Cuts » not only was the grade low but there was actually a de

The NFL has determined that a second hit to the helmet of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton?on Thursday should have drawn a penalty flag, a source confirmed to ESPNs Kevin Seifert.The source told ESPN that the league reviewed Brandon Marshalls hit on Newton in the third quarter and ruled that the Denver Broncos linebacker deserved a 15-yard penalty.Marshalls hit was a violation of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 6(i) of the NFL rulebook, which prohibits a defender from using his helmet to butt, spear or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily. The NFL also prohibits defenders from launching at a player in a defenseless position, as a quarterback in the pocket is considered to be.Newton received several helmet-to-helmet blows during the Panthers season-opening loss Thursday. Only one -- Darian Stewarts hit on the Panthers final drive of the game -- drew a flag, but it was offset by an intentional grounding call against Newton.USA Today Sports first reported that the NFL had reviewed Marshalls hit.Newton didnt speak out about the hits Thursday night, but several members of the Panthers and Newtons father, Cecil, have said that the reigning NFL MVP was treated unfairly by the officiating.Im beginning to question the consistency of how games are being called -- and who they would call this particular play against versus this particular player, Cecil Newton told ESPN on Friday. Was Cam treated differently from other quarterbacks? In this case, yes, he was -- clearly.Panthers coach Ron Rivera echoed some of Cecil Newtons sentiments Friday afternoon, saying some of the hits on his star quarterback should have been called as penalties.The NFL said in a statement Friday that medical personnel, including the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, reviewed video of Stewarts final-minute hit on Newton. The league concluded there were no indications of a concussion that would require further evaluation and the removal of the player from the game. Rivera also emphasized Friday that the team followed the concussion protocol.Cam Newton, who stayed on the field after all of the questionable hits, said he was not examined until after the game.An NFL Players Association spokesman said Friday morning that the union was reviewing whether proper concussion protocol was followed.Information from ESPNs Jim Trotter contributed to this report. Richard Sherman Youth Jersey . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. L.J. Collier Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/steve-largent-jersey/ . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Cortez Kennedy Seahawks Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Marquise Blair Youth Jersey . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. ORLANDO, Fla. -- The NBA remains the best among its professional sports peers when it comes diversity hiring.According to the report released Thursday by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, the NBA received an A-plus for the second year in a row for racial hiring and dropped to a B in gendering hiring practices. The leagues overall grade of A was its eighth in row as the NBA scored higher than other professional sports league in all three categories.Reports are also issued on the NFL, MLB, MLS, WNBA and college sports.The NBA has been the leaders in pretty much both areas since weve been doing the report card and they are still ahead of everybody even in gender, said Richard Lapchick, who authors the Racial and Gender Report Card released by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. The NFL had a C-plus last year and MLB had a C-plus. MLS is the only one close with a B but they only had 80.1 points as opposed to the 83.7 the NBA has got. College sport was the worst of all with 78.8 points with a C-plus.Even in maintaining the best stands, the NBA did some dips in diversity hiring practices with the biggest coming in gender hiring. The NBA went from a B-plus grade in gendering hiring in 2015 to a B this year with drops coming at the team levels and senior leadership positions. In 2015, the NBA scored 88 points but this year only received 83.7 points on the report card.Women comprised 39.6 percent of all professionals in the NBA league offices in this past season, which was slightly down from 40.9 percent iin 2015.dddddddddddd But women continued to hold just a small percentage of team vice president positions, comprising just 21.5 percent of the team vice president titles. Still, there were five women who served as team presidents/CEO during the 2015-6 season, which is the highest of any mens professional sport.The fact there was sort of slippage with the NBA, not only was the grade low but there was actually a decline in the grade is definitely an area of concern, Lapchick said of the overall dip in gendering hiring. I think its particularly an area concern at the team level and senior leadership positions.The NBA, which is the first sports league to have two minorities as majority owners, also had small loses in the number of head coaches and general managers of color this year. The number of general managers went from six in 2014-15 to just four this past season. The head coaching ranks were comprised of 30 percent of men of color, as opposed to 33.3 percent at the end of the 2014-15 season.This past season began with nine head coaches of color but while some minority coaches lost their jobs during the season that number remained at nine at the end of the season.The NBA has gotten it for a long time, including the general manager position, although this year they were down at the general manager position, Lapchick said. They have been far and away the leader of all of the sports in those areas. ' ' '