Newsmakers

Signed The Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League signed former Eastern Washington University quarterback Matt Nichols to their practice roster. Nichols started four years at EWU, completing 996 of 1,608 passes for 12,616 yards and 96 touchdowns.

Charged Whitman County prosecutor Denis Tracy said New Orleans Saints rookie running back Chris Ivory has been charged with second-degree assault stemming from an alleged altercation in July 2009. Ivory, who spent part of his college career with Washington State, is accused of hitting another man in the head with a bottle. Ivory denies that he committed the alleged crime, which could carry jail time of three to nine months if convicted.

Fined Washington guard Gilbert Arenas revealed after the Wizards’ 107-92 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday that he pretended to have a bum knee to give teammate Nick Young a chance to start. Arenas was fined an undisclosed amount by the Wizards for his deception.

Interviewed Former Pirates minor league manager Dale Sveum interviewed to succeed John Russell as Pittsburgh’s manager. Sveum, a Pirates infielder in 1996-97, managed Double-A Altoona from 2001-03.

Offered Former sprinter Tommie Smith is selling the gold medal he won at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, where his Black Power salute on the podium shocked the sports world. Smith put his gold medal for the 200 meters and spikes up for auction at New York-based M.I.T. Memorabilia. The bid starts at $250,000.

Revealed Former Olympic sprinter Antonio Pettigrew, who admitted to doping and was stripped of a gold medal, committed suicide by overdosing on a drug common to sleeping pills, according to an autopsy report released in Chapel Hille, N.C. Pettigrew, 42, was found dead in the backseat of his locked car in August.