The Carolina Panthers have released two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short.

Short, the Panthers' best defensive player, has played in a combined five games over the past two seasons, as his 2019 and 2020 campaigns were cut short by season-ending shoulder surgeries.

He was heading into the final year of a five-year, $80 million contract he signed in 2017 after having 24.5 sacks during a three-year span. He has since had only three sacks, all in 2018, when he started 14 games.

"We're all grown here, so you know what it is," Short said after the season. "It's a 'what-can-you-do-for-me-now' type of business."

Short was set to count $20.8 million against this year's cap.

Information from ESPN's David Newton was used in this report.

AW promotion: New research highlights how the nutrient-packed fruit can be a potent weapon in your training armoury

In recent years, U.S. Montmorency Cherries have attracted an increasing amount of attention concerning their many potential health benefits.

A considerable number of academic studies have been undertaken, with the majority concluding that this bright red, tart tasting and nutrient-dense fruit does indeed make a difference when it comes to sport and exercise.

In a bid to fully understand the bigger picture, however, research teams from both Northumbria University and St Mary’s University recently produced what is known as a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, which essentially means that they assessed all studies which met a set criteria to come up with an overall conclusion.

The findings have just been published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism and are unequivocal – you really can put a cherry on top of your training.

The evidence would suggest that U.S. Montmorency Cherries can be a potent weapon in your nutritional armoury. In previous posts we have examined how they can speed up recovery and boost your power. Here, we take a closer look at how the cherries can help an athlete when it comes to improving sleep quality.

“You drop off to sleep quicker, you don’t wake up so frequently and you should feel better. The idea then is that you can regenerate that bit better and recover at an accelerated rate”

“We did a study where we got people to take cherries for a few days and then looked at their sleep over a two-day cycle,” says Professor Glyn Howatson of Northumbria University, one of the authors of the review. “Their sleep efficiency improved by about five and a half to six per cent.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot but, when you’re talking about sleep quality, which is expressed as a percentage, it is actually quite a large proportion.”

There was more, however. Those subjects who had taken cherries dropped off to sleep earlier than those who hadn’t, while there was another key finding around WASO (wake after sleep onset).

“During the night, even though you think you’ve slept the whole time, people wake up on numerous occasions and don’t know anything about it,” says Professor Howatson.

“Taking cherries, however, showed that happens less during the night and, as a result of that, you get an improved sleep index.

“You drop off to sleep quicker, you don’t wake up so frequently and you should feel better. The idea then is that you can regenerate that bit better and recover at an accelerated rate.”

There seem to be few downsides to giving U.S. Montmorency Cherries a try. As Professor Howatson adds: “It may or may not work for individual people but at the very best you can expect to get some improvements in your recovery and, at the worst, you will have an extra portion of fruit and vegetables.

“Tart Montmorency cherries are absolutely crammed full of goodies. You are getting a really high quality fruit in your diet you probably wouldn’t have otherwise had.

“It’s so easy to take and to include in your diet. You can put it in a yoghurt, you can put it on cereal or make smoothies with it – there’s all sorts of ways in which you can consume it.”

Watch the best shots as Serena Williams produces a stunning performance to beat second seed Simona Halep and set up an Australian Open semi-final with Naomi Osaka.

READ MORE: Williams beats Simona Halep & will face Naomi Osaka in semi-final

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SOMERSET, Ky. — Officials with the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Southern Series have added a pair of events at the Bob Harris-promoted Duck River Raceway Park in Lewisburg, Tenn., to the schedule.

The Rumble on the River weekend on May 14-15 will feature the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Models racing for 40 laps and $4,000-to-win on Friday, May 14 and 50 laps and $10,000-to-win on Saturday, May 15.

This will mark the first visits to the race track located less than an hour south of Nashville, Tenn.

More information will be released in the coming weeks including support classes/payouts, prices and times.

INDIANAPOLIS — Veteran motorsports announcer Bob Jenkins, known by millions for his role behind the microphone during the Indianapolis 500 and other motorsports events, announced Tuesday that he is battling brain cancer.

Jenkins is set to scale back his role on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Public Address system this year in order to focus on his cancer battle. He still plans to be present at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the month of May.

“It happened on Christmas night. I awoke with a severe headache,” Jenkins explained during an interview with Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles published Tuesday on YouTube. “I made it to one hospital. They did a CT scan and then told me I needed to go someplace else for an MRI because the Crawfordsville hospital didn’t do MRIs.

“The first diagnosis was a stroke. The second diagnosis was we have found two malignant tumors in your right temple and you have brain cancer.”

This is not Jenkins’ first bout with cancer. In 1983, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and was able to overcome the disease.

“I had colon cancer in 1983 and I survived that,” Jenkins said. “With God’s help and my beloved race fans, I’m going to make it.”

The 73-year-old first appeared on the IMS Radio Network in 1979 and later became the voice of the Indianapolis 500 in 1990. He continued in that position through 1998 and has remained involved with the speedway and the Indianapolis 500 in various roles through the years.

In addition to his work at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jenkins spent years working for ABC and ESPN covering multiple forms of racing. Jenkins has covered NASCAR, CART, IMSA, Formula One and more during his many years as a television personality and announcer.

Jenkins said it was important for his family to be among the first to find out about his diagnosis. He said he considers race fans his family.

“I don’t have a large family,” Jenkins explained. “I have a niece and a nephew. I consider the first people that I should tell my family and my family is my race fans and people like you (Doug Boles) who contribute to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500 every year and make it what it is and what it has been since 1911.

“I’m not going to completely retire. I’m going to say I’m cautiously optimistic about working some of the public address this year, but you will not hear me or see me as much as you have during the past few years. I’m going to do all I can because I am going through radiation and chemotherapy to knock this cancer out of my brain.”

DALLAS -- - The Dallas Stars postponed a second consecutive game against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday after further consultation with city officials over widespread power outages attributed to extreme winter weather.

The club made the latest decision almost 12 hours before the scheduled game, as opposed to the Monday night postponement that was announced less than an hour before puck drop.

The Stars were getting criticized on social media about planning to go forward with Monday's game as tens of thousands of Dallas-area residents went most of the day without power in frigid temperatures. The overnight low at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Tuesday morning was minus-1 degree Fahrenheit (minus-17 degrees Celsius).

There has been power at American Airlines Center. Tristan Hallman, a spokesman for the Dallas mayor, told The Dallas Morning News the arena is on the critical infrastructure grid that includes the convention center and area hospitals.

The postponed games were the fifth and sixth on a season-long eight-game homestand for the Stars. No makeup dates have been announced.

Another snowstorm was in the forecast later Tuesday into Wednesday, but without the single-digit temperatures that followed a storm that dumped several inches of snow on the Dallas area over the weekend.

The NBA has postponed the San Antonio Spurs' next three games after four players on the team tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced Tuesday.

The Charlotte Hornets, who played the Spurs on Sunday, are undergoing contact tracing and will have their next two games postponed, the NBA said.

The Spurs have remained quarantined in Charlotte since Sunday's game, sources tell ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

San Antonio's affected games were scheduled for Wednesday at the Cleveland Cavaliers, Saturday at the New York Knicks and next Monday at the Indiana Pacers.

The Hornets games affected were scheduled for Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls and Friday against the Denver Nuggets.

NEW YORK -- - The New York Yankees are partnering with the City University of New York to identify students and alumni for career and business opportunities with the team.

The Yankees said Tuesday they began a diversity and inclusion committee in September that includes Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, retired pitcher CC Sabathia and film director Spike Lee. It will also include staff hitting coach Marcus Thames, bullpen coach Mike Harkey and senior director of player development Kevin Reese.

CUNY students will have access to the Yankees' sport management mentoring program.

The committee, in concert with an array of community groups, wants to promote team diversity and knock down barriers in education, economic development, and health and wellness.

Yankees executives involved in the program include chairman Hal Steinbrenner, president Randy Levine and general manager Brian Cashman.

US sprint hurdler is among the main attractions at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet in Poland this week

Colin Jackson’s long-standing world record for 60m hurdles could be in danger when in-form American Grant Holloway takes to the track on Wednesday (Feb 17) for the Copernicus Cup in Toruń.

Will the mark fall in the Polish city? Holloway, 23, came close with 7.32 in Lievin last week and 7.35 in Fayetteville last month.

Jackson’s record has stood since 1994 when the Briton enjoyed a momentous indoor season. Firstly he equalled Greg Foster’s world record of 7.36 in Glasgow before claiming the mark as his own with a 7.30 clocking in Sindelfingen, Germany. In the form of his life, he then captured a golden double at 60m and 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Championships in Paris a few days later.

Holloway ran 12.98 for 110m hurdles outdoors in 2019 and won the world title that year in Doha. Like Jackson, he is a great all-round athlete too – with a long jump best of 8.17m and a 44.75 split from a 4x400m to his name – and this year he seems a class apart from his rivals in his specialist event.

But Holloway has played down a record attempt, saying: “I don’t chase records, it’s the records that come to you.”

Elliot Giles hopes to continue his fine form in the 800m at a Toruń venue that is also set to stage next month’s European Indoor Championships.

Giles has been in great form lately with 800m victories in Karlsruhe and Lievin, plus 1500m PBs at events in France. In Toruń he is joined by fellow Brit Jamie Webb as they face Adam Kszczot – the Pole racing on home soil – and Kenyan Collins Kipruto.

Fresh from her world record for 5km on the roads in Monaco, Beatrice Chepkoech takes on Ethiopians Genzebe Dibaba, Lemlem Hailu and Fantu Worku at 3000m. Dibaba has raced lightly during the pandemic but ran an impressive 65:18 to win the half-marathon in Valencia in December and she is a three-time world indoor champion at 3000m.

Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver have both broken the Dutch indoor 400m record this winter and they face each other in Torun along with European champions Justyna Swiety and Lea Sprunger. With a recent best of 50.81, though, Bol will take some stopping.

Marcin Lewandowski is getting ready to defend his world indoor 1500m title in the same arena in a fortnight and the Polish runner tests himself against Selemon Barega and Bethwell Birgen in the metric mile.

Sam Kendricks leads the pole vault entries, while Gianmarco Tamberi and Andriy Protsenko head the men’s high jump line up.

In the men’s shot, Michal Haratyk faces Czech thrower Tomas Stanek and Polish indoor record-holder Konrad Bukowiecki.

Fans in the UK will be able to watch the meeting live via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website from 4.25pm GMT, or BBC Red Button from 4.35pm until 7pm.