NEW YORK — Several angry major league players wanted Alex Rodriguez kicked out of their union after he sued it last week, but staff lawyers told them expulsion was not allowed.

The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrator's decision suspending him for the 2014 season and postseason.

HONOLULU — NFL great Jerry Rice picked New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and St. Louis defensive end Robert Quinn as the anchors of his Pro Bowl team.Rice made the selections after winning a coin toss against Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders.The decision left Sanders with Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles and Houston defensive end J.J. Watt.

NEW YORK — Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron tweeted his support for Seahawks' cornerback Richard Sherman, who has received criticism for his rant against San Francisco receiver Michael Crabtree following Seattle's victory over the 49ers in Sunday's NFC championship game.Aaron told Sherman to “hang in there & keep playing as well as you did Sunday. Excellent job - you have my support.”Sherman thanked Aaron in a tweet, saying “your support is greatly appreciated and very humbling.”

ATLANTA — Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez was named to his 14th and final Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco's Vernon Davis.The Falcons had a disappointing 4-12 finish after the 37-year-old Gonzalez postponed his retirement for one year.

DETROIT — Correctly predicting the outcome of every game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament is no layup. There's now a $1 billion prize waiting for anyone able to pull off the feat this spring.Quicken Loans Inc. announced that it will team with investor Warren Buffett's Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway on the “Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge.”The Detroit-based mortgage lender says any qualified entrant who correctly predicts the winners of every game in the tournament will be paid in 40 annual installments of $25 million. A winner also can elect to receive an immediate $500 million lump-sum payment.It's a safe investment by Buffett's group. ESPN has run a tournament challenge for the past 16 years and has never had a perfect bracket in over 30 million entries.