06:59 AM ET 06.20 | In the unfolding story that is Aaron Hernandez's future, things went from bad to worse on Wednesday. Police confirmed Wednesday night that the body found near Hernandez's home Monday was that of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, of Dorchester. His death has been deemed a homicide. A law enforcement official tells FOX 25 Hernandez appears to be directly tied to the homicide which is why authorities executed a search warrant at his home Tuesday night. According to the same source, Hernandez, Lloyd, and two other men were at a bar in Boston the night of the homicide, and at some point, the four men left together in a car driven by Hernandez which was confirmed by a text Lloyd sent another friend, the source says.

FOX 25

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10:53 AM ET 06.19 | There are few bigger stars in college football right now than Johnny Manziel. He became the first freshman to ever win a Heisman Trophy and he's become a rockstar on the campus of Texas A&M as well as all over college football. But while he's bigger than ever at the moment, Manziel is still struggling with being a teenager trapped in the body of the most popular college football player in the country. His little tantrum he threw on Twitter this weekend, like everything he does, has been broken down by everyone as though it's a scientific study of some kind. Not everyone agrees with Johnny Football's behavior and USA Today's David Climer went so far as to call Manziel the Kardashian of college football. Perhaps a better comparison would be to call Manziel the Kurt Cobain of college football as he clearly loves the attention most of the time but is still having trouble adjusting to the volume of attention and praise he's getting. Where Cobain was supposedly the voice of a generation, Manziel is the Aggies' bright and shining hope to be kings in the SEC and that's no small feat.

Fansided

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07:10 AM ET 06.20 | Now a very wealthy young man, Mark Appel can begin the work of trying to earn his way into Major League Baseball. Appel's signing bonus, which is worth about $6.4 million, wasn't finalized until Wednesday morning. The figure eclipses the $4.8 million given to 2012 No. 1 overall pick Carlos Correa but is $1.4 million below maximum slot value. "We're hoping (Appel will) be an anchor of the team," Astros owner Jim Crane said. ... The 6-5, 225-pound Appel soon will begin work at the Astros' spring-training home in Kissimmee, Fla. He'll likely make his pro debut for the short-season Tri-City ValleyCats, who are based in Troy, N.Y. The Astros will place an innings limit on an arm that already has thrown 106 1/3 innings this year.

Houston Chronicle

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07:06 AM ET 06.20 | While he may have no intention of coaching next season, Phil Jackson may yet return to the Lakers in some capacity. Jackson said Wednesday that he has had conversations with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak recently about the team and expects to have more moving forward. ... Jackson was careful not get into specifics of his conversation with Kupchak about the Lakers, but Kupchak said he does talk to Jackson about basketball and the Lakers since Jackson is at the Lakers' facility often to see his fiance, Jeanie Buss, the Lakers' governor and executive vice president of business operations. ... Kupchak did not rule out the possibility of Jackson's having a more official role with the team moving forward after Jackson has passed up several opportunities with other teams.

ESPN Los Angeles

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07:15 PM ET 06.19 | After a disappointing season in which he only tallied 16 points, it wasn't any shock that speculation began late in season that the Flyers would use one of their two new amnesty clauses to buy Briere's contract out. After the season it became evident that was the course of action that the Flyers would take, and it was only a matter of time before Briere's deal was bought out. Last night, the news became official. Briere spent six seasons in the orange and black, and the final two years of the eight-year deal will be bought out. The great thing about the amnesty clause is that the Flyers will not take a cap hit with the release of Briere, they still will pay him for the next two seasons, but it will not count against the cap.

Section 215

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05:13 PM ET 06.19 | Chan Sung Jung, otherwise known as the 'Korean Zombie,' admitted he did feel bad for Ricardo Lamas for getting the title shot over him against Jose Aldo at UFC 163. "I do feel bad about it. I honestly think he was next in line, due to my time off, but I was told I was getting the next title shot after the Poirier fight. While I do feel bad for him, I wouldn't give this opportunity up for the world," Jung said.

MMA Fighting

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05:19 AM ET 06.16 | There probably isn't an amateur golfer in the country who doesn't dream of competing in the U.S. Open or the U.S. Women's Open. Only occasionally, however, does an amateur win the Open, regarded by players and fans alike as golf's ultimate mental and physical challenge. Francis Ouimet did it in 1913. Jerome Travers did it in 1915. Chick Evans did it in 1916. Bobby Jones did it in 1923, 1926, 1929, and 1930. And Catherine Lacoste did it in 1967. Can Michael Kim do it this year? The amateurs who qualify to play against golf's Goliaths face an uphill climb at the Open, which is as much a test of mental stamina as it is a contest of technical skill. Just getting to the Open entails an endurance test. This year 10 amateurs qualified to enter the field by advancing from one of 111, 18-hole stroke play, local qualifiers to one of 13 sectional qualifiers -- 36 holes of stroke play in a single day -- and paying the $150 entry fee. Of the 10 who teed off Thursday, four survived the cut and will play the final round on Sunday.

Pro Golf Now

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02:59 PM ET 06.18 | Greg Biffle's win of the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., on Sunday not only marked the driver's first win of the season and the 13th Cup-level victory at MIS for Roush Fenway Racing, it was the 1,000 victory for Ford across the three national levels of NASCAR -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck. Trevor Bayne claimed NASCAR win 999 just a week prior in the Pioneer 250 Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Bayne's Iowa win also marked the 200th win for Ford, specifically, in the Nationwide Series. The win total includes 100 from Lincoln-Mercury and 900 from various Ford models including the current model, Fusion, and others like Taurus and Thunderbird. A Lincoln took the the checkered flag in the first NASCAR-sanctioned top-tier NASCAR race in June 19, 1949, in Charlotte, N.C. It was driven by Jim Roper. The first victory for the Ford brand came in 1950, courtesy of Jimmy Florian at Dayton (Ohio) Speedway.

Stock Car Spin

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08:06 AM ET 06.18 | Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne received a taste of Bundesliga soccer last season, as Chelsea loaned him out to Werder Bremen. According to Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc, De Bryune would like to join the second-best team in the Bundesliga and the Champions League runner-ups. Dortmund is interested in acquiring De Bruyne from Chelsea, and Zorc knows that De Bruyne "is wanting to make a transfer" to the elite German squad. Whether or not they can pry the young midfielder from other teams is another question, but it is positive news for Dortmund that the team has more than piqued De Bruyne's interest.

FanSided.com

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10:02 AM ET 05.23 | FOX Sports is trying to put together an impressive staff to fill up the shows on their 24/7 sports network FOX Sports 1, hoping to compete with ESPN, and on Wednesday we learned a big name that will be joining the network. According to a SportsIllustrated.com report, FOX Sports has agreed to hire former tennis star Andy Roddick as a co-host for the three-hour show FOX Sports Live. The show feature Roddick and Charissa Thompson, who will be leaving ESPN, as the co-hosts. Roddick's big personality could do well in the co-hosting gig, but it will be interesting to see if he has a wide grasp of sports.

FanSided.com

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