PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Tom Brady is proving to be just as polarizing in minor league baseball as he is in the NFL.

As he fights his suspension for the scandal that has come to be known as Deflategate, the New England Patriots’ quarterback will be the subject of special promotions in two cities next week.

First, the Pawtucket Red Sox will hold a “Free Brady Night” on June 10 in which anyone named “Tom” or “Brady” will be admitted free. In response, the Buffalo Bisons are planning a “Keep Brady Suspended” night during a doubleheader the next day.

Brady was suspended four games for what the NFL said was his role in a scheme to use improperly inflated footballs in the 2015 AFC championship game. He avoided sitting out last year while the case went through federal court, but his appeals appear to be running out.

While New England fans remain intensely loyal, those elsewhere in the country are skeptical.

In Buffalo, the home of the AFC East rival Bills, fans donating a “properly inflated” football at the Bisons game will be able to get two tickets for the price of one. The team is also accepting “un-destroyed cellphone donations” for Cell Phones for Soldiers.

The Bisons are also planning scoreboard videos “featuring some of sports’ greatest cheaters,” singling out New England Coach Bill Belichick for a special tribute.

“If you are named ‘Tom’ or ‘Brady,’ you will be allowed entrance into Coca-Cola Field for ‘Keep Brady Suspended’ Night, but will not be allowed to watch the first four innings of game one of the doubleheader,” the Bisons said in a news release. “Please, no appeals.”

Researchers are moving ahead with efforts to develop a diagnostic test for chronic traumatic encephalopathy – even without the NFL’s help.

Some of the nation’s top brain scientists gathered Wednesday at the Boston University School of Medicine for the start of a seven-year, $16 million research project designed to find a test for CTE and identify its risk factors. For now the disease increasingly found in former football players can only be diagnosed during an autopsy.

“This is a recipe for being able to define what CTE is in living human beings,” said Jeffrey Cummings, director of the Cleveland Clinic’s center for brain health and one of the principal researchers.

The DIAGNOSE CTE project originally had been set to receive money that the NFL earmarked for concussion research. But the league’s complaints about Boston University researchers led the National Institutes of Health to pay for it with other funds.

RAMS: Quarterback Nick Foles skipped a voluntary offseason workout this week.

The Rams, who drafted Jared Goff with the top overall pick, confirmed that Foles missed Tuesday’s workout.

Foles joined the Rams in St. Louis during the previous offseason and agreed to a two-year, $24.5 million contract extension.

He started the first nine games but was benched in favor of Case Keenum.

The Rams finished last season with the NFL’s worst passing offense.

Foles made a $6 million roster bonus in March but the Rams traded up to draft Goff with the top overall pick in April. Coach Jeff Fisher has said he hopes Goff will start their season opener.

COWBOYS: Dez Bryant underwent an X-ray on his foot, according to a source, and the results will determine what’s next for the star receiver.

Defensive end Stephen Bowen has decided to retire after playing 10 NFL seasons with Dallas, Washington and New York Jets.

The 32-year-old Bowen appeared in 128 games, starting 57, and recorded 176 tackles and 121/2 sacks.

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