The Plymouth Devils have made the shock announcement that they are to close down due to mounting debts. Officials at the Premier League club made the decision to pull out of speedway after holding a meeting on Monday evening. The final straw for the board came last Friday when the clubs season-opener - the Spring Classic - attracted a crowd of only 450 to the St Boniface Arena.David Short, one of the clubs four directors, told the Plymouth Herald: The club has been in financial difficulties for a couple of years and the meeting last Friday persuaded us that it would not be financially viable for us to carry on.I accept it was cold, but only 450 turned up and it was quite plain that we were not going to meet the crowd figures we needed this season to keep going.We needed at the very minimum 700 people each meeting and to be absolutely safe, 800.Last years play-offs meeting against Glasgow was the only time that we managed to do that. We were losing £2,000 to £3,000 per meeting and we obviously couldnt sustain that.The British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA) has expressed its disappointment at the decision but will keep Plymouths place in the Premier League open in the short term in the hope that someone else will take over the club.A BSPA statement released at lunchtime on Tuesday read: We have no alternative but to respect the decision of the Plymouth Speedway promotion although the timing is unfortunate and we have spent this morning making every effort to help clubs rearrange fixtures.The BSPA management committee were informed of this decision on Monday evening and naturally regard this as disappointing news for the sport in general, the Plymouth riders and the people of Plymouth and surrounding areas in particular.As an association it is our wish to see the sport continue in Plymouth and we would urge any interested parties in keeping the Plymouth Devils alive and on track to make contact with a representative of the Plymouth Speedway promotion or, alternatively, with the BSPA office via email at office@bspa.co.uk as a matter of urgency. 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Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NFL beat. Johnny Be Focused? Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine declared on Wednesday that Johnny Manziel needs to focus on football in order to have a chance to win the starting quarterback job. "I think he knows that in order for him to compete well, hes going to have to probably be more dedicated than ever," Pettine said via Tom Withers of the associated press. After a well-documented offseason, Manziel enters training camp behind incumbent Brian Hoyer at the quarterback position. The Browns report for training camp on Friday. Showing Up Injured Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart reported to training camp with a pulled hamstring and will miss the first one-to-two weeks of camp. Due to injury, Stewart appeared in only six games for the Panthers last season, rushing for 180 yards on 48 carries. Genos Job According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith took 13 first-team reps on Thursday compared to Michael Vicks four. Throughout the offseason, the starting quarterback position has been reported to be Genos to lose. Entering his sophomore season, Smith threw 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in 16 games in 2013. Instant Starter? Eric Williams of ESPN reports that San Diego Chargers first-round pick Jason Verrett practiced at starting right cornerback on Thursday, while Richard Marshall lined up across from him. Free agent acquisition Brandon Flowers worked at left cornerback with the second team. The Chargers ranked fourth-worst in the NFL last season against the pass, averaging 258.7 yards allowed per game via the air. Riddickk in the Rotation? Kyle Meinke of MLive.ddddddddddddcom believes 2013 sixth-round draft pick Theo Riddick is a lock to make the Detroit Lions 53-man roster, while 2011 second-round pick Mikel Leshoure is on the roster bubble. Despite receiving only 13 offensive touches in his first year, Meinke notes that Riddick has drawn praise from both coaches and teammates this offseason. Meinke envisions Riddick filling a Darren Sproles-like type of role in the Lions offense and earning regular touches in the running back rotation. Leshoure faces an uphill battle to earn touches in the Lions offense. The 24-year-old played in just three games last season, receiving two carries for nine yards. He rushed for 798 yards on 215 carries with nine touchdowns in 2012. New Lead? Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle would be "surprised" if Maurice Jones-Drew was not the starting running back for the Oakland Raiders this season. Signed this offseason after spending eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jones-Drew joins a backfield in Oakland that features former fourth-overall pick Darren McFadden, as well as Latavius Murray, Jeremy Stewart, rookie George Atkinson and former CFL standout Kory Sheets. Jones-Drew rushed for 803 yards on 234 carries in 15 games with the Jaguars in 2013. Exiting for Personal Reasons Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is expected to miss the first four days of training camp for personal reasons. Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that Thomas attended the teams camp-opening meeting but was then excused by coach John Fox to attend the funeral services of the grandmother who helped raise him in Georgia. Thomas led the Broncos with 92 catches for 1430 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2013. He also set a Super Bowl record with 13 catches in the Broncos loss to the Seattle Seahawks. ' ' '