in April after he placed thousands of impermissible sports bets over the past four years. Sorsby spent two seasons each at Indiana and Cincinnati before transferring to reigning Big 12 champion Texas Tech in January, and his ineligibility ruling touched off an unprecedented legal battle that Sorsby ultimately dropped. While Sorsby won’t play and plans to enter next year’s NFL Draft, Coach Joey McGuire said this week that he still expects the quarterback to make occasional trips to Lubbock and will have access to the school’s athletic facilities. Cincinnati Coach Scott Satterfield, who was Sorsby’s coach during his two seasons with the Bearcats, declined to comment on reports about the letter of inquiry at Wednesday’s Big 12 media days in Frisco, Texas. NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright said Wednesday that the organization doesn’t comment on pending or potential investigations.
Moore’s assistant sues
Sherrone Moore’s former executive assistant is suing the University of Michigan, claiming the school violated the Freedom of Information Act by denying requests made on her behalf after the football coach was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with her. Paige Shiver and her attorneys filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in a Washtenaw County court seeking requested records and punitive damages. School spokesman Paul Corliss declined to comment. Moore was fired in December after leading the Wolverines for two seasons following Jim Harbaugh’s move to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. He was accused of confronting Shiver and blaming her for his firing. He pleaded no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device and was placed on probation in April for 18 months.
Colts honor Vinatieri
Adam Vinatieri, the NFL’s career scoring leader (2,673 points) who was also widely considered the best clutch kicker in league history, will have one more celebration on the Indianapolis Colts’ home turf this season when he’s inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. Team officials announced Wednesday that Vinatieri would be honored during the Colts’ game against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 18, a little more than two months after his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Vinatieri will become the Colts’ 21st Ring of Honor honoree five years after he officially retired. He’ll join a group that includes former teammates and fellow Hall of Famers Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney, as well as Robert Mathis, Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne. Tony Dungy, the Hall of Fame coach for whom Vinatieri played; Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian, who signed Vinatieri as a free agent before the 2006 season; and late team owner Jim Irsay are also in the Colts’ ring.
BASEBALL
HR Derby adds 2
Boston’s Willson Contreras and Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone are the latest sluggers to commit to participating in the Home Run Derby on Monday in Philadelphia. The 34-year-old Contreras has 20 homers in 306 at-bats, which stands just a few shy of the career best of 24 he had for the Chicago Cubs in 2019. He is looking to become the first Red Sox player to win a Home Run Derby since David Ortiz in 2010. Contreras and the 23-year-old Caglianone join Ben Rice from the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero in the competition. The other four participants have not yet been announced. In his first full season with the Royals, Caglianone has hit a team-high 14 home runs and 33 RBI in 85 games. Five Kansas City players have previously participated in the event: Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017), Salvador Perez (2021) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2024). None have come away with the title.
Regan, 89, dies
Phil Regan, who pitched for four major league teams over 13 years before spending five more decades in the game as a coach, manager and scout, died on Wednesday. He was 89. Regan died peacefully of natural causes, his attorney, Matthew Blit, told the Associated Press. Nicknamed “The Vulture” by teammate Sandy Koufax for his penchant for well-timed entries from the bullpen that earned him 58 wins over 446 career relief appearances, Regan was named an All-Star in 1966 in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers as he went 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 65 games and a National League-most 21 saves. Regan managed the Baltimore Orioles in 1995 and served as pitching coach for four major league teams. He also coached Grand Valley State University for nine seasons and spent more than two decades managing in the Dominican and Venezuelan winter leagues.
Woodruff gets diagnosis
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff was diagnosed on Wednesday with a new injury to his troublesome right shoulder after exiting early from his most recent start Saturday and returning to the injured list. The team said an MRI exam revealed a new injury to his anterior capsule, which was surgically repaired after the 2023 season. The Brewers planned to send Woodruff to surgeon Dr. Keith Meister for a second opinion after initially diagnosing him with inflammation. Woodruff, who has a 2.98 ERA in nine starts this season, didn’t pitch at all in 2024. He returned midway through last season and fared well, before a lat muscle strain kept him from pitching in the playoffs.
BASKETBALL
Cuban accuses Mavs governor
Mark Cuban is accusing Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont of freezing the team’s former majority owner out of business opportunities in a proposed move of the club out of downtown, according to a newspaper report. The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday that Cuban alleged in a court filing that Dumont has engaged in “adversarial business practices” in his bid to move the team about 10 miles north of downtown to the former site of a Dallas mall. A Mavericks spokeswoman and Cuban declined to comment to the Associated Press. The billionaire businessman sold his majority stake in 2023 to the families of Miriam Adelson and Dumont, who is Adelson’s son-in-law. Cuban said he had an agreement to continue running basketball operations, but Dumont gave former general manager Nico Harrison full control of the basketball side. The newspaper reported that Cuban said in the filing he was unaware of Harrison’s plan to trade superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025 until it was too late to object and call off the trade.
