Newsmakers
Gone Oregon football coach Chip Kelly confirmed Monday that three Ducks will not return for the 2010 season. The most prominent of the three is Garrett Embry, a backup receiver who played in 25 games the past two seasons. Kelly says Embry was dismissed more than three weeks ago for an unspecified violation of team rules. Also gone from the squad are defensive linemen Andrew Iupati and Terrance Montgomery. The university says Iupati transferred to Humboldt State and Montgomery decided to give up football.
Suspended Utah freshman Marshall Henderson has been suspended one game for hitting a BYU player in a men’s basketball game last week. Utes coach Jim Boylen said that Henderson will sit out Wednesday against Colorado State. Henderson was ejected with 34 seconds left in BYU’s 82-69 win over Utah on Saturday in Provo, Utah.
Out New Jersey Devils defenseman Paul Martin will not play for the United States in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver because of a slow-healing broken left forearm. Martin broke his left forearm on Oct. 24 in a game at Pittsburgh when he was hit by a Bill Guerin shot.
Found The wife of former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek has been found dead in a Burleson, Texas, home. Burleson spokeswoman Sally Ellertson says police in the Fort Worth suburb responded to a call of a possible suicide early Monday. The Tarrant County medical examiner identified the woman as 45-year-old LeAnne Novacek, 45, whose home address was listed in the nearby town of Joshua. Authorities haven’t said how she died but are investigating.
Added Hall of Fame cornerback Emmitt Thomas, who played for Kansas City’s Super Bowl teams in the late 1960s, is returning to the Chiefs as defensive backs coach. Thomas played cornerback for the Chiefs from 1966-78 and is still their all-time leader with 58 interceptions. The Chiefs also announced that they have added Bernie Parmalee as tight ends coach, and Otis Smith as head of defensive quality control.
Appearing Racing superstar Danica Patrick will guest star on “CSI: NY” as the top competitor of a racing star who dies under suspicious circumstances. Patrick is scheduled to appear on the episode airing Feb. 10 on CBS.