05:00 PM ET 05.24 | After the 2012 season, the writing was on the wall for (Brian) Urlacher and there was some noise circulating that the Bears weren't too motivated in bringing back a player who was the centerpiece of their defense since he was drafted ninth overall back in 2000. Reports and rumors surfaced that the Dallas Cowboys were interested in Urlacher's services, but Stephen Jones shot the idea down back in March. "Any time you???re talking about a Hall of Fame player in Urlacher, you don???t ever dismiss Hall of Famers, in my book," Jones said Monday at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. "It would be difficult ??? he obviously plays what Sean Lee plays ??? to move everything around for a year. Doesn???t really make a lot of sense. But at the same time, you don???t ever rule anything out." With Sean Lee in the middle, it really didn't make a lot of sense for Dallas to financially pursue the services of the aging linebacker.

Carlos Mendez/Star-Telegram

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04:16 PM ET 05.24 | Former defensive tech defensive tackle Delvon Simmons, who was a five-star prospect out of high school, visited Southern Cal last week and will be in Miami this weekend. Originally a North Carolina signee, former Red Raiders head coach Tommy Tuberville convinced Simmons to move to Lubbock as part of the Class of 2011. Tuberville, a defensive-minded coach, left Texas Tech for Cincinnati in December, and with Kliff Kingsbury, who is thoroughly focused on offense, running the show, Simmons decided to move on from Tech. He has two years of eligibility remaining and will have to sit out the 2013 season if he transfers to another FBS program.

Bruce Feldman

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07:11 AM ET 05.24 | Good news, Cards fans -- well, better news, anyway. The pair of February news conferences took on a tone of solemnity and reflection as general manager John Mozeliak and, a week later, Chris Carpenter, painted a picture void of optimism. Carpenter refused to utter the "R" word, but the idea of career finality was certainly palpable as he spoke. ... A little more than three months later, Carpenter is now beginning to believe he can do even better than that. An April game of catch with his son started a comeback trail that, if finished, would be as remarkable as any in Carpenter's career. He has come back from injuries several times before, but he has never made a return as unexpected as this.

MLB.com

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04:26 PM ET 05.24 | Tony Parker suffered a bruise to his calf during the San Antonio Spurs' series against the Golden State Warriors and underwent an MRI on Thursday to check on the recovery. The results? His calf seems to be recovering just fine and there will be no limitation on his workload in Game 3 on Saturday. Parker said that he's feeling better and believes he'll be fine on Saturday.

San Antonio Express-News

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02:53 PM ET 05.24 | According to a report and multiple sources, the Phoenix Coyotes are close to giving general manager Don Maloney a new contract, as told to Fox Sports Arizona. This is good news for Coyotes fans because Maloney has brought the team into prominence in three seasons also dealing with the lowest payroll. Another reason why this is good news because Maloney's contract was set to expire on June 30th. According to Don Maloney, he stated that the Coyotes finished with the lowest payroll in the Western Conference which is $49 million and the second lowest in the NHL, with only the New York Islanders spending less and making the playoffs this season. With Maloney now in the fold, the NHL can now move onto other things with this franchise as the league is the team's current owner. Also sources say that head coach Dave Tippett is next to work out a deal. Tippett's contract also expires on June 30th.

Heat Waved

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03:17 PM ET 05.24 | UFC President Dana White addressed the media at Thursday's UFC 160 media day. Among a number of other topics, White addressed the issue of what's next for Vitor Belfort now that he's knocked out Luke Rockhold at UFC on FX 8. In particular, White answered the question of whether Belfort would be eligible to even fight in America given his use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and past history testing positive in 2006 for elevated levels of testosterone. "Why wouldn't [the athletic commission] give him an exemption? That's up to them," White said. "The times he's done it, he's followed [the rules]. We're not keeping Vitor out of fighting anywhere. We've had Vitor fight in Brazil because Vitor sells out in Brazil," White claimed. "It's all a bunch of conspiracy f---ing crock of s--t, is what it is," he continued. "Whether it's reporters or fans or whatever that want to go after Vitor. Vitor's on TRT. Everybody knows it. I dislike TRT, and we are testing guys that are on TRT, to make sure they're within the limits and they're not cheating."

MMA Fighting

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05:07 PM ET 05.20 | Jennifer Johnson was able to pick up her first LPGA victory yesterday. Other than bogeys on the first two holes in the first two days, she played very steady golf. Jennifer Johnson came out of nowhere on Sunday, and picked up her first win on the tour. She fired a seven-under par 65 in the final round, and picked up a much-needed $180,000 for her effort. She had a problem with the par-four fifth hole during the weekend, but back-to-back 65s will most generally win you a golf tournament.

Pro Golf Now

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06:20 PM ET 04.24 | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch climbed into a ride of a different kind on Tuesday as part of a media event to promote the V8 Supercars Series race May 17-19 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. As part of the promotion, Busch made a 20-minute run around the road course in a V8 Supercar, while Supercar driver James Courtney took Busch's No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup car for a spin. "It was sure a thrill to get into a car that I have watched and admired for many years during all those Supercar road races," Busch said. "It was also a little weird driving the Supercar and watching my car stretch its legs down the straightaway." Before getting into the Supercar, though, Busch acclimated himself with the track by driving his familiar ride, his Sprint Cup car. "I had a blast driving my car on the road course and even more of a blast in the V8 Supercar," Busch said. "The Circuit of The Americas is an awesome track with a lot of interesting and fun turns." When it came time to climb into the V8 Supercar, Busch had a few things to get used to. Opening a door to get into the car, as opposed to climbing in the window, was the easy part. Busch had to get used to a car with the steering wheel on the right side and the shifter to his left.

Stockcar Spin

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07:57 AM ET 05.24 | This weekend's UEFA Champions League final will take place at Wembley Stadium with two German squads -- Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. While the German clubs will face off in England, they could have the chance to play for the Champions League final in their home country a couple of years from now. It was just a year ago that Bayern competed for the title in Germany. This afternoon it was announced by UEFA that Berlin will host their first-ever Champions League final. The final will be held at Olympiastadion in 2015. German hosted the Champions League final in 2012 at Allianz Arena in Munich, when Chelsea took down Bayern Munich. It was the third time that Munich had hosted a final. Gelsenkirchen was the only other German city to host a final back in 2004.

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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