FOOTBALL: Suggs snags record deal
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs signed a six-year, $63 million contract yesterday, making him the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history. Had Suggs not signed, he would have played the season for $10.17 million and become a free agent next season.
* Former NFL running back Travis Henry has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for financing a drug trafficking operation that moved cocaine between Denver and Montana.
* Nelson Munsey, a cornerback who played six seasons for the Baltimore Colts in the 1970s, died of heart disease. He was 61. Munsey’s younger brother, Chuck Muncie, was a star running back in the NFL.
TOUR DE FRANCE: Lance still third
Mark Cavendish won the 11th stage of the Tour de France yesterday, Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy held on to the yellow jersey and Lance Armstrong remained third overall. Armstrong finished safely in the main pack, with his Astana teammate Alberto Contador narrowly ahead of him in second place overall after the 119-mile trek from Vatan to Saint-Fargeau. Nocentini leads Contador by six seconds and Armstrong trails by eight.
ETC.: Mayfield tests positive again
NASCAR said Jeremy Mayfield once again tested positive for methamphetamine and asked the federal judge who lifted the driver’s drug suspension to reinstate the ban. The positive result from a July 6 random test was included in a U.S. District Court filing yesterday that included an affidavit from Mayfield’s stepmother, who claimed she personally witnessed the driver using methamphetamine at least 30 times over seven years.
* Rick Dutrow, the trainer of last year’s Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, is appealing a 30-day suspension issued by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for violating doping rules.
* Mechelle McNair, the widow of slain former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, said in court documents that her husband left no will and a judge in Nashville has ruled that she will oversee his estate.
* Swimmer Michael Phelps won five ESPY Awards, including male athlete of the year, ending the five-year reign of Tiger Woods. The show honoring the previous year’s top athletes and events airs Sunday on ESPN.
* The NHL formally announced the Bruins will play the Flyers at Fenway Park on New Year’s Day.