Maryland quarterback signs with the Badgers

Danny O’Brien says he’s no Russell Wilson. The former Maryland quarterback signed with Wisconsin Wednesday and said he won’t be bothered by the inevitable comparisons to Wilson, who transferred from North Carolina State a year ago and led Wisconsin to a Big Ten title.

O’Brien left Maryland last year after starting 17 games in two seasons with the Terrapins. He was the ACC’s rookie of the year in 2010 with 2,438 passing yards and 22 touchdowns.

Last year, a new coach strayed from the pro-style offense that O’Brien was accustomed to, and an injury and 10 interceptions ended his season early.

He said his final decision was down to Wisconsin and Penn State. He said he realized in a visit to Madison that the Badgers are special.

O’Brien plans to start his workouts with the Badgers in early June. He hopes to win over his new teammates with a solid work ethic instead of his credentials.

Coach Bret Bielema says O’Brien will have to win the starting job over five other quarterbacks, three of whom are struggling with injuries.

O’Brien is expected to graduate in the spring, but he has two years of eligibility left. He says he plans to use both of them in Madison.

Nick Collins undergoes tests

Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins underwent a battery of tests in New York Wednesday on the neck injury he suffered last September.

His agent, Alan Herman, said he believes Collins should retire. Packers coach Mike McCarthy and General Manager Ted Thompson have said the same thing.

Herman says Collins still has a competitive fire in him and he wants to play. Still, the agent says that if Collins finds problems in his test results, he promises to quit.

A final decision is expected next week, after Collins meets with his agents and Packer officials.

Collins suffered a devastating neck injury in the second game of last season when Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart tried to hurdle over him.

The 29-year-old Collins has played seven NFL seasons, all with the Packers. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler.

Packers vote for rule changes

The Packers voted for all the rule changes adopted by NFL owners Wednesday, except the one which calls for a penalty against an offensive player who goes for a defender’s head on a crack-back block.

Team president Mark Murphy did not explain why the Packers voted against that change. They supported the idea of having the replay officials in the booth review all turnovers, just like they did with all touchdown plays starting last season.

Murphy said there was a concern that the touchdown reviews would drag out the games, but they only turned out to be an average of one second longer. The Packers also said yes to using the same overtime rules in the regular season as in the playoffs. Each team will get at least one possession in the OT, unless a touchdown or a safety is scored in the first possession.

Owners also voted to penalize a team a loss of a down for illegally kicking a loose ball. The voted to make too many men on the field a dead-ball foul unless the extra player was in the process of heading to the sideline.

Don Nelson inducted in Hall of Fame

Former Milwaukee Bucks coach Don Nelson will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. The official announcement won’t be made until Monday at the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans, but Nelson told ESPN he was informed of his selection Wednesday. He called it a great honor to cap his career.

The 71-year-old Nelson is the NBA’s all-time winningest coach with 1,335 regular season victories. He coached Milwaukee from 1976 through 1987. His teams won seven straight division titles, and he had an overall record with the Bucks of 540-344.

Nelson also had two coaching stints with Golden State and one with Dallas.

He won two of his three NBA Coach of the Year awards with Milwaukee. Nelson also starred as a player with the Boston Celtics, where his old No. 19 is retired.

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