PHOENIX - Coaches throwing challenge flags and referees sticking their heads in hoods will remain NFL fixtures. Forever.

Instant replay as an officiating tool became a permanent part of pro football.

League owners voted 30-2, with Cincinnati and Arizona dissenting. All but three stadiums will be equipped with high-definition equipment and will be recabled before the upcoming season.

‘Pacman' to get hearing

PHOENIX - Adam “Pacman” Jones will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on April 3 to discuss the Tennessee Titans cornerback's run-ins with the law.

A person within the league familiar with Jones' situation told The Associated Press that a hearing will occur next Tuesday.

Goodell is unlikely to make any decision at that time, because the commissioner's new, stricter player conduct policy is not completed.

Tillman family reject findings

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Pat Tillman's family firmly rejected the Defense Department's findings into the former NFL star's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan, calling for congressional investigations.

The men who shot Tillman have always claimed the April 22, 2004, incident was a terrible mistake in the fog of war, and the Army officially agreed, declining to press charges.

PRO BASKETBALL

LeBron to co-host ESPYs

CLEVELAND - LeBron James will co-host this year's 15th annual ESPY Awards in Los Angeles with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

James is the second athlete to serve as a host for the event, which honors the year's best sports moments and athletes. Last year, cyclist Lance Armstrong hosted.

Big Ben joins Starbury

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. - Stephon Marbury started it. Now, Ben Wallace is joining the cause. Wallace is lending his name to the Starbury Movement, endorsing an affordable line of sneakers and apparel started by the New York Knicks' star.

Wallace will begin wearing the Starbury II basketball shoe Thursday. .

HOCKEY

NHL, NBC extend deal

NEW YORK - The NHL extended its partnership with NBC through next season, with an option for the 2008-2009 season.

NBC will continue to broadcast select playoff games on Saturdays and Sundays and Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup final in prime time.

TENNIS

Federer, Sharapova lose

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - Rematches became repeats for Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova. Guillermo Canas upset Federer , 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (5) in the Sony Ericsson Open. Serena Williams beat Sharapova 6-1, 6-1.

, in a rout reminiscent of their Australian Open final two months ago.

SOCCER

LIVERPOOL, England - Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. completed their takeover of the Liverpool soccer team.

The pair's company, Kop Football, told the London Stock Exchange it has reached an agreement to buy 98.6 percent of the club's shares. Under stock market rules, shareholders can be forced to sell the remainder of the stock.

Hicks, who also owns the Dallas Stars, and Gillett will now seek to take Liverpool private.

OLYMPICS

BEIJING - Gold and jade - which signify honor and virtue in Chinese culture - have been unveiled as the two key elements in the 2008 Beijing Olympic medals.

The winning design for the gold medal centers on three components in a center circle: the Beijing Olympic logo, the five Olympic rings and “Beijing 2008.” This inner circle is surrounded by a ring of jade with a gold-plated rim on the outside.

The gold, silver and bronze medals will carry the same design, with a finer white jade in the gold medal, a slightly darker shade in the silver medal, and a green jade in the bronze medal. The flip side of the medal carries a design based on the roots of the Olympics in Greece.