Sports Recap
Buffalo Bills' running back Marshawn Lynch will meet Tuesday with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York to discuss Lynch's arrest last month -- the second time in nine months he has been involved with the law. The expectation is that Lynch will be suspended, with persons close to the situation anticipating that Goodell probably punishes him for one but no more than two regular-season games. Any decision, however, will not take place until after Goodell sits down to interview the running back and allows him to defend himself. Lynch is expected to be accompanied by lawyers, as well as by members of the Buffalo Bills. It is not anticipated that the Bills will take action against the two-year veteran, no matter what Goodell's findings are in the wake of Tuesday's hearing. Lynch earlier this month pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge stemming from a Feb. 11 arrest in Culver City, Calif. According to the police report, Lynch was one of three men seated in a parked Mercedes Benz when he was questioned. At the time, he was charged with possession of a concealed firearm. But the felony gun charge later was reduced to three misdemeanors -- with two of them dropped. Lynch was sentenced to three years of probation and 80 hours of community service. He also agreed to submit to police searches at any time. The Carolina Panthers denied a report Monday they've discussed trading four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers to the New England Patriots. The reason: They aren't allowed to have any trade talks involving Peppers until he signs his one-year tender worth $16.7 million -- or until his agent brokers a deal with another team and comes to Carolina for approval. NFL.com, citing unidentified sources, reported the Panthers and Patriots were close to a deal that would send Peppers to the Patriots for New England's second-round pick, 34th overall, that was acquired from Kansas City in the Matt Cassel trade.
Phillies star pitcher Cole Hamels is scheduled to leave training camp Monday afternoon and fly to Philadelphia to have his left elbow examined by the team physician. "He's had a little bit of a persistent soreness in his elbow; we do not believe it's serious," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "But at least at this time we thought it was important for Dr. [Michael] Ciccotti to check him out and see if there's anything more serious than we think it is." Hamels, the World Series MVP last fall, went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts in October. The 25-year-old left-hander made his first Grapefruit League start Wednesday. He pitched in an intra-squad game Sunday and didn't report any pain in four innings of work. Hamels said he feels tightness in his elbow between innings and after he's finished pitching for the day. "I was able to throw yesterday," Hamels said. "It's just been that kind of mild discomfort, something I don't want to have to deal with during the season. So if we can figure it out and somehow lessen the inflammation and the discomfort, I'll be able to throw and be productive."
Gregg Popovich didn't coach 1,000 games in the NBA without having a few leads slip away on him. Courtesy of the Oklahoma City Thunder, he can add another to that list. Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Thabo Sefolosha added 12 and the Thunder spoiled Popovich's 1,000th game as San Antonio's coach by overcoming an early 17-point deficit to beat the Spurs 78-76 on Monday night. San Antonio built its big lead in the opening 10 minutes, but that did nothing to secure a successful finish as Popovich became only the 24th coach to reach 1,000 NBA games. "Oftentimes, it's a coach's worst nightmare," Popovich said. "We've all had the leads. We've all lost them because it's a game. It's 48 minutes long. There are a lot of possessions. It can happen and it does happen often." The Thunder didn't lead until midway through the fourth quarter, but kept San Antonio to its season low in scoring and escaped when Tony Parker missed a 3-pointer from the left side in the closing seconds.
Virginia fired coach Dave Leitao on Monday, opening the door for the school to possibly make a run at Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel, sources told CBSSports.com. On the surface, some might question why Capel would leave what he has established at Oklahoma, but the former Duke player has ACC roots and this would get him back to that part of the country. Also, Capel began his head coaching career at Virginia Commonwealth, meaning he obviously knows the area and already has recruiting ties in the region. Leitao made the NCAA tournament once in four seasons at Virginia. The Cavaliers finished 11th in the ACC this season. Another possible candidate beyond Capel should be Xavier's Sean Miller. Miller has the Musketeers in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five years.
Despite a bungled replay review, the umps got the call right. Ramon Hernandez trotted home with a big run following a 10-minute delay, and now he and his Venezuela teammates are bound for Los Angeles and the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic. Hernandez was correctly awarded a home run Monday night when a call was reversed after the TV replay system failed, and Venezuela delighted a cacophonous crowd of 25,599 by beating Puerto Rico 2-0 to secure a spot in the final four. "We pleased all of Venezuela," manager Luis Sojo said. "We're very happy." Puerto Rico lost for the first time in five WBC games and will face the United States on Tuesday night, with the loser eliminated and the winner advancing to the semifinals this weekend in Los Angeles. The game offers Team USA a chance to avenge an 11-1 loss to Puerto Rico on Saturday that triggered the mercy rule, ending the rout in the seventh inning.
Florida State University will appeal the part of an NCAA sanction that would take away victories in 10 sports, including as many as 14 in football. President T.K. Wetherell will announce the school's appeal Tuesday. Trustees chairman Jim Smith says the board is 100 percent behind the decision. "It's certainly unfair to Coach [Bobby] Bowden," Smith said Monday. "It was a breakdown in academics, a breakdown that none of us condone." The NCAA earlier this month took away scholarships and put the school on four years' probation as part of the punishment for 61 athletes who took a music history class where test answers were provided and other prohibited help was received. Bowden could also lose 14 wins from the 2006 and 2007 seasons when players who took the class played. More than two dozen football players were suspended for four games after the school discovered the cheating. "I feel for Coach Bowden," said Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who earned his undergraduate degree at Florida State. "I doubt that he had any knowledge what was happening with some of those students. I think it would be just, especially for coach Bowden, for that to be changed."
The Astros have agreed to terms with catcher Pudge Rodriguez, one of the last of the remaining big-name free agents. Rodriguez is expected to become Houston's everyday catcher. Playing time had been an issue in Rodriguez's talks with the Marlins, but with the Astros Rodriguez could catch as many as five games a week. Houston's catchers have been awful this spring. The three catchers on the Astros' major-league roster have combined to go 8-for-50 with three RBIs. In just four games for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, Pudge is 9-for-15 with three doubles, two home runs and six RBIs.
Connecticut's quest for the fifth perfect season in NCAA history will begin at home. The undefeated Huskies earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women's basketball tournament Monday night and will open against Vermont at Storrs. Nine teams have entered the NCAA tournament unbeaten; only four have emerged unscathed. UConn and coach Geno Auriemma were the last in 2002. Auriemma said he's not worried about the bulls-eye on his team's back. "We've been dealing with that all year long," he said during the broadcast. "You worry about things you obviously have no control over. I'm not sitting here thinking about who we're playing in St. Louis. Trust me." Oklahoma, Maryland, and Duke earned the other three No. 1 seeds. The Sooners are in the Oklahoma City regional, the Terrapins are headed to Raleigh and the Blue Devils will make the cross-country trek to Berkeley.
After Kari Lehtonen stopped all 10 of Alex Ovechkin's shots, the reigning NHL MVP was so furious that he refused to speak with reporters. It's no wonder, considering the league's leading goal scorer has beaten Lehtonen 16 times, more than any goalie he's faced. "Sometimes great goaltending stands on your head, and that's what he did," Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said after a 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Monday night. "We just weren't very good." Lehtonen made a career-high 49 saves, and Slava Kozlov and Tobias Enstrom each had a goal and an assist to help the Thrashers win a team-record sixth straight. Washington, second in the Eastern Conference and third overall with 229 goals, had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Roger Federer and Andy Murray each took a step closer to a possible semifinal showdown with relatively routine third-round victories Monday at the BNP Paribas Open. Federer, a three-time Indian Wells winner ranked No. 2, downed Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (4), 6-3. Playing his first event since withdrawing from the Dubai tournament and the first round of Davis Cup because of back problems, Federer came up with big shots when needed against Karlovic. Federer said he hadn't been sure if his game was coming together. "It's tough to say. I don't think I've had an awful lot of rhythm in my last two matches. Even in my first match, there was quite a bit of serving going on," Federer said. "I don't think I've had to face break point yet in the first two matches, so that's a good thing. That kind of keeps you a bit relaxed. I'm seeing the ball OK. My baseline game, I can't really judge it."
The Jacksonville Jaguars waived receiver Matt Jones on Monday, parting ways with the former first-round draft pick just days after his latest arrest. Jones was jailed last week in Arkansas for violating a plea agreement that stemmed from a drug charge in 2008. The 6-foot-6 Jones, a former star quarterback at Arkansas, is awaiting an April 13 court appearance. After failing a drug and alcohol screening, Jones told a judge he drank beer while golfing with friends. He assured the judge it wouldn't happen again. The Jaguars didn't want to take a chance. "All roster moves are decisions we feel are in the best interest of the organization," Jaguars general manager Gene Smith said. "This decision is a result of our ongoing player and roster evaluations. We expect responsibility and accountability, and those are important qualities as we continue the process of building this team." Although Jones was wildly popular in Arkansas, he wasn't revered nearly as much in Jacksonville. Fans thought his laid-back attitude was a sign he didn't care about football, and coach Jack Del Rio ripped him at times for his work ethic.
Bryce Brown, the No. 8 prospect in the ESPNU150, will play his college football at Tennessee. Brown picked the Vols over a list of finalists that included Oregon, LSU, Kansas State and Miami. Brown's decision ends a months-long saga that began picking up steam when the talented running back from Wichita, Kan., opted not to make a decision on national signing day. Brown, who rushed for 1,807 yards and 29 touchdowns this year at Wichita East, had been committed to Miami (where his brother Arthur is a sophomore linebacker) since February of 2008. But Brown, who is ranked the No. 2 running back in the country by Scouts Inc., decided not to sign with the Hurricanes on signing day and instead wanted to take all five of his official visits. The Vols became a player for Brown late in the game. He visited Knoxville unofficially last week and did the official visit with Lane Kiffin and the Vols this weekend, when Tennessee held its first scrimmage of the spring practice.
Newly elected NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has asked former Colts head coach Tony Dungy to serve as a liaison between the association's players and the NFL office for player issues both on and off the field. Dungy confirmed to ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that he has been approached by Smith and is interested in the position. Dungy said that Smith informed him that he would be in touch shortly to better define the job. "It's certainly something that's close to my heart, having been associated with the NFL for so long," Dungy said. The 45-year-old Smith was elected Sunday on the first ballot by the 32 representatives -- one for each NFL team -- and was introduced to a standing ovation. Dungy retired from coaching in January after seven seasons with the Colts and one Super Bowl ring. Dungy talked constantly to his players about being targets, once describing to a visitor the specifics of how he counsels them to avoid the wrong people, the wrong places and the perils of driving in the early morning after consuming a few beers. He also has firsthand knowledge of troubled young people -- three years ago, Dungy's son, James, committed suicide at age 18. That winter, he began to think about retirement, which finally came at 53, an age when many get their first job as a head coach.