Hall of Fame running back gale Sayers is suing the National Football League and helmet maker Riddell claiming their failure to prevent repeated head injuries which caused him to suffer brain damage.

In the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Sayers, who played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1972, claims he suffers headaches, occasional short-term memory loss and other cognitive deficits. He says the affliction is caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

A spokesman for the NFL did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Rosemont, Ill.-based Riddell declined to comment.

Last month, in a deal with the players association, the NFL agreed to pay more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to settle lawsuits from thousands of former players who developed concussion-related health problems.

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Amanda Knox spent four years in an Italian prison for the murder of Meredith Kercher. She appealed and was released in 2011. Italy's Supreme Court has said the appeals court judges overlooked evidence against Amanda Knox.

By Tom Brown, Reuters / September 21, 2013

Amanda Knox, the American student accused of murdering her British roommate in Italy in 2007, said on Friday that "common sense" told her not to return to Italy for a retrial due to begin on Sept. 30.

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"It's not a possibility," Knox said in an interview on NBC television's "Today" show. It is the first time she has said she will not go back to Italy.

"I was imprisoned as an innocent person and I just can't relive that," she told "Today" show host Matt Lauer.

Knox, 26, spent four years in prison for the murder of Meredith Kercher, whose half-naked body was discovered with more than 40 wounds and a deep gash in the throat in the apartment the two shared while studying in Perugia in central Italy.

Following an appeal, Knox and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were acquitted in 2011 and she returned to her Seattle, Washington-area home. The Italian Supreme Court ordered a retrial in March due to inconsistencies in the appeal court's decision to release Knox and Sollecito.

"There are so many factors that are not allowing me to go back - financial ones, ones where I'm going to school, ones where I want the court to proceed without distraction," Knox said.

"I was imprisoned as an innocent person. It's common sense not to go back," she added.

Knox does not have to attend the retrial and can be represented by her lawyers.

She said she expected to win acquittal again at the new trial and insisted that not traveling to Florence to face her accusers should not be seen as an admission of guilt.

"I look at it as an admission of innocence, to be quite honest," she said in the interview.

Knox maintained her innocence in a memoir released earlier this year and painted herself as a naive young woman railroaded by a foreign justice system.

Italy's Supreme Court has said the appeals court judges overlooked evidence against the accused. The high court wants a re-examination of the theory that Kercher was killed during a group sex game.

At the moment, only one person is in jail for Kercher's murder: Ivory-Coast born Rudy Guede, who is serving a 16-year sentence. ( Additional reporting by Catherine Hornby; Editing by John Wallace)

Source: Csmonitor

The 2013 playoffs are set to commence on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET. Eight of the league's top teams will compete, all hoping to join the ranks of the immortals and earn the distinction as the champions of women's basketball.

Here's how to watch it all transpire.

No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 4 Seattle Storm

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Game 1: Friday, Sept. 20 at 9 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Game 2: Sunday, Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Game 3: Tuesday, Sept. 24, time and TV

The Minnesota Lynx finished the 2013 regular season with a league-best record of 26-8. The Lynx went 15-2 at home and 18-4 against Western Conference foes and boast the deepest starting lineup in women's basketball.

Best of luck to the opposition.

The Seattle Storm have the unfortunate task of facing the Lynx after going 17-17 and finishing fourth in the West. Forced to overcome injuries to key players, the Storm concluded the regular season with marks of 11-11 against the Western Conference, 9-8 at home and 8-9 on the road.

It'll be an uphill battle against Minnesota.

During four regular-season meetings, the Lynx went 4-0 against the Storm. That includes three wins during the past three weeks, with all four of those clashes being decided by double digits.

All in all, things don't look good for Seattle.

Minnesota is led by Maya Moore, Augustus, Rebekkah and Lindsay , and they are too much for the Storm to handle on paper. If Seattle were to pull out an upset in this three-game series, it would be the biggest shock of the postseason.

Anything is possible, but the Lynx are favored for a reason.

No. 2 Los Angeles Sparks vs. No. 3 Phoenix Mercury

USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Thursday, Sept. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Game 2: Saturday, Sept. 21 at 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Game 3: Monday, Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2

The Los Angeles Sparks finished the regular season with the same record, 24-10, as the Eastern Conference champions. That should tell you that, if not for Minnesota's marvelous campaign, LA would be at the top of the West.

Fortunately for basketball fans, the Sparks' opponents are just as dangerous, albeit less consistently.

The Phoenix Mercury, led by superstar guard Diana , went 19-15 during the regular season. What's concerning, however, is that Phoenix was 9-13 against the Western Conference-you know, where the Mercury calls home.

Even still, this should be a fun series to watch.

is the top offensive force in the league, averaging 20.3 points and 6.2 assists per game. With Brittney leading the league in blocks at 3.0 per contest and Bonner adding 14.5 points and 5.8 rebounds, Phoenix has the star power necessary to pull out the upset.

The Sparks are ready to combat the threat.

Candace Parker is still at the top of her craft, averaging 17.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. Lindsey Harding (5.2 assists) and Kristi 14.1 points on 38.3 percent shooting from three-point range) provide the perimeter punch to complement Parker's interior brilliance.

This projects to be a great series, but LA did defeat the Mercury 89-55 on Sept. 15. Anything is possible here.

No. 1 Chicago Sky vs. No. 4 Indiana Fever

Michael Hickey-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Friday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Game 2: Sunday, Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Game 3: Tuesday, Sept. 24, time and TV

Not only will it be one of the best series we see all postseason, but when the Chicago Sky meet the Indiana Fever, it'll be the most intriguing. The Sky topped the Eastern Conference at 24-10 and are thus the favorites to reach the finals, but the Fever are the reigning champions.

Still not intrigued? Well, it gets better.

In four regular-season meetings with the Fever, Chicago was just 1-3. That displays just how misleading the Fever's 16-18 record is, as they've been one of the best teams in the since Tamika Catchings got over the injury bug.

Keep in mind, Katie Douglas only recently returned and has already started posting double-digit scoring performances.

Chicago has a stacked roster, but if any team is on upset alert, it is the Sky. Elena Donne, Sylvia and Epiphanny Prince are all scoring in double figures, but Indiana has a significant edge in postseason experience.

That will be a key in this series, as Catchings and Douglas comprise a tandem that has found success before, while Donne has not. Both Catchings and Douglas are elite on-ball defenders, and each played a critical role offensively during Indiana's title run in 2012, while Donne is a rookie.

The Sky may have the better record, but Chicago is a sort-of-but-not-really underdog here.

No. 2 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 3 Washington Mystics

Josh D. Weiss-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Thursday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Game 2: Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Game 3: Monday, Sept. 21, time and TV

The Atlanta Dream enter this series with a record of 17-17, experiencing an inexplicable downfall from the top of the standings. Once the team that was running away with the Eastern Conference, Atlanta went 5-16 during its last 21 games.

That's not a rut, ladies and gentlemen. That's a genuine collapse.

As logical as it is to write Atlanta off, Angel McCoughtry did lead the league with 21.5 points per game while also averaging 5.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.7 steals. For all of her statistical brilliance, however, there has been an absence of victories.

The Washington Mystics are poised to continue Atlanta's losing stretch.

Washington finished the season with a 17-17 record, winning its final three games and going 8-4 during its final 12. With a balanced starting lineup that's led by Ivory 13.9 points and 4.4 assists), the Mystics have quietly moved up the standings.

A series against a struggling Dream team is, well, dream-like.

With all of this being established, until Atlanta is knocked out of the postseason, it remains the favorite to win this series. McCoughtry is a true superstar, and when focused, the Dream play smothering team defense.

It won't be easy, but Atlanta should be favored.

Source: Bleacherreport