My Sports News Digest

AP We pointed out earlier this evening that Cam Newton was invited to the NFLPA* draft event, but it was unclear whether the league had invited him to Radio City Music Hall for the Draft. It’s no longer unclear.   A league source informed Florio that Newton has received an invitation from the NFL. It’s not known yet what Newton plans to do on draft night.  Now that antitrust lawsuit plaintiff Von Miller has decided to attend the draft, we figure that most prospects will follow.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber said Thursday he’s received calls about other coaching jobs but doesn’t plan to leave Illinois. The eighth-year head coach had been linked this week with the vacant Oklahoma position. “I received a few interest calls regarding other positions, but nothing beyond that,” he said in a statement released by the school. “I remain committed to the University of Illinois.” The Transcript in Norman, Okla., reported Wednesday that Weber was a candidate for the Sooners job, open after Oklahoma fired Jeff Capel earlier this month. Weber was also reportedly considered by Tennessee. Some Illinois [...]

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LONDON —Arnold Schwarzenegger and London Mayor Boris Johnson have teamed up for a promotional campaign aimed at boosting sports participation in the capital heading into the 2012 Olympics. Schwarzenegger, a former Mr. Universe and governor of California, met with Johnson on Thursday to discuss physical fitness and the Olympics. Johnson says “we can’t all be Mr. Universe, but we can all be a bit more active.” Johnson announced a further .2 million of funding for community sports projects around London. Schwarzenegger also met with Sebastian Coe, head of the Olympic organizing committee. The former Hollywood star says “everyone needs inspiration [...]

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Getty Images As noted here earlier today, former Texas A&M assistant Van Malone accused Will Lyles, owner of the Houston-based scouting company Complete Scouting Services, of requesting ,000 in exchange for Patrick Peterson signing with the Aggies in 2007. Given the issues surrounding his “scouting service”, being connected to Lyles these days is not exactly optimal for one’s reputation as schools such as Oregon and LSU have learned.  Peterson’s father Patrick Sr. claimed to know nothing of the request Lyles made of Malone, calling the revelation “shocking” while comparing Lyles and his recruiting ilk to escort services.  This afternoon, Junior issued his [...]

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Some people love collecting putters – of all kinds. Different, niche putter makers can create blades and other putter types that run into the thousands of dollars. But how about a putter that costs 100,000 GBP, or, about 0,000? Odyssey has team up with jeweler Theo Fennel to create the priciest of putters. He designed an Odyssey 2-Ball putter with an 18-carat white gold head, 240 rubies and 378 diamonds. Not sure how you’d do putting with it, but it sounds glorious. Could make a lovely alternative to an engagement ring for that special golfing lady in your life. The [...]

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Alonso said finishing fourth in the opening race was satisfactory Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso says his fourth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix was “not the start we wanted” but is not a cause for concern. He told the Ferrari website his start cost him as he went from fifth to ninth but he is confident of improving for the next races in Malaysia and China. “If I’d not found myself ninth I’d have been able to fight to the end for the lower steps of the podium,” he said. “It’s important to prepare well for the next two, which are [...]

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Things had been going a bit too smoothly of late in Washington. The Caps got Alexander Ovechkin and Jason Arnott back from injury and Mike Green was continuing to improve in his recovery from a concussion to get back in the lineup. All the while newest Cap defenseman Dennis Wideman had put his minus days in Florida behind him while filling Green’s shoes for the time being on the blue line. Now the Caps are going back to square one from where they were before on defense as Wideman will be out week-to-week with a lower body injury. Stephen Whyno [...]

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ST. LOUIS —Missouri needs to go to its backup plan in its coaching search after Matt Painter’s decision to stay at Purdue. Mike Anderson left the Tigers last week to take the job at Arkansas. Missouri had offered a package worth about million to keep Anderson and to lure Painter, the three-time Big Ten coach of the year, who ended up with an eight-year extension to stay put in West Lafayette, Ind. Despite losing out on Painter, Missouri remains an attractive job.

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