Thursday's Sports In Brief

Jordan on cover

of video game

After all those championships and MVP awards, Michael Jordan has finally arrived - on the cover of a basketball video game.

Jordan fronts NBA 2K11, a game that allows fans to add Jordan to their favorite team - if they can first replicate some of his greatest highlights.

One of sports' top pitchmen during his Hall of Fame playing career, Jordan had never before appeared on the cover of an NBA-licensed basketball game.

Now the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, the six-time champion with the Chicago Bulls said the deciding factor in doing it now was the opportunity "to connect to this generation, when in essence a lot of these young kids never saw me play."

Bears' Cutler won't

play on Sunday

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will sit out Sunday's game at Carolina because of a concussion. Bears spokesman Scott Hagel said Cutler was examined by team and independent doctors after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday.

Hagel said the doctors "all agreed that participation in practice" went well but felt that sitting out "was the right way to go."

The Kentucky Derby will remain on NBC

Churchill Downs Inc. and NBC Sports announced a five-year agreement in principle to extend the network's exclusive rights to the Run for the Roses, which has aired on NBC since 2001. A person familiar with the deal told The AP that it's valued at about $5 million per year, far less than the roughly $6 million annually in the previous contract.

Last year's race was seen by an average of 16.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Kentucky Derby since 1989.

, when 18.5 million people saw Sunday Silence run to victory. The last time the race was shown on ABC, in 2000, only 9.1 million tuned in for Fusaichi Pegasus' win.

After a humiliating World Cup, the French soccer team hopes gaining insights into human behavior can put it on course again.

France is turning to psychological profiling and has hired someone coach Laurent Blanc believes will give him a greater understanding of his players.

Les Bleus are rebuilding after the World Cup debacle under former coach Raymond Domenech left the players' confidence and the team's reputation in tatters.

The profiler has not been identified, but the French Football Federation said he is working under the supervision of the team's doctor. The players met him for the first time Tuesday.