Beijing ? A wild brawl broke out between Georgetown and a Chinese men’s basketball team Thursday night, putting an immediate end to a supposed goodwill game that coincided with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the country.

The benches cleared and fights erupted all over the court with about 91/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The rest of the exhibition between Georgetown and the Bayi Rockets was called off.

Biden did not attend the game. Wednesday, he watched the Hoyas beat the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons 98-81.

The Washington Post reported Georgetown and Bayi players tackled and threw punches at each another. Chairs and water bottles were tossed as the Hoyas headed to the locker room with the score 64-all in a testy, foul-plagued matchup.

“Tonight, two great teams played a very competitive game that unfortunately ended after heated exchanges with both teams,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said in a statement. “We sincerely regret that this situation occurred.”

Georgetown and the Rockets are scheduled to play again Sunday night in Shanghai.

The melee was the latest instance of on-court fighting by China, whose players have been fined tens of thousands of dollars by the world and Asian federations for scrapping with opponents.

Georgetown is in China on a 10-day trip which has been cited by the U.S. State Department as an example of sports diplomacy that strengthens ties between the two countries. The Hoyas were briefed by the State Department ahead of their departure on what to expect during its trip to Beijing and Shanghai, according to news releases on the university’s website.

Baseball

Francoeur gets extension

Kansas City, Mo. — Jeff Francoeur signed with the Kansas City Royals in the offseason hoping for a chance to prove that he could be an everyday player. He agreed to a contract extension Thursday because he succeeded.

The Royals announced the two-year extension shortly before opening a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox. It should keep the 27-year-old right fielder with the club through the 2013 season, when those within the organization expect the youngest roster in the majors to be competing for championships.

“We have enough pieces in place, and hopefully guys to come, that hopefully this will turn around quick. We’re in a division where you don’t have to win 95, 96 games a year,” Francoeur said. “We’re in a good division to hopefully finish this season strong and play well next season. And for me, I want to be a part of that, I do. I want to be part of when this thing turns around and Kansas city starts winning again. I want to say I was here.”

It’s been awhile since someone said that in baseball’s backwaters.

Kansas City hasn’t finished better than third in its division since 1995, and that includes a stretch of three consecutive seasons from 2004-06 in which the franchise lost 100 games. But with the arrival of general manager Dayton Moore, the Royals began to restock the farm system and add some key free agents.

Francoeur was someone Moore had been targeting.

After bouncing through the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, Francoeur was eager to sign with a team that would allow him to play every day. Moore didn’t make any promises other than to give him a chance, and that proved to be enough. Francoeur is hitting .277 with 15 homers, 66 RBIs and a career-high 19 stolen bases.

“He’s done a great job of coming in here and proving he can still be a productive, everyday player, and I’m glad to see that,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Jacobs suspended for HGH

Denver — Mike Jacobs is the first player suspended by Major League Baseball for a positive HGH test under the sport’s minor-league drug-testing procedures.

The 30-year-old minor-league first baseman, who was in the big leagues from 2005-10, received a 50-game suspension Thursday for taking the banned performance-enhancing substance and was subsequently released by the Colorado Rockies.

Jacobs said he took human growth hormone to overcome knee and back ailments.

Jacobs is the first North American pro athlete punished for taking HGH. Terry Newton, a British rugby player, tested positive and was banned last year.

“We have a program in place and it did what it was supposed to do,” baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said, adding he wants to get the rule to apply to major leaguers, too. “We don’t duck the issue.”

NFL

Players sue over concussions

Philadelphia — Six former players and one current player have sued the NFL in Philadelphia over the league’s handling of concussion-related injuries, the first potential class-action lawsuit of its kind.

The players accuse the league of training players to hit with their heads, failing to properly treat them for concussions and trying to conceal for decades any links between football and brain injuries.

The plaintiffs include two-time Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon, who has said he played through five concussions but now frequently walks around “in a daze” and forgets why he entered a room.

The suit accuses the NFL of negligence and intentional misconduct in its response to the headaches, dizziness and dementia that former players have reported. The suit, filed Wednesday, seeks medical monitoring along with funds to pay for the care of injured players.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league had not yet seen the lawsuit but would vigorously contest any such claims.

The other plaintiffs include Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas, 26; Ray Easterling, 61, a defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons in the 1970s; and Wayne Radloff, 50, an offensive lineman for the Falcons and San Francisco 49ers in the late 1980s.

Pryor in NFL draft, but …

Terrelle Pryor will have an opportunity to pursue his NFL dreams, with one significant caveat: The former Ohio State star must still pay for breaking NCAA rules while he was in college.

The league announced Thursday that Pryor is eligible for its supplemental draft, but he won’t be allowed to practice for the team that selects him until Week 6. Pryor gave up his final season with the Buckeyes following an investigation into the team’s memorabilia-for-cash scandal.

He would’ve had to sit out five games had he chosen to return to Ohio State.

“We accept that voluntarily,” Pryor’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told the Associated Press. “It’s a small price to pay for him to have a chance to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL.”

The league informed clubs that Pryor “made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL draft.” Among those actions, the league said, were the hiring of an agent in violation of NCAA rules and a failure to cooperate with the investigation that cost Ohio State coach Jim Tressel his job. The NCAA committee on infractions is working to determine the school’s final penalties.

League spokesman Greg Aiello tweeted you can’t break the rules as Pryor did “and get a free pass into the NFL.”

Golf

Two share Wyndham lead

Greensboro, N.C. — Jeff Quinney and Tommy Gainey shot 7-under 63s on Thursday to share the lead after one round at the Wyndham Championship.

Quinney had eight birdies, including five in a row early in his round, to start strong in his last chance to qualify for golf’s postseason.

Gainey had five birdies and an eagle in matching his career-best round. Both players are chasing their first PGA Tour victory.

Sluman Senior leader

Harrison, N.Y. — Jeff Sluman shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Senior Players Championship, the Champions Tour’s final major of the season.

Gary Hallberg and Peter Senior opened with 66s.