SPORTS digest

Brock Lesnar tells UFC he is retired as fighter

LOS ANGELES

Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has informed the mixed martial arts promotion that he is retired from competition.

The UFC confirmed the 39-year-old Lesnar’s decision Wednesday.

Lesnar returned from a 41/2-year MMA absence last July to beat Mark Hunt at UFC 200, but the result was overturned after Lesnar failed two doping tests. He was subsequently suspended from competition for a year by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which administers the UFC’s doping policy.

Lesnar’s decision to retire means he has been removed from USADA’s drug-testing pool, which monitors the fighters year-round.

If he decides to return to competition, he would have to serve the remaining five months of his suspension.

Baylor official cleared of assault charges

waco, texas

A grand jury has declined an indictment against a Baylor University athletics official charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly grabbing a reporter by the throat following a football game.

The McLennan County grand jury declined the indictment Wednesday against associate athletic director Heath Nielsen. The 17-year Baylor spokesman was accused of grabbing James McBride, a reporter for the Keller-based Texas Blaze newspaper, as McBride tried to take a picture with a Baylor player on Nov. 5.

According to an arrest affidavit, McBride said Nielsen told him he was violating his media privileges. The affidavit says McBride had visible scratches and complained of pain around his throat. McBride also told police it hurt to swallow.

Nielsen, who denied the charges, is no longer listed on the Baylor athletics website.

Detroit’s Nyquist gets six-game suspension

new york

Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist was suspended for six games without pay by the NHL on Wednesday for high-sticking Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon in the face.

On Sunday in Minnesota’s 6-3 home victory, Spurgeon knocked Nyquist to the ice, and Nyquist came up swinging, using the blade of his stick to spear Spurgeon just below his left eye. Nyquist was called for a double-minor for high-sticking. Spurgeon missed a few shifts while getting stitches in his cheek.

The suspension will cost Nyquist $158,333. The 27-year-old Swede has seven goals and 22 assists in 56 games this season.

Brain study highlights soccer concerns

london

The degenerative damage potentially caused by repeated blows to the head in soccer has been highlighted by a rare study of brains of a small number of retired players who developed dementia.

Fourteen former players were part of the research that began around 40 years ago and six brains, which underwent post-mortem examinations, had signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Four brains were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) pathology, a possible consequence of repeated impacts to the brain, including heading the ball and concussion injuries from head-to-head collisions. A previous study of 268 brains from the general population in Britain found a far lower CTE detection rate of 12 percent.

The small sample size of former footballers prevented researchers from University College London and Britain’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery from drawing any conclusions about the dangers posed by playing soccer as they released their research.

But researchers hope the findings provide the impetus for more substantial studies in conjunction with soccer authorities.

“Our findings show there is a potential link between repetitive head impacts from playing football and the later development of CTE,” lead author Dr. Helen Ling of the UCL Institute of Neurology told The Associated Press.

Associated Press