College football player in Oregon charged with murder
A Willamette University football player from California has been charged with murder after a 66-year-old man was found dead near an intersection in Salem, Oregon, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Authorities said Beau W. Smith, a 22-year-old senior at Willamette, a private liberal arts university in Salem, was accused of killing Michael Hampshire, who was found dead on Wednesday.
An autopsy at the state medical examiner’s office determined the cause of death was “homicidal violence,” but authorities were not yet releasing details on how Hampshire died or any possible connection between the two men.
Smith, from Roseville, California, is a wide receiver for the Willamette Bearcats in Salem, located about 45 miles south of Portland.
Bears’ Marshall has fun with fan in tweet fight
Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall challenged a Detroit Lions fan Thursday on Twitter with a $25,000 offer to go into the ring with him.
Marshall exchanged in a series of tweets after the fan brought up Marshall’s statement last year calling the Lions a little brother of the Bears.
The Lions fan also insulted the receiver’s mother with one of his tweets.
Marshall’s first Twitter challenge to the fan was to step into the ring with him for $5,000. Then he said that if he lost he would give the fan an additional $10,000, but if Marshall won, the fan would have to perform 100 hours of community service at an orphanage.
The Lions fan responded by asked for $25,000 to fight in Detroit. Marshall agreed to do so but wanted an apology to his mother.
The fan offered no reply for a while before tweeting that he would fight only if the Bears (3-6) won three more games this season. At that point, the Lions backer went private with his Twitter account.
Marshall told ESPN.com that the money would go to charity.
Lakers’ Price suspended
Los Angeles Lakers guard Ronnie Price will serve a one-game NBA suspension Friday for hitting New Orleans Pelicans guard Austin Rivers on the side of the head with his right forearm as Rivers elevated for a layup.
Price, who was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected from the 109-102 loss with 9 minutes, 11 seconds remaining, will sit out Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs.
Pens’ Maatta eager to return after cancerous tumor removed
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta confirmed Thursday that the tumor removed from his neck earlier this month was cancerous.
Maatta has already returned to practice — seven days after the surgery to extract the tumor from his thyroid — and is expected to return to action next week.
“It was cancerous, but that was what we expected,” Maata said. “It does not change anything … I feel normal.”