In brief: Steelers keep watchful eye on Big Ben
NFL: The Steelers are working closely with troubled quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to make sure he turns his life around, although coach Mike Tomlin didn’t offer any specifics Wednesday about what the team is doing.
Tomlin said he talks regularly with Roethlisberger, who recently underwent a behavioral evaluation as part of the six-game suspension handed down April 21.
Roethlisberger was suspended after a 20-year-old Georgia college student accused him of sexual assault in March. No charges were filed.
His suspension could be reduced to four games at commissioner Roger Goodell’s discretion, but the Steelers say their intervention isn’t designed to ensure Roethlisberger returns to the field sooner.
Roethlisberger returned to practice on Tuesday, and took most of the snaps with the starters that day and Wednesday.
•Atogwe becomes unrestricted free agent: St. Louis Rams free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, the team’s top playmaker the last four seasons, has become an unrestricted free agent after failing to come to an agreement on a multiyear contract.
The Rams had a late Tuesday deadline to sign Atogwe, who is coming off shoulder surgery that sidelined him the final four games last season.
GMs want penalties for blindside hits
NHL: NHL players who deliver blindside hits to the head will be penalized and ejected from games under a proposal presented by all 30 of the league’s general managers.
After rushing a new rule into the books in March that outlawed blows to the head of unsuspecting players, the general managers unanimously decided to recommend that offenders be given a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct.
The rule prohibits “lateral, back-pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact.”
•Former Whalers owner hopes to revive interest: The former owner of the Hartford Whalers is planning an outdoor hockey festival that he hopes will help re-energize efforts to bring the NHL back to Connecticut.
Howard Baldwin, who moved the World Hockey League’s New England Whalers to Hartford in 1975 and brought the team into the NHL in 1979, launched a marketing campaign designed to bring the Whalers name, and ultimately an NHL team back to Connecticut’s capital.
The “Whalers Hockey Fest,” is expected to feature up to 20 minor league, college, high school, prep and youth hockey games at a rink to be built at Rentschler Field, the University of Connecticut’s football stadium in East Hartford.
Singh earns U.S. Open exemption
Golf: The U.S. Golf Association granted Vijay Singh an exemption to play in the U.S. Open in two weeks at Pebble Beach. Singh was scheduled to play in the 36-hole qualifier on Monday, a day after the final round of the Memorial Tournament.
The USGA cited Singh’s battle against several injuries in giving him the exemption.
Singh will be playing in his 64th consecutive major, the longest current streak.
Kansas chancellor orders review of gift
College athletics: The University of Kansas’ chancellor ordered a review of athletic director Lew Perkins’ acceptance of thousands of dollars worth of exercise equipment but also suggested he’d been the victim of “a rush to judgment.”
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said in a statement that Perkins returned the equipment to the now-defunct company that supplied it and paid “a fair rental value.” She said she’s directed senior university staff to review the case and finish their investigation within 10 working days.
Cyclist Armstrong off to solid start
Miscellany: Lance Armstrong finished in fifth place in the Tour of Luxembourg prologue.
The seven-time Tour de France champion finished the 1.66-mile ride in 3 minutes, 51 seconds, 10 seconds behind Jimmy Engoulvent of France.
Armstrong, who is competing in his first race since crashing last month at the Tour of California, is using the five-day event as part of his Tour de France preparations.
•IndyCar announces new engine strategy: The IndyCar Series is drastically changing its engine strategy, opening up the process to a variety of manufacturers and configurations for the 2012 season.
The new platform calls for the ethanol-fueled engines to be up to six cylinders, allow turbocharging and produce between 550 and 700 horsepower, depending on the type of course the series is racing.
Current engines are eight cylinders, produce about 650 horsepower and are made by Honda exclusively.