Sheriff says no immediate cause of death for ex-QB
Sheriff says no immediate cause of death for ex-QB
DETROIT — A cause of death was not determined Wednesday after an autopsy on the body of a Michigan man who played Division II football and was one of the most successful quarterbacks in college history.
There was no obvious sign of heart trauma on Cullen Finnerty, Lake County Sheriff Robert Hilts said.
Finnerty’s body was discovered Tuesday in woods in western Michigan, 65 miles north of Grand Rapids, following a search by dozens of people, including former teammates, coaches and current players at Grand Valley State University in Allendale.
The 30-year-old was with his relatives on a holiday weekend at a cottage in Lake County’s Webber Township. He disappeared Sunday while fishing a river separately from other relatives.
The autopsy “ruled out anything real obvious,” Hilts said in a phone interview. “There was nothing that stood out as to the cause of death. … We’re glad there is no foul play found at this time.”
He said more results could be available this week after an examination of the brain and other tests.
“We can’t move forward without that information,” the sheriff said.
Finnerty had led Grand Valley to more than 50 victories and three national titles, the last in 2006.
Playoff architects won’t be allowed to pick teams
DESTIN, Fla. — The conference commissioners who put together the College Football Playoff will not be allowed to serve on the committee that selects the teams that will play in it.
Executive director Bill Hancock says the commissioners are still working on the structure of the selection committee for the new postseason system that starts in 2014. But they have eliminated themselves from consideration.
Hancock says that they are not eliminating the possibility that active athletic directors could serve on the committee, but the focus has been on using former administrators, coaches, and even media members to make up the panel.
Hancock says the commissioners would like the committee to have geographic balance.
“Conferences have been invited to submit names,” he told reporters covering the Southeastern Conference spring meetings. “Probably about 20.”
From there, 12-20 will be selected to be on the committee.
The commissioners would like to have the panel in place by before the end of the upcoming season, and possibly have them go through a dry run.
Karl Malone to work with young Jazz big men
SALT LAKE CITY — Hall of Famer Karl Malone is returning to the Utah Jazz to help develop the team’s two young big men.
The Jazz announced Wednesday that Malone will work with Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, as well as other players. The team says no specific schedule has been set for Malone’s involvement.
Favors and Kanter are two promising players whom the team hopes to build around. Favors averaged nine points and seven rebounds per game in his third season. Kanter averaged seven points and four rebounds per game in his second season. Both are 21 years old.
A two-time NBA MVP, Malone played 18 seasons for Utah. He was a 14-time All-Star and ranks second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 36,928 points.
Broncos boost secondary with longtime foe Jammer
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos have signed free agent cornerback Quentin Jammer after striking out in their pursuit of safety Charles Woodson.
A physical and durable 12th-year pro, Jammer is the third longtime San Diego Chargers player to bolt for their AFC rivals this offseason, joining linebacker Shaun Phillips and right guard Louis Vasquez.
Jammer spent his first 11 seasons in San Diego, where he had 21 interceptions and 130 pass breakups. He was the fifth-overall draft pick in 2002 out of Texas, where he played safety.
Since becoming a starter in 2003, he’s missed just three starts, opening 157 games, most by a cornerback in the NFL during that span.
Jammer had three interceptions last season. He returned one of them, against Denver in Week 6, for his first career touchdown. Matthew Willis didn’t recognize the overload on his side and failed to adjust his route accordingly, allowing Jammer to step in front of Peyton Manning’s pass for an easy pick-six.
Oscar recovering from second brain tumor surgery
SAO PAULO — Hall of Fame basketball player Oscar Schmidt is recovering from a second brain operation to treat cancer.
Doctors say the 55-year-old former Brazilian star is doing well but is undergoing chemotherapy to try to contain a malign tumor in his brain. He first underwent surgery in 2011, when doctors said the tumor was benign, but another operation was needed last month after the tumor started to grow again.
Oscar led Brazil to an improbable gold medal in the 1987 Pan American Games, stunning the United States in the final. The ceremony for his induction into the Hall of Fame is scheduled for September.
Doctor Marcos de Queiroz Teles Gomes told the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper on Wednesday that Oscar “will be in condition” to attend the ceremony.
Player from small Kansas school announces he’s gay
It didn’t take Jason Collins for Jallen Messersmith to come out as gay.
Messersmith is a 6-foot-7 shot-blocking specialist from tiny Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. He also is believed to be the first openly gay active player in U.S. men’s college basketball.
Messersmith told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he revealed his sexual orientation to his coach last summer and his teammates before the season. He later told his story to Outsports.com, a website that covers gay issues in sports, and its story was posted Tuesday — a month after Collins, a Washington Wizards reserve, came out in a Sports Illustrated article as the first openly gay active player in the NBA.
“He wasn’t a buffer for me,” Messersmith said, adding that just about everyone at 2,000-student Benedictine knew his sexual orientation months ago. He said he had not corresponded with Collins.
N.J. lawmaker calls for hearings on Rutgers problems
TRENTON, N.J. — The likely Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey is calling for legislative hearings on the hiring of a new athletic director at Rutgers.
State Sen. Barbara Buono said Wednesday lawmakers need to get involved because of Gov. Chris Christie’s hands-off approach to recent developments at the state’s flagship public university.
There have been revelations this week about allegations of verbal abuse by incoming athletic director Julie Hermann when she was a volleyball coach at Tennessee. She’s set to take over June 17 at a department trying to recover from the ouster of a basketball coach caught on video using gay slurs and kicking players.
Christie says he wants to leave the situation to Rutgers to handle.
Buono also says she has lost confidence in Rutgers President Robert Barchi.
From wire sources