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.

AUTO RACING

Man arrested after Darlington bomb threat

A Darlington, S.C., man was arrested after threatening to bomb Darlington Raceway, the track where NASCAR is expected to resume its season on Sunday following a two-month postponement due to the coronavirus.

Michael Donovan Avin, 46, was charged with possession, threatened or attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction for an act of terrorism following an investigation by the Darlington County sheriff’s office, according to the arrest warrant.

The warrant states that Avin left phone messages at the Darlington Raceway on April 27, “describing a possible explosive device and the results it may create to further his cause.” Investigators also alleged that Avin indicated in a letter written to another location in Darlington County that he had access to 125 tons of bomb-making materials.

Avin is in custody at the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing while the case remains under investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.

Darlington Raceway and NASCAR declined to comment on the matter.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Alabama State hires ex-NBA guard Williams

Former NBA point guard Mo Williams is Alabama State’s new head coach.

Williams spent 14 seasons in the NBA, winning a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

He played with Utah as a rookie and had stints with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets. Williams also had two stops with the Cavaliers, retiring after the championship season.

Williams spent the past two seasons as an assistant for California State University at Northridge, under coach Mark Gottfried.

Williams was an All-star in his first season in Cleveland, in 2008-09, when he averaged a career-best 17.8 points. During his career, Williams averaged 13.2 points and 4.9 assists.

The NCAA is pushing back its deadline for early entrants to the NBA draft to withdraw and return to school, though it will wait to set a new date. The deadline was June 3, which would’ve come 10 days after the completion of the NBA scouting combine. But with the combine postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt

• said Wednesday that college sports’ governing body won’t set a new deadline until the NBA has determined its revised timeline for the predraft process.
• Georgia Tech and Georgia State announced Wednesday that the city rivals will play a three-game men’s series beginning in December, their first matchup during the regular season since 2008. The Yellow Jackets will host Georgia State on Dec. 16 at McCamish Pavilion, followed by another game on the Georgia Tech campus during the 2021-22 season. The Panthers will host the Jackets in 2022-23.

Courtney Paris

• is returning to Oklahoma as an assistant coach. Paris was the 2007 AP national player of the year as a sophomore and was selected Big 12 player of the year three times. She left Oklahoma with 20 NCAA Division I records. One of her most notable feats was an NCAA-record 112 consecutive double-doubles. Paris joins the Sooners after a 10-year WNBA playing career. She twice led the WNBA in rebounding and won a title as a member of the Seattle Storm.

NBA

League switches to Wilson game balls

Wilson will begin manufacturing game balls for the NBA again starting with the 2021-22 season.

Next season will be Spalding’s 37th and final season in that role for the NBA. Wilson, the NBA’s original manufacturer, will also provide game balls for the WNBA, the G League and, when it begins, the Basketball Africa League.

The WNBA will switch to the Wilson ball in 2022.

Former Celtics guard John McCarthy dies

John McCarthy, who won an NBA title with 1964 Boston Celtics and helped the Canisius Golden Griffins to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in the 1950s, has died. He was 86.

Canisius said Mr. McCarthy died Saturday of natural causes in the Buffalo suburbs, where he grew up and lived most of his life.

Mr. McCarthy spent six seasons in the NBA, playing guard from 1956 to 1964. He closed his career by playing 28 games with the Red Auerbach-coached Celtics, who were in the midst of winning eight consecutive titles.

In 1960, while with the St. Louis Hawks, Mr. McCarthy registered 13 points and had 11 rebounds and 11 assists to become the NBA’s first player to post a triple-double in his first career playoff game. Only three other players — Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic, in 2019 — have matched that feat.

ELSEWHERE

Theresa Feaster of Providence is the first woman on the coaching staff for the U.S. national junior team as video coach. She joins Ted Donato, Kris Mayotte and Steve Miller assisting Nate Leaman

• , who is also the head coach at Providence. That’s where where Feaster is heading into her ninth season and fifth as director of men’s hockey operations.
• Miami prosecutors dropped the domestic-violence case against former University of Miami and Miami Dolphins running back

Mark Walton

• , six months after his most recent arrest — one that might have ended his NFL career. Walton had been charged with aggravated battery on a person known to be pregnant. The alleged victim was his live-in girlfriend. The Dolphins moved quickly to cut Walton, who was on a zero-tolerance policy with the team after a string of early 2019 arrests in South Florida. He was actually serving a league-imposed suspension for those incidents when arrested on the most recent charge. The Dolphins quickly released him.

A former French star footballer who now directs FC Miami City’s soccer club was arrested Wednesday for smashing open a condominium apartment door, stealing a knife and spraying the apartment and a tenant with foam from a fire extinguisher.

Gregory ReneRobert Dutil, 37, was taken into custody while holding a cup of red wine and wearing only his boxer briefs and socks, Miami police said. He was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and charged with armed burglary, burglary with assault or battery, two counts of criminal mischief, possession of coke and improperly using a fire extinguisher.

Police said just before handcuffing Dutil they noticed a bulge in the left side of his white briefs.

“The defendant then reached for the bulge at which point Officer Russell observed it to be a silver kitchen knife,” the arresting officer wrote in Dutil’s arrest form. “Officer Russell immediately confiscated the knife.”

Dutil, who now directs soccer in Miami began his professional career in the 1990s in France and played in that nation’s First and Second divisions before playing in Spain., according to his profile on the website for Miami FC, which is a semi-professional club in a developmental league. Dutil played on the French team Nimes Olympique during the 2011-2012 season, when it won its first French national title in over a decade.

Police said they were called to the Charter Club condominium at 600 NE 36th St. at about 9 a.m. Wednesday about vandalism and possible battery. When they arrived, Dutil’s arrest report says, the soccer player was sitting on a couch in the hallway wearing only his boxer briefs, socks and holding a cup of red wine.

After confiscating the knife, police said, they made contact with a woman in the apartment that Dutil is accused of breaking into. It was not clear from the arrest report if they knew each other. She told officers that he busted the door open, sprayed her in the face with foam from a fire extinguisher and went on to spray down much of the apartment.

The report says she ran to the balcony and screamed. When a security guard at the condo showed up, he told police that Dutil was still in the apartment. He said he managed to control Dutil and sit him down until police arrived. Police said the female tenant said that Dutil gotten the knife from her kitchen.

Police said the apartment floor was covered in red wine and once they searched Dutil they found suspected cocaine in his socks.

Dutil remained in jail Thursday afternoon. No bond had been set for the armed burglary and burglary with assault or battery charges. He could not be reached for comment and it was not immediately clear if he had retained an attorney.