>>Sports Leagues File Restraining Order
(Trenton, NJ) -- The four major U.S. sports leagues and the NCAA are going to court to stop legalized sports gambling in New Jersey. The leagues and NCAA filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, which if granted would end a New Jersey racetrack's attempt at opening its sportsbook Sunday. State Governor Chris Christie signed a law on Friday that effectively repeals the state's ban on sports wagering. The judge in the case ordered the state to file its reply by Wednesday and the leagues to file a response to that reply by Thursday.
New Jersey says it can legally allow sports betting if it is not state-regulated. The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and NCAA argue that it would be state-regulated by virtue of the fact that it would be restricted to racetracks and casinos, which are regulated by the state. Only Nevada currently offers single-game betting.
>>Bucs' Bowers Suspended Two Games
(New York, NY) -- The NFL is suspending Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Da'Quan [[ DAY-kwan ]] Bowers two games for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Bowers won't be eligible to return until November 9th against Atlanta. The 24-year-old has recorded six tackles and one sack in five games this season. The 2011 second-round pick has posted 51 tackles and six-and-a-half sacks in 44 career games.
>>Bills Put Spiller On Short-Term IR
(Orchard Park, NY) -- Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller is on injured reserve with the designation to return. Spiller had surgery on Monday to repair a broken clavicle. In a corresponding move, the Bills have signed running back Phillip Tanner. Spiller was hurt in the second quarter of Sunday's 17-16 win over the Vikings. He came down hard on his left shoulder at the end of a 53-yard run, his lone carry of the game. Fellow running back Fred Jackson could miss up to a month with a groin injury. Tanner spent the last three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, totaling 56 carries for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
>>Jets Ink Kerley To Four-Year Extension
(Florham Park, NJ) -- The New York Jets are locking up wide receiver Jeremy Kerley. They have signed the TCU product to a four-year contract extension. According to multiple reports, the deal is worth 16-million-dollars, with 5.4-million guaranteed. Kerley has 22 catches for 201 yards and a touchdown in seven games this season. In four seasons overall, he has 150 receptions for 1,865 yards and seven TD's.
>>McConaughey: Redskins Should Stick With Name
(Undated) -- Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey is standing on the side of Washington Redskins fans who don't want the team's name to change. In a recent interview with "GQ," the Texas native and Washington fan says he's interested in how quickly the controversy got "pushed into social consciousness." McConaughey questions why the NFL team's name is suddenly a big deal when "we were all fine with it since the 1930s," adding that he knows a lot of Native Americans who don't have a problem with the name but won't use their pulpit to say so. McConaughey says it won't hurt him if the team changes the logo but he would rather not see it go.
As for how the Texas-born actor became a fan of the Washington team, McConaughey traces it back to his love of Western movies and hamburgers when he was four years old. He says while watching Westerns as a kid, he always rooted for the Indians and his favorite food was hamburgers. At the time, the Redskins had a linebacker named Chris Hanburger. McConaughey says, "When you're four years old, that's all it takes."
