The U.S. Education Department is scrapping a policy from the Biden administration that threatened to upend colleges’ plans to pay athletes for their name, imagine and likeness by making those payments subject to federal Title IX rules.

President Donald Trump’s education officials announced the change saying the policy from former President Joe Biden’s final days in office had no legal basis under Title IX, the 1972 law forbidding sex discrimination in education.

“The NIL guidance, rammed through by the Biden Administration in its final days, is overly burdensome, profoundly unfair and it goes well beyond what agency guidance is intended to achieve,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

A Jan. 16 memo from the Biden administration told universities that NIL payments must be treated the same as athletic financial aid such as scholarships.

Many universities have publicly said the majority of their NIL payments would go to football and men’s basketball players under the terms of a House settlement that’s expected to be approved this spring.

NCAA recommends adding Women’s flag football >> The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has recommended that Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.

The committee’s recommendation Wednesday gives all three divisions an opportunity to sponsor legislation that would move the fast-growing sport through NCAA governance structures.

A sport must have a minimum of 40 schools sponsoring the sport at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participation requirements to be considered for championship status.

Hockey

NHL announces World Cup of Hockey to come in 2028 >> The World Cup of Hockey is returning three years from now. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association unveiled plans to host a tournament in early 2028, aiming for February.

The goal is to have an international tournament every other year, with players going to the Olympics in 2026 and ‘30.

The announcement came at the 4 Nations Face-Off that was pared down and pushed back from initial planning because of questions over Russia’s participation given the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

College football

UNLV senior Lineman dies >> UNLV senior offensive lineman Ben Christman, who transferred after last season from Kentucky, has died, the university announced.

Christman, who was 21, was found dead in an off-campus apartment on Tuesday morning. The university said it didn’t have other details and a cause of death would later be determined by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.

UNLV said Christman’s family and the team have been informed and that counseling services would be provided.

NFL

Chiefs’ Toney arrested for assault >> NFL wide receiver Kadarius Toney has been charged with assaulting a woman in Georgia and preventing her from calling for help.

Toney, 26, was arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail on Feb. 6 on charges of aggravated assault and obstructing or hindering an emergency call, according to online jail records.

He was released the same day on $50,000 bail, according to a person who answered the phone at the jail.

Baseball

Angels Rendon out long term for hip surgery >> Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon needs hip surgery and will be out for an extended period, his latest major injury setback since joining Los Angeles.

General manager Perry Minasian told reporters at the Angels’ spring training complex Wednesday that Rendon will miss a significant amount of playing time for the fifth consecutive season.

Rendon is beginning the sixth season of a $245 million, seven-year contract that has been disastrous for the Angels, who haven’t had a winning season since 2015 or made the playoffs since 2014.

Tigers Cobb out beginning of season with injury >> The Detroit Tigers are expecting Alex Cobb to miss the start of the season.

The team’s injury report at the start of spring training included Cobb, who had an injection last week to treat hip inflammation that developed as the right-hander was throwing.

Cobb, who has had hip surgery twice, signed a $15 million, one-year contract two months ago. The Tigers added him to join a rotation led by AL Triple Crown and CY Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and recently signed Jack Flaherty.

Soccer

Bayern Munich, Benfica, Brugge and Feynoord win first game of Champions League playoffs >> Bayern Munich looks set to survive the new Champions League playoffs round. AC Milan joined Atalanta and Monaco losing their first-leg games.

Bayern got high-class strikes from Michael Olise and Harry Kane either side of halftime in a 2-1 win at Celtic. The return game is Tuesday in Munich.

Feyenoord’s goal in a rain-soaked 1-0 win over Milan came in the third minute and relied in France goalkeeper Mike Maignan spilling Igor Paixão’s shot into the net.

Benfica won 1-0 at Monaco with another goal from Vangélis Pavlídis.

Club Brugge scored with a disputed penalty kick in stoppage time to beat Atalanta 2-1.

Tennis

Swiatek and Pegula advance to Doha Open quarterfinals >> Defending champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarterfinals of the Doha Open with a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4 win over Czech Linda Noskova.

The second-seeded Swiatek will next play Elena Rybakina, who beat Rebecca Sramkova 7-6 (1), 6-2.

Sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula also reached the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Daria Kasatkina.

The American will next face Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2, for a spot in the last four.

Skiing

Allmen and Meilllard win Gold in Men’s combined event >> Swiss skiers Franjo von Allmen and Loic Meillard won gold in the new team combined event at the Alpine world championships on Wednesday.

They led a Swiss sweep of the podium ahead of silver medalists Alexis Monney and Tanguy Nef.

Stefan Rogentin and Marc Rochat took bronze.

It’s the third gold medal for the Swiss team at these worlds after Marco Odermatt won the super-G and Von Allmen the downhill.

Olympics

1976 olympian Drayton dies at 80 >> Jerome Drayton, who finished sixth at the Montreal Olympics, won the 1977 Boston Marathon and held the Canadian men’s marathon record for 43 years, has died. He was 80.

Drayton died unexpectedly in Toronto, according to Cardinal Funeral Homes. Runners World magazine said he died during knee surgery.

Born in Germany with the name Peter Buniak, Drayton changed his name after immigrating to Canada in 1956.