Four Gamecock basketball players leave

Per @DarrylSlater: USC hoops announces that Damien Leonard, Eric Smith, Brian Richardson and RJ Slawson have asked for their releases and won't return.

All four were recruited by Darrin Horn and inherited by Frank Martin.

Damien Leonard averaged about 15 minutes a game in 2012-13, scoring 4 points a game. He will have two years left of eligibility after he redshirts. 

Eric Smith averaged about 6 points a game. He will have one year of eligibility remaining. Brian Richardson also has a year remaining, and he averaged 7.5 points per game for the Gamecocks.

RJ Slawson, from Fort Dorchester High School, averaged about 4 points a game, along with 3.3 rebounds a game. He has a year remaining also for eligibility.

The South Carolina basketball team will look completely different next year.

Kenseth loses 50 points, crew chief suspended

Shocking news may be coming out of NASCAR in the next few hours. Jenna Fryer, NASCAR reporter at the AP, reported this about Matt Kenseth's winning car at Kansas Speedway.

@JennaFryer 2h

Matt Kenseth's race-winning engine from Kansas has failed inspection. 1 connecting rod did not meet minimum weight. #NASCAR

Kenseth loses 50 championship points; crew chief Jason Ratcliffe fined $200,000, suspended six races. Joe Gibbs suspended 6 races. Wins won't count for Chase bonus/wild card, and Kenseth can't use his victory points for the Chase and the pole doesn't count for next year's Sprint Unlimited.

Jim Utter, NASCAR writer for the Charlotte Observer, tweeted these three things out:

@jim_utter 13m

"This may be a historic day in NASCAR." "Word filtering out from JGR about 20 team penalty is, well, frankly unbelievable." "And so out of character for NASCAR not reporting without some confirmation."

@jenntaylor83 2m

Just heard penalties from hubs for 20. Absolutely unreal. #NASCAR

That is from the wife of the rear tire changer of the 20 car.

Marty Smith, ESPN NASCAR reporter, tweeted this: A source w/ very close knowledge of the 20 car engine infraction told me the connecting rod in question was less than three grams too light.

NFL Week 1 schedule

The schedule for Week 1 of the NFL this season is:

Ravens at Broncos, Thursday 8:30
Patriots at Bills, Sunday 1
Titans at Steelers, Sunday 1
Falcons at Saints, Sunday 1
Chiefs at Jaguars, Sunday 1
Seahawks at Panthers, Sunday 1
Bengals at Bears, Sunday 1
Vikings at Lions, Sunday 1
Raiders at Colts, Sunday 1
Dolphins at Browns, Sunday 1
Buccaneers at Jets, Sunday 1
Packers at 49ers, Sunday 4:25
Cardinals at Rams, Sunday 4:25
Giants at Cowboys, Sunday 8:20
Eagles at Redskins, Monday 7:10
Texans at Chargers, Monday 10:20

Davidson to Atlantic 10 per Goodman

The A-10 is close to adding Davidson to the league, likely in 2014-15, sources told CBSSports.com. The move is pending approval from the school's board of trustees.

This is from Jeff Goodman at CBSsports.com.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/22072822/a-10-close-to-adding-davidson

Davidson would give the Atlantic 10 several pros, but this would mainly be a basketball move.

Richmond, Davidson, George Mason, VCU, George Washington, St. Louis, St. Joseph's, Rhode Island, UMass, Duquesne, Fordham, Dayton, St. Bonaventure and LaSalle would be the makeup of the new league if Davidson approves the move.

Pros- Fills the Charlotte market, a large market that has no presence in league. Great school. Has lots of tradition with its basketball program. Actually has a following in the market. Name recognition from its NCAA tournament appearances and Stephen Curry. Has following all around the country. Soccer program is good.

Cons- Poor in most other sports (baseball hasn't made 8-team conference tourney since 2009), football in non-scholarship league, needs to add a sport or two. Women's sports could be better. Other than that, not much to complain about.

This will be interesting. The Atlantic 10 would consist of twelve teams if this occurred.

Michael Roth called up to Angels

Former South Carolina P Michael Roth has been called up from AA to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Replacing Kevin Jepsen. From @PedroMoura, Angels beat reporter: Angels bring up left-hander Michael Roth and Shuck. Kevin Jepsen and Erick Aybar likely going on DL to create those spots

Charleston Classic teams announced

The Charleston Classic pairings have been announced, per @KevinLive5 on Twitter.

Davidson and UMass are the final 2 teams added to the 2013 Charleston Classic joining Clemson, New Mexico, UGA, Temple, UAB and Nebraska.

The event will be held Nov. 21-24 at TD Arena in downtown Charleston.