Sports Briefs April 5, 2011
College basketball
Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart is staying with the Rams after leading them on a surprising Final Four run.
The school said Monday that Smart has agreed to a new eight-year contract at VCU. Details of that deal will be released once the contract is signed.
The second-year coach led VCU from one of the "First Four" games in the NCAA tournament to upsets of prominent programs including Georgetown, Purdue and Kansas to reach the Final Four. VCU (28-12) became only the third No. 11 seed to get that far, losing to Butler 70-62 in Saturday's national semifinals.
Making that run even more impressive: Four of the Rams' five tournament wins came by double-digit margins, including the 71-61 win against the top-seeded Jayhawks for the Southwest Regional championship.
Baseball
Prosecutors in the federal case against Barry Bonds said a key witness has rediscovered the tape of a secretly recorded conversation with the slugger's doctor, sparking a fight between the government and defense lawyers over whether the new material can be included at a trial years in the making.
On a day when there was no testimony because a juror was ill, the government said Monday that former Bonds business partner Steve Hoskins found a cassette recording of his conversation with Dr. Arthur Ting.
Prosecutors, hoping to counter Ting's testimony last week that he never discussed Bonds' alleged steroid use with Hoskins - who insisted they had - said both men might be recalled to the witness stand.
The trial began March 21 in San Francisco, and prosecutors had planned to rest their case Monday with Dr. Don Catlin, former head of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory. But they now plan to call three lab workers, raising the government's witness total to 25. That, plus the new evidence, makes it likely the case won't go to the jury before next week.
Football
One of the hundreds of high school students attending an assembly in Woodlawn, Md., about the dangers of performance-enhancing substances wanted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to answer this question:
Why is there more drug use in baseball than football?
Goodell began his response this way: "I'm not sure that's true."
While making sure to emphasize that he believes the NFL's drug-testing program is a strong one, Goodell acknowledged that it can be improved, and he said the league will insist that its next labor deal with players - whenever there is one - includes testing for human growth hormone.
Fresh off his win in Houston, Phil Mickelson has another chance to reach No. 1 in the world for the first time.
The world ranking is so crowded at the top that six of the top seven players have a chance to reach the top of the ranking by winning the Masters this week. That includes Tiger Woods, who has slipped to No. 7.
The four majors offer 100 world ranking points to the winner.
Martin Kaymer remains No. 1, followed by Lee Westwood, Mickelson, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey and Woods. Casey is the only player among the top seven who could not reach No. 1 even by winning at Augusta because he has played more tournaments than Woods.
Rangers 5, Bruins 3: Brandon Dubinsky and Michael Sauer scored and host New York rallied to beat defensive-minded Boston.
Sharks 6, Kings 1: Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist to help host San Jose Sharks past Los Angeles.
- The Associated Press