NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTSDENVER -- Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, a college teammate of Colin Kaepernick, took to a knee during the playing of the national anthem before Denvers season opener against Carolina.Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem during San Franciscos preseason games , explaining it was to protest racial oppression and police brutality in the United States.Marshall sounded a similar theme after Denvers 21-20 win.Im not against the military, Im not against America, he said. Im against social injustice.Kaepernicks gesture opened a wide debate and put the microscope on a pregame tradition that has, for decades, been routine.Marshall was standing with his hand over his heart during the anthem before a preseason game on Aug. 20.He made no mention of his plans for Thursdays opener but shortly after the large American flag was unfurled, the fifth-year linebacker out of Nevada went to the end of a long row of Broncos and took a knee.Broncos Super Bowl MVP Von Miller said he supported Kaepernick, too. Im not going to kneel for the national anthem but I feel it should be a change. His actions really brought the topic, brought it into the conversation. Im with Colin all the way.SWIMMINGRyan Lochte is banned from swimming through next June and will forfeit $100,000 in bonus money that went with his gold medal at the Olympics, part of the penalty for his drunken encounter at a gas station in Brazil during last months games.The U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Swimming announced the penalties Thursday. Lochte agreed to a ban that includes next years world championships.Hell get no monthly funding from either organization, cant access USOC training centers, must perform 20 hours of community service and will miss Team USAs post-Olympics trip to the White House.Agreeing to four-month suspensions were Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, who were with Lochte at the gas station. Those sanctions, which end Dec. 31, also strip funding and training access and preclude them from the White House visit.Bentz, 20, will also serve 10 hours of community service for violating a curfew rule for athletes under 21.BASEBALLNEW YORK -- Having flopped with the New York Jets, Tim Tebow will try to revive his career as an outfielder with the Mets.Four years removed from his last regular-season snap as an NFL quarterback, the 29-year-old agreed Thursday to a minor league contract with the Mets that includes a $100,000 signing bonus.He will report Sept. 18 to the Instructional League in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and test his baseball skills for three weeks against players just months removed from high school and college.The Mets then will decide whether he goes to the Arizona Fall League, a winter league or gets personal tutoring to prepare for spring training.Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan are the only significant players to have extensive careers in both Major League Baseball and the NFL during the past three decades.PRO FOOTBALLEDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has had surgery on his severely injured left knee, the first step toward what will undoubtedly be a long, arduous recovery.Vikings coach Mike Zimmer confirmed the operation took place Thursday, nine days after Bridgewater went down in practice while dropping back to pass during a routine non-contact drill that drastically altered the teams highly anticipated season.Zimmer said he spoke by phone to Bridgewaters doctor after the procedure and was told no major problems were encountered beyond the initial diagnosis of a knee dislocation and complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. The Vikings said after the injury that Bridgewater also suffered other significant damage.Thanks for the thoughts (and) prayers, Bridgewater said on Twitter . Ill be back!The 23-year-old will miss the 2016 season, and the nature and timing of the injury will make it difficult for Bridgewater to be at full strength for 2017, too. Goedkope Nike Sneakers . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Nike Sneakers Kopen . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. http://www.goedkopenikesneakers.com/ . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Nike Sneakers Nederland . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Nike Sneakers Korting . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. RENO, Nev. -- Three people whose votes could determine whether a nearly $2 billion stadium is built to lure the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas were appointed Tuesday to vacant seats in the Nevada Legislature.The three northern Nevada residents, including a former Stanford football player, will join other state lawmakers for a special session the governor is expected to convene next month to consider raising hotel room taxes in the Las Vegas area to help finance a 65,000-seat, domed stadium that could be home to the NFL team.The current informal proposal on the table would tax only hotel guests in Las Vegas and Clark County, with no direct impact on Washoe County, Reno or Sparks. But critics fear that in the event of revenue shortfalls, the burden could fall to all Clark County taxpayers or, potentially, taxpayers statewide.I am a fan and support football as a sport, said ex-Stanford linebacker Dominic Brunetti, a Republican commercial real estate broker.And as a business, I respect the NFL, he said. But only if it is fair to those communities and families it influences and impacts through oftentimes very, very complicated deal structures.Similar concerns were expressed by the other appointees -- Republican Jesse Haw, a Reno developer, and Democrat Julia Ratti, a Sparks city councilwoman already running for state Senate in November.We are told it only is going to affect Clark County. But until we have the bill, we dont know, Haw said.Under Nevada law, county commissions have the authority to appoint interim members to the Legislature when a seat is vacant.Typically, when the vacancy occurs near the end or between legislative sessions, seats remain vacant until the next general election. But Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval asked Washoe and Clark counties to find temporary replacements now so the Legislature can expedite efforts to lure the Raiders to town before NFL owners are expected to take a position on such a move early next year.Nevada law requires a two-thirds majority of the entire Legislature --- not just the sitting members -- for such a proposal to win approval.dddddddddddd Still to be filled are two vacant seats in the Las Vegas area.No formal bill can be drafted until the Legislature meets. But earlier this month, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee recommended raising Vegas-area hotel taxes to put $750 million toward a stadium. Las Vegas Sands casino magnate Sheldon Adelson plans to invest $650 million in the venue.Three-quarters of NFL owners would need to approve any team relocation, and they could do so when they meet in January. Oakland officials and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said theyre hopeful the team can stay in the Bay Area where the team plays in an aging stadium.Bob Lucey, a Washoe County commissioner and chairman of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, said the Raiders relocation to Vegas would present an unprecedented opportunity for the states tourism-based economy.However, at what cost? he said, noting it would be the largest publicly funded stadium project in the nation ever.The Nevada Taxpayers Association opposes the plan, questioning how the bonds would be repaid during an economic downturn and adding theres no evidence publicly funded stadiums ever benefit taxpayers. Nevadans for the Common Good, a coalition of churches and other faith-based groups, opposes the plan.The public is being asked to shoulder all these risks, while the billionaires benefit, said Pastor Marta Poling Schmitt. The Culinary Union is also against the proposal.Ratti said she worries about the use of general obligation bonds to back the deal. She also shares concerns expressed by county Commission Chairwoman Kitty Jung that some Washoe County voters have a misconception theyd pay higher taxes under the current plan.At this point, this would not affect Washoe County taxpayers in the least, Jung said. But it does affect perception. ' ' '