PANTHERS-BENJAMIN
Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin to have knee MRI
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) β The Panthers have sent wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin for an MRI on his left knee after the first-round draft pick bumped knees with another player during practice Sunday.
Benjamin was not at Monday morning’s practice at Wofford College.
Benjamin has been working with the starters and is having an outstanding camp. He has been catching everything in sight and trying to adapt to quarterback Cam Newton, who is coming off an ankle injury.
Benjamin was the 28th player drafted. He caught 54 passes for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns last year for Florida State, including the winning touchdown against Auburn in the national championship.
Coach Ron Rivera is expected to address Benjamin’s injury after the morning practice.
SPORTS TOURISM
Horry schools to review sports tourism rentals
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) β Sports tourism brings in an estimated $130 million to the Grand Strand which hosts numerous athletic tournaments.
The Sun News of Myrtle Beach (http://bit.ly/1nNbNzJ ) reports that the Horry County School District plans to review how it charges for use of school fields and gyms used in the tournaments.
School Board Chairman Joe DeFeo says the district wants to make sure the fees it charges are competitive and cover the upkeep of fields and gyms. The school board is expected to consider the issue next month.
DeFeo says the district doesn’t want to give the impression it’s only concerned about getting money from renting facilities. He says officials realize the importance of sports tourism for the economy.
PADRES-BRAVES
Santana, Gattis lead Braves to 2-0 win over Padres
ATLANTA (AP) β Ervin Santana threw eight scoreless innings, Evan Gattis homered for the first time in more than a month and the Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 on Monday.
Santana (10-6) allowed just five hits and matched his career high with 11 strikeouts. Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 32nd save.
Gattis led off the seventh with a drive into the left-field seats off Jason Lane (0-1), a 37-year-old former outfielder making his first big league start as a pitcher.
Called up from Triple-A to fill in for ailing Ian Kennedy, Lane shut down the Braves through six innings. But when the left-hander hung an 0-1 breaking pitch, Gattis hit his 17th homer of the season and first since June 18, before he went on the disabled list for nearly three weeks with a bulging disk in his back.
FALCONS-SHEMBO
Falcons rookie LB Shembo pushing for starting job
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) β The Falcons were given the unusual go-ahead to tackle to the ground on the first day of full pads in training camp, and even rookie Prince Shembo could see that players were too excited to finally be hitting.
Shembo, the linebacker from Notre Dame, says players were “over-amped” as two fights broke out during the intense practice.
Shembo has good reason to be amped for his first training camp. He has an opportunity to push second-year player Joplo Bartu for a starting job. The two are competing to join Paul Worrilow as the starters in the base defense.
It’s an important competition as the Falcons must replace Sean Weatherspoon, who was lost to a season-ending Achilles injury last month.
TITANS-WASHINGTON
Undrafted Titans WR Washington begins 10th camp
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β For an undrafted rookie out of Tiffin University, Tennessee Titans receiver Nate Washington has had a pretty good career.
He’s going into his 10th NFL training camp and insists he’s nowhere close to being done.
Washington says he remembers being a rookie and just praying that he would make a roster. Now he has two Super Bowl rings from his four seasons in Pittsburgh and preparing for his sixth season with the Titans.
The receiver says he’s still grinding away thanks to the grace of God and plans to keep going until someone puts him out.
Washington is coming off the second best season of his career with 919 yards receiving as he heads into the final season of his current contract.
