The NCAA may restrict colleges from compensating athletes beyond the cost of attendance, a three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Wednesday in a victory for the college sports establishment as it fights efforts to expand athletes' rights. As college football and men's basketball have generated millions of dollars in revenue, some athletes have lobbied for greater compensation. The appeals court bluntly said that limiting compensation to the cost of attendance was legally sufficient. The panel threw out a proposal that the NCAA allow colleges to pay athletes $5,000 per year in deferred compensation. "The Rule of Reason requires that the NCAA permit its schools to provide up to the cost of attendance to their student-athletes. It does not require more," the appeals panel wrote in what is known as the O'Bannon case. The lead plaintiff in the case is Ed O'Bannon, a former UCLA basketball star . . . Dartmouth senior receiver Victor Williams and Stonehill sophomore QB Matt Foltz collected this week's Gold Helmet awards from the New England Football Writers. Williams set career highs in receptions (11) and receiving yards (178), including a 60-yard TD reception, in a 49-7 win over Sacred Heart. Foltz fired three of his six touchdown passes in the final 62 seconds of the Skyhawks' stunning 40-37 comeback win at LIU-Post.
Hernandez shut down
Mariners ace Felix Hernandez is done for the season after manager Lloyd McClendon decided not to have the righthander pitch on the final weekend. McClendon said it wasn't worth the stress on Hernandez's arm to have him make one more start against Oakland. The manager said he would have changed his thinking if the Mariners were facing a team that was in a playoff chase or Hernandez had a chance for a career-best 20th victory. Hernandez will finish the season with an 18-9 record and 3.53 ERA . . . The Indians shut down left fielder Michael Brantley for the rest of the regular season because of a sore right shoulder.
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UFC
Jan. 17 card in Boston
A bantamweight championship bout between Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw will headline an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Jan. 17 at TD Garden. Dillashaw (13-2) is the bantamweight champion. Cruz is 20-1 and the top-ranked bantamweight. Tickets go on sale Nov. 13.
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A ratings win for 98.5
CBS Radio's 98.5 The Sports Hub was the runaway winner in the summer Nielsen Audio Ratings period, finishing first overall in the Boston market with an 11.3 share in the men 25-54 demographic. That easily outdistanced classic hits station WROR, which earned a 6.9 in the three-month summer period from June 18-Sept. 9.
NBA modifies replays
The NBA says current referees will staff its replay center this season and be able to make decisions in certain situations. Plays that will be reviewed in the Secaucus, N.J., facility include determinations on whether a shot was a 2- or 3-pointer, or whether it beat the shot clock or end of quarter buzzer. Out of bounds calls and goaltending rulings also will be handled by the replay center . . . Bulls guard Derrick Rose had surgery to repair his left eye socket, a day after being elbowed in the face. Coach Fred Hoiberg said the operation to repair a left orbital fracture ''went as expected,'' but would not put a timetable on Rose's return . . . Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 500th and 501st goals of his career to give visiting Real Madrid a 2-0 win over Malmo in Group A of the Champions League . . . Jordi Quintilla scored the winner in the eighth round of penalty kicks and Sporting Kansas City beat the host Philadelphia Union for their third US Open Cup title . . . Pam Kuong of Wellesley Hills won two matches and advanced to the semifinals of the US Senior Women's Amateur in Nashville.
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Kuong, who plays at Charles River Country Club, completed her rain-interrupted match in the round of 16 (beating Sophie Pfeiffer of France, 1-up), then defeated Julie Carmichael of Plainfield, Ind., in the quarterfinals, 2 and 1. Kuong faces Tama Caldabaugh of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., in Thursday morning's semifinals. The championship match is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Kuong and the other quarterfinalists receive exemptions into the 2016 US Senior Women's Amateur, which will be held at Wellesley Country Club.
Dave Houghton was declared the winner of the rain-shortened New England Senior Amateur, becoming the oldest winner in the tournament's history. Houghton, a 71-year-old who plays out of Captains Golf Course, shot a 3-under-par 69 at Oyster Harbors Club on Tuesday to take a two-stroke lead. When Wednesday's final round was canceled due to weather, Houghton was declared champion. He won the 2014 Massachusetts Senior Amateur, also at Oyster Harbors.
Venus Williams hit five aces and saved three of four break points to beat Carla Suarez, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Wuhan (China) Open. Williams wil face Johanna Konta, who upset top-seeded Simona Halep, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 . . . Sixth-seeded Jiri Vesely advanced to the quarterfinals of the Shenzhen (China) Open by beating Zhizhen Zhang, 6-2, 6-3. Vesely will face top-seeded Tomas Berdych, who defeated Austin Krajicek, 7-5, 6-3.
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Seattle Sounders defender Chad Marshall left practice on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital after suffering an injury to his head and neck area.
Oilers forward Jordan Eberle will miss 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury. He left Tuesday night's game against Arizona in the first period following a collision behind the Coyotes net . . .