FOOTBALL
Hardy can sign
Panthers defensive end and soon-to-be free agent Greg Hardy will be allowed to sign a new contract even if he remains on the NFL commissioner's exempt list. League spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday in an email to The Associated Press, "There's nothing to prevent a player on the exempt list without a contract from signing a new one." NFL free agency begins Tuesday. However, Hardy's playing status remains in limbo. He isn't allowed to actually play until removed from the exempt list, which could prevent teams from going after him in free agency. Hardy was scheduled to meet with NFL officials Wednesday in New York to discuss his domestic violence case, but no resolution has been announced. He faces a possible suspension from the league even though his conviction on two counts of domestic violence was dismissed Feb. 9 following a successful appeal. The NFL has said it is investigating Hardy's case. The league unsuccessfully petitioned courts in North Carolina to have evidence from Hardy's first trial unsealed. Without that evidence, it may be difficult for the league to suspend him. Hardy made $13.1 million last season as Carolina's franchise player, but only played in one game. Hardy is not expected to re-sign with Carolina and could become one of the hottest commodities on the free agent market. The 26-year-old Hardy remains in the prime of his career and had 15 sacks in 2013, tying a Panthers franchise record. Hardy, who is normally active on social media, has not tweeted anything about his meeting with the league.
• Vince Wilfork said Thursday his time with the New England Patriots is over after 11 years. The stalwart defensive tackle who won two Super Bowls with the Patriots said the front office told him it will not be picking up his option. Wilfork will become a free agent next week and said he has "lots of gas left in the tank." He added that "New England has been and always will be my home." He was drafted out of Miami in 2004. He helped the Patriots to their third Super Bowl title in four years that season with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles and to another one over Seattle in February.
• A person familiar with negotiations tells The Associated Press that Buffalo Bills free safety Da'Norris Searcy will test free agency next week. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Thursday because discussions between the Bills and Searcy have been private. The two sides haven't had contract talks since Buffalo made Searcy an offer two weeks ago, the person said. The fourth-year player showed he was capable of being a starter in replacing Jairus Byrd, who left Buffalo in free agency last spring. Searcy finished tied for second on the team with three interceptions in 15 games. Searcy's asking price is expected to be too expensive for Buffalo's salary structure at the position. Last year, the Bills signed strong safety Aaron Williams to a four-year, $26 million extension.
• Peyton Manning has passed his physical and signed his revised contract Thursday. The five-time MVP agreed to a $4 million pay cut to $15 million, but he can earn all of it back through incentives. Manning mulled retirement after the Broncos' playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts. But he determined he still had the health and hunger to keep playing at age 39. Manning, who won a title with the Colts in 2006, met with Broncos General Manager John Elway a few weeks ago after taking some time to decompress from an arduous season and told him he wasn't ready to retire. The sides hashed out a new deal Wednesday contingent on his passing his physical.
TENNIS
Wozniacki advances
Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open at Kuala Lumpur by beating Zhu Lin of China 6-4, 6-1 Thursday. The fifth-ranked Dane, a former top-ranked player, had seven aces in the match. Wozniacki will next take on unseeded Carina Witthoeft of Germany. Witthoeft knocked out fifth-seeded Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (3), 6-0. Also, Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan defeated Misa Eguchi of Japan 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 to set up a quarterfinal match with Russian teen Elizaveta Kulichkova, who won the Australian Open junior singles and doubles titles last year.
• Andy Murray, playing in his native Scotland for the first time since winning Wimbledon in 2013, will face Donald Young in the opening singles today when Britain hosts the Unites States in the first round of the Davis Cup. John Isner, the highest-ranked U.S. player at No. 20, will play James Ward in the second match at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. In Sunday's reverse singles, Murray will play Isner, and the 47th-ranked Young will face Ward. The U.S. leads 11-8 overall against Britain in the oldest rivalry in Davis Cup history, dating to the first competition in 1900. The winner in Glasgow will advance to the quarterfinals against either France or Germany.
BASKETBALL
Players want early entry
An attorney for the union representing NBA players strongly indicated Thursday that it will want players to regain the chance to go directly from high school to the pros in the next round of collective bargaining. Speaking on a panel at a sports law conference, National Basketball Players Association general counsel Gary Kohlman says "quite likely the union will be taking a radically different position" than the NBA on the age issue. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said the league wants to raise the minimum age from 19 to 20. It's long been expected that the union and league will clash on that particular issue whenever the next round of talks get underway. The sides have a labor deal through 2021, though either can opt out after the 2016-17 season.
BOXING
Crawford moves up
Undefeated WBO lightweight champion Terence Crawford is moving up in weight to fight for the vacant junior welterweight title in his first bout of 2015. He will take on No. 2 world-rated junior welterweight contender Thomas Dulorme on April 18 at the University of Texas-Arlington. The bout was announced Thursday on the campus between Dallas and Fort Worth. Crawford has a record of 25-0, with 17 knockouts. In 2014, he was the fighter of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. After the second defense of his WBO lightweight title in his last fight Nov. 29, Crawford said that would be his last bout at 135 pounds and he was moving up to the 140-pound division. Dulorme is 22-1, with 14 knockouts. This will be his first world championship fight after winning six consecutive bouts the past two years.
MOTOR SPORTS
Prosecutors: No criminal charges for Kurt Busch
DOVER, Del. — NASCAR driver Kurt Busch will not face criminal charges over claims by his ex-girlfriend that he smashed her head into a bedroom wall and choked her, Delaware prosecutors said Thursday.
The decision by the state attorney general’s office ends the criminal investigation of Busch, known in NASCAR circles as “The Outlaw,” over allegations by Patricia Driscoll, whom Busch’s attorneys portrayed as a scorned woman who tried to destroy Busch’s career after he ended their relationship.
State prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges.
“After a thorough consideration of all of the available information about the case, it is determined that the admissible evidence and available witnesses would likely be insufficient to meet the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Busch committed a crime during the September 26th incident,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Busch thanked prosecutors in a statement for carefully considering the evidence and his supporters for standing by him “throughout this nightmare.”
Driscoll said in her own statement that she was disappointed that “full justice” was not served.
A spokesman for the Dover Police Department, which investigated the incident and gave its findings to the attorney general’s office, said the department respects the decision and has no further comment.
NASCAR officials indefinitely suspended Busch last month after a Delaware Family Court commissioner granted Driscoll a “protection from abuse”, or no-contact, order, saying the former champion more than likely choked and beat her inside his motor home at Dover International Speedway last fall.
Busch lost two rounds of appeals for reinstatement before the season-opening Daytona 500 and has missed the first two races of the season. NASCAR officials said Monday that he has agreed to follow their recommended guidelines to be eligible for eventual reinstatement.
Sports on 03/06/2015