The NFL said it will investigate whether the Oakland Raiders violated the r1;Rooney Ruler1; when they hired Jon Gruden as coach.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance called for the investigation on Wednesday out of concern that Raiders owner Mark Davis came to an agreement with Gruden before the team interviewed any minority candidates as required by the NFL since 2003.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement that the NFL will r1;look into this.r1;
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is dedicated to promoting diversity and equality of job opportunity in the coaching William Jackson Jersey , front office and scouting staffs of NFL teams.
Davis said Tuesday at the news conference introducing Gruden as the teamr17;s new coach that he had been trying to make the move for six years and finally believed it would happen after a meeting in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve, the day before Gruden worked a game between the Raiders and Eagles on ESPN.
LONDON (AP) r11; The Oakland Raiders will host the Seattle Seahawks in the first NFL game at the new London stadium of English Premier League club Tottenham.
The game will be played in week six of the season on Oct. 14.
Tottenham, the Premier League runner-up last season, is building a new 60,000-plus capacity venue on the site of the White Hart Lane stadium that was recently demolished.
There will be three consecutive weeks of matches in London. The other two will take place at Wembley Stadium, English soccerr17;s national stadium, on Oct. 21 or 28. The Philadelphia Eagles will play the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Tennessee Titans will take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
HOCKEY
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) r11; The U.S. Army has filed a challenge opposing the application of the NHLr17;s newest franchise to register the trademark r1;Vegas Golden Knights.r1;
In a claim filed Wednesday with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in suburban Washington Darqueze Dennard Jersey , the Army claims it will be damaged if the trademark is registered and says it has acquired exclusive rights to it that predate any rights claimed by the NHL team.
The Army says it has used the Golden Knights nickname since the late 1960s for its parachute team, public relations and recruiting, and claims it owns r1;common law rightsr1; for the color schemes that combine black and gold and yellow and white.
The challenge by the U.S. Army was first reported by Sportslogos.net.
The filing also says the NHL teamr17;s choice of black-and-gold and yellow-and-white color schemes for its uniforms, advertising and marketing adds r1;to the likelihood of confusion of the publicr1; because the same colors are used on the uniforms worn by West Pointr17;s hockey team and the paint scheme on the building where they play their home games, Tate Rink.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) r11; Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon has taken over as the majority owner of the NHLr17;s Carolina Hurricanes.
Team officials said the sale closed Thursday, about two months after Dundon signed a purchase agreement to buy a majority stake in the franchise from longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr. The NHL says its Board of Governors has given its approval.
Karmanos will retain a minority ownership interest in the club he moved from Hartford, Connecticut, to North Carolina in 1997.
OLYMPICS
LONDON (AP) r11; A British bobsledder will miss the Winter Olympics after suffering a stroke.
Bruce Tasker Dre Kirkpatrick Jersey , who was part of the British four-man team that finished in fifth place at the Sochi Games in 2014, was taken to the hospital after experiencing dizziness and sickness last week.
Team GB says the 30-year-old Tasker will have further assessments over the coming days and will not compete in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next month on medical advice.
Tasker said in a statement that it was a r1;completely freak occurrence,r1; adding r1;Ir17;m gutted not to be able to conclude the four-year cycle by going to the Olympics but Ir17;m very grateful that Ir17;m still fit and healthy.r1;
SOCCER
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) r11; Christian Pulisic was the runaway winner of soccerr17;s U.S. Player of the Year, the youngest choice in the awardr17;s 27-year-history.
The 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder received 81 first-place votes and 254 points in balloting conducted among 104 media by the radio network Futbol de Primera. Jozy Altidore was second with 95 points and captain Michael Bradley third with 75.
Pulisic won the U.S. Soccer Federationr17;s Male Player of the Year award last month.
A midfielder from Hershey, Pennsylvania, Pulisic had six goals and four assists in nine games for the national team last year and was involved in 13 of the 17 American goals in games he played. The U.S. failed to qualify for the World Cup, ending a streak of seven straight appearances.
Minnesota Vikings starters WR Adam Thielen (lower back) and S Andrew Sendejo (concussion) are both listed as questionable for Sundayr17;s NFC championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Thielen Geno Atkins Jersey , the Vikingsr17; top receiver, was a limited participant in practice on Thursday and Friday after not practicing Wednesday. Sendejo is still in concussion protocol after being hurt in last Sundayr17;s playoff victory over the New Orleans Saints, but he was a full participant in Fridayr17;s practice.
The veteran safety still must be tested Friday to see if he clears the protocol. Coach Mike Zimmer said Friday he is optimistic Sendejo will play. If Sendejo canr17;t play, Anthony Harris will likely take his place.
Backup CB Mackensie Alexander (ri is also questionable, while backup DT Shamar Stephen has been ruled out (knee/ankle).
is also questionable, while backup DT Shamar Stephen has been ruled out (knee/ankle).