CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Panthers coach Ron Rivera had a change of heart Sunday, benching defensive end Greg Hardy before the teams 24-7 win against the Detroit Lions. Rivera defended his late decision to make Hardy inactive by saying the "climate has changed" and the team "has to get this right." Rivera said he wouldnt rule out Hardy playing in the future. "We have to go through a very difficult process and he has to go through one, as do other people as well," Rivera said. "This is a very serious situation and set of circumstances. We are going to work things out and hopefully we get it right." Carolina listed Hardy as inactive just two days after Rivera said Friday that Hardy would play. Hardy was convicted July 15 of assault on a female and communicating threats. He is appealing the ruling. He was active against Tampa Bay in Week 1. Rivera refused to discuss details surrounding the Hardy case and why he chose to change course. Wes Horton started in Hardys spot. Mario Addison, another Carolina backup defensive end, had 2 1/2 sacks. Carolinas sitting of Hardy comes in the wake of personal conduct incidents involving Baltimores Ray Rice and Minnesotas Adrian Peterson. Rivera wouldnt discuss if the decision by the Vikings to deactivate Peterson for todays game against New England played a role in Carolinas decision to declare Hardy inactive. Earlier this week Panthers owner Jerry Richardson broke down in tears when talking about domestic violence after receiving the Award Against Indifference from the Echo Foundation, a non-profit education organization. "I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge an issue weighing heavily on our sport and our society," Richardson said Wednesday night in Charlotte. "When it comes to domestic violence, my stance is not one of indifference. I stand firmly against domestic violence, plain and simple. To those who would suggest that weve been too slow to act, I ask that you consider not to be too quick to judge. Over the course of our 20 years, we have worked extremely hard to build an organization of integrity." Hardy was unavailable for interviews after the game. He was not on the sideline during the game. He played in the season opener against Tampa Bay and had four tackles a sack in a 20-14 win. Hardy was found guilty in a bench trial, but under criminal procedure in North Carolina, lawyers can appeal that ruling. That basically gives Hardy a new trial where he is considered innocent until proven guilty. Behind Hardy, the Panthers led the NFL in sacks last season with 60. Hardy, now in his fifth season, had 15 sacks in 2013 and has 26 sacks in last 32 games. He has 10 sacks in his last seven home games. Cheap Wholesale Asics . They know how difficult it is to beat the San Antonio Spurs. George scored 28 points and Indiana defeated San Antonio 111-100 on Saturday night, snapping an 11-game skid against the Spurs. Cheap Asics Shoes Online . He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. http://www.cheapasics.us/ . Sections of the British media reported Friday that Brooklyn Beckham, the son of United great David, was invited to a training session at the club on Thursday. Wholesale Asics Shoes . The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league hasnt announced the award. Crawford was the Clippers third-leading scorer and the NBAs top-scoring reserve with 18. Asics Shoes Discount .This one was bigger than most.Ben Roethlisberger and LeVeon Bell came up big in a game that Pittsburgh had to win Sunday, leading the Steelers to a 42-21 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals that left the AFC North race wide open.COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- As the final seconds of regulation ticked off the clock, the sellout crowd was poised to storm the court to celebrate an upset victory in Marylands final regular season game in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Disappointment ensued. No. 5 Virginia forced overtime, forcing the fans back to their seats to see if the Terrapins could rebound from the letdown to pull off an upset against the best team in the league. And that is precisely what happened. Maryland closed out its 61st and final ACC regular season in stunning fashion, outlasting the Cavaliers 75-69 in overtime Sunday to end Virginias 13-game winning streak. "Today wasnt just an ordinary game. It was a lot of things," Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon said. "We always play for Maryland, but today we played for former players, former coaches, all our fans." After blowing a seemingly secure lead in the closing seconds of regulation, the Terps (17-14, 9-9 ACC) never trailed in the extra session in front of an emotional crowd of 17,950 at the schools final home basketball game in a conference it joined as a charter member in 1953. When the final buzzer sounded, thousands of fans raced onto the court to celebrate another unforgettable ACC memory at the expense of one of its biggest rivals. Anthony Gill scored 15 points and London Perrantes had 14 for Virginia (25-6, 16-2), which had already clinched the regular season title and was vying to set an ACC record for most league wins during the regular season. "Not that we felt were invincible, but now we know we arent," coach Tony Bennett said. "So now we address it, and now we get after it." What hurt the most it that Maryland shot 48 per cent and scored 32 points in the paint against the nations top-ranked defence. "I was surprised how our defence didnt execute like we should have down the stretch," Gill said. "We are a defensive team, but we made it too easy for them. Theyre a good team, but we just slipped up." Seth Allen scored five of his 20 points in overtime and Dez Wells finished with 18 for the Terrapins, who will play in the Big Ten next season. Maryland had lost six straight to Virginia, including a 61-53 decision in February that was part of the Cavaliers school-record winning streak against ACC competition. This game, however, was unlike any that preceded it. "The crowd was lively and thats what our guys got to understand, that youre getting teams best shots," Bennett said.dddddddddddd "I dont know if all that mattered. It was just a team that outplayed us. The crowd was great for them, the atmosphere was great. But we did get it to overtime and they answered the bell." The end of regulation was a horror show for Maryland. After Jake Layman made two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to put the Terrapins ahead 64-61, Maryland quickly fouled. Malcolm Brogdon made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second before the Terrapins swatted the ball out of bounds with 1.7 seconds to go. Gill caught the inbounds pass in the lane and dropped in an uncontested jumper to force overtime. "Our guys were down. I was down," Turgeon said. "I said, Lets make this the best five minutes of the year. They didnt believe me the first time I said it. But I said it 15 times during the timeout." Overtime began with Allen making two straight layups for a 68-64 lead. The guard then blocked a shot before adding a free throw. The Cavaliers used a layup by Gill to close to 71-69 with 1:13 left, but they would not score again. Despite the loss, Virginia will head into the ACC tournament as a top seed for only the second time. "I feel like we just need to get back in practice and just get back to what we know -- and thats defence and not letting people penetrate," Gill said. Maryland opened the second half with an 11-2 run, turning a one-point deficit into a 45-37 lead. After Wells made two free throws, Perrantes answered with a foul-line jumper. Wells then made a basket and added two foul shots before Allen popped a 3-pointer and Shaquille Cleare added a layup. The teams combined for only two field goals over the next 5 minutes, but Virginia made five free throws during that span to close to 47-44 with 11:34 left. Minutes later, Joe Harris hit a 3-pointer to end a 6-0 spree that put the Cavaliers in front 52-51 with 8:30 to play. Maryland went ahead 62-58 with 2:39 remaining but could not make the lead stand up. Perrantes scored 12 first-half points on four 3-pointers, including one in the closing seconds that put the Cavaliers ahead 35-34. As an expression of gratitude to the lone senior on the squad, Turgeon started seldom-used forward John Auslander, who missed his only shot before being replaced with just under 4 minutes elapsed. ' ' '