Sharper to return to court

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper returns to court Thursday for a hearing that will determine whether he’s released on bail amid new charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted two women last year in Arizona.

The athlete has been in a Los Angeles jail since Feb. 27, when he turned himself in on an arrest warrant issued by Louisiana authorities on similar charges. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Renee Korn said last week that she could not hold Sharper indefinitely unless he was charged in New Orleans, which has not yet happened.

Kobe ruled out for season

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Kobe Bryant won’t be back on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.

Bryant expressed only mild frustration Wednesday after the official announcement of the long-expected decision to shut him down for the year. Bryant’s broken bone in his left knee still hasn’t healed enough for weight-bearing exercise.

With just five weeks left in their miserable season, the Lakers elected to preserve their superstar guard for next year, when he’ll be 36.

Peverley won’t return after collapse

DALLAS (AP) — Rich Peverley will not play again this season after collapsing on the bench during a game.

Whether the Dallas Stars’ forward resumes his career won’t be known until after a more extensive evaluation of his irregular heartbeat.

Peverley appeared briefly at a news conference, reading nervously from a statement that thanked “the number of people that saved my life” after he went down in the first period of a game against Columbus, stunning players, coaches and fans.

The 31-year-old left the questions to doctors who said his season was over and he would undergo a procedure that he decided to put off when his condition was first discovered during a physical before training camp in September.