Sports study: The US government launched a sweeping study of rising sports-related concussions among the youth, amid concerns that the injuries may have contributed to the suicides of professional football players. The Institute of Medicine will probe sports-related concussions in young people from elementary school through early adulthood. The study, one of the most extensive ever done, will be scrutinised intently by Americans worried about brain injuries in sports, said Robert Graham, head of the panel carrying out the study.
Reality show: Gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer and party boy Ryan Lochte will get his own reality television series as he trains with one eye on the 2016 Summer Games and another looking for love, US network E! said. “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?” will premiere in April and document the American swimmer’s late nights clubbing and early mornings training in the pool all while building a fashion line. Lochte made his first acting role playing himself in a cameo appearance in the high-school TV series “90210” in October.
Basketball: The news got even worse for Los Angeles Lakers yesterday as the struggling NBA club announced that forward Pau Gasol and centre Dwight Howard will be sidelined indefinitely with injuries. Both players were hurt Sunday in a home loss to Denver. The upset was the Lakers’ fourth in five games, and Kobe Bryant, with 29 points, couldn’t avert it. Fans who were disappointed when the club opted for Mike D’Antoni rather than bringing former coach Phil Jackson back from retirement when they sacked Mike Brown in November voiced their displeasure. Chants of “We Want Phil” again rang out in Staples Center, where the Lakers have now lost eight home games this season.
Gridiron: AJ McCarron threw for 264 yards and four touchdowns as the University of Alabama steamrolled top-ranked Notre Dame 42-14 on Monday to win a second straight US collegiate football national title. With the victory, McCarron became the first quarter-back to win back-to-back national championships. Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban earned his fourth title overall and third in the past four seasons. The Bowl Championship Series title game triumph was the seventh in a row by a team from the Southeastern Conference.
Golf: Rory McIlroy’s big-money switch to Nike moved a step closer yesterday after Jumeirah Group announced that it is not renewing its sponsorship deal with the world number one. McIlroy is expected to sign a 10-year deal with Nike which is reported to be worth £156 million to the 23-year-old from N. Ireland. Jumeirah Group had sponsored the two-time major winner since he was 18, but said in a statement that they had “jointly agreed” to bring the agreement to a close.
Diving: British teenage diving sensation Tom Daley has once again been told to spend more time training and reduce his broadcast and commercial commitments in a bid to win a maiden Olympic gold medal. Daley is currently involved in a new reality television show, “Splash!”, which sees celebrities train to dive. One participant is Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, who was the first Briton to represent his country at ski-jumping at the Winter Olympics. But British Swimming chief executive David Sparkes urged 18-year-old Daley to wait until the end of his competitive career before getting involved in such programmes, citing the example of Olympic ice dance greats Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.