Sherman offers harsh take on TNF

RENTON, WASH.

Count Richard Sherman among the NFL players who are not fans of having to play on Thursday nights.

Sherman expressed his displeasure with the weeknight games on Tuesday, calling them an “absolute poopfest.”

“Congratulations NFL you did it again, but they’ve been doing it all season. We’re the last ones to get the middle finger,” Sherman said.

Sherman has been vocal in his belief that scheduling Thursday night games clashes with the NFL’s call for improved player safety.

“It’s hypocritical, as I’ve stated before. They make this huge stance about player safety and then they put the players in tremendous danger,” he said.

Sherman estimated that he would be probably around 50 or 60 percent of normal for Thursday’s game against the Rams, with the Seahawks having played on the road at Green Bay on Sunday.

Tiger Woods returning to Riviera C.C.

LOS ANGELES

Tiger Woods is returning to Riviera Country Club for the first time since 2006 to play the Genesis Open in February.

He announced Tuesday that he will play in the event from Feb. 13-19 that benefits his foundation.

Riviera was the site of Woods’ PGA Tour debut in 1992 at age 16. He says he “weighed about 105 pounds and it was a life-changing moment for me.”

The Tiger Woods Foundation, the PGA Tour and Genesis announced a partnership under which Woods’ TGR Live will manage the tournament at Riviera.

Woods returned to competitive golf earlier this month for the first time since August 2015 at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

He hasn’t announced his 2017 playing schedule aside from Riviera.

Four EPL teams implicated in scandal

LONDON

Individuals at four London-based Premier League clubs are among those being investigated by the city’s police force as part of the escalating sex-abuse scandal in British soccer.

The Metropolitan Police said Tuesday that its investigative team has received 106 separate allegations in five days since opening its inquiry, and that individuals at 30 clubs are connected.

The clubs involved have not been named but four are from the Premier League, which has five London teams — Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham and Crystal Palace.

On Friday, the National Police Chiefs’ Council said 98 clubs from the professional and amateur game across the country have been impacted by the scandal and that 83 potential suspects have been identified.

Olympic organizer unable to pay bills

RIO DE JANEIRO

Almost four months after the Olympics ended, Rio de Janeiro organizers are unable to pay some of their bills, including $3.7 million owed to the International Paralympic Committee.

IPC spokesman Craig Spence tells The Associated Press that the money is owed for travel grants, which is part of the contractual agreement to host the Olympics and Paralympics.

Spence says “never have we faced an issue like this with an organizing committee so late paying travel grants.”

The default is the latest for Rio organizers, who have also been late paying hundreds of creditors and contract employees.

County approves Raiders stadium bid

OAKLAND, Calif.

A late bid to keep the Oakland Raiders from moving took a step forward Tuesday after Alameda County supervisors approved opening negotiations with an investment group on a $1.3 billion stadium project.

If the Oakland City Council approves as well, the city and county can start negotiating a formal agreement with private investors for a stadium project that includes $350 million in public money.

Staff/wire report