Off the wire

FOOTBALL Dyer at Louisville

Running back Michael Dyer (Little Rock Christian) is taking steps toward enrolling at Louisville. The Associated Press said Tuesday that Dyer, MVP of the 2011 BCS national title game as a freshman at Auburn, has been on campus and has met with the Cardinals coaches. Dyer gained 1,242 yards and scored 10 touchdowns during his sophomore season at Auburn, but he was suspended for the Tigers’ bowl game and eventually left the team. He transferred to Arkansas State but was dismissed from the team before ever playing a down after being caught with a gun during a traffic stop. Dyer was never charged with a crime in the incident. Dyer has since obtained a two-year degree from Arkansas Baptist in Little Rock. He would be eligible to play immediately and has two years of eligibility remaining. Louisville Coach Charlie Strong, a Batesville native and former Central Arkansas player, has not addressed whether Dyer is planning to join to the team. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from speaking publicly about prospective athletes.

Texas A&M said Tuesday that Polo Manukainiu, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman for the Aggies, was among three people killed in a single-car rollover crash Monday night in the high desert of northern New Mexico, stunning both the university and Trinity High School in Euless, Texas, just days before fall practices begin. Also killed were 18-year-old Utah recruit Gaius “Keio” Vaenuku and 13-yearold Andrew “Lolo” Uhatafe. The wreck occurred Monday evening on U.S. 550 near Cuba, N.M., about 85 miles north of Albuquerque, as the group of five was returning from Salt Lake City to suburban Dallas, where three of them had ties to prep football power Trinity High. The driver, 18-year-old Siaosi Salesi Uhatafe Jr. of Euless, is believed to be the only person wearing a seatbelt.

Police divers returned Tuesday for a second day of searching in a lake in the Bristol, Conn., hometown of Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots player who is charged with murder. Authorities have declined to comment on the search at Pine Lake, a 54-acre man made lake in Bristol, except to confirm it is related to the Hernandez investigation. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old Boston semi-professional football player whose body was found June 17 about a mile from Hernandez’s home in North Attleborough, Mass. Authorities believe Lloyd was killed with a .45-caliber Glock, which hasn’t been recovered. Divers spent eight hours Monday at the lake.

BASEBALL MLB names players

Major League Baseball has told the union which players it intends to suspend in its drug investigation and which ones will receive lengthier penalties for their roles in the Biogenesis case, two people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press. The sides are trying to reach as many agreements as possible that would avoid grievance hearings, and talks could push back an announcement until Friday. The meeting between MLB and the union on Tuesday, first reported by the New York Daily News, signaled the final stretch of talks. MLB hopes to announce the penalties for all players involved at the same time, both people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcements were authorized. Three-time MVP Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees stands to receive the longest suspension. The stiffer penalties for some players are tied to other alleged violations, including not being truthful to MLB investigators. Three 2013 All-Stars could face bans: Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz, San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera and Detroit shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Another 2013 All-Star, Oakland pitcher Bartolo Colon, was suspended last year following a positive testosterone test, as were Toronto outfielder Melky Cabrera and San Diego catcher Yasmani Grandal. They won’t receive additional discipline for that violation, the two people said. Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli and Seattle catcher Jesus Montero also have been linked in media reports to Biogenesis, a closed Florida anti-aging clinic that was accused by Miami New Times in January of distributing banned performing-enhancing drugs.

The Boston Red Sox have acquired Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox in a three-team deal that also sent shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias to Detroit Tigers. Iglesias provides a nice insurance policy for AL Central-leading Detroit in case Jhonny Peralta is suspended as part of baseball’s Biogenesis drug investigation. Peavy is 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 13 starts this season. The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner was considered the best starting pitcher on the market ahead of today’s non-waiver deadline.With Clay Buchholz on the disabled list with a shoulder problem, the move gives Boston another proven starter for the stretch run in the tough AL East. The Red Sox also got reliever Brayan Villarreal from the Tigers. They sent three minor-leaguers to the White Sox as part of the deal.

The Cleveland Indians have acquired left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski from the St. Louis Cardinals. The Indians sent minor-league infielder Juan Herrera to St. Louis on Tuesday in exchange for Rzepczynski. Rzepczynski, 27, is 9-17 with a 4.20 ERA in 177 career games for Toronto and St. Louis.

The Atlanta Braves have placed reserve outfielder Reed Johnson on the 15-day disabled list with left heel tendinitis. Johnson, who leads major-league pinch-hitters with a .355 batting average and a .444 on-base percentage, is the third Atlanta outfielder currently on the DL. Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Tuesday that center fielder B.J. Upton, sidelined by a right hip strain, is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Class AAA Gwinnett today.

BASKETBALL Grizzlies sign Miller

Guard Mike Miller is rejoining the Memphis Grizzlies, returning to the franchise where he holds records for three-pointers made and three-point shooting percentage. Miller, 33, spent the past three seasons in Miami, where he helped the Heat win championships in 2012 and 2013. He played just more than five seasons with the Grizzlies in 2002-2008. Terms were not disclosed.

Oscar “Ossie” Schectman, the former New York Knicks guard who scored the first basket in NBA history, died Tuesday. He was 94. Schectman scored the opening basket of a game in what was then known as the BAA on Nov. 1, 1946, for the Knicks against the Toronto Huskies.

FOOTBALL Ex-Penn State officials will stand trial

Penn State’s former president and two former top school administrators were ordered Tuesday to stand trial on charges accusing them of a cover-up in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Prosecutors showed enough evidence during a two-day preliminary hearing to warrant a full criminal court trial for former president Graham Spanier, former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley, Judge William Wenner concluded.

Wenner called it “a tragic day for Penn State University.”

State prosecutors allege that the three men failed to tell police about sexual abuse allegations involving Sandusky and then tried to cover up what they knew about it.

The men say they are innocent and were not aware of the allegation against Sandusky in 2001. They say they had believed that Sandusky and the boy were engaged in nothing more than horseplay in a university locker room shower.

Sandusky was convicted last year of 45 counts of child sexual abuse, but maintains his innocence and is appealing a 30- to 60-year state prison term.

Spanier, Schultz and Curley were charged with perjury, obstruction, endangering the welfare of children, failure to properly report suspected abuse and conspiracy. Those charges include allegations of hiding evidence from investigators and lying to the grand jury.

Curley and Schultz were initially charged in November 2011, when Sandusky was arrested, and accused of perjury and failure to properly report the incident.

Spanier was forced out as president at that time. A year later, he was charged with covering up a complaint about Sandusky while additional charges were filed against Curley and Schultz. Spanier remains a faculty member on administrative leave.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was fired and died in January 2012.