ZELIENOPLE — North Star Buick GMC of Zelienople has partnered with Mars Area Recreational Sports to provide the league's players and coaches with equipment, a monetary donation and a chance to raise up to $10,000.

The dealership will provide M.A.R.S. with football kits that include equipment bags, 5-gallon water coolers, first-down marker chain sets and t-shirts.

League fundraising efforts are also provided through the donation of a vehicle by Pittsburgh area GMC dealerships. Chances to win a 2012 GMC Terrain are available through all participating leagues in the GMC program.

UNDATED — The Big 12 dumped its embattled commissioner and said nine schools had pledged to give their TV rights to the conference for the next six years, a step intended to preserve a fractured league that has lost two members in the past year and expects to lose another by next summer.If ultimately approved, schools that leave the Big 12 during the contract would leave their TV rights — and millions of dollars — behind in a blow much more punishing than an exit fee.

NEW YORK — A person familiar with the situation says Manny Ramirez will not be allowed to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic because he neither served a suspension nor contested it following a positive drug test this year.Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association concluded Ramirez is ineligible after he told MLB in April he would retire rather than face a 100-game suspension for a second positive drug test.

SAN FRANCISCO — Family members of a San Francisco Giants fan who was brutally beaten outside Dodger Stadium said he is speaking and more responsive than ever since his attack nearly six months ago.The family of Bryan Stow posted the update on its website, saying his latest improvements came a week after he received a shunt to relieve pressure on his brain. During a speech therapy session, Stow was able to say his full name and the names of his daughter and son.

CINCINNATI — For authorities tracking a marijuana shipment from California, the trail ended unexpectedly at the home of a Cincinnati Bengals player in suburban northern Kentucky where police say they found more drugs.No arrests have been made. Police were still investigating the case that has entangled Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson, a North Carolina native in his fourth NFL season.