Ex-Knick Oakley forcefully removedNEW YORK — Former Knicks star Charles Oakley was forcefully removed from his seats at Madison Square Garden and arrested after an altercation near team owner James Dolan.Oakley shoved security guards before they pulled him away from his seat behind the baseline during the first quarter of the Knicks’ 119-115 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Fans chanted “Oakley! Oakley!” in support of the popular power forward.The 53-year-old Oakley played for the Knicks from 1988-98, helping them reach the NBA Finals, but has a poor relationship with the team because of his criticism of Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman.

NFL retirees urged to file for settlementPHILADELPHIA — A federal judge urged NFL retirees to register for a concussion settlement that could cost the league $1 billion over 65 years.About 22,000 retirees are encouraged to get baseline neurological testing. The league expects more than 6,000 of them to eventually be diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.The deal approved by Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody resolves thousands of lawsuits that accused the NFL of hiding what it knew about the risks of repeated concussions in order to return players to the field.

Penn State fighting McQueary rulingHARRISBURG — Penn State is fighting back against a verdict that awarded one of its former assistant football coaches millions of dollars for his treatment after Jerry Sandusky’s arrest on child molestation charges.The university said in a brief dated Monday that the verdict in favor of Mike McQueary should be reversed, a new trial should be ordered or the damages should be lowered.The school said Judge Thomas Gavin gave jurors an incorrect instruction regarding who must report cases of child abuse, and that he acted as a “biased advocate” for McQueary during the October trial.

Some Spadafora charges droppedPITTSBURGH — Prosecutors dropped assault charges against former lightweight boxing champ Paul Spadafora for allegedly stabbing his brother and kicking his mother during a family dispute, though he’s still charged with threatening city police officers who intervened, and spitting on one.Spadafora waived a preliminary hearing on an aggravated assault charge — for allegedly spitting at the officer — several counts of making terroristic threats and resisting arrest stemming from the Dec. 21 fracas.