In brief: Bruce, Neal among those released
Isaac Bruce and Lorenzo Neal are on the move. Flozell Adams is staying put.
On the eve of free agency, the St. Louis Rams cut longtime star receiver Bruce on Thursday, while the San Diego Chargers released All-Pro fullback Neal.
Pro Bowl tackle Adams re-signed with Dallas.
Bruce was the last player remaining from the Rams’ 1995 move from Los Angeles. Neal has been with six NFL teams in 15 pro seasons.
Adams signed a long-term agreement that likely guarantees he will finish his career in Dallas.
Derek Anderson, the 24-year-old Cleveland quarterback who stepped in as a starter after the first game and led the Browns to a 10-6 record last season, was tendered a one-year offer for $2.5 million.
But Browns general manager Phil Savage said if another team makes the restricted free agent a better offer, Cleveland is unlikely to match it.
Defensive end Jevon Kearse was cut by the Eagles after four mostly disappointing and injury-plagued seasons with the Eagles.
In other moves:
“Baltimore cut 33-year-old Mike Flynn, one of the last remaining cornerstones of its Super Bowl championship team of eight years ago.
“Wide receiver David Givens was released by Tennessee. The former New England starter, who signed a five-year, $24 million deal in 2006, played only five games that year before suffering a serious knee injury and didn’t play at all in 2007.
“Buffalo released veteran cornerback Kiwaukee Thomas, who missed the last seven games last season with a groin injury.
Golf
Donald leads Honda
A bogey-free 64 on PGA National gave Luke Donald a one-shot lead over Brian Davis after the first round of the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
“Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa got off to a fast start in her first round of the season, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 66 at Tanah Merah to take a one-stroke lead in the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore.
Basketball
Knight hired as analyst
ESPN announced that Bob Knight, the winningest coach in Division I men’s college basketball, will appear as a guest studio analyst leading up to and during the NCAA tournament.
“The WNBA board of governors approved the sale of the Seattle Storm to a local ownership group.
“Five-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings has agreed to a contract that will keep her with the Indiana Fever through 2011. Terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed.
Miscellany
Paralyzed player dies
David Edwards, who was paralyzed during a 2003 high school football playoff game and whose injury was fictionalized in the TV show “Friday Night Lights,” has died in San Antonio. He was 20.
Edwards, stricken with pneumonia since late last year, stopped breathing Monday night and slipped into a coma. He died Wednesday.
“American Adam Rippon, who won the junior Grand Prix final in December and the U.S. junior men’s title last month, made it a clean sweep by winning the junior world figure skating title in Sofia, Bulgaria.
“Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year, had a perfect trip and a perfect result in rolling to a 2 1/4-length victory in the $175,000 Jaguar Trophy Handicap in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was Curlin’s debut as a 4-year-old.
“Major League Soccer officials and Gov. Ed Rendell announced plans for the league to set up a new franchise along the waterfront of Chester, Pa., near Philadelphia. The team will debut in 2010.