Monday's Sports in Brief
WASHINGTON (AP) Roger Clemens was acquitted Monday on all charges that he obstructed and lied to Congress in denying he used performance-enhancing drugs to extend his long career as one of the greatest and most-decorated pitchers in baseball history.
A fierce competitor on the mound, Clemens was quietly emotional after the verdict was announced. ``I'm very thankful,'' he said, choking up as he spoke. ``It's been a hard five years,'' said the pitcher, who was retried after an earlier prosecution ended in a mistrial.
This case was lengthy, but the deliberations were relatively brief. Jurors returned their verdict after less than 10 hours over several days. The outcome ended a 10-week trial that capped the government's investigation of the pitcher known as ``The Rocket'' for the fastball that he retained into his 40s. He won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic of the league's best pitcher each year in a 24-year career with the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Astros.
NEW YORK (AP) - R.A. Dickey became the first major league pitcher in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters and Ike Davis hit a grand slam in the New York Mets' 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Coming off a one-hit gem at Tampa Bay last Wednesday, the knuckleballer struck out a career-high 13 and allowed only Wilson Betemit's clean single in the fifth inning.
The previous pitcher to throw consecutive one-hitters was Dave Stieb for Toronto in September 1988, according to STATS LLC. The Mets said the last to do it in the National League was Jim Tobin with the Boston Braves in 1944, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Los Angeles Angels right-hander Jerome Williams was taken to a hospital Monday night when he complained of shortness of breath after leaving his start against San Francisco.
Williams was expected to stay overnight at the hospital. Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said Williams ``passed out'' in the clubhouse after leaving the 5-3 loss to the Giants in the fourth inning.
PHOENIX (AP) - Aaron Hill hit a solo homer in the seventh inning to become the fifth Arizona player to hit for the cycle, lifting the Diamondbacks to a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
PRO FOOTBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL went public with some of its evidence against the four players suspended for their roles in the New Orleans Saints bounty program. Among the things the league revealed: a prize of $35,000 for knocking Brett Favre out of the NFC championship game in January 2010.
NFL lead counsel Jeff Pash showed reporters the material at the end of a day when the suspended players - Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove, Scott Fujita and Jonathan Vilma - each attended appeals hearings with Commissioner Roger Goodell at NFL headquarters in Manhattan. The players and their union objected to the process, saying it was unfair.
Vilma left his session after about an hour Monday morning and didn't return in the afternoon.
Pash said Goodell will ``hold the record open'' until at least the end of Friday for the players to respond to the evidence.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - LaDainian Tomlinson signed a one-day contract with the San Diego Chargers and announced his retirement after a brilliant 11-year NFL career.
Tomlinson, about to turn 33, said it's time to move on and enjoy his family. He says he's still physically capable of playing but that the game takes a mental toll.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - R.C. Owens, a longtime 49ers front office man and eight-year NFL wide receiver whose impressive leaping ability earned him the nickname ``Alley Oop'' and helped popularize the basketball phrase, died Sunday at age 77.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - The child molestation trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky could be in jurors' hands before the end of the week, with witness testimony on his behalf expected to wrap up in less than three days.
Judge John Cleland announced the schedule after the first six defense witnesses testified about Sandusky's reputation in the community and the demanding hours and travel required of Penn State coaches.
PRO BASKETBALL
The Charlotte Bobcats hired St. John's assistant Mike Dunlap to be their new head coach, two people familiar with the decision said.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because an official announcement was still being planned for the next two days.
The Charlotte Observer first reported the news.
The choice comes as a bit of a surprise because Dunlap was not one of the team's three finalists and rejoined the picture late.
MIAMI (AP) - NBA Commissioner David Stern believes too many players are deceiving referees into calling fouls by falling down, or flopping. So he and the league's newly reformed competition committee met for a discussion about how it can be prevented.
One option, Stern said, is a ``postgame analysis'' in which a player could be penalized if it was determined he flopped. The league retroactively upgrades or downgrades flagrant fouls after review, and along those lines he said that perhaps a player could receive a message from New York saying: ``Greetings from the league office. You have been assigned flopper status.''
MIAMI (AP) - The NBA Finals' Game 3 television rating was down slightly from last year.
Overall, the series' average rating through three games is the highest since 2004.
ESPN said that the series was averaging a 9.7, up 7 percent from 2011.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - A Florida jury awarded disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy $1.3 million in a lawsuit against the company that published his memoir.
Donaghy sued Shawna Vercher and her company, VTi Group, in Pinellas County civil court, saying he hadn't been paid. The now-defunct company published Donaghy's 2010 book about referees and the NBA.
SOCCER
GDANSK, Poland (AP) - Defending champion Spain advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championship, getting an 88th-minute goal from substitute Jesus Navas in a 1-0 win over Croatia. In Poznan, Poland, Italy qualified for the quarterfinals after Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli scored in each half of a tense 2-0 victory over Ireland.
OLYMPICS
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (AP) - Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen took control over the last two rounds and built a 27.33-point lead in 3-meter synchro at the U.S. Olympic diving trials.
Dumais is trying to join Greg Louganis as the only American man to make four Olympic teams. He and Ipsen totaled 876.00 points through the preliminaries and semifinals to advance to Friday's final.
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After a few weeks of uneasy waiting, Queen Underwood learned she'll get to fight for an Olympic medal.
USA Boxing said that the 28-year-old lightweight from Seattle has been awarded a berth in the first Olympic women's boxing tournament in London.
Three-time world champion Mary Spencer of Canada also received an at-large berth.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greek and Serbian Olympic officials denied they were involved in selling tickets to the London Games on the black market.
The IOC is investigating allegations in Britain's Sunday Times that officials and ticket agents in several countries were caught selling tickets for up to 10 times their face value.
TENNIS
LONDON (AP) - David Nalbandian was fined the maximum $12,560 and placed under police investigation for assault after kicking an advertising board and injuring a line judge during the Queen's Club final.
The ATP confirmed the fine for unsportsmanlike conduct and said the Argentine also was stripped of his $57,350 in prize money.
EASTBOURNE, England (AP) - Marcos Baghdatis beat eighth-seeded Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the Aegon International.
DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) - U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur lost in the opening round of the Unicef Open, falling 7-6 (7), 6-3 to Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) - Melanie Oudin of the United States won her first WTA tournament, defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-2 in the rain-delayed, grass-court final of the Aegon Classic.
