FOOTBALL
Fullback Devon Ramsay of North Carolina was cleared by the NCAA on Thursday and will be eligible to play in the fall. He had been ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA on Nov. 15, either for improper contact with agents or academic impropriety, both of which were investigated. North Carolina never divulged the reason for Ramsay's ineligibility.
"We are delighted for Devon," Athletics Director Dick Baddour said. "He is an outstanding young man and this is the right decision."
The NCAA reversed its ruling based on new information about Ramsay that was submitted by the university after it appealed the ruling of permanent ineligibility. Ramsay, who played in four games last season before being held out, has one season of eligibility left.
"Devon and his family never wavered in their belief that he did not commit a violation as we worked through this process," Baddour said. "We appreciate the time and attention given to this case by the NCAA staff."
Bill Cole
Owner Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts said Thursday at a hastily called news conference that he expects quarterback Peyton Manning to sign a record-setting deal before next season. Tom Brady currently has the highest annual average salary in the NFL after agreeing to a four-year deal worth $18 million a year in September.
Irsay said of Manning: "I think six years is certainly a possibility, five or six years. There's not a definitive number that I'm stuck on. You don't know how much longer he can play…."
Irsay's comments came two days after Indy used the exclusive franchise tag to keep Manning, the only four-time MVP in NFL history, off the free-agent market. Manning, who will turn 35 next month, will not be allowed to negotiate with other teams.
Wilson Holloway, a former Tulsa football player who was recognized for the courage and optimism he showed while battling cancer, died Wednesday in Oklahoma City, said Don Tomkalski, a spokesman for the Tulsa athletics department.
The Football Writers Association of America voted Holloway, a 22-year-old offensive tackle who had Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed in March 2008, the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl Courage Award winner.
Special-teams coordinator Joe Robinson has resigned from the coaching staff at LSU to pursue an opportunity at another school. Coach Les Miles confirmed the resignation Thursday and wished Robinson success in his future endeavors. He did not provide any details.
The Idaho Board of Education voted Thursday to give Coach Chris Petersen of Boise State a $50,000 bonus and a $35,000 bump in salary after last season's 12-1 finish. The increase raises Petersen's bonus for 2010 to $125,000, and the raise will make his compensation $1.52 million in 2011 and $1.87 million by 2015.
TENNIS
Andy Roddick will be part of the U.S. Davis Cup team for the first time in two years when it plays at Chile next month. The eighth-ranked Roddick heads new captain Jim Courier's first roster, which also includes No. 18 Sam Querrey, No. 24 John Isner and the top-ranked doubles pair of Bob and Mike Bryan. The best-of-five series will be played outdoors on clay at Santiago, Chile, from March 4-6.
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will play for Spain in a first-round Davis Cup series against Belgium. The tie will mark Nadal's return to the court after an Australian Open quarterfinal loss to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who is on the team along with Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez.
Nadal tore a muscle in his right leg at the Australian Open, which denied him the chance to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once.
MISCELLANEOUS
The World Anti-Doping Agency could suspend the Turkish drug-testing laboratory that reported an apparent "false positive" for American basketball star Diana Taurasi.
WADA director general David Howman told The Associated Press on Thursday that the agency has asked the Ankara lab to explain why it declared Taurasi's samples positive for the banned stimulant modafinil, a decision which led to her contract being terminated by her Turkish club.
Alberto Contador said he thinks he can still win the Tour of the Algarve in Portugal even though his fitness has been hampered by his fight to escape a doping ban. He finished Thursday's second stage in 13th place and trails overall leader Philippe Gilbert of Belgium by 15 seconds. Contador has won the race the last two years.
British horse-racing's governing body has confirmed that the two horses that died at Newbury last weekend were killed by heart attacks as a result of accidental electrocution. An investigation by the British Horseracing Authority found that Fenix Two and Marching Song collapsed in the paddock before Saturday's first race as a result of "leakage of electricity from a cable."
Olympics champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada held a slender lead over American pair Meryl Davis and Charlie White after Thursday's short program in the ice dance competition at the Four Continents figure-skating championships in Taiwan.
UEFA charged AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso with "gross unsporting conduct" after he head-butted a Tottenham assistant coach after a match. Gattuso could have faced an assault charge.
South Africa's top track official, Leonard Chuene, resorted to lies and threats to ensure that Caster Semenya was allowed to run at the 2009 world championships after questions were raised about her gender, according to documents released Thursday. Semenya won the 800 meters at the championships, running just after the IAAF announced it was investigating whether she was eligible to compete as a woman. She has since been cleared to run as a woman, but an injury has interrupted her comeback.
From wire reports
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