ESPN came under fire Thursday for a post in its college football section of ESPN.com’s Insider Rumor Central. After news broke that Alabama offensive lineman Aaron Douglas — a junior college transfer and former Tennessee starter — was found dead Thursday morning after a party in Fernandina Beach, Fla., Rumor Central ran a story titled “Shocker at LT.”

The post led with the line “Looks as if Nick Saban was prescient when he gave rising senior OL Alfred McCullough and rising junior RG Barrett Jones snaps at LT this spring.” It went on to say that “Douglas’ death leaves the door wide open for five-star OT Cyrus Kouandjio to seize the job when he arrives this summer.”

The post was later removed and ESPN’s Rob King apologized via Twitter, saying, “Apologies for the Rumor Central post related to Aaron Douglas’ tragic death. It did not meet ESPN editorial standards and was removed asap.”

That apology isn’t enough for some people, though. John Taylor of CollegeFootballTalk.com wrote, “Hard to say what’s sadder, the half-assed apology or the fact that someone thought it was a good idea to post that tripe in the first place.”

Earlier this week, boxer Bernard Hopkins criticized Donovan McNabb for basically not being black enough because he comes from a suburban background, saying, “He’s got a suntan. That’s all.” While McNabb simply turned turned the other cheek, his agent, Fletcher Smith, responded on Thursday by saying Hopkins’ comments were “dangerous and irresponsible.”

“It perpetuates a maliciously inaccurate stereotype that insinuates those African-Americans who have access to a wider variety of resources are somehow culturally different than their brethren,” Smith said.

“It is vital that we extinguish this brand of willful ignorance,” he added, “and instill in the minds of African-American youth, regardless of the parental makeup of your household, they can become anything they wish if they work hard and make the right decisions in life.”

Hopkins, meanwhile, refused to back down from his comments in a phone interview with the Associated Press on Thursday.

“Look at professional boxing. I’ve never seen a suburban boxer be successful,” Hopkins said. “There has to be something in the DNA of the person’s experience, of what they overcame, to have that grit; like, ‘I’m going to bite down and let it happen.’ I just didn’t see that in him.”

Lakers center Andrew Bynum will miss the first five games of next season after being suspended for his flagrant foul on Mavericks guard J.J. Barea in Los Angeles’ final playoff game.

The foul occurred late in the fourth quarter of a 36-point Dallas victory when Bynum threw an elbow into Barea’s ribs as the former Northeastern standout drove to the hoop for a layup.

Bynum apologized Tuesday, saying his actions “don’t represent me, my upbringing, this franchise or any of the Laker fans out there that want to watch us and want us to succeed. I want to actually apologize to J.J. Barea for doing that. I’m just glad that he wasn’t seriously injured in the event. All I can say is, I’ve looked at [a replay], it’s terrible, and it definitely won’t be happening again.”

Bynum was also fined $25,000 for taking off his shirt on the court while heading to the locker room after the ejection.

Larry Bird will remain Pacers president, the team announced Tuesday. The Celtics legend met with owner Herb Simon in Los Angeles to discuss the future of the Pacers, who made the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

“I’m quite pleased with the success we experienced this past season and pleased with the direction our team is going,” Simon said in a statement. “I’m glad Larry is staying to help us continue in the positive direction we are going.”

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Simon said that Bird, who has been team president since 2003, has done exactly what he said he would do when he drew up a new plan for moving forward three years ago.

“He gave us a three-year plan, and I think he’s lived up to his three-year plan,” Simon said. “He said it would be tough going, but by the third year, he thought we could probably make the playoffs, which he did, and that we would have cap space to build upon the core group that he’s established.”

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who is trying to make his case to retain control over the team, said Thursday that commissioner Bud Selig is “ducking” him. The league has taken control of the franchise and installed Tom Schieffer as monitor.

McCourt met with MLB officials Wednesday, but Selig was absent, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com. McCourt has argued that a proposed television deal with FOX, which MLB has not yet approved, would diminish any concerns over his divorce and the finances of the team.

“I want to talk to Bud, and I want to know why he’s ducking me,” McCourt said during an appearance on MSNBC Thursday. “I’m here to solve a problem, not make a problem, and you know, we’ll deal with the next steps if he says. I can’t make a person talk to me and can’t make a person focus on the issue.

“This is a great transaction for the Dodgers and for baseball. It’s consistent with transactions approved for other teams. This, I’m not asking for a penny from any other owner or from MLB. I just want to access my capital. That’s all I want. I want to sit and talk about it, that’s all.”

Braves pitcher Derek Lowe was arrested late Thursday night for driving under the influence, police confirmed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright told the paper that Lowe was stopped around 10 p.m. and that the trooper “detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.” The trooper gave Lowe a field sobriety test and the 37-year-old pitcher refused to take a state-administered alcohol test.

Lowe also was charged with reckless driving and failure to maintain lane.

Lowe, who pitched for the Red Sox from 1997-2004, is in his third season with the Braves after spending four years with the Dodgers. He is 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA in six starts this season.

After U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson denied the NFL’s motion for a stay twice this week, the league told teams that players could return to work Friday. Players will be allowed to talk with coaches, work out at team facilities and look at their playbooks.

“That’s great news,” Broncos linebacker Joe Mays told ESPN.com. “It’s something we’ve been trying to do, get back to work.”

The NFL is also expected to release detailed guidelines for how free agency, trades and other roster moves will work without a collective bargaining agreement in place.

The league isn’t giving up on the fight just yet, though. It has asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to restore the lockout as soon as possible, hoping for a better result than it achieved in the federal courts of Minnesota.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant said he expects to play in Tuesday’s Game 5 after rolling his ankle in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 loss to the Hornets.

“I should play. It’s going to take a lot to stop me from playing,” Bryant said after the game. “I’m concerned, as I am about any injury, but I’ve played through so many of them it kind of becomes old hat for me.”

Bryant suffered the injury late in the game while defending Hornets guard Willie Green. He ended up falling into Green after turning the ankle, resulting in a foul.

“It’s sore,” Bryant said. “It just rolled over. It’s been weeks since I hurt it last and when it happens, when you roll your ankle once, it’s easy to go and it just went.”

The first-round series is tied at two games apiece.

Bulls star Derrick Rose was in a walking boot Sunday and is listed as day to day after turning his ankle in the first quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Pacers, according to ESPNChicago.com.

Rose suffered the injury when he drove to the basket and fell awkwardly without making contact with another player.

“I really can’t explain it,” Rose said Saturday. “I just took off wrong and my weight just pushed over my ankle and it ended up twisting.”

Rose had an X-ray after the game and then an MRI on Sunday, and both came back negative. ESPNChicago.com reports that Bulls players and coaches believe Rose will be ready to go for Tuesday night’s Game 5.

“He’s fine,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s going to have his ankle checked. Hopefully, he’ll be ready.”

Lightning forward Steve Downie and Penguins forward Chris Kunitz will both miss Wednesday night’s Game 4 after being suspended one game apiece by the NHL for separate incidents in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 win in Game 3.

Downie earned his suspension for leaving his feet and launching himself at the head of Pittsburgh’s Ben Lovejoy while the defenseman was making a play behind his own net.

“I’m very disappoined in myself. I felt like I let the team down,” Downie said Tuesday. “I was going in hard on a forecheck. I finished my hit and unfortunately it ended up the way it did. … Momentum carried me through and I ended up off my feet.”

About five minutes after Downie’s hit, Kunitz elbowed Lightning forward Simon Gagne in the head. Gagne implied after the game that the hit was intentional, but Kunitz said that wasn’t the case.

“I was coming through the middle, getting ready to finish a check. … I had my arms in a bad spot, up in the air,” Kunitz said. “He kind of spun and turned back towards me and I went to brush him in the shoulder and I got him in the head. Not very responsible on my side. I’ve definitely got to be careful, but I’m glad he’s OK.”

Both hits were called minor penalties on the ice.