TENNIS
Mannarino advances
Sixth-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France rallied past James Duckworth of Australia, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) to advance to the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, R.I., on Tuesday. Mannarino, 28, was the only seeded player in action and voiced his displeasure over playing on a side court and the condition of Newport's grass surface. He said the court is "just ridiculously bad." Qualifier Frank Dancevic of Canada beat American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-4 on center court in a match that ended a few minutes after Mannarino's victory. The tourney is held on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Also Tuesday, wild card Stefan Kozlov beat Benjamin Becker, 6-1, 6-2; qualifier Brian Baker outlasted fellow American Austin Krajicek, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; and John-Patrick Smith ousted Jordan Thompson, 6-4, 6-4.
Verdasco moves on
Former finalist Fernando Verdasco saved all five break points he faced in beating Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Swedish Open at Bastad, Sweden, on Tuesday. Verdasco, who won his seventh ATP title in Bucharest in April, has reached the quarterfinals or better five times in Bastad, including the 2013 final. He next faces Spanish compatriot Albert Montanes, a winner of six clay-court titles, and who handed Elias Ymer of Sweden his 10th consecutive main draw loss, 6-4, 6-2. Other winners included Taro Daniel of Japan, who downed seventh-seeded Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-4, 6-2, Gastao Elias of Portugal, Dustin Brown of Germany and Roberto Carballes of Spain. David Ferrer, the top seed and former two-time champion, had a bye into the second round and will play Calvin Hemery, who notched his first ATP main draw victory against fellow Frenchman and qualifier Tristan Lamasine 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Open purse increases
This year's U.S. Open men's and women's singles champions will each earn a record $3.5 million, up from $3.3 million in 2015. The U.S. Tennis Association announced Tuesday the total tournament purse will be $46.3 million, a $4 million increase from a year ago. The U.S. Open has the largest purse of the four majors. The payout for each round in singles is rising by an average of 10 percent. The runners-up will receive $1.75 million while a player who loses in the first round will make $43,300. The winning doubles teams get $625,000. The year's last Grand Slam tournament starts Aug. 29 at Flushing Meadows.
FOOTBALL
Harrison: No interview
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison said in an affidavit sent to the NFL that he never met nor communicated with the source of a media report that linked him and other players to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Harrison has insisted that league officials have to provide "credible evidence" before he agrees to an interview. The NFL Players Association sent a letter on Harrison's behalf along with the signed affidavit to NFL executive Adolpho Birch on Monday. "Neither the CBA nor the Policy state that a player must agree to an in-person interview based upon random, baseless verbal remarks or face discipline for a failure to cooperate with a league investigation," union attorney Heather M. McPhee wrote. "In the absence of the existence of any documented, credible evidence, this affidavit constitutes reasonable cooperation by (Harrison)."
BASEBALL
Pitch number regulation
The National Federation of State High School Associations has told its members to adopt a rule regulating the number of pitches a high school pitcher can throw in a game. The federation did not proscribe a specific number. NFHS director of sports and student services Elliot Hopkins said Tuesday it simply wants local associations to legislate a pitch count by next season. The rule will go into effect in the spring of 2017. Every state plus the District of Columbia is a federation member, Hopkins said, with governance over the largest, typically public association. Each state except Michigan has its own sports medicine advisory committee that will likely be involved in settling on a specific number.
HORSE RACING
Necropsy reports released
Homeboykris, one of two horses who died on Preakness Day, was running with an elevated level of the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone in his blood, according to a necropsy released Tuesday by the Maryland Racing Commission. But the commission's chief veterinarian, Dr. David Zipf, said the medication violation "would not have contributed to the death" of the horse. Homeboykris won the first race of the day, May 21, only to collapse on his way back to the barn. The 9-year-old gelding died of a heart attack, according to the necropsy, performed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture in Frederick, Md. Trainer Francis Campitelli was fined $500 for the medication violation. Homeboykris had the anti-inflammatory in his blood plasma at a level of 30 picograms per milliliter, exceeding the permitted level of 5 picograms per milliliter. Mike Hopkins, executive director for the racing commission, compared the difference to "a grain of sand in an Olympic-sized swimming pool." Thomas Bowman, a veterinarian who sits on the commission, agreed that the violation likely did not contribute to the gelding's death. He compared the incident to a 55-year-old person suffering an unexpected heart attack while jogging. By contrast, a report on the other Preakness Day death revealed nothing unusual. Pramedya broke her left front leg in the fourth race of the day and was euthanized on the track. Her breakdown was particularly eerie because she was owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who also owned Barbaro. He broke his leg in the Preakness 10 years earlier.
FOOTBALL
Documents: Paterno knew of abuse in 1976
Joe Paterno knew about child sexual abuse by his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky as early as 1976 but did nothing about it, according to court documents released Tuesday.
In a 2014 deposition, a man who in the documents was called John Doe 150 testified that Sandusky, a longtime assistant football coach under Paterno at Penn State, touched him inappropriately in the shower when he was 14 and attending a football camp. He said that he spoke to Paterno about it the next day, but that Paterno dismissed him, saying he did not want to hear about it and had to focus on football.
“I was shocked, disappointed, offended,” John Doe 150 said.
The information raises the possibility that Paterno, the longtime football coach, who died in 2012, knew his assistant coach abused children well before 1998, which is when a report commissioned by the university suggested Paterno became aware.
Paterno had said that he did not know about any such activity by Sandusky until 2001, when he was told by another assistant coach, Mike McQueary.
Judge Gary Glazer of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas unsealed hundreds of pages of documents Tuesday related to a lawsuit between Penn State and its insurer over who would pay nearly $100 million in settlement claims by victims.
In the documents, the insurer, Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association Insurance, contends that Penn State should have informed it of several incidents, including “a report in 1976 by an alleged victim to Penn State Head Football Coach Joseph Paterno” as well as improper sexual conduct between Sandusky and minors witnessed by assistant coaches in 1987 and 1988 and other incidents.
The company contends that had it known about these incidents, it would have declined to insure the university against sexual abuse lawsuits.
In a statement Tuesday, a Paterno family spokesman said: “The materials released today relating to Joe Paterno allege a conversation that occurred decades ago where all parties except the accuser are now dead. In addition, there are numerous specific elements of the accusations that defy all logic and have never been subjected to even the most basic objective examination. Most significantly, there is extensive evidence that stands in stark contrast to this claim.”
Sports on 07/13/2016