Five hours of talks between the NHL and the players' association on Wednesday did little to move the sides closer to a deal.

The NHL's top two executives -- commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly -- met with the NHLPA's main negotiators -- executive director Donald Fehr and special counsel Steve Fehr -- for nearly an hour in the morning to assess where the sides were on Day 25 of the lockout, but there was no concrete discussions on the core economic issues.

A four-hour session that stretched into evening centered on player health and safety issues along with other miscellaneous legal topics.

"We had no discussion of the major economic issues, so that continues to be a disappointment," Daly said.

The sides will meet again Thursday -- which should have been NHL opening day -- but there are no plans to delve into how the sides will split up hockey-related revenue that was in excess of $3 billion last season.

"We're sort of discussing the overall status of the bargaining," Steve Fehr said.

These were the first negotiations since Friday in Toronto. Last week, the NHL canceled the first two weeks of the regular season, wiping out 82 games through Oct. 24.

One victory was achieved by the NHL on Wednesday when the Alberta Labor Relations Board ruled the lockout of players from the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames can continue. The board said declaring the lockout illegal in the province wouldn't help

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the sides reach a settlement.

Colleges

Receiver Darius Bell is expected to out two to four weeks because of a broken rib suffered during UCLA's loss to Cal on Saturday.

  • The NCAA rejected an appeal from Boise State on sanctions that were handed down last year. The NCAA had ordered the football program to cut scholarships from 85 to 82 for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years. The school had already self-imposed the scholarship reduction for last season. The case focused on violations involving more than 75 athletes and several men's and women's teams over a five-year period.

  • Pennsylvania's public employee pension system said it'll revoke Jerry Sandusky's $59,000 annual pension in the wake of his conviction and sentence in the child sexual abuse scandal. The former Penn State assistant football coach was sentenced Tuesday to at least 30 years in prison. The State Employees' Retirement System also informed Sandusky's wife, Dottie, that she's no longer entitled to a survivor's benefit. Sandusky's lawyer, Karl Rominger, said his client will fight the ruling.

    NBA

    Former Oakland High star Damian Lillard had 14 points and seven assists in his first NBA action, and Portland capitalized on Kobe Bryant's absence for a 93-75 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Ontario. Bryant sat out with a strained right shoulder. The injury isn't thought to be serious, coach Mike Brown said.

  • Tracy McGrady says he'll play for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association. Media reports say the one-year deal is worth at least $1 million. McGrady played for the Atlanta Hawks last season. Qingdao placed eighth in the 17-team CBA last season.

    Miscellany

    Roger Federer ignored recent death threats from a Chinese blogger and won his opening match at the Shanghai Masters, 6-3, 7-5 over Lu Yen-Hsun in the second round. Federer said he was aware the blogger had issued an apology. "I felt fine" Federer said. "I saw one of the bodyguards outside of the court. Once the match started ... I never thought about it again."

  • Defenders Fabian Johnson and Edgar Castillo will miss the U.S.'s World Cup qualifier at Antigua & Barbuda on Friday. Johnson has the flu but plans to join the team ahead of Tuesday's game against Guatemala at Kansas City, Kan. Castillo (foot injury) will miss both matches. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann's roster is down to 20 players. Landon Donovan (knee) and Brek Shea (abdomen) withdrew a day earlier, and Jose Torres (foot) is also out.

    MCT Information Services contributed to this report.