SEATTLE — Seattle Seahawks veteran offensive lineman D.J. Fluker says he has been released by the team after two seasons as their starting right guard. Fluker posted on Twitter that he was informed by coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider of the decision. The move comes two days after Seattle drafted Fluker’s heir apparent in LSU guard Damien Lewis in the third round of the NFL draft. Seattle has also added several interior offensive linemen this offseason, including B.J. Finney, Kahlil McKenzie and Chance Warmack. Letting go of Fluker will save Seattle about $3.6 million against the salary cap.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators guards Andrew Nembhard and Tre Mann are declaring for the NBA draft while keeping open the option of returning to school. Nembhard hired an NCAA-certified agent so he could retain his college eligibility. He also declared for the draft last year and eventually returned to Florida after not getting invited to the NBA scouting combine. The sophomore averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 2019-20. Mann, a freshman, averaged 5.3 points off the bench.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego State Aztecs forward Matt Mitchell has declared for the NBA draft while keeping open the option of returning to school. The school says Mitchell did not hire an agent, allowing him to maintain his collegiate eligibility.  Mitchell has until June 3 to withdraw his name from draft consideration and return to SDSU for his final season.  Mitchell started the season as the sixth man but started the final 19 games. He was named to the All-Mountain West first team.

UNDATED — South Carolina forward A.J. Lawson is entering the NBA draft for a second straight season. Lawson is a 6-foot-6 sophomore who also went through the process after his freshman season. Like a year ago, Lawson is not hiring an agent giving him the chance to return to the Gamecocks. Lawson started all 31 games for South Carolina, averaging a team-best 13.4 points a game. Lawson had until Sunday to enter the draft. He has until June 3 to pull his name out and return for his junior season.

CHICAGO — Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and reality TV star Kristin Cavallari are getting divorced. Cavallari announced Sunday in an Instagram post that the couple are breaking up after seven years of marriage and a decade together. Cutler played 12 seasons in the NFL with Denver, Chicago and Miami. He was with the Bears from 2009-2016. Cavallari and Cutler have three young children — two sons and a daughter.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has announced that activities like fishing, hunting and golfing can resume on May 5, at which time people can also return to state parks and other state lands for day trips. Inslee warned, however, if the state sees an uptick in infections of the coronavirus or if people don’t continue to abide by social distancing protocols, the activities could once again be restricted. Public gatherings and events, team sports and camping are all still prohibited under the current stay-at-home order that has been in place since March 23.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR is racing toward a restart that could come as early as mid-May. The stock car series is trying to put together a schedule that allows it to race in states that have started re-opening. The series is working on safety protocols that other racing leagues will be watching, including no spectators to start. Teams could be back at work in North Carolina race shops by the end of the week when local stay-at-home orders expire.

UNDATED — As Major League Baseball explores options for starting the 2020 season, one possibility being considered is having groups of teams in Arizona, Texas and Florida. All of those areas have climate-controlled MLB stadiums, and other nearby ballparks. The new Texas Rangers ballpark is among possible venues, serving as a mid-American hub. The Rangers still haven’t played a game in their new stadium, which has a retractable roof.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks are undergoing a major front-office shakeup. With the NHL season on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, team president John McDonough has been ousted despite a wildly successful run that included three Stanley Cup championships. Still, after three straight seasons of lackluster results, owner Rocky Wirtz says it’s the “right decision.” His 43-year-old son Danny Wirtz is replacing McDonough on an interim basis.

UNDATED — Houston left tackle Laremy Tunsil became the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman by negotiating a $66 million contract extension with the Houston Texans without the help of an agent. Agents typically take between 1-3% of the contract’s value as their fee, so Tunsil saved a substantial amount by doing it himself. Tunsil says the toughest part was learning the right terminology and being able to voice it to the coaches.

UNDATED — T-C-U coach Gary Patterson, president of the American Football Coaches Association, says his level of optimism is “very high” that there will be a 2020 college football season. Patterson said during a Tuesday Zoom call with the media, “At some point in time, whether it’s fall or spring … or if it’s shortened, we’re talking about five, six, seven, eight different options right now.”

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska quarterback Noah Vedral has entered the transfer portal and plans to play his final two seasons at another school. An athletic department spokesman confirmed Vedral’s decision. Vedral has been backup to Adrian Martinez for two years. He transferred to Nebraska from Central Florida after coach Scott Frost was hired away from UCF in December 2017. Vedral started against Minnesota and Indiana last season. The native of Wahoo, Nebraska, also appeared in four other games and finished 34-of-52 passing for 418 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He rushed for 106 yards and three TDs and will be a junior in the fall.

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska women’s gymnastics program has been given two years of probation and fined for breaking NCAA rules under former head coach Dan Kendig. The Division I Committee on Infractions announced the program exceeded the number of allowable coaches when Kendig and members of the program arranged for a former volunteer coach to receive impermissible compensation from 2014-18. Kendig announced his retirement in October 2018. He coached the Cornhuskers for 25 seasons. The violations occurred when gymnasts each paid $300 per year to the volunteer for floor exercise choreography and the university paid an undisclosed amount for floor exercise music. The volunteer was not named.

UNDATED — The maker of Louisville Slugger baseball bats for Wilson Sporting Goods is producing non-medical masks to help benefit food banks. Louisville-based Hillerich & Bradsby Co. says its Maskonic masks are reusable, water repellent and treated with a bactericide that lasts for up to 10 washes. The masks were inspired by the company’s Bionic gloves line.

UNDATED — The Sugar Bowl Committee is donating $500,000 to several organizations in an effort to help soften the financial hardship caused by the new coronavirus in the New Orleans area. The money will go to assist the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Service and Hospitality Family Assistance Fund and the Hospitality Cares Pandemic Response Fund, which is managed by United Way of Southeastern Louisiana.

UNDATED — The Atlantic Coast Conference will bring its men’s basketball tournament back to Greensboro, North Carolina in 2023 after this year’s tournament in Greensboro was canceled near the midway point due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ACC is headquartered in Greensboro, which has hosted the tournament 27 times, the most of any location. Last month’s event was canceled after two days of play, with regular-season champion Florida State being presented the tournament championship trophy.

UNDATED — Athletes in track and field can apply for money from a $500,000 fund to help them get through the coronavirus pandemic. World Athletics and the International Athletics Foundation have launched the fund to help athletes who have lost income because competitions are suspended. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says the fund will try “to help as many athletes as possible.”

UNDATED  — The Baseball Hall of Fame has canceled the July 26 induction ceremony because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the class will be included with any additional new choices at next year’s induction festivities on July 25, 2021. Shortstop Derek Jeter heads the 2020 class that included outfielder Larry Walker, catcher Ted Simmons and union head Marvin Miller.

UNDATED — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has reduced his salary to zero, according to a person familiar with the move. Goodell makes upward of $30 million a year from salaries and bonuses. Other NFL employees will be taking pay cuts or furloughs due to the coronavirus pandemic. Goodell issued a memo to league staffers saying no employee earning a base salary of less than $100,000 will be affected by these reductions, and no employee’s salary will be reduced below $100,000 by the reductions.

UNDATED  — The NCAA Board of Governors supports a plan that gives athletes the ability to cash in on their names, images and likenesses as never before and without involvement from the association, schools or conferences. The next step is for membership to draft legislation by Oct. 30, with a formal vote to be taken by schools at the next convention in January. Plenty of details still need to be worked out, including how to ensure that these sponsorship deals aren’t being used as improper inducements to recruits.

UNDATED — A person familiar with the discussions tells The Associated Press the NHL is hoping players will return to their home rinks as early as May 15, followed by a training camp and possible exhibition games in June. The person added that the regular season would then resume in July, with the Cup awarded in September. Commissioner Gary Bettman emphasized no decisions have been made and noted that government and medical officials will ultimately make the call on when sports can return.

UNDATED — Former Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith has been arrested on a charge of unlawful sexual activity with certain minors. The 29-year-old Smith was booked into the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Jail yesterday and was released on a $50,003 bond. No details or police report was immediately available.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals have released quarterback Andy Dalton, clearing the way for reigning Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow to lead a team that remade itself in the draft. Dalton set several Bengals passing records in his nine seasons and led the team to a club-record five straight playoff berths without winning a postseason game. Coach Zac Taylor benched Dalton for three games last season, an indication his time in Cincinnati was finished. Burrow was taken first overall in the draft last week.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest has hired East Tennessee State’s Steve Forbes as its men’s basketball coach, less than a week after the school fired Danny Manning. Forbes is coming off a five-year run at ETSU that ended with a 30-win season and the Southern Conference Tournament championship. He went 130-43 with the Buccaneers, winning at least 24 games each year while also capturing the league tournament in 2017 to reach the NCAA Tournament.

UNDATED — The PGA Tour has issued a memo to its members saying players exempt for this season will keep the same status for the 2020-21 season that is scheduled to start in September. However, players can earn a higher ranking after this shortened season. The memo to outline the changes was another step in the tour trying to figure out what’s equitable in a season that will be without 13 previously scheduled events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNDATED — Paris St. Germain (juhr-MAN’) has been officially crowned Ligue 1 champion of French soccer, two days after the government ruled that the league had to be canceled because of the pandemic. Handing PSG its seventh title in eight years was basically a formality, with the team 12 points ahead of second-place Marseille (mahr-SAY’) with 10 rounds of matches left to play. Other teams objected to the decision to finalize the league standings based on a points-per-game formula, with Lyon (lee-OHN’) threatening to take legal action after missing a chance to qualify for the lucrative Champions League.

UNDATED — The NCAA is facing a federal lawsuit accusing the organization of failing to address gender-based violence by male athletes against female students at colleges and universities. The suit was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Michigan. Plaintiffs in the suit include women who have been athletes at Michigan State, Nebraska and an unidentified America East school. Other plaintiffs have been students at Michigan State or Nebraska.

LOS ANGELES — A U.S. district judge in California has dismissed the U.S. women’s soccer team’s claim of unequal pay in a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. However, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner has ruled that claims of unequal travel and medical staff can go to trial. The women’s team has long complained about its compensation compared to the U.S. men’s team and filed a gender discrimination suit last year. A trial is scheduled for June 16 in federal court in Los Angeles.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars have declined to pick up the fifth-year option in running back Leonard Fournette’s rookie contract. The decision was not surprising after the team tried to deal Fournette over the last month. The former LSU star is coming off a career year. He topped 1,600 yards from scrimmage in 15 games last season, carrying 265 times for 1,152 yards and catching 76 passes for 522 yards.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears have signed veteran safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year contract, three days after he was released by Houston. Gipson has intercepted 23 passes and returned three for touchdowns over eight seasons with Cleveland, Jacksonville and Houston. The 29-year-old Gipson had 55 tackles and three interceptions in his lone season with the Texans, starting 14 games before landing on injured reserve because of a back injury.

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Motor Speedway could host the first major sporting venue to have fans back in the stands this summer. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has announced a five-stage plan to reopen the state with the final phase tentatively scheduled to include a return to sporting venues on July 4. That’s the very day an IndyCar-NASCAR Xfinity Series doubleheader is scheduled to be run on the sprawling track.

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA is expanding its sexual violence policy to require student-athletes to inform their schools each year about any investigations or disciplinary matters in their past. The measure was adopted by the NCAA’s board of governors and requires all athletes to disclose annually whether their conduct has resulted in an investigation, Title IX discipline or criminal conviction for “sexual, interpersonal or other acts of violence.” Failure to fully disclose that information may result in penalties that include a loss of eligibility, as determined by the school.