BRONCOS TRYING TO GET HEALTHY FOR THIRD PRE-SEASON GAME
ENGLEWOOD (AP) – Derek Wolfe says he’ll be back on the football field soon. The Denver Broncos hope fellow starters Champ Bailey, Wes Welker, Louis Vasquez and Stewart Bradley will be there with him. All of them were hurt in Denver’s 40-10 preseason loss at Seattle on Saturday night. Wolfe accompanied his teammates on their flight home after being whisked from the field in an ambulance after a scary scene in which he lay prone on the field for a few minutes following a hit to his head and neck.
Medical staff strapped him to a backboard and sent him to a hospital for evaluation of a possible cervical spine injury. X-rays, CT scans and MRIs were all negative, however.
“Thanks for the prayers everyone, ill be okay and will be back on the field soon …” Wolfe tweeted Sunday, an off day for the players. The Broncos are counting on the second-year pro who had six sacks from the tackle position as a rookie last year to help fill the void if All-Pro linebacker Von Miller loses his appeal this week and has to sit out all of September for violating the league’s drug-abuse policy. Wolfe was hurt on Seattle’s first offensive drive when he was blocked on a running play during which the Seahawks’ Robert Turbin gained 8 yards. Wolfe was initially cut on the play by Seattle’s Luke Wilson. As Wolfe was getting back up, fullback Michael Robinson collided with Wolfe and appeared to compress his head and neck. Wolfe remained on the ground and appeared to be moving his legs initially, but medical personnel strapped him to a backboard and took him away in an ambulance. Bailey, who’s entering his 15th NFL season, sprained his left foot. Welker, who caught an 11-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning, has a mild right ankle sprain. Vasquez hurt his left knee and Bradley injured his left wrist. The Broncos provided no estimates on much time those four players might have to miss.
Manning’s blindside protector, Ryan Clady, is expected to return to the lineup this week and play Saturday night against St. Louis at Sports Authority Field after missing most of training camp while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Other key players who have been out include running back Knowshon Moreno (knee) and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ankle).
ROCKIES LOSE TO ORIOLES
BALTIMORE (AP) – Chris Davis went 4 for 5 with his major league-leading 45th home run, Adam Jones had two-run shot among his three hits and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Sunday. Scott Feldman pitched into the seventh inning to earn his first win in nearly a month. Davis scored three times and got hits in his final four at-bats. The Rockies are in Philadelphia tonight for the first of a three game series.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORTSβ¦
UNDATED (AP) – The 2013 Sprint Cup season is over for Tony Stewart. The three-time Cup champion will miss the rest of the season because of broken bones in his right leg.
He will be replaced in the Stewart-Hass No. 14 car by Austin Dillon and Mark Martin. Stewart is expected to return in time for preseason testing in January 2014.
Stewart broke his right leg in a sprint car crash Aug. 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NEW BOWL GAME
MAC TO FACE SUN BELT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The Sun Belt and Mid-American Conference will meet in a new bowl game in Alabama’s state capitol. ESPN announced its latest postseason game, the Camellia Bowl, at Montgomery’s City Hall. The first one will be in December 2014.
The MAC had a record seven bowl-eligible teams last season and has averaged nearly six over the past five years. Temple went 8-4 in 2010 and was shut out of the postseason.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-PENN STATE
More settlements expected
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A lawyer brought in to help Penn State resolve civil claims with the victims of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky says he expects 25 of 31 to be settled by the end of the week. Sandusky is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence in state prison for child sexual abuse. Attorney Michael Rozen says that “the overwhelming majority” of the eight young men who testified against him last year are among the 25.
A 25-year-old man from suburban Philadelphia, a trial witness referred to as “Victim 5,” became the first victim to finalize a deal on Friday.
PISTORIUS-INDICTMENT
Olympian indicted for murder
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) – Oscar Pistorius was indicted today on a charge of murdering his girlfriend, and prosecutors said witnesses heard a woman screaming before the sound of fatal gunshots fired by the double-amputee Olympian in the early hours of Valentine’s Day. Pistorius, who was in court for the indictment and wept before proceedings began, also will face a charge of illegal possession of ammunition when he goes on trial March 3 in a court in the South African capital, Pretoria.
