■ SOCCER
Rape charges dropped
Rape charges against South African soccer international Jabu Mahlangu were dropped on Wednesday on the grounds of insufficient evidence, police said. The 26-year-old Bafana Bafana star had been charged earlier in the day with raping a 19-year-old woman after he handed himself in at a local police station, accompanied by his lawyers. However police spokeswoman Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht told the Sapa news agency that the charges had been formally dropped when he appeared at the Johannesburg high court. "The case was thrown out because of insufficient evidence," she said.
■ RUGBY UNION
Jackson takes player honors
New Zealander Glen Jackson saw off the challenges of the likes of England center Mike Catt on Wednesday to be named the Professional Rugby Players' Association player of the year. The 31-year-old former New Zealand Maori took the prestigious award ahead of Bristol No. 8 and fellow New Zealand-born Dan Ward-Smith and Leicester's Samoan winger Alesana Tuilagi, who has been instrumental in taking the Tigers to the European Cup final. Jackson got his nose in front because of being the leading points scorer in the Premiership which has inspired Saracens to make this weekend's semi-final against Gloucester.
■ FOOTBALL
Concussion meet planned
Commissioner Roger Goodell, who disclosed last week that the NFL will make baseline neuropsychological tests mandatory for the 2007 season, is requiring all team medical personnel to attend a meeting on concussions next month. Goodell ordered all 32 teams to send its doctors and trainers to a June 19 meeting in Chicago for the first league-wide concussion summit, NFL spokesman Joe Browne said. Under Goodell's new policy, all players will be required to take a baseline neuropsychological test -- determining cognitive abilities, memory and motor skills -- by the start of the 2007 season. That way, when a player has a concussion, he can be tested to determine what neurological changes have taken place.
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