CHICAGO - The NCAA agreed on Tuesday to help athletes with head injuries in a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit that college sports governing body touted as a major step forward but that critics say doesnt go nearly far enough. Gump Worsley Jersey .The deal, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, calls for the NCAA to toughen return-to-play rules for players who receive head blows and create a $70 million fund to pay for thousands of current and former athletes to undergo testing to determine whether they suffered brain trauma while playing football and other contact sports.A lead attorney for the plaintiffs who spearheaded nearly a year of talks culminating in the agreement said the provisions would ultimately improve players safety and leave open the possibility of damage payments later.I wouldnt say these changes solve the safety problems, but they do reduce the risks, Chicago attorney Joseph Siprut said. Its changed college sports forever.Others strongly disagreed.Unlike a proposed settlement in a similar lawsuit against the NFL, this deal does not set aside any money to pay players who suffered brain trauma. Instead, athletes can sue individually for damages; the NCAA-funded tests that would gauge the extent of neurological injuries could establish grounds for doing just that.One plaintiffs attorney not involved in the negotiations called it a terrible deal that lets the NCAA off the hook far too easily. Jay Edelson called the agreement window dressing, saying the NCAA will be able to settle one-off suits for several thousand each. He estimated that single, class-action damages settlement could have been worth $2 billion to players.Instead, he said, its worthless.The settlement is primarily directed at men and women who participated in basketball, football, ice hockey, soccer, wrestling, field hockey and lacrosse.There is no cutoff date for when athletes must have played a designated sport at one of the more than 1,000 NCAA member schools to qualify for the medical exams. That means all athletes currently playing and those who participated decades ago could undergo the tests and potentially follow up with damage claims.Tuesdays filing serves as notice to the judge overseeing the case that the parties struck a deal. At a status hearing later in the day, U.S. District Judge John Lee said he wanted more time to consider whether to give the deal preliminary approval. If he does, affected athletes will have a chance to weigh in before Lee decides about granting a final OK.The NCAA, which admits no wrongdoing in the settlement and has denied understating the dangers of concussions, hailed the deal.This agreements proactive measures will ensure student-athletes have access to high quality medical care by physicians with experience in the diagnosis, treatment and management of concussions, NCAAs chief medical officer Brian Hainline said.Siprut added that stricter rules and oversight should help ensure the viability of football by allaying fears of parents now inclined to not let their kids play.Absent these kinds of changes, the sport will die, he said.To keep the NCAA from having to hold unwieldy talks with multiple plaintiffs, 10 lawsuits filed nationwide were consolidated into the one case in Chicago, where the first lawsuit was filed in 2011.The lead plaintiff is Adrian Arrington, a former safety at Eastern Illinois. He said he endured five concussions while playing, some so severe he has said he couldnt recognize his parents afterward.Another named plaintiff is former Central Arkansas wide receiver Derek K. Owens. His symptoms became so severe he dropped out of school in 2011, telling his mother: I feel like a 22-year-old with Alzheimers.Among other settlement terms, all athletes will take baseline neurological tests to start each year to help doctors determine the severity of any concussion during the season; concussion education will be mandated for coaches and athletes; and a new, independent Medical Science Committee will oversee the medical testing.Robert Cantu, a Boston-based clinical professor of neurosurgery and a longtime critic of the NCAA, said the deal is a huge shift by the organization.Itll make collision sports much safer, said Cantu, who was one of the plaintiffs experts.But former UCLA linebacker Ramogi Huma said its all for show.It takes some of the things many of us have been advocating for and pretends to address it, Huma, president of the College Athletes Players Association, said.Plaintiffs filings say the number of athletes who may require testing to learn if they suffered long-term damage runs into the tens of thousands. They cite NCAA figures that from 2004 to 2009 alone, 29,225 athletes suffered concussions.Internal emails unsealed in the lawsuit illustrate how pressure mounted on the NCAA over the issue.In a Feb. 23, 2010, email, the NCAAs director of government relations, Abe Frank, wondered whether debates about new safeguards for young children playing contact sports would crank up the pressure on the NCAA to do more.David Klossner, NCAAs then-director of health and safety, responded bluntly a few hours later: Well since we dont currently require anything all steps are higher than ours.Later that year, the NCAA established a head-injury policy that states that athletes should be kept from play for at least a day after a concussion. It also requires each school to have a concussion management plan on hand.But plaintiffs blamed a tendency of some teams to hurry concussed players back into games, in part, on the NCAAs lax enforcement of the policy.In a 2012 deposition, asked if any schools had been disciplined for having subpar concussion plans, Klossner said, Not to my knowledge.___Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm Jamie Benn Jersey . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Julius Honka Jersey . As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/marc-methot-hockey-jersey/ . -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three holes and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys are moving on without franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware. Now they have to figure out how to rebuild their defensive line. The Cowboys released Ware on Tuesday, a salary cap move that owner Jerry Jones called "extremely difficult" after the worst season of the star pass rushers career. Ware broke Harvey Martins 30-year-old franchise record for sacks in 2013, but got to the quarterback a career-low six times and missed games for the first time in his nine-year career with a thigh injury. The 31-year-old Ware also had off-season elbow surgery and was set to count $16 million against the salary cup. Negotiations on a reduced salary failed, so his release saves about $7.4 million and gives Dallas about $9 million to spend at the moment. "A decision like this, involving a man who is a cornerstone player in the history of your franchise, is extremely difficult," Jones, also the teams general manager, said in a statement announcing the decision just as free agency opened. "We were also in very strong agreement that playing for the Dallas Cowboys would be one of the options we would both be exploring." Still, Ware has likely played his last down for an owner who always had a tough time letting aging superstars go. Without Ware and with 2013 team sacks leader Jason Hatcher already headed for free agency, all the projected starters from a year ago are gone from a defence that gave up the most yards in franchise history and finished last in the league in total defence. Rod Marinelli is taking over for the demoted Monte Kiffin as defensive co-ordinator after both joined the staff last year. Marinelli was in charge of the injury--riddled front last season. Brian Flynn Jersey. . Anthony Spencer, who like Ware had to make the transition to defensive end in a four-man defensive front, missed almost all of last season with a knee injury and is a free agent. Dallas released defensive tackle Jay Ratliff in the middle of last season. Nick Hayden signed as a free agent last year to be a backup but ended up starting all 16 games because of injuries and the uncertainty surrounding Ratliff. The most accomplished player on the Cowboys defensive front right now is George Selvie, who wasnt even on the roster when training camp started last year. Dallas added him when injuries hit. The switch away from a 3-4 defence forced Ware to play with his hand on the ground closer to the offensive line rather than a stand-up outside linebacker who could get a faster start on the snap. Still, Ware looked good in training camp and even intercepted a pass by Eli Manning on the first play of last season. But he never did find his form as a pass rusher after fading late in 2012 and finished third on the team in sacks behind Hatcher and Selvie. "DeMarcus Ware, through his performance on the field and his outstanding character, is someone who is held in the highest regard within the Dallas Cowboys family," Jones said in the statement. "He is worthy of our greatest respect, and we want what is best for him and his family." A first-round pick under coach Bill Parcells in 2005, Ware finished with 117 sacks, three more than Martin. He set a club record with 20 sacks in 2008 during a seven-year streak of at least 10 sacks per season. The four-time All-Pro is ninth in club history with 710 tackles. China Jerseys Wholesale China NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys 2019 Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '