Newsmakers

Donated Two members of the San Francisco 49ers’ famed “Million Dollar Backfield” who died this year are having their brains examined by researchers studying head injuries in sports. A spokeswoman at Boston University’s school of medicine confirmed Thursday that the brains of Joe “The Jet” Perry and John Henry Johnson have been donated by their families to be examined. Researches at the university are studying head injuries, including the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Perry died at age 84 in April. Henry died last week at 81.

Released Former surfing champion Andy Irons had several drugs in his system when he died of a heart attack at age 32 in a Dallas-area hotel room seven months ago. Irons’ family released the results of the autopsy, which show the three-time world champion from Hawaii died from sudden cardiac arrest due to severe blockage of a main artery.

Suspended Five players on Mexico’s soccer team, including goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and defender Francisco Rodriguez, tested positive for a banned substance and are out of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mexico still defeated Cuba 5-0 Thursday night.

Extended The Montreal Canadiens signed left wing Andrei Kostitsyn to a one-year, $3.25 million deal after he helped the franchise reach the first round of the playoffs.

• The Maple Leafs signed goaltender James Reimer to a $5.4 million, three-year contract extension after he led Toronto to a big second-half turnaround.

Merged The University of Tennessee will merge its men’s and women’s athletics departments and longtime women’s athletic director Joan Cronan will serve as the interim director.

Died Former NBA All-Star Mike Mitchell, who played 10 seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs, died Thursday after a struggle against cancer. He was 55. Mitchell died in San Antonio after the former Auburn star fought the disease for two years, said his son, Mike Mitchell Jr. Mitchell averaged 19.8 points and 5.6 rebounds during his career. He was an All-Star in Cleveland in 1981 but had his winningest years in San Antonio, playing alongside George Gervin and Artis Gilmore.