PRO FOOTBALL
Former Bears safety Roosevelt Taylor dies
Roosevelt Taylor, a star safety on the Chicago Bears’ 1963 NFL championship team, has died. He was 82.
The team said he died Friday but did not provide details.
An All-Pro in 1963 when the Bears won the title, Taylor played his first nine NFL seasons with Chicago, 1961-69, appearing in every game. A ballhawk, he led the league in interceptions in 1963 with nine, also making the Pro Bowl.
Chicago was 11-1-2 in that championship season, winning all eight games in which Mr. Taylor made an interception.
He also made the Pro Bowl in 1968. The next year, he was dealt to San Francisco for guard Howard Mudd and spent 2½ seasons with the 49ers, then was Washington’s free safety in 1972. The Redskins lost to Miami in the Super Bowl that season, with the Dolphins finishing off their perfect record.
In all, Taylor had 32 interceptions, 23 with the Bears.
Former Broncos star Floyd Little has cancer
Pro Football Hall of Famer Floyd Little, who starred in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, has been diagnosed with cancer, according to a former Syracuse Orange teammate who has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for treatment costs.
Pat Killorin, a center for Syracuse in the mid-1960s, created the fundraiser last Sunday.
“Floyd was recently diagnosed with a treatable but aggressive form of cancer. No doubt it will be the toughest fight of his life,” Killorin wrote on the Friends of Floyd page.
Little, a three-time All-American at Syracuse from 1964 to 1966, was selected sixth overall in the 1967 combined AFL-NFL draft by the Broncos. He spent his entire nine-year career with the franchise and rushed for 6,323 yards and 43 touchdowns.
Little, 77, led the NFL in rushing yards (1,133) and yards from scrimmage (1,388) in 1971. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.
TRACK AND FIELD
Sprinting great Bobby Joe Morrow dies
Bobby Joe Morrow, the Texas sprinter who won three gold medals in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics while a student at Abilene Christian University, died Saturday in San Benito, Texas. He was 84.
Mr. Morrow’s family said he died of natural causes at home in San Benito.
Mr. Morrow won the 100 and 200 meters in Melbourne and anchored the United States’ champion 400 relay team, matching the world record of 20.6 seconds in the 200 and helping the relay squad set a world record.
Earlier in 1956, he successfully defended his AAU 100-yard title and swept the sprints for Abilene Christian at the national college championships. He won the AAU’s James E. Sullivan Award the following year.
Mr. Morrow was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1989.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Nembhard to transfer from Florida
Florida point guard Andrew Nembhard is removing his name from the NBA draft and returning to school — just not in Gainesville.
A team spokesman said Saturday that Nembhard plans to transfer and will have two years of college eligibility remaining. Stadium first reported Nembhard’s intentions.
Nembhard entered the NBA draft last month. He hired NCAA-certified agent Jaafar Choufani so he could retain his college eligibility. He took a similar approach after his freshman year and eventually returned to Florida after not getting invited to the NBA scouting combine.
As a sophomore, he averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3 rebounds.
HOCKEY
Pavelich found competent to stand trial
Mark Pavelich, the famed “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey player charged with assaulting his North Shore neighbor last fall, has been found competent to stand trial.
Cook County (Minn.) District Judge Michael Cuzzo found this month that, based on a recent examination, Pavelich “presently has sufficient ability to rationally consult with counsel, understand the proceedings and participate in his defense.” That allows the criminal case to proceed, months after Pavelich was civilly committed.
Pavelich, 62, is facing two felony assault charges and two felony weapons charges after allegedly striking a neighbor with a long metal pole and sending him to the hospital with serious injuries after returning to Pavelich’s Lutsen-area home following a day of fishing together in August.
Pavelich had accused his neighbor of “spiking his beer,” and the victim suffered cracked ribs, a bruised kidney and was “in and out of shock” when he was found, charges state.
Pavelich was found incompetent to stand trial on the charges in October.
In December, Pavelich was committed to the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter after being found “mentally ill and dangerous.” The doctor who recommended his commitment said Pavelich may suffer from an “unspecified neurocognitive” affliction. His family has said they suspect CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which may have resulted from repeated blows to the head while playing hockey, including 355 games in the NHL.
CTE — which can only be discovered through an autopsy — often manifests in erratic behavior and has been suspected in the deaths of a number of professional athletes.
TENNIS
Fognini undergoes surgery on ankles
Former top-10 player Fabio Fognini said on social media that he had arthroscopic surgery on both ankles Saturday.
The 2011 French Open quarterfinalist, who reached a career-high No. 9 in the ATP rankings last year, nnounced he would have the operations on Twitter. Fognini said he had trouble with his left ankle for 3½ years. Then he developed a problem with his right ankle during the past two years.