FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas junior running back Knile Davis, who led the Southeastern Conference with 1,322 yards rushing last season, suffered an apparent leg injury during a scrimmage Thursday and was carted off the field.
Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said after practice that team policy is for only coach Bobby Petrino to discuss injuries. He isn’t scheduled to speak with the media until after Saturday’s practice.
• Iowa reserve linebacker Shane DiBona will likely miss the 2011 season after injuring his Achilles tendon in practice.
• Michigan State freshman linebacker Lawrence Thomas is expected to miss at least a week with a bruised shoulder.
Fight against North Dakota nickname wages on
FARGO, N.D. — Six American Indian students at the University of North Dakota filed a federal lawsuit asking to eliminate the school’s Fighting Sioux nickname, one day before state officials were scheduled to meet with NCAA officials about the moniker.
The complaint alleges a new law requiring the school to keep the nickname violates the state constitution and reverses a court-ordered settlement between UND and the NCAA that retired the logo. The students want a court order directing the state board of higher education and UND to drop it for good.
“We want the legislation stricken,” said Carla Fredericks, a New York attorney and enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota.
Some state leaders and UND president Robert Kelley are scheduled to meet with NCAA executives today in Indianapolis. Republican House Majority Leader Al Carlson, of Fargo, questioned the timing of the lawsuit and said it represents a handful of people with out-of-state interests.
“You’ve got a New York attorney. It was nice of them to keep it local,” Carlson said. “We understand why it was done. It’s a small group. My job is to represent the majority of North Dakotans.”
Sharapova falls at Rogers Cup
TORONTO — In a season full of talk about the parity in women’s tennis,Galina Voskoboeva, ranked 135th in the world, beat fifth- seeded Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-5 at the Rogers Cup.
Hours earlier, French Open champion Li Na, seeded sixth, was knocked out of the third round with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to No. 10 seed Samantha Stosur.
• A white “9-11-01” will be painted next to the court for the U.S. Open men’s and women’s singles finals, part of the Grand Slam tennis tournament’s commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The men’s final in New York is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 11. The women’s final is a day earlier.
Footnotes.
Former Mexico defender Ignacio Flores Ocaranza was killed in a late-night roadside attack Wednesday that left his van riddled with bullets in Mexico City. The motive is unknown.
• Southern California reserve forward Curtis Washington will likely miss the basketball season because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
• Plagued by a string of blown engines, Joe Gibbs Racing is merging its engine program with Toyota Racing Development.
The Associated Press
