Newsmakers

Introduced An emotional and enthusiastic Davis Love III was introduced Thursday in Medinah, Ill, as golf’s next U.S. captain of the Ryder Cup. Love, a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour, played on six Ryder Cup teams.

Added NASCAR’s oldest team is going with a young driver. Trevor Bayne, a 19-year-old up-and-comer who drove in the Nationwide Series last season, is scheduled to drive at least 17 Sprint Cup races for Wood Brothers Racing in 2011.

Memorialized The Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, unveiled a memorial to the World Cup’s most unlikely star: a 6 1/2-foot tall plastic replica of Paul the Octopus clutching a ball in his eight arms. Paul, who correctly predicted the outcome of Germany’s seven games at last year’s World Cup, died three months ago and his cremated ashes were placed in a gold-leaf- covered urn inside the ball.

Filed Former ESPN announcer Ron Franklin filed a lawsuit against the network over his firing for reportedly berating a female colleague. The wrongful termination lawsuit filed Monday in state district court of Austin, Texas, says Franklin exchanged “contentious words” with sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards before the pair worked at the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31. He was fired Jan. 5.

Pleaded Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s uncle and trainer pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor battery charges in a plea deal that avoided a trial and jail time in a Las Vegas domestic battery case. Roger Mayweather, 49, was sentenced to a year of probation, 24 weeks of counseling and a $1,000 fine for the Aug. 2, 2009, incident.

Underwent Austrian skier Hans Grugger underwent brain surgery after crashing during a training run for the World Cup downhill on the demanding Streif course in Kitzbuehel, Austria. Grugger was brought to a hospital by helicopter in nearby Innsbruck with a brain contusion and a chest injury and was “not responsive,” according to federation spokesman Markus Aigner.