PHOENIX - NFL owners passed a player safety rule Wednesday barring ball carriers from using the crown of their helmets to make forcible contact with a defender in the open field.
Several coaches and team executives expressed concern about officiating the new rule, but commissioner Roger Goodell championed it and it passed Wednesday as the owners meetings concluded.
Its passage by a 31-1 vote - Cincinnati voted no - was the second significant step in protecting defensive players; on Tuesday, the league took the peel-back block out of the game.
"There was a lot of discussion," Steelers president Art Rooney said of the helmet crown rule, "but the way it was presented was the most effective way to address it."
The penalty will be 15 yards from the spot of the foul, and if both the offensive and defensive player lower their heads and uses the crown of the helmet to make contact, each will be penalized.
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Also, the tuck rule, one of the most criticized rules in pro football, was eliminated. Now, if a quarterback loses control of the ball before he has fully protected it after opting not to throw, it is a fumble.
• The Bears are parting ways with veteran linebacker Brian Urlacher after 13 years. The eight-time Pro Bowler started 180 games from 2000 through 2012, recording a team-record 1,779 tackles.
• Quarterback Eli Manning will consider reworking his contract if it will help keep leading receiver Victor Cruz on the New York Giants.
UA Men's tennis
Cats fall to 10th-ranked Sooners
Arizona dropped to 9-5 on the season with a 6-1 loss to visiting Oklahoma on Wednesday. Mario Urquidi picked up the only win for the Wildcats, winning 6-2, 7-6 (4) at No. 6 singles.
Miscellaneous
Dempsey earns nod as captain
DENVER - Clint Dempsey will be the U.S. captain for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann says Wednesday he chose Dempsey because the striker "has been huge for us in World Cup qualifying so far." Dempsey leads the Americans with six goals in seven games in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
• Tiger Woods says he figured it was worth going public about his relationship with Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn rather than having paparazzi make money off them. The star athletes simultaneously posted messages on their Facebook pages this week to confirm they are dating.
• Tom Watson said he will take the top nine players off the Ryder Cup standings and select three players as captain's picks. For the last three matches, only eight Americans qualified for the team and the U.S. captain had four picks.
Includes material from a news release
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