Wednesday's Sports In Brief
NHL
LAS VEGAS (AP) Carey Price came away from the NHL Awards show with a hat trick.
The Montreal Canadiens' record-setting goalie claimed the Hart Trophy, the Vezina Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award at the NHL's annual postseason bash Wednesday night.
Price also shared the already-announced Jennings Trophy with Chicago goalie Corey Crawford, and his hefty haul of hardware capped one of the greatest regular seasons for a goalie in NHL history.
''I'm just truly grateful,'' Price said. ''I'm immeasurably blessed to do what I do.''
Price led the league with 44 victories, a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage, becoming the first goalie to take all three top spots since Chicago's Ed Belfour in 1991.
The butterfly-style star from rural British Columbia led the Canadiens to the Atlantic Division title and the league's second-best record before falling in the second round of the playoffs to Tampa Bay.
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NFL
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Retired NFL players seeking payouts from the potential $1 billion NFL concussion settlement could be waiting until next year based on appeals being weighed this fall.
About 90 former players are appealing the final settlement approved this year by a federal judge in Philadelphia. The settlement covers about 21,000 NFL retirees.
Experts for both sides have said they expect about 6,000 of the retirees - or nearly 3 in 10 - to suffer from Alzheimer's disease or moderate dementia someday. The settlement would pay them about $190,000 on average.
Dozens of others are expected to be diagnosed with Parkinson's or Lou Gehrig's disease. Younger men with these conditions could get up to several million dollars for medical care and other expenses.
The father of lead plaintiff Kevin Turner, a former Philadelphia Eagle who has battled Lou Gehrig's disease for five years, said the award would give his son ''peace of mind.''
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NBA
ATLANTA (AP) - The NBA board of governors has unanimously approved the sale of the Atlanta Hawks to an ownership group led by billionaire Tony Ressler.
Along with the operating rights to Philips Arena, the Hawks were sold for $850 million. The NBA announced Wednesday's sale closing.
Former NBA star Grant Hill is part of Ressler's group, which includes New York investor Rick Schnall, Spanx founder Sara Blakely and her husband Jesse Itzler, co-founder of Marquis Jet.
The Hawks parted ways Monday with general manager Danny Ferry after buying out the last two years of his contract.
Ferry's departure resulted in a promotion for coach Mike Budenholzer to take a dual role as president of basketball operations.
A news conference is scheduled for Thursday morning in Atlanta to introduce Ressler and his partners.
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COLLEGE
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - The United States Basketball Writers Association has created an annual award in honor of late North Carolina Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith.
The Dean Smith Award will go to anyone associated with college basketball who embodies ''the spirit and values represented by Smith.'' The USBWA announced the award at a news conference Wednesday in the campus arena bearing Smith's name.
Current Hall of Fame coach and former Smith assistant Roy Williams attended along with Smith's widow, Linnea, and son Scott.
Smith retired in 1997 as the winningest coach in men's Division I history. He died in February after years of declining health.
USBWA president Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports says the group will present the first award before the start of next season.
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CAR RACING
A wealthy Qatari investment fund teamed with the owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL team is among several potential buyers of a stake in Formula One, a person with knowledge of the talks says.
The person was not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly but spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The person said discussions are ''well engaged.''
The Financial Times newspaper first reported the interest in F1 from Miami Dolphins owner RSE Ventures and Qatar Sports Investments, which has the Paris Saint-Germain football team in its portfolio.
The FT said they want to buy 35.5 percent of the holding company that owns F1 in a $7 billion to $8 billion deal.
The AP's source said, however, that the RSE-QSI partnership is only one of several interested parties. QSI would be the majority partner in an F1 link-up with RSE, the source said. The person also cautioned that the discussions have been going on ''for quite a while'' and there is still no certainty they will result in a firm deal.
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GOLF
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) - Golfers who made the cross-country trip from the U.S. Open to Connecticut to play in this week's Travelers Championship may have been enticed by the $6.4 million purse or the nice trophy, but what many really want is their face on a piece of candy.
The tournament, which begins Thursday, has become known on tour for the little perks it offers players, including providing the champion with a supply of M&M's with his face printed onto the hard candy shell.
''The first time I saw my face on an M&M, it was a little strange, but it was very cool at the same time to give them to friends and family,'' said defending champion Kevin Streelman, who earned his M&M's along with $1.1 million last year by making birdies on seven straight holes to close out the tournament.
Mars Inc. makes personalized M&M's for events such as weddings or corporate get-togethers, and tournament director Nathan Grube says the idea to make them part of the Traveler's Championship prize package began at one such event that included candies with the Travelers logo.
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TRACK
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has launched an investigation into allegations that famed track coach Alberto Salazar encouraged Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp and others in his stable of elite runners to skirt anti-doping rules, The Associated Press has learned.
A person with knowledge of the investigation told the AP on Wednesday that more than a dozen witnesses have been interviewed and USADA is actively pursuing documents and other evidence from Salazar, who coached Rupp to second place in the 10,000 meters at the London Olympics. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because anti-doping investigations are considered confidential.
A story by ProPublica and BBC earlier this month contained allegations from former Salazar assistant Steve Magness and a former Salazar runner, Kara Goucher, that Salazar skirted the rules. Salazar responded Wednesday by publishing a 12,000-word letter online disputing the allegations, saying the Oregon Project he leads ''will never permit doping.''