Off the wire

— FOOTBALL Ex-Hog Ugoh retires

Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Tony Ugoh (Arkansas Razorbacks) announced his retirement Monday afternoon after the team’s morning practice. Ugoh, 28, signed with the Chiefs on Thursday to compete for the left tackle position with Eric Winston and Branden Albert. He was drafted in the second round by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2007 NFL Draft. Ugoh appeared in 40 career games, including 28 starts, with the Colts and New York Giants. He was part of New York’s Super Bowl championship team last season after signing with the Giants last December.

Penn State backup safety Tim Buckley is the first Nittany Lion to transfer in the wake of the NCAA sanctions against the university. North Carolina State released a statement Monday announcing Buckley, a North Carolina native, would join the Wolfpack for the team’s first practice Tuesday. The former walk-on redshirted last season at Penn State, so he’ll have four years of eligibility left. The NCAA allowed Penn State players to seek immediate transfers after the sanctions against the school for the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Most of Coach Bill O’Brien’s players appear to be sticking with Penn State, though a handful of other players are, at least, considering a transfer. The most notable name is star tailback Silas Redd, who visited Southern California this weekend. Redd, who ran for 1,241 yards last season, has been supportive of former coach Joe Paterno throughout the scandal, even as late as two weeks ago, just after the investigative report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh was released. Redd also said his opinion of Paterno, the coach who recruited him to Penn State, hadn’t changed. He said Paterno, in his view, remained “the best college football coach of all time.” That said, Redd could be a fit in a USC offense that has big plans this season. The Trojans will be highly ranked and one of the favorites to win the Pacific-12 Conference.

Projected starting cornerback Terrell Thomas has reinjured his surgically repaired right knee and his status for the New York Giants’ season is uncertain. Thomas was sent to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York Monday after reporting that he had swelling in his right knee. A magnetic resonance imaging and an examination by Dr. Russell Warren, the team orthopedic surgeon, showed that the five-year veteran suffered another injury to the knee involving the anterior cruciate ligament. He tore his ACL for the second time in a preseason game last season and missed the Giants’ Super Bowl season. He slipped in practice Sunday covering receiver Domenik Hixon and that seems to be when he reinjured it. Ronnie Barnes, the Giants senior vice president of medical services, said that Thomas probably would have arthroscopic surgery to determine the extent of the new injury. Thomas plans to consult with California-based surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting, who performed the ACL reconstruction last September. Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said Thomas, who iced his knee after slipping, told him after practice Sunday that his knee felt good. Thomas suffered the same injury at Southern California in 2005. Thomas signed a four-year, $28 million contract with the Giants in the off season. He has received a $1 million signing bonus, but the rest of the deal is not guaranteed.

BASKETBALL Hawks trade Green

The Atlanta Hawks have traded shooting guard Willie Green to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the rights to forward Sofoklis Schortsanitis, a 2003 draft pick from Cameroon who has not played in the league. The deal Monday creates a trade exemption for the Hawks, who have built depth at guard through a series of moves. Green, 31, averaged 7.6 points while making 44.2 percent of his three point attempts last season. He has averaged 9.1 points in nine NBA seasons with Philadelphia, New Orleans and Atlanta. Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry has traded All-Star guard Joe Johnson (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) while adding guards Devin Harris, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar and DeShawn Stevenson. The Hawks also signed guard Lou Williams and drafted shooting guard John Jenkins of Vanderbilt.

Former coaches Bruce Pearl and Seth Greenberg have joined ESPN as college basketball analysts. The network also announced Monday that Jalen Rose will be a featured analyst on the weekly College Game-Day. Pearl was fired in March 2011 after six seasons at Tennessee in the wake of an NCAA investigation. He led the Volunteers to the NCAA Tournament in each of his seasons. He was a commentator for Sirius XM Radio last season. Greenberg, who served as a guest studio analyst during the 2012 NCAA Tournament, was fired in April after nine seasons at Virginia Tech. He also coached at South Florida and Long Beach State. Rose has been an NBA analyst for ESPN since 2007. The NBA veteran reached the Final Four as a member of Michigan’s Fab Five.

MOTOR SPORTS

NASCAR approves redesign

NASCAR has approved all four automakers’ redesigned Sprint Cup Series cars for next season. Series officials announced Monday that the new Chevrolet SS, Dodge Charger, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry designs have met the necessary targets for approval based on final aerodynamic tests July 18. Manufacturers can begin making parts and pieces for the new models, which will make their racing debut at Daytona International Speedway next February. The new cars have a significantly different look because they are designed to look more like their passenger car counterparts.

FOOTBALL Titans receiver dies of gunshot wounds

TAMPA, Fla. - Tennessee Titans reserve receiver O.J. Murdock died of an apparent suicide, Tampa police said.

Police spokesman Andrea Davis said officers found the 25-year-old Murdock about 8:30 a.m. Eastern inside his car Monday morning with what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds.The car was parked in front of Middleton High School, where Murdock attended school.

He was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he later died.

Murdock did not report to training camp over the weekend because of what the team said at the time was a personal issue.

“We are shocked and saddened to hear of O.J. Murdock’s death this morning,” the Titans said in a statement Monday. “In his brief time here, a number of our players, coaches and staff had grown close to O.J., and this is a difficult time for them. He spent the last year battling back from an Achilles injury as he prepared for this year’s training camp. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends as they try to cope with this tragedy.”

As a senior at Middleton in 2005, Murdock was rated the 10th-best wide receiver recruit in the nation by Rivals.com. He signed with South Carolina, but played in only four games, making one catch, after redshirting his first season. He was arrested for shoplifting at a Florida department store during that 2006 season and suspended.

Murdock transferred to Pearl River Community College in Mississippi and then to Division II Fort Hays State in Kansas. As a senior in 2010, he had 60 catches for 1,290 yards and 12 touchdowns.

That earned him an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine. After going undrafted, he was signed by the Titans last summer but spent the entire 2011 season on injured reserve after hurting his right Achilles early in training camp.

Three former NFL players - Junior Seau, Ray Easterling and Dave Duerson - each died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the past year and a half. Easterling and Duerson were found to have brain damage at the time of their deaths and their families are among those suing the league over the long-term effects of concussions. Brain tissue from Seau has been released by his family for study.

Murdock’s name had not come up in the ongoing concussion debate.

Sports, Pages 16 on 07/31/2012

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