Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM EST on Thursday, May 7

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The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427

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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Brady silent, agent blasts investigation

Mum is the word in New England one day after the NFL released the findings of Ted Wells' investigation into Deflategate. (FBN-PATRIOTS-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, 615 words)

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Hardy appeal to be heard May 28

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy's appeal of a 10-game suspension will be heard May 28 by Harold Henderson. (FBN-COWBOYS-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, 425 words)

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Collins begins free agent tour in Dallas

Undrafted free agent offensive lineman La'el Collins is kicking off his NFL tour with a visit to the Dallas Cowboys. (FBN-COWBOYS-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, 607 words)

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Sanchez expects QB competition

Mark Sanchez expects to compete with Sam Bradford for the starting quarterback job with the Philadelphia Eagles. (FBN-EAGLES-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, 319 words)

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Titans OLB Wimbley retires

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, a first-round pick in 2006 who had 53.5 career sacks, announces his retirement. (FBN-TITANS-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, 277 words)

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Former Redskins TE Davis reinstated

Former Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis is eligible to sign with any team after being reinstated by the NFL. (FBN-REDSKINS-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, 200 words)

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NFL Reset

Rookies get their NFL introduction this weekend as mandatory camps get them acclimated to the league. Here's a look at every team entering the practice phase of the offseason. NFL resets for all teams in the AFC North and AFC East will move by 6:15 PM ET as part of a 32-team series.

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Browns 2015 reset

Counting on brawn, not another QB. (FBN-BROWNS-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, by Frank Cooney, 1,000 words)

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Ravens 2015 reset

Draft features WMD for offense. (FBN-RAVENS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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Steelers 2015 reset

Draft filled needs indeed. (FBN-STEELERS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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Bengals 2015 reset

Heavyweight 1-2 punch in draft. (FBN-BENGALS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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Packers 2015 reset

(FBN-PACKERS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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Jets 2015 reset

(FBN-JETS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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Bills 2015 reset

(FBN-BILLS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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Patriots 2015 reset

(FBN-PATRIOTS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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Dolphins 2015 reset

(FBN-DOLPHINS-NEWS/, by Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words)

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NFL roundup

News and notes from around the league. (FBN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 7:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words)

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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

Bulls All-Star Butler named Most Improved

Chicago Bulls All-Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler is named the NBA's Most Improved Player. (BKN-BULLS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 350 words)

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Cavaliers apologize for insensitive video

A video that spurred criticism and backlash for insensitive content that made light of domestic violence causes the Cleveland Cavaliers to issue a public apology, one day after the team ran the video in the stadium. (BKN-CAVALIERS-NEWS/, expect by 3 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 250 words)

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Rockets' Brewer fined

Houston Rockets forward Corey Brewer is fined $5,000 for flopping in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. (BKN-ROCKETS-NEWS/, expect by 2:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 150 words)

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Today's NBA schedule at a glance

No games scheduled.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Florida's favorite: La Tech's White to interview

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley is scheduled to meet with Louisiana Tech head coach Mike White. (BKC-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 219 words)

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GOLF

Players Championship

McIlroy, Spieth and Day in tasty grouping at TPC Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Fresh from victory at last week's WGC-Cadillac Match Play, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy will launch his bid for an 11th PGA Tour title when he tees off in the opening round at the TPC Sawgrass in high-profile company alongside Masters champion Jordan Spieth and seventh-ranked Australian Jason Day. (GOLF-PGA/ (PIX), expect first lead by 2:45 PM ET, by Ben Everill, 400 words)

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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Red Sox fire pitching coach

Pitching coach Juan Nieves is fired by the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are 29th in team ERA (4.86) and starters ERA (5.54) and 25th in walks and hits per inning pitched, or WHIP, at 1.392. (BBO-REDSOX-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 300 words)

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White Sox LHP Sale drops appeal

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale drops his appeal of a five-game suspension for his role last month in the bench-clearing brawl with the Kansas City Royals and begins serving the ban. (BBO-WHITESOX-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 185 words)

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Yankees veteran Sabathia still searching

TORONTO - These are difficult times for CC Sabathia. The New York Yankees left-hander is still 0-for-2015 after taking the loss on Wednesday in a game won 5-1 by the Toronto Blue Jays. (BBO-YANKEES-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Larry Millson, 439 words)

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Dodgers OF Pederson swinging hot bat

MILWAUKEE - Among National League rookies, there might not be a bigger name this season than Kris Bryant, but Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson is very quietly starting to state his case. OK, not so quietly. (BBO-DODGERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Andrew Wagner, 403 words)

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Today's MLB schedule at a glance

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American League

Oakland at Minnesota, 1:10 PM ET (PIX)

Cleveland at Kansas City, 2:10 PM ET (PIX)

Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 PM ET (PIX)

Baltimore at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM ET (PIX)

Texas at Tampa Bay, 7:10 PM ET

Houston at Los Angeles Angels, 10:05 PM ET (PIX)

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National League

Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee, 1:40 PM ET (PIX)

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 1:45 PM ET (PIX)

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 7:05 PM ET

San Diego at Arizona, 9:40 PM ET

Miami at San Francisco, 10:15 PM ET (PIX)

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MLB Roundup

Running capsule recaps of all the games on the MLB schedule. (MLB-ROUNDUP/, expect first version ASAP after conclusion of the first game of the day, The Sports Xchange, 500 words)

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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Canadiens at Lightning

TAMPA, Fla. - Down 3-0, the Montreal Canadiens attempt to avoid the series sweep in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. (HKN-LIGHTNING-CANADIENS-FIRSTLEDE/WRITETHRU (PIX), expect ASAP after 7 PM ET start, The Sports Xchange, by Greg Auman, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru)

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Blackhawks at Wild

MINNEAPOLIS - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for a series sweep of the Minnesota Wild in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals series. (HKN-WILD-BLACKHAWKS-FIRSTLEDE/WRITETHRU (PIX), expect ASAP after 9:30 PM ET start, The Sports Xchange, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru)

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Today's NHL schedule at a glance

Montreal at Tampa Bay, 7 PM ET (PIX)

Chicago at Minnesota, 9:30 PM ET (PIX)

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NHL Roundup

Running capsule recaps of all the games on the NHL schedule. (HKN-ROUNDUP/, expect first version ASAP after conclusion of the first game of the day, The Sports Xchange, 500 words)

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SOCCER

Palestinian football chief firm on Israel's FIFA suspension

RAM, West Bank - The head of the Palestinian Football Association reinforces his call for Israel to be suspended from FIFA, saying the Israeli Football Association is part of an "apartheid, racist government" that is damaging Palestinian soccer. (SOCCER-FIFA/PALESTINIANS (PIX, TV), moved, by Ali Sawafta, 684 words)

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AUTO RACING

Last lap at Talladega still not over

Kansas Speedway was warm to the idea of a spring date in 2015, but the drama at Talladega and the upcoming Sprint All-Star Race is stealing all of the thunder this week. (CAR-SPRINT-COLUMN/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Jonathan Ingram, 1,159 words)

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TENNIS

Agent for Patriots QB Brady says NFL's 'Deflategate' probe flawed

MADRID - Top seed Serena Williams and defending champion Maria Sharapova remain on course for a heavyweight Madrid Open final showdown with contrasting victories in the last eight of the clay premier even. (TENNIS-WOMEN/MADRID (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, 436 words)

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Nadal breezes past Bolelli into Madrid quarters

MADRID - Local hero Rafa Nadal races into the last eight of the Madrid Open as he brushes aside unseeded Italian Simone Bolelli 6-2, 6-2 to set up a quarter-final clash against Bulgarian 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov. (TENNIS-MEN/MADRID (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, 458 words)

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JURISPRUDENCE

Boston bombing jury told of prison conditions Tsarnaev could face

BOSTON - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing, would spend most of his days alone in his cell if a U.S. jury decides to send him to prison instead of sentencing him to death, a penal expert testifies. (BOSTON BOMBINGS/TRIAL (UPDATE 1), moved; will be led, by Scott Malone, 405 words)

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Phoenix Suns' Morris brothers plead not guilty to aggravated assault

PHOENIX - The Phoenix Suns' twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris plead not guilty to two counts each of aggravated assault relating to an incident after a basketball tournament earlier this year. (USA-ARIZONA/SUNS, moved, 130 words)

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OLYMPICS

Boxing pulls out of World Combat Games over IOC row

BERLIN - Boxing will no longer be part of the World Combat Games and the international federation is also leaving the SportAccord umbrella organization after its dispute with the International Olympic Committee, AIBA says. (OLYMPICS-BOXING/SPORTACCORD, moved, 390 words)

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NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS

Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)