Sports Briefs April 24, 2012
Baseball
Ivan Rodriguez made one last throw from behind home plate to second base at Rangers Ballpark.
The 14-time All-Star catcher announced his retirement Monday in Arlington, Texas, ending a 21-season playing career spent mostly in Texas. The Rangers then honored him with a pregame ceremony that ended with a unique first pitch.
Rodriguez initially went to the mound while Michael Young, the team's longest-tenured player, set up to receive the pitch. But that didn't seem right, so Young ran out to second base and Rodriguez, already wearing a catcher's mitt, went behind the plate to a huge cheer and made a familiar throw across the diamond.
• The complexity of the Roger Clemens perjury retrial showed itself in many ways Monday - before a jury that knows little about baseball.
The prosecutor's hour-long opening statement was a rambling hodgepodge of dates and anecdotes that attempted to portray the seven-time Cy Young Award winner as a man who told lies and "other lies to cover up lies." A ruling was issued about Clemens' former teammate Andy Pettitte: He can testify about taking human growth hormone, but can't say where he got it from.
In between, there were numerous motions as attorneys for both sides fussed over which words and facts can be used and which ones can't. Finally, as the clock passed 5 p.m., an impatient U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton admonished both sides for making their cases too complicated for a jury to understand.
"Keep it simple. ... Boom! Move on," said Walton, who then declared the slow-moving trial adjourned for the day as he abruptly left the bench. The opening defense statement was put off until today.
Basketball
Larry Brown has returned to college coaching.
Brown, 71, was formally introduced as the men's basketball coach at SMU, his first college job in nearly a quarter century.
SMU has not won an NCAA tournament game since 1988 - the same year Brown won a national title at Kansas in his last season in college.
• Seth Greenberg was fired as the men's basketball coach at Virginia Tech, a decision athletic director Jim Weaver said he and basketball administrator Tom Gabbard arrived at last week as they assessed the state of the program.
Spurs 124, Trail Blazers 89: Tim Duncan scored 18 points and host San Antonio clinched the top playoff spot in the Western Conference by beating Portland.
76ers 105, Nets 87: At Newark, N.J., Thaddeus Young scored all 15 of his points in the second half to help Philadelphia beat New Jersey.
Wizards 101, Bobcats 73: John Wall had 16 points and 14 assists to lift host Washington past Charlotte.
Pacers 103, Pistons 97: At Indianapolis, Paul George scored 27 points to lead Indiana over Detroit.
Grizzlies 109, Cavaliers 101: Marreese Speights had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help host Memphis beat Cleveland.
Bucks 92, Raptors 86: Brandon Jennings scored 25 points, but visiting Toronto fell to Milwaukee.
Veteran safety Brian Dawkins is retiring from the NFL after 16 seasons.
Dawkins posted the news on his Twitter account, thanking the teams he played for, his coaches and teammates and fans. Dawkins spent his first 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and his last three with the Denver Broncos.
He suffered a serious neck injury in December that sidelined him for the stretch run and the Broncos' two playoff games.
- The Associated Press