Sports Briefs August 3, 2010
Baseball
The Chicago White Sox backed away from their manager Monday, publicly disagreeing with Ozzie Guillen's assertion that Asian players are given privileges in the United States that Latinos are not afforded.
In his latest rant, the outspoken Guillen also said Sunday he's the "only one" in baseball teaching young players from Latin America to stay away from performance-enhancing drugs and that Major League Baseball doesn't care about that.
In Monday's statement, the White Sox acknowledged Guillen's background and his right to his opinion, but said they believe his views are incorrect.
"Major League Baseball and the White Sox provide a number of programs to help our foreign players with acculturation, including English language classes and Spanish language presentations related to the risks of and testing for performance-enhancing drugs," the club said. "The team also has Spanish-speaking staff assigned to serve as liaisons for our Latin American players.
• Corey Hart now has a long-term future with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers agreed to a $26.5 million, three-year contract extension through 2013, rewarding the outfielder for a turnaround season that included a trip to the All-Star game.
It was a somewhat surprising turn of events, given how often Hart was the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks. The Brewers listened to offers but nothing came together. And even before non-waiver trade deadline arrived, assistant general manager Gord Ash and agent Jeff Berry had been working on a deal.
Basketball
The Portland Trail Blazers have signed second-round pick Armon Johnson.
Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
Portland selected the 6-foot-3 guard out of Nevada with the 34th overall pick in the June draft.
Following the draft, Johnson averaged 11.6 points and 4.2 assists while starting all five games for Portland's Las Vegas Summer League squad.
College
Commissioner Jim Delany expects the Big Ten to hold a championship game next season, when Nebraska joins and brings the league to 12 members.
He also said teams will likely play nine conference games instead of eight in the future to help preserve rivalries.
• Athletic director Tom Osborne insisted Nebraska wasn't seeking riches or ducking competition when it decided to bolt the Big 12 for the Big Ten.
He said the move was about stability.
The Big Ten had it and the Big 12 lacked it, so the Cornhuskers are switching conferences. They'll start play in the Big Ten next year, one of college football's traditional powers joining a tradition-rich league that was trying to maintaining its footing in a shaky landscape.
Auto Racing
IndyCar officials fined star Helio Castroneves $60,000 and placed him on probation for the remainder of the year following his actions at the July 25 race in Edmonton.
The penalty was handed down following a meeting between Castroneves and series officials, more than a week after the three-time Indy 500 champion was black-flagged for blocking Penske Racing teammate Will Power on the final restart.
• NASCAR team owner Jack Roush's condition has been upgraded to fair as he recovers from last week's plane crash in Wisconsin.
The 68-year-old Roush is at the Mayo Clinic. His team said he will remain at the Minnesota clinic indefinitely to treat facial injuries.
Roush was attending the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. The aviation buff also survived a crash in 2002.
- The Associated Press