Newsmakers

Apologized Clippers forward Matt Barnes is apologizing to his Los Angeles teammates and coaches for getting ejected and then sending out a profane tweet. Barnes, along with Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka, got ejected, and Blake Griffin of the Clippers received a technical foul for their parts in a scuffle in the second quarter of their game Wednesday night. After his ejection, Barnes used a derogatory term in a profane tweet that suggested he was tired of backing up his teammates because his actions “cost me money.” Those actions ended up costing him $25,000 on Thursday when the NBA fined him for failing to leave the court in a timely manner and using inappropriate language on Twitter.

Sanctioned The University of San Diego pulled itself out of the running for the Pioneer Football League championship and an FCS automatic playoff berth after uncovering potential financial aid violations. The Toreros (7-3, 6-1) were in position to clinch the league title and their first FCS playoff berth if they beat Drake on Saturday.

Filed Former Kansas fullback Christopher Powell alleges in a lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court for Western Missouri that the NCAA failed to adequately protect athletes from head trauma. The class action suit seeks an undetermined amount in damages for Powell and other athletes who suffered head trauma in college. Powell said in his filing that he sustained at least four concussions while playing for Kansas from 1990 to 1994.

Died A 17-year-old high school football player in Tipton, Mo., has died after being hospitalized with a brain injury suffered in an Oct. 31 playoff game. Tipton School District Superintendent Scott Jarvis says Chad Stover died Thursday morning at a hospital in Columbia.

Open Swimming phenom Michael Phelps has rejoined the U.S. drug testing program, the strongest signal yet that he’s planning a comeback for the Rio Olympics. “Nothing is set in stone,” Phelps told The Associated Press.