In Minneapolis, Chip Scoggins reports the StarCaps legal case involving Vikings DTs Kevin and Pat Williams "finally is over." The Minnesota Supreme Court "declined to review a Feb. 8 ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals that cleared the way for the NFL to suspend the Williamses for four games for taking a banned diuretic." Pat Williams "had petitioned the Supreme Court to review that decision while Kevin Williams dropped his legal fight in March." The Williamses "face the prospect of starting the 2011 season with a four-game suspension" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/29).
NEW ERA OF INDYCAR: In Las Vegas, Jeff Wolf writes it is "time to give IndyCars another chance because few remnants remain from 15 nightmarish years of the Indy Racing League." Izod IndyCar Series races last "about two hours, one fewer" than a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is likely to last. The IndyCar telecast "features split-screen viewing of live action during national commercials, so you rarely miss anything." Also, a "big change this year for IndyCar races has been implementing NASCAR-style double-file restarts instead of spaced-out, single-file fields parading to the green flag," which "has made the first turn a likely spot for carnage, especially on road and street courses like in Brazil" where the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 will take place Sunday (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/29).
COMPARE & CONTRAST: ESPN.com's Howard Bryant writes the NBA's labor issues are "deep and important, and they're clearly more vital to the league's immediate future than the arguments roiling the NFL." The "larger question" in the NBA is "whether some form of player rollback is needed." While the focus in the NFL labor dispute has been on Commissioner Roger Goodell's "hard-line stance," whispers in the NBA indicate that Commissioner David Stern is "seeking even greater givebacks from the players than Goodell is" (ESPN.com, 4/29).
