NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday appointed Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher and Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt to the league's Competition Committee. Former Colts Vice Chair Bill Polian has come off the committee (THE DAILY). Meanwhile, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff was appointed to the GM's Advisory Committee, and Panthers President Danny Morrison was named Chair of the Subcommittee on College Relations (AP, 2/14).
STATE OF THE OVAL: ESPN.com's John Oreovicz asked, "What, exactly, is the state of Indy car racing?" The trend is "generally positive for the Izod IndyCar Series." CEO Randy Bernard "has impressed skeptics with the effort and energy he has poured into his role, and IndyCar is undoubtedly in stronger shape than it was before Bernard took the reins" (ESPN.com, 2/14).
BRAIN GAME: The GLOBE & MAIL's Sean Gordon cited sources as saying that the NHL has "seen a 60 percent rise in concussions this year," and only the Canadiens and Ducks "haven't had at least one player felled by the demon head injury." But this is "not the same thing as saying they haven’t had a player suffer one; NHL teams are, ahem, somewhat less than transparent in describing the exact nature of their injuries" (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/14).
JUST DREAMY: YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski cited sources as saying that Team USA men's basketball will play "against rival Spain in an exhibition on July 24 in Barcelona" at the Palau Sant Jordi arena. The exhibition will "coincide with the 20th anniversary celebration of Team USA's 1992 Dream Team," and USA Basketball is "expected to invite members of that team to Barcelona for its weeklong stay in Spain." The team will hold July training camps in Las Vegas and DC, and will "also play exhibitions in both cities." The basketball competition at the London Olympics "starts with preliminary games on July 29" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/14).
