BASKETBALL
Brewer pleads innocent to DUI
Chicago Bulls forward Ronnie Brewer (Arkansas Razorbacks, Fayetteville) has pleaded innocent to a drunken driving charge in Beverly Hills. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Brewer entered pleas through an attorney Wednesday to misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level of at least 0.08. Prosecutors allege that his blood-alcohol was 0.15 percent or more -- nearly twice the legal limit. Brewer was stopped in February near Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. He was charged last month.
FOOTBALL
Concussions push Scheffler to retire
Tony Scheffler is retiring from the NFL. Scheffler told The Associated Press on Wednesday that having three concussions over the past four years had "a lot" to do with his choice. He had 258 receptions for 3,207 yards and 22 touchdowns in his eight-year career. The Detroit Lions released Scheffler in October. He later had workouts with Chicago and Kansas City and said there was "moderate" interest in him as a free agent this offseason. Denver drafted him in the second round in 2006 out of Western Michigan and traded him four years later to Detroit. Scheffler said his plans include becoming a real estate agent and assistant football coach at the high school in his hometown of Chelsea, Mich.
• Former Oklahoma State football player Lorenzo Turner has died. Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home in Pontiac, Mich., said Turner was 61. A cause of death was not released. Turner was a defensive end for the Cowboys in 1975 and 1976 and helped OSU to a share of the Big 8 Championship in 1976.
TENNIS
Hewitt falls at Queen's Club
Lleyton Hewitt remains one victory short of Roger Federer's record of 122 match victories on grass after being beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Feliciano Lopez in the second round of the Queen's Club tournament Wednesday. Hewitt, a four-time champion at Queen's, was broken once in each set and failed to earn a single break point against the 10th-seeded Spaniard. It's the first time the Australian has lost to Lopez in their five meetings. Hewitt won Queen's in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2006, while Lopez's best showing is a semifinal finish in 2010.
BASEBALL
Ramos placed on 15-day DL
The Washington Nationals have placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring injury and called up catcher Sandy Leon from Triple-A Syracuse. Manager Matt Williams said an MRI on Ramos revealed a Grade-1 hamstring strain. Ramos was injured running out a double in the ninth inning of Tuesday night's 2-1 victory against the Giants. Ramos is batting .261 with 1 home run and 11 RBI.
• The Chicago Cubs have signed Indiana catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber, their first-round draft pick and the No. 4 overall selection. Schwarber is one of three finalists for the 2014 Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top Division I catcher. He hit .358 (83 for 232) with 14 home runs (tied for seventh in the nation) and 48 RBI. The 21-year-old batted .341 with 40 home runs and 149 RBI in 180 games in three seasons at Indiana.
• Logan Morrison was activated after a lengthy stint on the disabled list and returned to the field for the Seattle Mariners. Seattle made the move with Morrison before Wednesday night's game and immediately placed him in the starting lineup. The Mariners placed first baseman Justin Smoak on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quadriceps, retroactive to June 10.
Basketball
Trial will weigh if Sterling’s ouster proper
LOS ANGELES — A trial will be held next month to determine whether Donald Sterling, who opposes his estranged wife’s planned sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, was properly removed as an administrator for the family trust that owns the team.
An attorney for Shelly Sterling went to probate court Wednesday to request a trial to confirm that as sole trustee she can proceed with the $2 billion sale to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
The development is the latest in a legal tug-of-war that has ensued following the NBA’s decision to ban Sterling for life after racist remarks he made emerged in a recording in April. Sterling is fighting the decision and suing the league for $1 billion.
The league has contended that Sterling’s comments were bad for business and damaged both the Clippers and the NBA.
The trial, which was granted quickly, will begin July 7 and last four days. The deadline for the sale is July 15, which is also the date the NBA Board of Governors is scheduled to vote on whether it will approve the sale.
Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Bobby Samini, left the courthouse without comment after a clerk announced the trial schedule. Neither Sterling was present.
“I just want to resolve this as quickly as possible,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The Associated Press in Miami on Wednesday, when he appeared at an NBA Cares event.
The crux of the case will center on the question of whether Sterling, 80, is mentally competent to be a co-trustee of The Sterling Family Trust, which gives him the authority to determine the team’s future. According to the trust’s terms, he can be ruled “mentally incapacitated” after being evaluated by two doctors, O’Donnell said.
According to court documents, three doctors examined Donald Sterling in May and concluded that he suffers from “mild cognitive impairment consistent with early Alzheimer’s Disease” or some other forms of brain disease.
One doctor, James E. Spar, who is affiliated with the division of geriatric psychiatry at UCLA, said he believes “Mr. Sterling is at risk of making potentially serious errors of judgment, impulse control and recall in the management of his finances and his trust.”
“In my opinion he is substantially unable to manage his finances and resist fraud and undue influence, and is no longer competent to act as trustee of his trust,” Spar concluded.
Dr. Stephen L. Read, who also specializes in geriatric and forensic psychiatry in Los Angeles, said that X-ray and CT scans of Sterling’s brain conducted May 16 showed “mild atrophy” of brain tissue.
Read said personal opinion and the statements of other doctors provide “solid grounds for the determination that Mr. Donald T. Sterling lacks the capacity to function as trustee of the Sterling family estate.”
A third doctor, Meril S. Platzer, said during his examination Sterling was unable to spell the word “world” backward. He was unaware of the season, couldn’t recall two objects after three minutes and had difficulty initially drawing a clock.
Sports on 06/12/2014