Football
Titans hire suspended coordinator — Gregg Williams knows he’s got to prove himself every day. The former Saints defensive coordinator said he received a “great rebirth" Thursday when he was reinstated by the NFL and hired by the Tennessee Titans after serving a nearly yearlong suspension for his role in the New Orleans bounty scandal. But now that he’s back in the league, he’ll have to change the way he’s done things in the past. “I’ve got a very positive outlook on things," Williams said. “I understand and respect the game an awful lot, and the past is the past and what I’m talking about doing right now is creating a resume from this day forward."
Eagles to hire defensive head — The Philadelphia Eagles will hire Cleveland linebackers coach Billy Davis to be their defensive coordinator, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. Davis previously served as defensive coordinator in Arizona and San Francisco. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team isn’t announcing any coaching hirings until new coach Chip Kelly completes his staff. Davis spent two seasons with the Browns.
Baseball
Early drug judgments? — Baseball union head Michael Weiner said it would be unfair to make judgments about players and agents before evidence is sorted out in the sport’s latest drug investigation. Alex Rodriguez, Gio Gonzalez, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon and Nelson Cruz of Texas were among those implicated last week by the alternative weekly Miami New Times, which published documents it alleged showed they received performance-enhancing substances from a Florida anti-aging clinic. “This investigation that MLB is running has yet to produce any evidence that any player has violated the program, much less than any agent has violated the program," Weiner said Thursday.
Hockey
Bruins trade G Thomas — Veteran goalie Tim Thomas, who has said he won’t play this season, was traded by the Boston Bruins to the New York Islanders on Thursday for a conditional second-round draft choice either next year or in 2015. Thomas chose to take this season off following the NHL lockout and was suspended by the Bruins after he didn’t report to training camp last month. The 38-year-old goalie is in the final season of a four-year deal that counts for $5 million against the salary cap.
Cycling
Armstrong sued — A Dallas promotions company sued Lance Armstrong on Thursday, demanding he repay $12 million in bonuses and fees it paid him for winning the Tour de France. SCA Promotions had tried in a 2005 legal dispute over the bonuses to prove Armstrong cheated to win before it ultimately settled and paid him. Armstrong recently acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in 2012 detailed a sophisticated doping program by Armstrong’s teams. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and given a lifetime ban from sports. Now, the company contends in its lawsuit, Armstrong and agent Bill Stapleton lied and conspired to cheat SCA out of millions.
Basketball
One more year for Irish — Notre Dame will stay in the Big East for at least one more season. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Thursday the university would like to leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference before the required 27 months’ notice for departing members, but was unable to reach an agreement to do so before next season.
— From wire reports
