Replay officials will have final say on targeting calls

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel adjusted the targeting rule in college football, allowing video review officials to overturn calls if any element of the penalty cannot be confirmed.

The adjustment to the rule announced Tuesday means there will be no option for letting the call on the field "stand" for a targeting review. It must either be confirmed or overturned.

The panel also approved instituting a progressive penalty for targeting. Players who commit three targeting fouls in the same season are subject to a one-game suspension.

Overtime rules also were tweaked. If a game reaches a fifth OT, teams will run alternating two-point plays instead of starting another drive at the opponent's 25-yard line. The change was made to bring the game to a conclusion. The change was proposed after LSU and Texas A&M matched a record by playing seven overtimes last November.

Targeting, or illegal hits above the shoulders, would still result in a 15-yard penalty and ejection of the player who committed the foul. Players ejected in the second half would still be required to sit out the first half of the following game.

The goal of the rule adjustment is to call targeting more accurately and have fewer players ejected for borderline calls. The rule adjustment puts the onus on the replay official to make a definitive call.

• The college basketball bribery trial has spilled over into football. Marty Blazer, a financial adviser and government witness, testified in New York that from 2000 to 2014, he gave cash to football players from seven schools: Notre Dame, Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Alabama and North Carolina.

Laura Janke, who was an assistant women's soccer coach at USC, will plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy and has agreed to cooperate with authorities, which means she will testify at others' trials if asked, court documents show.

Toby MacFarlane, a former senior executive at a title insurance company who was among 33 parents charged in the case, will also plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, officials said.

They were charged alongside 48 others last month with taking part in the scheme that has embroiled elite universities across the country.

Auto racing: Fernando Alonso's quest to win motorsports' version of the Triple Crown has sparked a renewed interest in the Indianapolis 500 for McLaren, which has entered next month's race while exploring an eventual full-time entry in IndyCar. The English manufacturer will be an official participant for the Indy 500 since Johnny Rutherford won in 1976.

College basketball: Michigan said sophomore guard Jordan Poole is staying in the NBA draft. The school announced earlier this month that Poole, Charles Matthews and Iggy Brazdeikis were declaring for the draft, although they still had the option of coming back to the Wolverines. Since then, Matthews announced he would indeed leave, and now Poole, who averaged 12.8 points per game, is departing as well. … New LSU athletic director Scott Woodward began his tenure by asserting he would throw "100 percent support" behind recently reinstated coach Will Wade unless he's presented with new information that forces him to reconsider.

Soccer: Toronto forward Jozy Altidore will be sidelined for two to third weeks because of a hamstring injury suffered late in Friday's 4-3 victory over Minnesota United. … Shane Long scored the fastest-ever goal in Premier League history, coming in 7.69 seconds for Southampton in a 1-1 tie at Watford.