08:50 AM ET 09.05 | According to sources, Sam Hurd turned down a request to accept a pay cut to guarantee his spot. The Cowboys approached Hurd this week about lowering his base salary while having a chance to earn the difference back with incentives. The Cowboys ended up keeping him on the 53-man final roster. The Cowboys traded Patrick Crayton and his $2 million base salary on Friday to San Diego. Hurd was willing to take the chance on his release because he is looking for more of an opportunity as a wide receiver. With the Cowboys he would be No. 4 or 5 behind Miles Austin, Roy Williams and Dez Bryant and possibly Kevin Ogletree. With another team, he could work into the rotation more quickly.

Dallas Morning News

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08:11 AM ET 09.05 | Before the waiver acquisition by the White Sox became official, Dodgers manager Joe Torre pulled Manny Ramirez aside Sunday to tell him that, at best, he would play three or four times a week the rest of the season. He was losing time to Scott Podsednik, whom the Sox didn't ask back. Then, perhaps strategically as the Dodgers tried to convince him to go, Ramirez was asked if he wanted to start that day. He said no.

Los Angeles Times

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09:26 AM ET 09.05 | The Summer of LeBron just got weirder. In July, a group of guys in Northeast Ohio launched a campaign to collect LeBron James' old Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys and send them to homeless people in Miami. It seemed like a wholesome idea. Clevelanders were so pissed off at the King's betrayal of his hometown to join the Heat, they were burning formerly treasured polyester heirlooms in the streets. Why not turn that anger into charity? There was just one tiny problem. Homeless advocates in Miami didn't want tainted goods. "It's on hold right now," says Rita Clark of the Miami Coalition for the Homeless. "There's a lot of politics around this."

Palm Beach Post

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09:08 AM ET 09.05 | Jed Ortmeyer, one of the glue guys in San Jose's dressing room last season, is still looking for work. Ortmeyer, who turned 32 Friday, was one of three finalists for the Masterton Trophy (perseverance and dedication) last season. Ortmeyer suffers from a blood clotting disorder, which requires him to inject himself with an anticoagulant daily. Chicago and Los Angeles have kicked the tires on Ortmeyer, who might have to sign a two-way contract as he did last season with the Sharks.

Boston Globe

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10:22 AM ET 09.05 | The play of TCU's victory over Oregon State? Allow me to suggest that it was deftly executed, 45 minutes before kickoff, by the guy who flicked the switch that magically opened the Cowboys Stadium's retractable roof. By the end of the night, Jerry Jones' billion-dollar football parlor no longer felt like the family Frigidaire. It wasn't warm, but sticky. And -- surely by coincidence, no doubt -- there was only one team on the field that had spent its August practicing in 100-degree heat. "I thought the heat made a difference," TCU coach Gary Patterson confirmed. "I thought our kids, the conditioning we do, made a difference in the third and fourth quarters. "I thought we fought through it, and then made the plays at the end that we had to."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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08:05 AM ET 09.05 | Miami's Kimbo Slice, 4-2 in MMA, announced he will make his boxing debut this year and told ESPN, ``I'm going to be a problem in the heavyweight division. I want to see what it's like to break some ribs, break a jaw with one punch.''

Miami Herald

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10:29 AM ET 09.04 | Friday's announcement that Nationwide Insurance will become the presenting sponsor of the Memorial brings stability to one of the PGA Tour's most prestigious stops, while raising questions about the future of the Tour's developmental circuit. Nationwide is under contract to be the Memorial's presenting sponsor for six years, starting in 2011. The Columbus, Ohio-based insurance company will not renew its title sponsorship of the Nationwide Tour when the contract expires after the 2012 season. Nationwide's exit means the PGA Tour has to plug another sponsorship hole - in this case, a key revenue source for the Tour's secondary circuit.

golfweek

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09:39 AM ET 09.05 | Kyle Busch has probably been called a lot of things but he doesn't take kindly to being referred to as a "dirty racer." That's precisely how Todd Bodine, who won Friday night's Truck series race at Kentucky, characterized Busch. Bodine had spun about halfway through the event while battling Busch for the race lead. There was no contact between their trucks. Busch heard what Bodine said on television after the race and went to Victory Lane to confront him. "I don't feel like I'm a dirty racer. I feel like I'm a hard racer and an aggressive one," Busch said. "I wouldn't call it dirty."

Charlotte Observer

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10:02 AM ET 09.05 | Usain Bolt has made the startling claim that he fancies a career as a professional footballer once he fulfills his ambitions in athletics. The 24-year-old Jamaican holds the world record for the 100m sprint after clocking 9.58secs in Berlin last year, and Bolt says that when he pushes the record even further with a faster time, he will turn his attention to football. "I have four more good years in me if I train hard," he told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme. "When I finish I'd like to play football for two years. I always watch those guys and I think I could be a professional footballer."

Goal.com

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