Texas tries to keep Sooners in the Big 12

College Football: A person with knowledge of the situation says Texas and Oklahoma officials met over the weekend amid speculation that the Sooners are considering leaving the Big 12.

Texas president William Powers Jr., athletic director DeLoss Dodds and women’s athletic director Chris Plonsky were among a group of Texas officials who went to Oklahoma on Sunday, according to a person at a Big 12 school who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting.

Oklahoma officials are reportedly considering leaving the Big 12 after Texas A&M’s recent decision to leave with hopes of joining the Southeastern Conference.

On Sept. 2, Boren said multiple conferences have expressed interest in the Sooners and that he expected a decision possibly this month. That could be a move to the Pac-12 or remaining in a revised Big 12 that could be searching for a team to replace Texas A&M.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has indicated his conference would not be the first to pursue expansion but would monitor the situation.

Texas officials have publicly stated their desire to keep the Big 12 intact.

• Gilbert out as Texas starting QB: Garrett Gilbert is out as the starting quarterback at No. 24 Texas. The Longhorns will go with Case McCoy and David Ash when they play at UCLA.

Texas coach Mack Brown announced the expected switch, two days after McCoy and Ash came off the bench in the second quarter and rotated snaps while leading the Longhorns to a come-from- behind, 17-16 win over BYU.

McCoy, a sophomore, is the younger brother of former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.

• Bettors call regulators after USC-Utah change: Sports bettors in Nevada are complaining to state gambling regulators over a scoring change in last weekend’s USC-Utah football game that didn’t affect the outcome, but swung the betting result in many sports books from the Utes to the Trojans.

Enforcement chief Jerry Markling of the Nevada Gaming Control Board told the Associated Press that regulators have been taking calls from gamblers and casinos and are trying to resolve disputes after Pac-12 officials changed the score of Saturday night’s game two hours after it ended.

USC ultimately won 23-14, scoring its last touchdown on the final play of the game when Matt Kalil blocked a 41-yard kick and Torin Harris returned it for a touchdown. But the touchdown wasn’t allowed at first because of an excessive celebration penalty.

Pivotal stretch of NBA lockout starts

NBA: A pivotal stretch in the NBA lockout begins today, when full bargaining committees return to the table.

That could move players and owners closer to a new labor deal, but it also could send things in the wrong direction with time running down if more voices in the room leads to discord.

Any setback now would diminish hopes of the preseason opening without delay.

The process toward getting a new collective bargaining agreement seems to have gotten back on track after three meetings in the past two weeks between top negotiators from each side.

They decided their full committees have to return before they can go any further, so the owners’ labor relations committee and the union’s executive committee were told to come to New York for a session, and perhaps even Wednesday. That should more than double the number of people in the room from last week, when there were nine.

Devils deny report they face bankruptcy

Miscellany: The minority owners of the New Jersey Devils are finalizing a deal to sell their interest in the NHL team and give managing partner Jeff Vanderbeek some new partners.

The Devils disclosed the potential sale by Brick City LLC in a statement in which they said a report in the New York Post that the team was facing bankruptcy was inaccurate.

“The notions that the Devils are facing bankruptcy or that ‘the Devils have told their banks to get lost’ are patently untrue,” the team said in its statement. “The Devils value their relationship with their banks and are confident a refinancing will be completed shortly.”

• Baseline concussion tests ahead in hockey minors: Canadian hockey players as young as 10 years old will be put through the same concussion testing as NHL players this season.

With high-profile cases involving Sidney Crosby and others in the news over the last year, concern about head injuries has filtered down to the youth ranks. A growing number of leagues are addressing it.

• Potassium led to boxer’s death: A boxer who died after being knocked out in a heavyweight fight in Arkansas early this year had too much potassium in his system, which caused his organs to fail and his heart to stop, the Arkansas Athletic Commission said.

Its report notes that the commission’s conclusion differs from the Arkansas medical examiner’s finding that the primary cause of Athony Jones’ death was a concussion. The Jan. 29 heavyweight fight in Benton between Jones and Quincy Palmer ended with Palmer knocking out Jones at the end of the second round.