A grin is the news of NFL mediation

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch emerged with a smile and a positive outlook Monday after attending a fourth consecutive day of federally mediated negotiations between the NFL and the players' union in Washington, D.C.

"Things are going well," said Batch, a member of the NFL Players Association executive committee. "We'll see how things progress over the coming days."

He didn't discuss any details.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith left at 6 p.m., about seven hours after Monday's session began. NFL executives departed minutes after Smith. None would comment on the negotiations; Smith deflected questions by joking about the wintry weather.

After months of infrequent -- and sometimes contentious -- bargaining, the league and union have communicated face-to-face for a total of more than 25 hours since Friday. They are hoping to find common ground before the collective bargaining agreement runs out March 3.

"Any time you talk," Batch said, "you have to feel better."

Newton says he'll do full combine

• The Miami Dolphins hired three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Bryan Cox as the team's pass rush coach, bringing him back to the franchise that drafted him 20 years ago. Cox played 12 seasons in the NFL, the first five with Miami.

Williams back to coach GramblingFormer Washington Redskins star quarterback Doug Williams is returning to Grambling State to coach the football team.

The NFL Hall of Famer signed a four-year contract that begins March 1.

Williams, a former Grambling State quarterback, was the MVP of Super Bowl XXII with the Redskins. He later succeeded Eddie Robinson as coach at his alma mater, winning three consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles from 1998 to 2003.

Williams, 55, will coach his son D.J. Williams, who signed with Grambling this year.

The university has been preparing to drop the nickname and its American Indian head logo this summer as part of a settlement with the NCAA, which considers both to be hostile and abusive to American Indians.

House members voted 65-28 to require UND to keep the nickname and logo. The bill now goes to the North Dakota Senate for its review.

"Overwhelmingly, Native Americans and regular North Dakota citizens ... they said, we don't want the name to go away," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, the House majority leader.

Prince calls off Bahrain Grand PrixThe crown prince of Bahrain called off Formula One's season-opening race, handing another victory to protesters aiming to break the dynasty's stranglehold on power in the Gulf kingdom.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa owns the rights to the event, scheduled for March 13. Facing more demonstrations around an event that draws a TV audience of around 100 million in 187 countries, the crown prince told F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone that the race would not go ahead.

U's Raty is Kazmaier nomineeGophers sophomore goaltender Noora Raty is a nominee for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which goes to the nation's best NCAA Division I women's hockey player.

She's among 26 in the running. The list will be narrowed to 10 on March 3 and to three on March 10. The winner will be announced on March 19.

Raty made the final three last season.

Eight nominees are from the WCHA. The others are Wisconsin's Meghan Duggan, Brianna Decker and Hilary Knight, Minnesota Duluth's Haley Irwin and Jocelyne Larocque and North Dakota sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux and Monique Lamoureux-Kolls, both former Gophers.

Raty's record of 22-6-2 leads the nation, and her nine shutouts are a school record.