Softball
* Tryouts for youth teams this weekend: The Central Oregon Misfits ASA fast pitch softball program is staging tryouts this weekend for the upcoming season. The tryouts are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday and will take place at Stover Park on Watson Street in northeast Bend. Girls ages 11 to 14 are eligible to try out for 12-and-under and 14-and-under teams. There is no fee to try out. For more information, contact Joel Jenson at 541-550-9573.
Football
• Browns sale approved; Holmgren to leave: Mike Holmgren won’t be finishing the job he went to do in Cleveland. New Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III said Tuesday that Holmgren was out as team president, although the Super Bowl-winning coach will remain with the franchise to help in the transition. Haslam was introduced as the Browns’ new boss after the 32 NFL owners unanimously approved his $1 billion purchase of the team from Randy Lerner. Moments later, Haslam announced that former Eagles president Joe Banner would become chief executive officer. The move takes effect Oct. 25 when the sale is concluded. Haslam plans no other personnel changes before 2013, meaning the jobs of coach Pat Shurmur and his staff and general manager Tom Heckert appear safe for now.
• Eagles fire defensive coordinator: Juan Castillo’s offense-to-defense coaching experiment backfired in Philadelphia, costing the defensive coordinator his job. Castillo was fired by Eagles coach Andy Reid on Tuesday and replaced by secondary coach Todd Bowles. It was the first time Reid dismissed a coach midseason in his 14 years in charge. “I put Juan in this situation and things didn’t work out the way I had hoped," Reid said. “I take full responsibility for putting him in that situation." Reid’s decision last year to promote Castillo after 13 seasons as offensive line coach was a stunner. It came after a long search and with new defensive line coach Jim Washburn already in place running a wide-nine scheme that isn’t widely used.
• Cardinals QB sidelined: Kevin Kolb’s star-crossed career in Arizona has taken another hit. The Cardinals announced Tuesday that Kolb has rib cartilage damage and will be sidelined for “an unspecified period of time." Kolb, who took over when starter John Skelton went down in the opener and directed the game-winning drive, had the team at 4-2 despite weak play by his offensive line that had him sacked 22 times in the past three games. The job will revert to Skelton, who beat out Kolb in the preseason and just now is returning to health from a sprained left ankle.
• Steelers suspend rookie Ta’amu: The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to turn around their season without any help from rookie nose tackle Alameda Ta’amu. The team suspended Ta’amu two games without pay on Tuesday following his arrest over the weekend following a late-night run-in with police. The fourth-round draft pick faces three felony counts — fleeing police, aggravated assault and aggravated assault by vehicle — among a dozen other charges.
• Judge wants to see NFL bounty documents: A federal magistrate judge has ordered NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to provide the court with documents related to the league’s bounty investigation of the New Orleans Saints. The order by Magistrate Daniel Knowles on Tuesday came in response to suspended linebacker Jonathan Vilma’s efforts to initiate the discovery process in his defamation case against the commissioner. Vilma has said the NFL has allowed him to review only a fraction of documents related to the bounty matter. Knowles issued a compromise order in which only the court, and not Vilma, may see the documents — including reports of interviews with witnesses — before a subsequent order is made on whether to allow discovery to proceed. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said league officials have already discussed the order with Knowles and have agreed to comply.
• Steelers’ Harrison admits to lots of concussions: Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison says he’s endured “double digit" concussions during his career and is turning to a special sort of padding to help combat the issue. The four-time Pro Bowler said Tuesday he’s never missed a game due to concussions but began using advanced padding to help deal with future head collisions. Harrison began wearing equipment inside his helmet initially developed as body armor for U.S. armed forces about a year ago.
Basketball
• Legislation signed on Seattle arena deal: King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn signed legislation Tuesday on the funding plan for construction of an arena that could be used to lure the NBA back to Seattle. The executives signed the deal a day after a negotiated memorandum of understanding between the city, county and investor Chris Hansen was approved by the city and county councils. The plan calls for a $490 million arena built in the area where Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field are located, with $200 million coming in public financing. The public investment would be paid back with rent money and admissions taxes from the arena, and if that money falls short, Hansen would be responsible for making up the rest. Other investors include Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and two members of the Nordstrom department store family.
• N.J. spokesman blasts NCAA move over betting: The NCAA is “ludicrous and hypocritical" for moving five championship games out of New Jersey next year because the state plans to offer legalized sports betting, a spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said. “The NCAA wants to penalize New Jersey for legalizing what occurs illegally every day in every state, and often with the participation of organized crime," the spokesman, Michael Drewniak, told The Associated Press. “But the NCAA looks the other way for that?" New Jersey plans to license sports betting as soon as Jan. 9. It published regulations governing it on Monday, clearing the way for interested casinos or horse racing tracks to apply for $50,000 “sports pool licenses." But federal law bars New Jersey from allowing sports betting, and the NCAA and the major professional sports leagues are suing to try to block it. In the meantime, the NCAA announced Monday that it would play no more championship games in the state. Mark Lewis, the NCAA’s executive vice president of championships and alliances, said it has no choice but to find a different place to play the games: The NCAA has a policy prohibiting states with single-game sports wagering from hosting its championships.
Cycling
• Leipheimer fired for doping admission: American cyclist Levi Leipheimer has been fired by the Omega Pharma-Quick Step cycling team after confessing to doping as part of the investigation that brought down Lance Armstrong. Leipheimer was Armstrong’s teammate for five years during stints with the U.S. Postal Service, Astana and RadioShack teams before joining Quick Step this season. The team said in a statement Tuesday that Leipheimer’s contract was terminated in “light of the disclosures." It commended the rider for his “open cooperation with USADA and contribution to cleaning up the sport of cycling." Leipheimer is serving a reduced six-month suspension for doping violations.
Motor sports
• NASCAR dumps top 35 rule, cuts Nationwide field: NASCAR on Tuesday announced competition changes for 2013 that includes the elimination of the top 35 qualifying rule and a reduced field size in the Nationwide Series. Starting next season, the top 35 cars in owners’ points will no longer be guaranteed a spot in the Sprint Cup field. NASCAR will use a 36-6-1 format in which the fastest 36 cars make the race on speed. The next six highest ranking cars in owners points not already qualified then earn a starting spot, followed by the most recent eligible past champion driver. In the Nationwide Series, NASCAR will only allow a maximum of 40 cars to race each week instead of 43. The change cuts three cars from the field who likely would have started then parked shortly after with no intention of attempting to race.
—From staff and wire reports
