Sports - Page 38

Roger Goodell has a strong message for NFL players: Stay out of trouble. Plagued by tragedy and numerous arrests, the NFL's image took a hit this season, though the commissioner doesn't believe it's out of control or irreversible. "We have to educate our players to the issues out there," he said in his first Super Bowl news conference. More Info...  

The Indianapolis Colts added defensive end Robert Mathis and cornerback Jason David, both starters, to the injury report Friday after their last full practice before the Super Bowl. Mathis left practice early because of back spasms and was listed as probable. David, who has battled a nagging abdomen injury this season, sat out the entire practice and was listed as probable. More Info...  

Coach Lovie Smith kept his promise of maintaining a routine Friday as the Chicago Bears held their final practice at the University of Miami in preparation for Sunday's Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts. Before the 75-minute practice, the Bears had a 15-minute walkthrough. "Everything you've seen this week was exactly what we do every (week)," Smith said. More Info...  

AL MVP Justin Morneau agreed Friday to a $4.5 million, one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins, who also settled their salary arbitration cases with third baseman Nick Punto, reliever Juan Rincon and outfielder Lew Ford. Punto agreed to a $4.2 million, two-year contract, Rincon received a $2 million, one-year deal and Ford reached a $985,000, one-year agreement. More Info...  

Former welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga was arrested for the second time in a week on fraud charges, this time accused of writing bad checks. He was first arrested Tuesday at the Managua airport as he boarded a plane for Miami. He was jailed in Leon, 50 miles from Managua, on charges he never paid a local car dealer $56,000 for four cars. More Info...  

Magic forward Grant Hill is expected to miss at least two weeks because of a sprained knee. Hill sprained his medial collateral ligament Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. He is Orlando's second-leading scorer, averaging 15 points in 39 games. The six-time All-Star has missed most of Orlando's games in his six seasons with the team, first with an ankle injury and last year with a sports hernia. More Info...  

Former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson said coach Bill Belichick subjected him to hard hits in practice while he was recovering from a concussion -- against the advice of the team's top trainer. Johnson, who helped the Patriots win three Super Bowl titles before retiring two years ago, told The New York Times that a collision with another player during that 2002 practice led to another... More Info...  

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson was questioned by Miami police regarding an investigation into the shooting death of a man. Johnson, a Miami native, spoke with detectives Monday at police headquarters, according to The Miami Herald. "Chad has confirmed to the club that he cooperated with the Miami Police earlier this week as part of an investigation," the team said in a statement... More Info...  

One bad night may have overshadowed all the good Carmelo Anthony has done this season. The NBA's leading scorer was not among the seven reserves announced Thursday night for the Western Conference team that will play in the NBA All-Star game. Denver teammate Allen Iverson was chosen, extending his streak of consecutive All-Star appearances to eight. More Info...  

Two more players were suspended -- one indefinitely -- and two had their suspensions extended Thursday by the Mountain West Conference for fighting during New Mexico's home win over Wyoming on Tuesday. The penalties were agreed upon by the schools and the conference. Wyoming's Brandon Ewing and Brad Jones -- the team's top scorers -- and New Mexico's Jamaal Smith were ejected from the game and... More Info...  

Two of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's sons are under investigation -- one for suspicion of pointing a gun at a motorist, the other for a car accident just hours later, after which police said he admitted using heroin. Britt Reid was questioned by police after a man matching his description in a sport-utility vehicle registered to Andy Reid and his wife brandished a weapon at another driver... More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. INDIANAPOLIS – Colts president Bill Polian has managed to maintain a championship-caliber squad despite losing good players along the way. More Info...  

Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James were both in the lineup Thursday night for the Miami Heat's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. O'Neal, who has missed much of the season with a knee injury, returned to the Heat after sitting out their last two games because of a calf injury. James sat out two of Cleveland's previous three games because of a sprained right big toe. More Info...  

Ron Rivera's ready when the day arrives. Being a head coach in the NFL is the logical next step. When and where? He's not really sure, even though his name has surfaced for yet another vacancy, this time in Dallas. The Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator, in some ways, has been the victim of his own success. More Info...  

Recognition comes at unexpected moments, like this one on a Hertz shuttle at the Cleveland airport five years ago. Gary Fencik was wearing a suit, looking more like a businessman than a Monster of the Midway, when some guy struck up a conversation on the way to the terminal. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know I enjoyed the way you played," the man said. More Info...  

The clicking cameras didn't help, nor did the poor putting. All of which left Tiger Woods as frustrated as any weekend hacker. For someone who has been playing nothing but sterling golf of late, Woods tossed his club after a botched putt Thursday during the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic. "Last week I putted great and today I didn't putt so good," Woods, the defending champion, said after... More Info...  

The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Giants in a regular-season game in London later this year. A person familiar with the NFL's decision told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Dolphins will move a home game overseas. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement will not be made until after commissioner Roger Goodell's Super Bowl news conference Friday. More Info...  

The Phoenix Suns' recent club-record 17-game win streak stamped them as a legitimate NBA title contender. It didn't reveal whether they can beat the Western Conference elite. They'll have a chance to do that when San Antonio visits Thursday night and Utah comes to town Saturday night. The Suns are 0-4 against Dallas, San Antonio and Utah, who rank among the top five in the Western Conference... More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. Rusty Begnaud once had big-league pitching dreams, but a freak accident has left him struggling just to regain normalcy. More Info...  

Roger Clemens talked about his plight and laughed. "I'm failing at retirement," he said. "Let's just face it. I'm failing miserably at it." The 44-year-old right-hander, unsure whether to retire or return for a 24th major league season, was the keynote speaker for the St. John's winter baseball banquet on Wednesday night.