Pro Bowl Running Back Chuck Muncie Passes Away At 60

Amy Graves/Getty Images for GreenHouse(METAIRIE, La.) -- Three-time Pro Bowl running back Chuck Muncie passed away on Monday from a heart attack. He was 60.

Muncie was originally drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1976 with the third overall pick out of California. He played 4 ½ seasons in the Big Easy, where he rushed for 3,393 yards and 28 touchdowns in 59 games.

“Sadly, we have learned of the untimely passing of Chuck Muncie,” said New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and other loved ones at this difficult time."

He was traded to the San Diego Chargers midway through the 1980 season, where he compiled 3,309 yards and 43 touchdowns in 51 games.

“Everyone at the Chargers is deeply saddened by the passing of Chuck Muncie, one of the greatest running backs in Chargers history,” the team said in a statement.  “We will remember him as a tremendous athlete with a larger-than-life personality.  It’s a sad day for all of us and all Chargers fans.”

Five years following retirement in 1989, Muncie was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a cocaine distribution conviction.  After his released, he began to work with at-risk youth, creating the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation.

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Orioles Place SP Wei-Yin Chen On 15-Day Disabled List

Robbie Rogers/MLB Photos via Getty Images(BALTIMORE) -- The Baltimore Orioles placed left-handed starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a right oblique strain. The move is retroactive to May 13.

The 27-year-old Chen left after the fifth inning during Sunday’s 6-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins when he felt pain in his right side.

In eight starts this season with the Orioles, Chen is 3-3 with a 3.04 ERA. He has struck out 27 batters in 47 1-3 innings of work.

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Chiefs Hire Chris Ault as Consultant

Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) -- In an attempt to help defend the growing trend of college offenses infiltrating the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs have hired former Nevada head coach Chris Ault as an consultant.

"I told coach Reid, 'Whatever I can do to help you win a Super Bowl, I'll do it,' " Ault told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Ault helped innovate the pistol offense during his time with Nevada, especially under current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The pistol offense formation lines up the quarterback closer to the center than a normal shotgun formation, and allows the quarterback to make more plays with either his legs or arm once the ball is snapped.

While Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is known more for running a traditional west coast offense, the Chiefs may be tempted to use elements of the pistol and hope that Ault will provide clues to how to stop the latest NFL trend. Players like Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton have showed that the college offenses can work in the NFL. It remains to be seen though, if it has sustainablility long term.

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Jaguars' Justin Blackmon Defends His Character

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) -- Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon has had a hard time staying out of trouble in his short time in the NFL. Blackmon defended himself saying he's not a bad person, but he's just made some bad decisions.

"No I wouldn't say I do," Blackmon told the Jaguars website when asked if he had a substance abuse problem. "Out of this whole thing one of the main things I would say that I had a problem with was just making a poor decision, making a selfish decision at that and not thinking about the long-term of it and just thinking about at the time. If you want to ask if I have a problem? I have a problem with making a poor decision."

Blackmon was arrested for driving under the influence twice before signing his contract with the Jaguars.

Recently, he was suspended for four games by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

The Jaguars selected Blackmon fifth overall in the 2012 Draft out of Oklahoma State.  In his rookie year, he caught 64 passes for 865 yards with five touchdowns.

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Michigan's Brady Hoke Calls Out Notre Dame

Joe Robbins/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Michigan football head coach Brady Hoke is taking issue with Notre Dame backing out of their annual rivalry game, and he's not hiding his displeasure with the school.

Hoke addressed the issue to a crowd of people gathered at the West Michigan Sports Commission luncheon in Grand Rapids. Notre Dame is required to give notice of termination three years in advance. Notre Dame wound up giving their notice on September 22, 2012 -- just before the two teams played.

"We have unbelievable rivalry games at Michigan," Hoke said. "The Notre Dame, that rivalry, which they're chickening out of...they're still going to play Michigan State, they'll play Purdue; they won't play Michigan."

Notre Dame's decision came 10 days after the school announced its move to the ACC. They agreed to play five games against schools in that conference each season.

"The decision to cancel games in 2015-2017 was Notre Dame's and not ours," Wolverines athletic director Dave Brandon said in a release in September. "We value our annual rivalry with Notre Dame, but we will have to see what the future holds for any continuation of the series."

The final game of the series will be played on September 6, 2014, at Notre Dame.

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Grizzlies Win Game 4, Outlast Thunder in Overtime

Jamie Squire/Getty Images(MEMPHIS) -- The Memphis Grizzlies erased a 17-point first half deficit to comeback and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime of Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinals series, 103-97, Monday.

The Grizzlies now lead the series 3-1 and are one win away from reaching their first Western Conference Final.

Mike Conley Jr. had a team high 24 points and Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol each scored 23 and had double-doubles in the win.

"We are a team that just plays hard and doesn't quit," Hollins said. "We scratch. We claw. They said grit and grind. I don't know what the heck that means, but we go out and we just battle. We compete. We're not the most talented team that's in the playoffs when we started out. We're not the most talented team that's left in the playoffs. But we go and compete."

The Grizzlies are a perfect 5-0 this postseason when playing at home.

Kevin Durant had 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the loss.

The series shifts back to Oklahoma City Wednesday for Game 5. Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

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Rangers Rip Capitals to Advance to Second Round of Playoffs

Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post(WASHINGTON) -- Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves en route to his second straight shutout, as the sixth-seeded New York Rangers defeat the No. 3 seed Washington Capitals in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series Monday, 5-0.
                                                           

"He was really good (Lundqvist), but the team was also good, too," Rangers head coach John Tortorella said. "I have to give the team some credit. They played hard in front of him." 
                                       

That good play included a good amount of scoring. Rangers defenseman Arron Asham was first. He found the back of the net in the first period, his second goal of the series.

Taylor Pyatt and Michael Del Zotto scored 2:10 apart in the second period to make it 3-0. Ryan Callahan and Mats Zuccarello scored the other two goals for the Rangers in the third period.

Capitals star winger Alex Ovechkin had only one shot in the loss. Ovechkin finishes the series with just two points.
                                                                                                                                                     

This was the first game of the series the road team won, and the first time in Rangers' history that a Game 7 was won on the road.                                                                                                                                   

The win advances the Rangers to the second round of the playoffs, where they'll take on the No. 4 seeded Boston Bruins.
                                                                                                                                 

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Tigers Place Austin Jackson on 15-Day DL

Leon Halip/Getty Images(DETROIT) -- The Detroit Tigers placed outfielder Austin Jackson on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a pulled left hamstring.

The move is retroactive to Sunday.

Jackson didn't play in the Tigers' game versus the Indians Sunday, the second game he didn't start in a week.

The 26-year-old leadoff hitter has been bothered by the hamstring for a couple of weeks. After having an MRI Sunday, doctors determined Jackson has a Grade 1 sprain, the least severe on a scale of 1-3.

Jackson is hitting .272 with two home runs, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases this season.

The Tigers have called up outfielder Avisail Garcia from Triple-A Toledo to take Jackson's roster spot.

Garcia, 21,  hit .319 in 23 regular season games for the Tigers last year, and was part of the team's postseason roster.

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Bruins Mount Legendary Comeback, Win Game 7 Over Toronto

Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images(BOSTON) -- Bruins' head coach Claude Julien must have meant it when he said his team plays like a Jekyll and Hyde hockey club.

The Boston Bruins trailed 4-1 with 10:41 left in the third period, but tied the game with :50 seconds remaining and then beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime, 5-4, winning the "do or die" Game 7 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

The Bruins become the first team in NHL history to trail by three goals in the third period of a Game 7 and go on to win the game.

Things were looking good for the Maple Leafs in the third period. Ex-Bruin Phil Kessel scored just 2:09 into the period making it 3-1.

Just over three minutes later, Nazem Kadri scored to give the Maple Leafs the three game lead, and what looked like the momentum to win the game.

B's winger Nathan Horton scored to make it 4-2 with 10:42 left in the game, and with under two minutes to play the score hadn't changed.

The Bruins then pulled goalie Tuukka Rask for an extra-attacker. Milan Lucic scored with 1:22 left and then just 32 seconds later, Patrice Bergeron lit the lamp tying the game.

In overtime it was Bergeron scoring again as the Bruins complete the historic comeback and eliminated the Leafs.

"You don't see these kind of games very often," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. " Especially in the playoffs and I'm not even talking about Game 7's...So for sure, it's one to remember."

The Bruins advance to take on the sixth-seeded New York Rangers. Game 1 is Thursday night in Boston.

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Scoreboard Roundup - 5/13/13

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- NBA Playoffs – Eastern Conference Semi-Finals: Miami Heat 88 – Chicago Bulls 65 (Heat lead series, 3-1)

Western Conference Semi-Finals: Memphis Grizzlies 103 - Oklahoma City Thunder 97 OT (Grizzlies lead series, 3-1)

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Quarterfinals: Boston Bruins 5 – Toronto Maple Leafs 4 (Bruins win series, 4-3)

New York Rangers 5 – Washington Capitals 0 (Rangers win series, 4-3)

MLB: Detroit Tigers 7 (21-15) – Houston Astros 2 (10-29)

Milwaukee Brewers 5 (16-20) – Pittsburgh Pirates 1 (21-17)

St. Louis Cardinals 6 (24-13) – New York Mets 3 (14-21)

Chicago Cubs 9 (16-22) – Colorado Rockies 1 (20-18)

Minnesota Twins 10 (18-17) - Chicago White Sox 3 (15-21)

Atlanta Braves 10 (22-16) - Arizona Diamondbacks 1 (21-18)

Oakland Athletics 5 (20-20) - Texas Rangers 1 (24-14)

Kansas City Royals 11 (19-16) - Los Angeles Angels 4 (14-24)

Washington Nationals 6 (21-17) - Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (15-22)

Cleveland Indians 1 (21-15) – New York Yankees 0 (23-14) Game One

New York Yankees 7 (24-14) – Cleveland Indians 0 (21-16) Game Two

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