In Brief

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

Elbow injury knocks Munoz
off UFC on Fox 2 Chicago card

An elbow injury has forced Mark Munoz out of next week's UFC on Fox 2 co-main event bout against Chael Sonnen in Chicago.

Munoz will be replaced by Michael Bisping, who will now fight Sonnen to determine the next challenger for middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Bisping had been scheduled to fight Demain Maia on the card. Maia will now fight Chris Weidman.

Also: The Ultimate Fighting Championship postponed its March show in Montreal.

UFC 145 was scheduled for March 24 at the Bell Centre. But the UFC scrapped it for now, citing scheduling complications and a desire to deliver a "championship card."

UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright said he expects Montreal to stage a show later this year.

Most of the fights announced for the March show will be shifted to a card set for April in Atlanta.

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal tested positive for a banned steroid following his win over Lorenz Larkin on a card at the Hard Rock Hotel on Jan. 7, the Nevada Athletic Commission announced Tuesday.

He has denied using any illegal substances. Lawal, who has the right to appeal, faces a one-year suspension, a fine and a reversal of his victory to a no-contest.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Notre Dame lands standout
prep quarterback recruit Kiel

Prized quarterback recruit Gunner Kiel is joining Notre Dame.

Coach Brian Kelly announced Kiel's decision Tuesday, marking one of the most significant recruits he has landed in his two-plus years on the job at Notre Dame. Kiel last year said he would go to Indiana, where his brother was among the quarterbacks, and he later expressed interest in Louisiana State.

Instead, he could be in the mix as Kelly decides on a starting quarterback. Already on campus are junior Tommy Rees, who took over after the first half of a stunning season-opening loss to South Florida and started the next 12 games; junior Andrew Hendrix, who showed promise as a change-of-pace runner and passer in Kelly's spread offense; or untested and talented Everett Golson, who did not play last year as a freshman. Dayne Crist has transferred to Kansas.

Kiel was rated by many scouting services as the top recruit in the nation. Last year at Columbus (Ind.) High School, he passed for 2,517 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushed for 482 yards and 11 scores. He passed for 7,175 yards in his high school career.

Also: Former Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was arrested in Bradenton, Fla., on a marijuana possession charge.

An arrest report on the Manatee County Sheriff's Office website said Kirkpatrick was arrested at 12:48 a.m. Tuesday and charged with possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana. He was released on $120 bond.

Kirkpatrick is regarded as a potential top 10 NFL draft pick. The second-team All-American announced last week he was skipping his senior season with the national champions to enter the draft.

Quarterback Pete Thomas, who started his freshman and sophomore seasons, withdrew from Colorado State. He was granted a release from his scholarship and is free to pursue other opportunities. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Michigan dismissed wide receiver Darryl Stonum, who was sentenced to 10 days in jail this month after violating probation in a drunken-driving case. Coach Brady Hoke announced the dismissal for what he called a violation of team rules.

Stonum started 25 games, catching 76 passes for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. He also returned 62 kickoffs for 1,538 yards and holds the single-season kickoff return mark with 39 returns for 1,001 yards in 2009.

Lou Spanos was named UCLA's defensive coordinator, completing new coach Jim Mora's staff.

Spanos was the Washington Redskins' linebackers coach for the past two years, coaching NFL tackles leader London Fletcher, Brian Orakpo and Rocky McIntosh to Pro Bowl seasons.

Wisconsin hired Matt Canada to be the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He replaces Paul Chryst, who left to become the coach at Pittsburgh.

Canada spent last season in the same role at Northern Illinois, helping the Huskies to an 11-3 record, a Midwestern Athletic Conference championship and a victory in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.

MISCELLANEOUS

New Jersey betting bill signed into law; court fight awaits

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill into law legalizing sports betting in the state -- but only after a federal ban on such gambling is overturned.

The governor signed a bill that had been passed overwhelmingly by both houses of the state legislature. It would legalize betting on professional and collegiate sporting games at the Atlantic City casinos and the state's four horse tracks.

Next up is a court fight to overturn a federal law that makes it illegal to bet on sports in all but four states -- Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana. If New Jersey prevails and the law is either overturned by the courts or repealed by Congress, it would free all 50 states to offer sports betting.

Also: Former light welterweight boxing champion Amir Khan has withdrawn an appeal he filed after a split decision loss last month to Lamont Peterson.

The matter was to be heard today in Newark, N.J., by a three-member IBF panel. Khan was granted a rematch by the WBA last week.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang returned to practice for the first time in nearly two months, following a concussion sustained against Montreal in late November.

Letang, 24, hasn't played since taking an elbow to the head Nov. 26. He has been cleared to play by team doctors and is optimistic he can suit up before the NHL All-Star Game on Jan. 29.

Washington guard C.J. Wilcox, the Huskies' second-leading scorer, is highly doubtful for this week's games against California and Stanford with first-place in the Pac-12 Conference on the line.

Wilcox said a stress fracture in his left femur, near his hip, is so painful he was essentially playing on one leg in last week's win over rival Seattle, during which Wilcox scored a career-high 25 points.

Louisville forward Rakeem Buckles tore a ligament in his left knee during the Cardinals' loss at Marquette and will miss the rest of the season as well as all of 2012-13 with the injury.

Buckles had just spent nearly nine months working to return from a right knee injury he sustained in February 2011. Buckles appeared in 11 games, averaging 4.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.