Lute Olson's doctor said Tuesday that the former Arizona basketball coach had a stroke within the last year and he advised him to retire. The comments by Dr. Steven Knope at a news conference called by Olson's family offer the first explanation for Olson's sudden retirement last week, two days after he appeared at the Wildcats' media day.
Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick won't be allowed to plead guilty to dogfighting charges by videoconference, a judge ruled Thursday. Vick's lawyers had requested that he be allowed to enter the plea from federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., where he is serving a two-year term since admitting he bankrolled a dogfighting operation and helped execute dogs.
Kellen Winslow didn't utter a word about staph infections or suspensions. After a contentious, confusing week laced with suspicion, innuendo and dueling statements, the Pro Bowl tight end returned to the Cleveland Browns on Monday eager to restart his disrupted season. "I'm ready to move on and just play football," he said.
Seve Ballesteros is improving after last week's surgery on his cancerous brain tumor. The La Paz hospital said Wednesday in a one-sentence statement that the 51-year-old golfing great remains in intensive care and has also undergone a tracheotomy, a procedure it called common in cases like his. The hospital said Ballesteros' condition was "evolving favorably." Ballesteros underwent a 6 1/2 -hour...
Arizona had won one conference title in the 29 seasons before Lute Olson arrived from Iowa in 1983. It didn't take long for Olson to build a powerhouse in the desert. The 74-year-old Olson, who announced his retirement on Thursday, went 589-187 in 24 seasons at Arizona and led the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship and four Final Fours, most recently in 2001.
Martin Brodeur got in the last word against Sean Avery and the Dallas Stars: shutout. Brodeur made 21 saves for his 98th NHL shutout, and mostly avoided Avery, his No. 1 nemesis, to help the New Jersey Devils beat the Stars 5-0 on Wednesday night. "It's two points," Brodeur said. "We just played our game and we didn't worry about him too much." John Madden scored two goals for the Devils, who chased...
New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain apologized for "an error in judgment" on Sunday. He was arrested early Saturday in Nebraska on suspicion of driving under the influence, speeding and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. "I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and the fans for an error in judgment and for putting myself in a difficult situation," Chamberlain said in a...
Larry Johnson, already facing possible suspension by the NFL, was charged Monday with simple assault for spitting his drink in a woman's face. Several hours later, the Kansas City Chiefs indicated the two-time Pro Bowl running back would not play for the foreseeable future. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Johnson would meet with league officials in New York on...
Sean Avery hurried out of Madison Square Garden nearly as quickly as he left the New York Rangers as a free agent. "I love you guys," Avery said to a large throng of reporters in the tight visitors dressing room, "but I have to go take my teammates out to dinner." Avery made his presence felt upon his return to Manhattan after 1 1/2 seasons of being the resident Rangers pest.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi and co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner lent their support Monday to pitcher Joba Chamberlain, arrested last weekend on suspicion on drunk driving. "I have spoken to Joba and he made it very clear to me that he made a mistake," Girardi said in a statement. "We certainly don't condone his actions, but he is part of the Yankees family and I believe he learned a valuable lesson...
Authorities were called to the home of former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, where police said a 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills early Friday morning. Police would not identify the man, except to give his age. But reached on his cell phone the 47-year-old Thomas told the New York Post he had not been treated for a sleeping pill...
Seve Ballesteros underwent a third operation for a cancerous brain tumor, a 6 1/2 -hour procedure Friday that went "better than expected." Doctors removed the rest of the tumor and reduced brain swelling. The 51-year-old Spanish golf great was in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Madrid's La Paz Hospital.
The New England Patriots denied a report Thursday that they were upset with quarterback Tom Brady for opting against the team's preferred doctors and undergoing surgery on the West Coast. After published reports said Brady needed two more operations to clean out an infection in his knee, ESPN.com, citing a source it did not identify, reported that "the Patriots, as an organization, are upset with...
Seve Ballesteros' brain tumor is cancerous and he will undergo another operation to relieve pressure caused by swelling and bleeding that have recently developed. The remaining parts of the malignant tumor, located in a very deep part of the brain, will be removed in Friday's procedure. La Paz Hospital said Thursday that the surgery is "of great complexity." Three doctors will operate on...
Saying he was "kind of disgusted with myself," a nervous-looking Larry Johnson apologized Wednesday for behavior that's led to an NFL investigation and to his benching for a second straight week. "I want to start off saying I apologize to the Hunt family, my family, first and foremost, the fans, teammates, coaches and players," said Kansas City's two-time Pro Bowl running back.
Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow appealed his one-game suspension for critical comments he made about the Cleveland Browns' handling of his hospitalization with a staph infection, the latest development in a bizarre back-and-forth squabble. Winslow was suspended without pay by general manager Phil Savage on Tuesday for comments and behavior disparaging to the organization.
Rodney Harrison's career is almost certainly over after the hard-hitting but injury-plagued safety of the New England Patriots tore his right thigh muscle. "It appears as though the rehab could take 8 to 10 months," a person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has not made an official announcement.
Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick plans to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges, a step that could allow him to qualify for an early release from federal prison and into a halfway house, court papers show. In a motion filed Oct. 15 in Surry County Circuit Court, Vick's attorneys asked to have him enter his plea by video teleconference.
The San Francisco 49ers fired coach Mike Nolan on Monday, seven games into his fourth consecutive dismal season with the club, according to FOXsports.com. Assistant head coach Mike Singletary is expected to take over the 49ers (2-5), who got off to a 2-1 start this season before four consecutive losses culminating in Sunday's 29-17 loss to the New York Giants.
Four months after his epic U.S. Open victory, Tiger Woods returned to Torrey Pines on Monday without a limp. He didn't have golf clubs, either. Hopping from a cart, Woods walked up to 59-year-old John Abel, doffed his cap and extended his right hand. "Hey, I hear you're looking for a caddie. I'm Tiger Woods -- pleased to meet you." Out of action since beating Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff for his...
Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter was fined $20,000 Friday by the NFL for comments critical of beleaguered referee Ed Hochuli and his crew in Sunday's loss at Houston. On the first play of the Texans' drive for the winning touchdown late in the game, Porter stripped quarterback Matt Schaub. Hochuli ruled the play an incomplete pass rather than a fumble, saying Schaub's arm was moving forward...
Even on the road, the chorus of "Romo!, Romo!" from Dallas Cowboys' fans was easily audible at the start of the second half. Tony Romo told the coaching staff after pregame warmups he wasn't up to playing with a broken right pinkie. He was in uniform, giving fans false hope, but they were stuck with Brad Johnson.
Marian Hossa made his first goal with the Detroit Red Wings quite memorable. The high-scoring forward found the net 23 seconds into overtime to give the defending Stanley Cup champions a 5-4 comeback win over the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Mikael Samuelsson had a goal and two assists for Detroit, and Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom and Jiri Hudler scored the other Red Wings goals.
The baseball players' union says it has found evidence teams acted in concert against signing Barry Bonds but it reached an agreement with the commissioner's office to delay the filing of any grievance. The union expressed concern in May about the lack of offers to the home run king. Filing a grievance would trigger proceedings before arbitrator Shyam Das.
Seve Ballesteros developed a complication following brain tumor surgery, requiring doctors to remove a piece of the golf star's skull to relieve pressure. The 51-year-old Spaniard was stable but still in intensive care, La Paz Hospital said Thursday. A sizable part of the tumor was taken out Tuesday, although it was not yet known if it was malignant.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who wants to play despite a broken pinkie on his throwing hand, practiced and threw passes to receivers Thursday. Coach Wade Phillips didn't rule out the possibility of Romo playing Sunday at St. Louis even though he said the quarterback was limited in practice Thursday and that Brad Johnson took most of the snaps.
No punches, no angry words exchanged. With first place on the line in the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox stuck to playing baseball Monday night. James Shields scattered five hits over 6 1-3 innings and B.J. Upton and Gabe Gross homered, helping the Rays remain unbeaten at home against the Red Sox with a 5-4 victory that hiked their lead to 1 1/2 games in the division.
Bob Knight, the winningest coach in Division I history, left the door ajar to a return to coaching college basketball during a wide-ranging television interview broadcast Wednesday night. "I got nothing else to do. It would just depend on the circumstances," the former Army, Indiana and Texas Tech coach told host Mickey Maurer on "Mickey's Corner" on Indianapolis public TV station WFYI.
Matt Garza couldn't sleep Thursday morning. Phone calls and text messages kept coming in from his former Fresno State teammates, who had just won the College World Series. The calls from back home kept waking him up, and he only got a couple hours sleep before his noon start. Now he'll be calling them.
Larry Johnson was charged with pushing a woman at a Kansas City nightclub in February, the third time the Chiefs running back has been charged with assaulting a woman. He is to appear in court Dec. 3 and could face a maximum jail term of six months and a $500 fine. "I'm sure the league will get invovled in it, I would assume," coach Herm Edwards said.
When the Tampa Bay Lightning called, Barry Melrose was eager to listen. Out of coaching for 13 years, he missed the passion and competition of the NHL. Countless hours of watching games as a television analyst intensified his desire to return to the bench, and it didn't hurt that he'd be able to work with talent like Vincent Lecavalier and Steve Stamkos.
B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays have quickly become a playoff monster. Upton hit a three-run home run and Longoria also homered off a suddenly shaky Jon Lester, then Rocco Baldelli and Carlos Pena cleared the Green Monster later Monday to give the Rays a 9-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox and a 2-1 lead in the AL championship series.
Magic Johnson criticized a pair of talk show hosts Friday for accusing him of faking AIDS but said he didn't want them to be fired. Chris Baker and Langdon Perry of KTLK in Minneapolis made the remarks during Baker's conservative radio show on Wednesday. After Johnson condemned the statements, the station said it regretted "some offhand remarks" by the pair.
After a career full of miraculous shots -- including one from a parking lot during his first British Open win -- Seve Ballesteros was preparing for the "hardest challenge" of his life Sunday after announcing he has a brain tumor. The 51-year-old Ballesteros was set to undergo a biopsy Tuesday before doctors determine how to proceed.
Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow will spend a second night in the hospital with an undisclosed illness that could keep him out of Monday night's game against the New York Giants. Winslow was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic on Thursday. He practiced Monday but had been feeling ill for several days and the team sent him to the doctor for further tests and evaluation.
The NFL's review of Adam "Pacman" Jones' scuffle with his bodyguard won't be completed until next week. The Dallas Cowboys had already said they won't discipline Jones, so that means the cornerback will play Sunday at Arizona. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail Friday that the league's review won't be completed until next week.
Daisuke Matsuzaka said he felt fine in his return from the disabled list. He certainly didn't look fine. Troy Glaus hit a grand slam and the St. Louis Cardinals rocked Matsuzaka in his return, beating the Boston Red Sox 9-3 on Saturday. On the DL since May 30 because of a mild strain in his rotator cuff, Matsuzaka (8-1) was tagged for seven runs in one-plus inning.
Troubled cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones won't be disciplined by the Dallas Cowboys for a scuffle with his bodyguard that team owner Jerry Jones said resulted from joking banter that got out of hand and was quickly settled. "They were literally kidding each other," Jerry Jones said Thursday. "They were jiving around ...
Karrie Webb continued to show off her Hall of Fame style Friday at the Ginn Tribute -- and just in time, Annika Sorenstam did, too. Webb shot a 66 and shared the lead at 13-under with Sophie Gustafson (65) after two rounds of the LPGA tournament. Sorenstam also had a 66, her lowest score in six career rounds at RiverTowne Country Club, and moved from a tie for 60th Thursday into a tie for eighth.
Daisuke Matsuzaka will be on the mound for the Red Sox when the AL championship series begins Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. That doesn't make him Boston's ace. Josh Beckett is still No. 1 in the Red Sox rotation -- especially during the playoffs -- even though he had the worst outing of the three Boston starters who faced the Los Angeles Angels in the first round.
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins and the university agreed to a contract extension that could keep him with the Buffaloes through 2012. Hawkins is 11-19 in his third year at Colorado, and the Buffaloes are 3-2 this season. The new contract was announced Tuesday and takes effect July 1. "Everybody else seems to worry about that more than I do," Hawkins said of his new deal.
Exactly why the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays tangle so much is hard to tell. Blame it on a high-and-tight pitch here, a hard slide there. Whatever, this much is true: The teams playing in the AL championship series sure get into a lot of scraps. "There's no hatred," injured Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling insisted Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Someone is going to have to beat the Celtics in Boston to keep them from winning their 17th NBA title. Cleveland is hoping for one more chance. Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 16 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 13 assists as the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 96-89 on Wednesday night to move within a win of the Eastern Conference finals.
New York Jets safety Eric Smith appealed his one-game suspension and $50,000 fine by the NFL for his helmet-to-helmet hit last week on Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin. Coach Eric Mangini said Smith was going through the appeal process Monday, and a ruling was expected Tuesday. "Nothing has been finalized with that yet," Mangini said.
The St. Louis Cardinals have seen just about enough of Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun over the past two days. Catcher Yadier Molina and manager Tony La Russa managed to see a few innings less of him than everyone else Monday night. Braun hit two home runs for the second game in a row, and Molina and La Russa were ejected for arguing balls and strikes shortly after the second of Braun's two...
Thanks to John Danks and the White Sox, Chicago still has one team standing. For the second time in less than a week, Danks pitched a strong game to save the season as the White Sox beat Tampa Bay 5-3 Sunday and trimmed the Rays' lead in the opening-round AL playoff series to 2-1. "If Danks loses in either game he pitches, we're not here right now," manager Ozzie Guillen said.
Cool and calm, or so it seemed. Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays appeared perfectly at home in the playoffs with a Game 1 victory over Chicago. The rookie said looks can be deceiving, though. "I was nervous," he said. "I think if you're not nervous in this situation, you're really not soaking in the moment." The All-Star third baseman homered in his first two at-bats and the surprising AL East...
Top draft pick Sedrick Ellis will be lost to the New Orleans Saints for two to four weeks with a right knee injury. Ellis, the No. 7 overall selection in last April's draft, tore the medial meniscus in his knee during the Saints' win last Sunday against San Francisco and had arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear Friday morning.
When Al Davis finally broke his silence about Lane Kiffin on the day he fired his coach, he had plenty to say in response to the one-sided verbal attack Kiffin had been launching at the organization for months. Davis detailed acts of what he called insubordination by Kiffin, read a warning letter he gave his coach more than two weeks ago and said he made the decision to fire Kiffin on Tuesday...
David Stern responded to a report on NBA referees Thursday by vowing to build the "most effective possible system" to monitor illegal gambling and preserve the game's integrity. The commissioner ordered the investigation last August after former referee Tim Donaghy was accused of betting on games he officiated and providing inside information to gambling associates to win their bets.
With two games to go, the Mets don't look like a playoff team at all. New York's offense fizzled and Mike Pelfrey lost to Florida for the fourth time this season, a 6-1 defeat Friday night that put the Mets' postseason chances in peril. Josh Willingham homered and Hanley Ramirez had four hits for the Marlins, who knocked New York out of the playoff race on the final weekend last season.
A yearlong ankle injury could not keep Plaxico Burress out of the New York Giants' lineup last season. The lack of a telephone call this week apparently is going to cost him a game and more than $235,000. Less than a month after handing the man who caught the winning pass in the Super Bowl a new $35 million contract, the Giants on Wednesday suspended Burress for a game for missing a practice and...
Alexei Ramirez spread his arms wide, raced around the bases like a little kid and jumped into Paul Konerko's embrace at home plate. No wonder they were so happy. The White Sox would play one more day. Ramirez set a rookie record with his fourth grand slam of the season, and Chicago beat Detroit 8-2 in a rainout makeup Monday, forcing a one-game tiebreaker against Minnesota for the AL Central title.
Brian Cashman figures he has more work to do with the New York Yankees. After a sustained run of success, he wasn't about to leave on the heels of a failed season. Cashman is staying on as general manager of the Yankees, agreeing Tuesday to a three-year contract that runs through 2011. "I've got a job to finish here," Cashman said in a statement.
