BASKETBALL
Allen fractures fibula
The New Orleans Pelicans say guard Tony Allen has been diagnosed with a fibula fracture in his left leg and is expected to miss three to four weeks. The 6-4 Allen, whose injury was announced Tuesday, has appeared in 22 games for New Orleans this season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game. Allen fell to the court during the first half of the Pelicans' victory over Philadelphia on Sunday night. He picked himself up and limped on his own to the locker room. Allen was acquired by New Orleans as a free agent this past offseason. The 14-year veteran has averaged 8.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in his career, which has included multiyear stints with Boston and Memphis.
Hornets lose Zeller
Hornets center Cody Zeller underwent arthroscopic surgery on his torn medial meniscus in his left knee Tuesday. It remains unclear how long Zeller will be out. Zeller, 25, injured his knee in the third quarter of the Hornets game against Golden State on Dec. 6. The 7-0 Zeller is averaging 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game this season.
BASEBALL
Yankees' gear sells high
Lou Gehrig's 1931 contract with the New York Yankees has sold at auction for $216,000. Gehrig played with the Yankees from 1923-1939, when he retired while suffering from ALS. He batted .340 with 493 home runs and 1,995 RBI and helped the Yankees win seven World Series titles. The 1931 contract was part of a Yankees Legends offering by Heritage Auctions that was available for bidding through Sunday. A scouting report on Derek Jeter from April 1992 sold for $102,000. The report was prepared by Yankees scout Dick Groch after he saw Jeter play in a high school game in Kalamazoo, Mich. In his summation, Groch said about Jeter: "A Yankee! A five tool player. Will be a ML Star! +5!!" The Yankees, who have won a record 27 world championships, selected Jeter with the sixth overall pick in the 1992 amateur draft. He went on to win Rookie of the Year honors in 1996 and helped the team win the World Series five times in his 20-year career before retiring in 2014. Other items that sold in the auction included: a baseball signed by Eddie Plank in 1915 ($228,000); a bat used by Mickey Mantle in his rookie season of 1951 ($168,000) and a glove he used in 1965 ($144,000); and baseballs signed by the Yankees championship teams from 1926 ($120,000) and the 1927 "Murderers Row" edition ($120,000).
FOOTBALL
Allen uncertain about bowl
Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen said his injured throwing shoulder is better than 90 percent recovered, but it's still too early to say whether he will play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22. Allen has been mentioned among the top quarterback prospects in next year's NFL Draft. He sprained his right shoulder on Nov. 11 against Air Force and missed Wyoming's final two regular-season games. "We're still getting better day by day," Allen said. He has been practicing with the No. 1 offense. Allen said the coaches don't want him playing in the bowl game against Central Michigan unless he's completely recovered. Allen has said that if he's healthy enough he wants to play in the bowl and not sit out to protect himself from further injury before the draft.
SOCCER
Sounders re-sign Dempsey
The Seattle Sounders will have Clint Dempsey when they try to make it to a third consecutive Major League Soccer Cup final. Seattle general manager Garth Lagerwey confirmed Tuesday the club has signed Dempsey to a one-year deal for the 2018 season that will keep the forward with the Sounders while giving the team greater salary flexibility. Having the improved flexibility is important for Lagerwey as the Sounders try to build a roster that can chase a third consecutive Western Conference title in 2018. Lagerwey did not get into specifics about Dempsey's deal but did confirm he will be a designated player for Seattle and that the contract is only for 2018. Dempsey's previous contract had a team option for the 2018 season but was more of a hit against Seattle's salary cap.
GYMNASTICS
Coach banned
The group that trains U.S. Olympic gymnasts announced Tuesday it has banned one of the top coaches in Illinois after an investigation revealed he had violated its code of conduct by engaging in a sexual relationship with an athlete. According to a brief news release, Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics put Todd Gardiner on the list of permanently ineligible coaches. The release said that Gardiner was placed on the list "based on a complaint and following an investigation and hearing process" that found he violated sections of the Code of Ethical Conduct that prohibits having a sexual relationship with an athlete. USA Gymnastics spokesman Leslie King would not provide any details about the relationship, including when it occurred. The Illinois Gymnastics Institute in the Chicago suburb of Westmont did not return calls for comment about Gardiner's status with the facility. King said the institute is a USA Gymnastics member and cannot be associated with Gardiner in any way.
BASEBALL
Umpire retires after 4th concussion in 5 years
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- As a big league umpire, Dale Scott saw maybe 1 million pitches from the field. His final call, it turned out, was the easiest of all.
Rather than risk yet another concussion, Scott has decided to retire at 58.
"I'm done," he told The Associated Press.
The veteran crew chief missed nearly the entire 2017 season after a foul ball off the bat of Baltimore slugger Mark Trumbo in Toronto on April 14 caught him hard in the mask, causing Scott's second concussion in nine months and fourth in five years.
Within a few days, while undergoing treatment for head, neck and shoulder injuries, Scott realized it was the end of a major league career that began in 1985 and included three World Series assignments, three All-Star Games and 91 postseason games.
"In fact, it was pretty easy," he said. "I wasn't planning on this year being the last one. But I thought, this is a sign."
Especially when he asked three doctors about the possible long-term effects if he got jarred again.
"They said, 'We just don't know,' " Scott said. "But they told me that the more times you get hit, the more probability that you'll have issues."
Scott worked 3,897 regular-season games and was a crew chief for 16 seasons, half his career.
MLB provides long-term disability for umpires who cannot work because of permanent concussion effects, the same as it does for other lasting injuries.
Scott wonders about umpires who are cleared as part of the concussion protocol and then face the choice of continuing to work and risk further injury, or leaving the game.
"That needs to be addressed" in talks between MLB and the umpires' union, he said. "Maybe my situation can be a catalyst for that."
Sports on 12/13/2017