SPORTS BRIEFS: Darton coach Scot Hemmings, players honored

Hemmings, Darton players honored by GCAA

The GCAA announced on Wednesday Darton State College head baseball coach Scot Hemmings as the Region 17 Coach of the Year and six Cavaliers as All-Conference selections and two more as Gold Glove Team selections.

Hemmings coached the Cavaliers to the program’s first regular season conference championship title.

The GCAA named Darton State third baseman Mike Huggins and outfielder Colton Thomas to the 2015 Gold Glove Team.

Infielder Luis Salas and Thomas represented Darton on the All Conference First Team. Outfielder William Golden, catcher John Cable and Designated hitter Tyler Morris all earned Second Team All Conference honors.

The Cavaliers finished their regular season with a 23-9 conference record and 37-17 overall.

Cleveland Cavaliers apologize for ‘insensitive domestic’ violence video

The National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers apologized on Thursday for airing a video during a playoff game that depicted an incident of domestic violence.

The video, which ran during Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, was intended to be a humorous spoof on a popular commercial centered on the popular song and dance routine from the 1987 movie “Dirty Dancing”, the team said.

In the one-minute video, a male Cavaliers fan picks up a woman, a Bulls fan, and slams her to the ground when he realizes she is a fan of the visiting Chicago team. Later, the woman is shown holding an ice pack to her head and wearing a T-shirt with a Cavaliers logo on it.

“Domestic violence is a very serious matter and has no place in a parody video that plays in an entertainment venue,” the Cavaliers said in a statement.

“We sincerely apologize to those who have been affected by domestic violence for the obvious negative feelings caused by being exposed to this insensitive video.”

Professional leagues, including the National Football League and NBA, are taking a harder stance on penalties toward domestic abuse given a rash of high-profile cases in the past year.

Cowboys sign undrafted OL Collins

Former LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins, a first-round prospect who went undrafted, signed with the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.

The three-year, $1.7 million contract is fully guaranteed, which is rare, if not unprecedented, for undrafted players. But Collins’ case is unique: He went undrafted due to concerns about his involvement in a murder the week before the 2015 NFL Draft.

Collins, who was considered a possible first-round pick, was never a suspect in the case, according to Baton Rouge police. But they wanted to talk with him.

With teams leery of drafting him, Collins tried to pull out of the draft last week, with the hope of entering the supplemental draft in the summer. The NFL denied that petition; and, after Collins went undrafted in the first round Thursday, he threatened not to sign with any team and re-enter the draft in 2016 if he was not drafted in rounds two or three on Friday.

In the end, no team drafted him at all — meaning he could not re-enter the draft next year and immediately became an undrafted free agent eligible to sign with the team of his choice.

After Collins met with police Monday, teams started contacting him. He had an impromptu dinner meeting with Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan in Baton Rouge on Monday and had received interest from the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers as well.

He was supposed to visit the Dolphins in Davie, Fla., on Friday. But he never got out of Dallas, where he reportedly met with Jerry Jones at his home Wednesday night.