BASKETBALL
Taking MLK Day off
The Memphis Grizzlies won't play their traditional Martin Luther King Jr. Day home game this season and instead will host the Chicago Bulls the night before the holiday. The NBA announced its complete 2016-17 regular-season schedule Thursday. The Grizzlies will host the Bulls on Jan. 15 in a prime-time game televised by ESPN as part of the team's "Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Weekend." Grizzlies officials said the festivities will continue Jan. 16 as players, coaches and staff will go out in the Memphis community and perform a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. More details regarding Grizzlies events surrounding the celebration weekend will be announced later. The Grizzlies open the 2016-17 season Oct. 26 by hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Transfer approved
The SEC has cleared the path for former Alabama defensive back Maurice Smith to transfer as a graduate student to Georgia. The SEC granted two exceptions to conference bylaws as requested by Georgia on behalf of Smith. Smith won't have to sit out a year and will be eligible in the 2016 season. He also was given an exception to the SEC rule which says transfers have at least two years of eligibility remaining. The ruling Friday by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey comes after Alabama granted Smith's release. Smith can follow former Alabama assistants Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker to Georgia. Smart is Georgia's new coach and Tucker is the defensive coordinator. Sankey said Smith graduating from Alabama in three years provided "compelling motivation" for the ruling.
Booster clears player
A Florida athletics booster serving as a hearing officer for the school has cleared standout receiver Antonio Callaway of sexual assault. Jake Schickel delivered his decision in writing Friday, saying his impression from last week's code of conduct hearing was that Callaway "was honest, sincere, and presented himself well." The accuser, her attorney and witnesses boycotted the hearing, saying Schickel was biased because of his financial contributions to the Gators. Callaway was the only witness at the hearing. Schickel said Callaway testified that the sexual encounter was consensual and he was high on marijuana. Callaway testified, "I was so stoned I had no interest in having sex with anyone," and said the woman was the aggressor. Schickel said the burden of proof, which was a preponderance of evidence, wasn't met in the case. So he found Callaway not responsible. The accuser has 10 business days to appeal the ruling.
Autopsy: Large heart
Preliminary autopsy results show an enlarged heart in the football player at a small college in western Nebraska who died following the team's practice Thursday. The Dawes County Attorney's office said Friday the enlarged heart likely contributed to the death of freshman defensive lineman Eric Goll, 20, of Haines City, Fla. Additional testing and toxicological screening are being performed as part of the investigation. Goll was taken from the Chadron State practice field to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Temperatures were in the mid-70s when the team was practicing.
Sports on 08/13/2016