Newsmakers

Elected Former All-Star goalie Ed Belfour was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, joining Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe and Joe Nieuwendyk as the newest class of inductees. The four former NHL stars were chosen by the hall’s 18-member selection committee. The induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 14.

Signed Durable two-way center Brooks Laich signed a six-year, $27 million deal with the Washington Capitals, rather than test the open market.

Meeting Boston Bruins captain Zedno Chara will be meeting with the Montreal police, who say they intend to question him in the coming weeks and decide whether to press charges for the hit that sidelined Montreal forward Max Pacioretty with a concussion and a cracked vertebra during a March 8 regular-season game.

Scheduled Charlotte Bobcats draft pick Bismack Biyombo and his Spanish club scheduled a mediation session Friday in hopes of settling a dispute over the contract buyout required before he’d be allowed to play in the NBA. The Madrid-based team said Biyombo has two seasons left on his deal and his buyout clause is more than $1.4 million. NBA rules say the Bobcats can’t pay more than $500,000 toward a buyout.

Pleaded Former NBA star Antoine Walker pleaded guilty to passing bad checks in the form of unpaid gambling debts in Las Vegas. Walker, who plays in the NBA Development League, will be put on probation and have to pay $750,000.

Cleared Olympic and world 400-meter champion LaShawn Merritt will be on the U.S. roster for worlds after USA Track and Field waived a rule that would have prevented him from competing because he missed national championships while serving the end of a doping ban.

Revealed A Florida medical examiner’s report says that University of Alabama football player Aaron Douglas died as a result of multiple drugs that were found in his system. The 21-year-old offensive lineman was found dead May 12 in Fernandina Beach, Fla.