LJWorld.com

Kansas City, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, who made two gay slurs within a 24-hour period, was given what amounts to a one-game suspension Wednesday night, but Johnson’s agent said he would appeal.

Agent Peter Schaffer said the game check and other lost revenue would amount to a penalty of about $600,000 for the former two-time Pro Bowl player.

In a three-sentence release, the Chiefs said Johnson would be suspended until Monday, Nov. 9 for conduct detrimental to the team. The Chiefs are on their bye week and will not play again until traveling to Jacksonville on Nov. 8.

The Chiefs had been saying for three days that they were “investigating” the situation. Johnson was told to stay away from the team on Tuesday.

Schaffer said he had consulted with the Players Association about the appeal.

“We will be filing an appeal on behalf of Larry tomorrow,” Schaffer told The Associated Press.

Schaffer said they would try to expedite the matter and get a resolution before the team’s next game on Nov. 8.

In 2007, Johnson signed a five-year contract extension that guaranteed him about $19 million and could be worth as much as $45 million. But because of these latest problems, his future with the Chiefs beyond Nov. 8 may still be cloudy.

NFL

Ex-Chiefs aide Wallis dies

Kansas City, Mo. — Darvin Wallis, a longtime NFL assistant coach with Cleveland and Kansas City, has died. Chiefs spokesman Bob Moore said Wednesday that the 60-year-old Wallis died in Colorado on Friday. He said the cause of death was not immediately determined. Wallis was an NFL coach for 26 seasons, including 19 with Kansas City as a defensive assistant/quality control coach before retiring in January 2008.

Goodell admits no link

Washington — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would not acknowledge a connection between head injuries on the football field and later brain diseases while defending the league’s policies on concussions before Congress. Under sometimes-contentious questioning from lawmakers — and suggestions about reconsidering the league’s lucrative antitrust exemption — Goodell sat at a witness table Wednesday alongside NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith.

Freeman to start for Bucs

Tampa, Fla. — The winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers have changed starting quarterbacks again, with rookie Josh Freeman taking over the offense. Freeman was the 17th pick in the first round of this year’s draft out of Kansas State. He made his NFL debut last Sunday, playing two series in the fourth quarter of a 35-7 loss to the Patriots in London.

BASEBALL

Royals’ Greinke honored

Kansas City, Mo. — Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke has been named American League Pitcher of the Year by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Greinke finished the 2009 season with a 16-8 record and was second in the American League with 242 strikeouts.

SOCCER

K.C. complex offer final

Kansas City, Kan. — Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson said Wednesday that the state doesn’t plan to sweeten a $230 million package of incentives to lure a soccer stadium and office complex to Wyandotte County. During a news conference at the Kansas Statehouse, Parkinson said the proposal offered two weeks ago to medical software maker Cerner Corp. and Kansas City Wizards owner OnGoal LLC was final.

GOLF

LPGA taps commissioner

New York — The LPGA Tour picked Michael Whan as its new commissioner, turning to a former marketing executive in golf and hockey equipment to rebuild the tour’s relationships with sponsors.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

CU loses freshman guard

Boulder, Colo. — Colorado basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik says freshman guard Shannon Sharpe is having season-ending knee surgery.