Browns open camp unafraid of sky-high expectations
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Freddie Kitchens isn’t shying away from the high expectations being placed on his team.
The first-year Browns coach confidently stated his goal “to win the Super Bowl” at a pre-training camp press conference held with general manager John Dorsey.
Cleveland added a pair of Pro Bowl players in wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and defensive end Olivier Vernon, building on the momentum of a 7-8-1 season fueled by rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Browns finished 0-16 two years ago and went 635 days and 19 games without a victory until beating the Jets on Sept. 20, 2018. Cleveland last had a winning season in 2007 and hasn’t made the playoffs in 17 years.
Running back Duke Johnson, who publicly requested a trade, has reported to camp. Dorsey said he has spoken with Johnson’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and termed their discussions productive.
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More ex-athletes sue Ohio State over sex abuse by doctor
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — More former football players and other ex-athletes are suing Ohio State over allegations that they were sexual assaulted by a university doctor during exams decades ago.
Like at least six other pending federal lawsuits , the case filed Monday says school officials knew about concerns but failed to stop Richard Strauss. The 30 plaintiffs include men from 12 sports and a non-athlete allegedly fondled by Strauss at the student health center.
Ohio State publicly apologized after an investigation for the university found Strauss sexually abused at least 177 young men between 1979 and 1997.
Related lawsuits are in mediation. Ohio State has argued the claims are time-barred by law, but a spokesman says it’s committed to the mediation process.
Strauss died in 2005. No one has publicly defended him.
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Utah favorite by media to win Pac-12 football
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Utah has been selected as the favorite to win the Pac-12 in the annual preseason poll of media members.
The Utes and Oregon were tabbed to win their respective league divisions in the poll released Wednesday before the conference’s media day in Hollywood.
Utah received 12 of 35 votes to win the Pac-12 for the first time since joining the conference in 2011. Oregon received 11 votes and defending champion Washington had 10.
Oregon edged Washington by one point to take the North Division, followed by Stanford and Washington State.
The Utes are the overwhelming choice in the South. USC picked up the other two first-place votes. Arizona State and UCLA tied for third.
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Hungary’s Milak breaks Phelps’ world record in 200 butterfly
GWANGJU, South Korea (AP) — Kristof Milak of Hungary won the 200-meter butterfly at the world swimming championships, breaking Michael Phelps’ 10-year-old world record.
Milak touched in 1 minute, 50.73 seconds on Wednesday to lower the mark of 1:51.51 that Phelps set at the 2009 worlds in Rome during the height of the high-tech suit era.
The 19-year-old swimmer became the first teenager to win a world title in the event since Phelps at age 18 in 2003.
Chad le Clos of South Africa took out the race under world-record pace through the first lap before Milak gained the lead after 150 meters.
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Monitoring group says racism on rise in English soccer
LONDON (AP) — English soccer’s anti-racism monitors say cases of discrimination have risen for the seventh straight year.
The Kick It Out group says it tracked 581 cases of discrimination in the 2018-19 season, compared to 520 the year before. The figures include games from the top professional leagues to grassroots youth level, as well as some incidents on social media.
Racist incidents made up 65 percent of total reports. The sharpest rise was in cases of discrimination based on religion — including anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim incidents — with 63 cases noted compared to 36 the season before.
Kick It Out’s chief executive Roisin Wood says “football reflects the society it is played and watched in and these figures are sadly not surprising.”
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Pennsylvania high court declines to review Sandusky decision
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Jerry Sandusky won’t get a fresh chance to argue in state court he should get a new trial, seven years after the former Penn State assistant football coach was convicted of molesting 10 boys.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down Sandusky’s request that it review a Superior Court decision earlier this year rejecting most of his arguments.
His lawyer says he was surprised and disappointed by the justices’ decision.
“We’re very disappointed. We were very hopeful the Supreme Court would hear our appeal, because it’s a very strong appeal,” Sandusky defense attorney Al Lindsay said.
He said it is likely Sandusky will seek help from the federal courts, and he expects to meet with Sandusky later this week at the State Correction Institution at Laurel Highlands.
Jacklin Rhoads, spokeswoman for the state attorney general’s office, said prosecutors were pleased with the high court’s decision.
