Off the wire

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady walks off the field following an NFL football practice Thursday, May 26, 2016, in Foxborough, Mass.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady walks off the field following an NFL football practice Thursday, May 26, 2016, in Foxborough, Mass.

FOOTBALL

Brady adds legal power

Tom Brady has added more high-profile legal power to his "Deflategate" appeal. The AFL-CIO filed a friend of the court brief on Monday asking the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a decision handed down by a three-judge panel in April. Also weighing in: Kenneth Feinberg, who helped divvy up the funds for Sept. 11 and Boston Marathon bombing victims. Brady was suspended four games for what the league said was a scheme to use improperly inflated footballs in the 2015 AFC Championship game. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell rejected his initial appeal, and Brady appealed to the federal courts. In its brief, the AFL-CIO said Goodell "acted arbitrarily as an employer seeking to justify his own disciplinary decision rather than as a neutral arbitrator considering an appeal."

• Offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson is preparing to rejoin the Buffalo Bills this week after having two operations on parts of his intestines to reduce the effects of Crohn's disease, the player's agent confirmed to The Associated Press. Alan Herman said his client is scheduled to travel to Buffalo after having one final checkup at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota on Wednesday. Herman said medical experts are optimistic Henderson can resume playing without complications, and be cleared for practice in time for training camp. Henderson's future has been uncertain since he was diagnosed with the disease late last season. He had two operations this offseason, the first to remove diseased tissue and another to re-attach the intestine in April. The Buffalo News first reported about Henderson's status on Tuesday.

• Losing the NFL's Pro Bowl to Orlando, Florida, is a sign Hawaii needs to needs to compete harder, said state Rep. Tom Brower, chairman of the tourism committee in the state House of Representatives. The game is important to the tourism industry for the exposure it gives the state and for the people it brings to Hawaii, Brower said. It stings to lose the revenue, he said. "That's a sign that we need to compete harder," Brower said, adding he hopes the game will return to Hawaii in the future. Three people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the NFL would move the game to Orlando. The NFL will announce the move during a news conference scheduled with ESPN in Florida today. Hawaii Tourism Authority spokesman Charlene Chan said the NFL asked the agency to refrain from commenting until it announces its decision.

HOCKEY

Hitchcock signs deal

The St. Louis Blues have signed Coach Ken Hitchcock to another one-year deal. Hitchcock, 64, says it will be his final season. The Blues are coming off their first appearance in the Western Conference finals since 2001, ending a string of three consecutive first-round playoff exits. Hitchcock will be entering his sixth season with the Blues and 20th season as a head coach. During that time he's guided the franchise to four of its top five regular season point totals. Last season the Blues had 107 points, then eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks and the Central Division champion Dallas Stars in the playoffs. They lost to San Jose in six games in the conference finals.

• Former NHL All-Star Tom Lysiak has died of leukemia at the age of 63. Lysiak's daughter, Jessie Lysiak Braun, confirmed on Twitter that he died Monday. He played 13 NHL seasons with the Atlanta Flames and Chicago Blackhawks, putting up 292 goals and 551 assists in 919 career games. Lysiak made the All-Star Game in 1975, 1976 and 1977. He was the runner up for rookie of the year in 1973-74, and after being dealt to Chicago was the Blackhawks' leading scorer in 1980-81 with 76 points. Lysiak was given a 20-game suspension for tripping linesman Ron Foyt during a 1983 game against the Hartford Whalers. His death was announced Monday night during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Rick MacLeish, who starred for the Broad Street Bullies teams of the Philadelphia Flyers that won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975, has died. He was 66. The team announced his death Tuesday. The Flyers' Alumni Association said recently that MacLeish was battling an illness. MacLeish was the leading scorer in the playoffs when the Flyers won back-to-back titles. He scored the Cup winner against the Boston Bruins in 1974. Former Flyers captain and general manager Bobby Clarke called MacLeish "the most talented player the Flyers had during the 1970s." MacLeish had 349 goals and 410 assists for 759 points in 846 NHL games over 14 seasons for the Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers and Detroit Red Wings. The native of Cannington, Ontario, had 22 points in the 1974 playoffs and 20 in 1975.

BASKETBALL

Buss: Jackson not leaving

Phil Jackson remains committed to the New York Knicks, and there is no plan of him bolting to rejoin the Los Angeles Lakers, his fiancee, Jeannie Buss, said on Tuesday morning. The ongoing speculation has been that Jackson won't fulfill his contract with the Knicks and could return to the franchise he coached to five NBA championships. Jackson signed a five-year deal with the Knicks to be team president in March 2014 and has an opt-out clause after next season. But Buss, the Lakers' president and co-owner, said Jackson's "mission" is to build the Knicks into a championship contender. In Jackson's first two seasons, the Knicks have gone 49-115, including a franchise-worst 17-65 mark in 2014-15. The Knicks are close to naming a new coach, which would be the third under Jackson. An announcement is expected this week that Jeff Hornacek has been hired. He will replace Kurt Rambis, who took over midseason for Derek Fisher, Jackson's first hire.

• Sacramento Kings point guard Darren Collison was arrested on a charge of domestic violence after deputies responded to a report of a woman being assaulted inside a Northern California home, authorities said Tuesday. The Placer County sheriff's office reported Tuesday that Collison, 28, was arrested Monday after deputies found the woman visibly injured. Collison was booked at the Placer County jail in Auburn. He was freed hours after his arrest on $55,000 bail, according to the office. Authorities said he also was booked on two misdemeanor bench warrants for driving on a suspended license. Officials didn't release the name of the woman or any other details. The Sacramento Kings said the team is aware of the arrest and gathering more information. The team said that once it has all the facts, it "will take appropriate steps."

FOOTBALL

Lundquist to call one more season of SEC football

NEW YORK — Verne Lundquist will call one more season of Southeastern Conference football for CBS before Brad Nessler takes over the sport’s highest-rated TV package.

“He’s going out on top,” CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus told The Associated Press on Tuesday, “and everybody should be so lucky.”

Lundquist will still announce college basketball and golf after 2016, including the NCAA Tournament and the Masters.

“Now, it’s time to step back and take in the aroma of those tulips, those roses, and those daffodils that friends have been telling me about for years,” Lundquist, 75, said in a release from CBS.

McManus recalled Lundquist’s disappointment 17 years ago when he told the announcer he was shifting off the NFL and onto the SEC for the 2000 season. It wound up being the perfect move for both Lundquist and CBS.

As the conference went on its run of national championships, Lundquist was the voice of many of college football’s biggest games and moments season after season. He now calls it “the most significant assignment I’ve been given in my more than five decades in this business.”

Nessler rejoins CBS after 24 years at ESPN. He had most recently been calling the Saturday night college football games on ESPN.

Before joining Gary Danielson in the booth in 2017, Nessler will announce some SEC games this fall in weeks when CBS airs two of the conference’s matchups.

He and Danielson had worked together previously for ESPN, and McManus said their established chemistry was one reason Nessler was CBS’s No. 1 choice once Lundquist decided to step down.

Hiring Nessler was “the perfect solution,” McManus said, and he expects a seamless transition.

“He’s got a big-time voice, and when you hear Brad’s voice, he’s one of those announcers that it seems like a big event,” McManus said.

Sports on 06/01/2016

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