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(07/22/07 11:49pm)
PLATEAU DE BEILLE, France – Michael Rasmussen of Denmark extended his overall lead in the Tour de France on Sunday against all of his top challengers – except Alberto Contador.\nThe Spaniard surged ahead of the Dane at the end of the final climb, tapping his chest and pointing skyward as he finished a bike length ahead of Rasmussen in 5 hours, 25 seconds, 48 seconds to take his first stage victory in the race.\nThe promising 24-year-old Spaniard, who placed third among young cyclists in the 2005 Tour, leapfrogged into second overall 2:23 behind Rasmussen.\n“It’s a great victory,” Contador said. “To win a finish like the Plateau de Beille is a dream.”\nColombia’s Juan Mauricio Soler was third in the stage, 37 seconds back.\nContador and Rasmussen finished alone after outpacing a small group of breakaway riders late in the 122-mile stage from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille in the Pyrenees that featured two very difficult climbs.\nTheir two-man show demonstrated how climbing specialists have an edge in the 94th edition of cycling’s premier race. The stages expected to be crucial in determining the final standings are the next two days in the Pyrenees and a time trial on the eve of the July 29 finish in Paris.\nThe big loser Sunday was Cadel Evans, who had begun the stage in second place, 1 minute back of Rasmussen. The Australian fell behind in the last 3 miles and dropped to third overall, 3:04 back.\n“It was a really, really hard stage” the Predictor Lotto rider said. “Contador and Rasmussen are the best climbers in the Tour de France, I think.”\nRasmussen was guided up the first ascent – the Port de Pailheres – by his Rabobank teammates. But the support riders lost steam in the second climb to Plateau de Beille with some 6 miles left, leaving Rasmussen alone with his top challengers.\nHis yellow jersey unzipped, Rasmussen kept close watch on his five nearby rivals – Contador, Evans, Soler, Levi Leipheimer of the United States and Carlos Sastre of Spain.\nThe riders tested each other with short bursts to see who would be the first to crack. Rasmussen and Contador broke away when the other riders finally began to struggle. The Dane suggested to Contador that the two work together to gain time on their pursuers, and after the stage said Contador deserved the victory.\n“We had a common interest in taking as much time out of our nearest competitors as possible, but when it got close to the finish line we were both racing 100 percent for the victory,” Rasmussen said.\nThe race moves into the second of three grueling days in the Pyrenees on Monday, with a 121.8-mile run from Foix to Loudenvielle-Le Louron.
(07/22/07 11:48pm)
CARSON, Calif. – David Beckham began his daunting challenge to convert America into a soccer-mad nation with an uneventful 12-minute debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night.\nBeckham got into the exhibition against Chelsea in the 78th minute, jogging onto the field amid huge cheers and a sea of camera flashes from the sold-out crowd of 27,000.\n“The atmosphere is incredible,” he said after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory.\nThe 32-year-old midfielder spent most of the game on the bench because of a nagging left ankle injury.\nThere were cheers each time Beckham touched the ball, the highlight being a corner kick he took in stoppage time. After taking about 10 minutes to get loose on the sideline, he entered as a substitute for Alan Gordon, who slapped hands with the English superstar before Beckham took the field for the first time.\n“I’m not fit. I haven’t trained since I got here,” he said. “But it’s nice to be out there.”\nChelsea captain John Terry scored in the 49th minute on a 19-yard shot that ricocheted off the right post and left post before caroming into the net.\nBeckham got off the bench in the 66th minute to warm up, exciting fans who had waited most of the game to see him. He jogged up and down the sidelines and a roar went up when Beckham tapped an out-of-bounds ball back to the referee, his first kick of the night.\nHe briefly ran off the field with the Galaxy’s trainer before returning and peeling off his warmup shirt to reveal his favored long-sleeved jersey on a warm night when the other players wore short sleeves.\nBeckham’s debut was crazy from the start. When he took his seat on the end of a metal bench, he was quickly surrounded by about 100 photographers pushing and shoving to get a shot.\nHe calmly took in the scene as the scrum furiously snapped away within inches of him before being shoved back by about 10 security guards. He chatted with teammate Peter Vagenas while the Galaxy’s starting lineup on the field was all but ignored.\nBeckham’s wife Victoria, wearing her trademark huge black sunglasses, along with actress Katie Holmes and her infant daughter Suri, watched from a private box above the field.\nAs expected, Beckham didn’t start the game or join his new teammates in pre-game warmups.\nDressed in a blue pullover jersey, white shorts and knee-high white socks, Beckham sat hunched over watching the action and stood up to applaud a couple of near-miss scoring chances by his teammates.\nWith the game scoreless at halftime, he walked across the field waving to fans before disappearing into the tunnel.\nNot everyone cheered the Galaxy. Chelsea of the English Premier League had its own blue-clad fans in a corner of the stadium.\nIn the two hours leading up to the game, fans sipped drinks in the shade at a bar on a plaza outside the stadium and checked out merchandise stands. A variety of Beckham T-shirts and jerseys were on sale, with the top price $100.\nA few thousand even bothered to watch the warmup act, a game between Mexican club team Tigres UANL and Korea’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Tigres won 3-0.\nA red carpet was rolled out for the Beckhams’ new Hollywood pals – a roped-off area at the palm-lined suites entrance to the stadium. A handful of fans were gathered outside the ropes, along with the ever-present paparazzi.
(07/19/07 12:30am)
RICHMOND, Va. – When a Bad Newz Kennels dog was wounded in a losing fight, NFL star Michael Vick was consulted before the animal was doused with water and electrocuted.\nThat’s just one of the gruesome details that emerged Tuesday when the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three others were indicted by a federal grand jury.\nThe four were charged with competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting the enterprise across state lines.\nThe 18-page indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleged the 27-year-old Vick and his co-defendants began the dogfighting operation in early 2001, the former Virginia Tech star’s rookie year as the No. 1 overall pick.\nThe operation was centered at a property Vick owned in Surry County, where a fence shielded prying eyes from the back, and the two-story brick home was surrounded by fencing in the front, with several black buildings further back.\nUnlike previous documents, which did not name Vick, the indictment is littered with his name, including this tidbit – Vick was known as “Ookie” in the dogfighting world.\nIf convicted of all the charges, Vick and the others – Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach; Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton – could face up to six years in prison, $350,000 in fines and restitution..\nWhile the Falcons and the NFL said little Tuesday, John Goodwin of the Humane Society of the United States said the details were especially troubling.\nAbout eight young dogs were put to death at the Surry County home after they were found not ready to fight in April 2007, the indictment said. They were killed “by hanging, drowning and/or slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground.”\n“Some of the grisly details in these filings shocked even me, and I’m a person who faces this stuff every day,” Goodwin said. “I was surprised to see that they were killing dogs by hanging them, and one dog was killed by slamming it to the ground. Those are extremely violent methods of execution – they’re unnecessary and just sick.”\nPurses for the fights ranged from hundreds of dollars to the thousands, and participants and spectators often placed side bets on the outcome, according to the indictment.\nAfter two Bad Newz Kennels dogs lost fights in March 2003, the indictment alleged Vick gave a bag containing $23,000 to the owner of the winning dogs.\nVick and the Falcons are due to report to training camp July 25.\n“Obviously, we are disturbed by today’s news,” the team said in a statement posted on its Web site, apologizing to fans for the negative publicity. “We will do the right thing for our club as the legal process plays out. We have a season to prepare for.”\nVick and the others are accused of “knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting an animal fighting venture” and conducting a business enterprise involving gambling, as well as buying, transporting and receiving dogs for the purposes of an animal fighting venture.\nThe indictment said dogfights were held at the Virginia property owned by Vick and dog owners brought animals from six states, including New York and Texas.\nLocal authorities have been investigating since an April 25 drug raid at the property. On June 7, officials with the Department of Agriculture with help from state police executed their own search warrant and found the remains of seven dogs.\nSurry County prosecutor Gerald G. Poindexter said he didn’t know of the indictment before it was filed, and said he’s not sure how the county will continue its separate case.\nAt the start, authorities seized 66 dogs, including 55 pit bulls, and equipment commonly used in dogfighting. About half the dogs were tethered to car axles with heavy chains that allowed the dogs to get close to each other, but not to have contact – an arrangement typical for fighting dogs, according to the search warrant affidavit.\nBefore fights, participating dogs of the same sex would be weighed and bathed, according to the filings. Opposing dogs would be washed to remove any poison or narcotic placed on the dog’s coat that could affect the other dog’s performance.\n– Associated Press Writer Dionne Walker contributed to this report.
(07/19/07 12:19am)
Never known as lovable losers, cursed, or even affectionately as bums, the Philadelphia Phillies have long held a more pitiable title: The losingest team in sports.\nFrom the Baker Bowl to the Vet and Citizens Bank Park, futility has tailed them like the sound of boos that echo throughout Philly for the disheartenment of every September collapse, every last-place finish, every near miss.\nNo team has lost quite like the Phillies. Now, make it 10,000 times.\nBad starting pitching, brutal relief, hardly any hitting, it was all in there in Sunday’s milestone loss. Albert Pujols hit two of the St. Louis Cardinals’ six homers in a 10-2 rout.\n“I don’t really care about it,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “We haven’t been really talking about it. Our players haven’t been talking about it.”\nMaybe there wasn’t much chatter in the clubhouse, but the fans jumped all over the ugly number. They started Web sites that counted down to 10,000, blogged about the memorable defeats and brought signs to the game that poked fun at the unimaginable number.\nBy the ninth inning, fans in the sellout crowd of 44,872 thumbed their noses at the dubious mark, standing and applauding. Camera flashes went off all around the park, trying to record the final pitch as NL MVP Ryan Howard struck out to end the game.\nCardinals manager Tony La Russa made sure to snag the ball and said he would auction it off for charity.\n“That ball is history,” he said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about.”\nMaybe not. But only one World Series championship (1980) in 125 years has long brought that feeling to the fans in a city way too familiar with losing.\nThe Phillies have had few moments to celebrate. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and briefly called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.\nAnd for those counting, it was the 58th time the Phillies have lost by that exact 10-2 score, the Elias Sports Bureau said.\nThe Phillies avoided the milestone for three games, but the Cardinals – the team that caught them 43 years ago for the NL pennant in one of the biggest collapses in baseball history – beat Philadelphia one more time.\nAll that mattered to the Phillies was winning the series, 2-1.\n“It doesn’t matter one way or the other to all the guys in here,” All-Star center fielder Aaron Rowand said. “The guys in here weren’t responsible for 10,000 losses, so what does it really matter to us?”\nIt hasn’t been all bad for the Phillies. They’ve had their share of highlights and Hall of Famers: Jim Bunning, Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn.\nThey haven’t lost 100 games since 1961, and they won the NL East three straight years from 1976-78 behind Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Larry Bowa. Philadelphia lost the World Series in 1983 and 1993, though it hasn’t returned to the playoffs since Joe Carter’s homer won the 1993 World Series for Toronto.\n“I think they need to forget about it and move forward,” said Greg Luzinski, the starting left fielder for the 1980 team.\nThe Phillies blew their chance to push back No. 10,000 until their seven-game West Coast road trip, when even the die-hards would have trouble staying awake to watch it.\nThe players were at least glad they no longer have to answer questions about 10,000.\n“Oh, we were so stressed about it,” Adam Eaton cracked.\nEvery true fan knows of the infamous 1964 collapse when the Phillies held a 6 1/2-game lead with 12 to play, only to blow the NL title by losing 10 straight. The Cardinals won the pennant by one game.\nThe Phillies had a big head start in earning this ignominious mark: They played their first game on May 1, 1883, against the Providence Grays. Of course, the Quakers lost 4-3 to Old Hoss Radbourn and started 0-8. They went on to lose 81 of 98 games in their inaugural season.\n“I’ve been involved in over 2,900 of them, but I’ve also seen a lot of wins during that time,” Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas said.
(07/18/07 11:51pm)
Three IU student-athletes have been selected to compete in the ongoing Pan American Games this month in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.\nSenior forward D.J. White was selected to compete for the Team USA basketball team Tuesday, while two members of the IU soccer team – sophomore midfielder Daniel Kelly and sophomore midfielder Kevin Alston – began play for the U.S. soccer team Sunday.\n“It feels good to know that I will represent my country,” White said in a statement. “It is a great honor. Now we can concentrate on getting to know each other on and off the court.”\nAlston and Kelly both started for Team USA in a 2-1 victory against Venezuela and played all 90 minutes at the Zico Football Center in Rio de Janeiro.\nThe Americans played again Wednesday against Bolivia, a game that saw both players again earn starting spots. Alston played the full 90 minutes and Kelly played 61 in a 4-2 loss for the Americans. The team plays again at 9 a.m. Saturday against Mexico.\nWhite, who was selected over the weekend as one of the final 14 candidates for the team, survived the final cut of two players to make the 12-team roster, which will be traveling down to Rio de Janeiro later this month. He is the eighth IU basketball player to compete in the Pan Am Games and the first since Todd Lindeman and Damon Bailey were selected for the 1999 games. \nWhite and his teammates are training in Washington, D.C., and will begin Pan Am play July 25 against Uruguay. Team USA will also face Panama and Argentina in group play.
(07/15/07 11:46pm)
MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State University’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tom Collins officially announced the resignation of men’s basketball coach Ronny Thompson at a 1 p.m. press conference Friday.\nThe only specific reason given for Thompson’s departure was concerns about a recent NCAA investigation into violations committed by the men’s basketball coaching staff. The university has hired a legal firm – Ice Miller, LLP – to conduct an independent, external investigation into the Ball State’s internal investigation.\n“He indicated some things in his letter, but again his resignation letter would be part of his personnel file and not available to (the media),” Collins said, concerning Thompson’s departure.\nCollins also said he would begin meeting with assistant coaches and student-athletes immediately to begin working through the situation.\nThompson sent a letter of resignation to Ball State President Jo Ann Gora’s office that was hand delivered, and Collins said he received a copy by e-mail Thursday. That day, Thompson also met with players at his house, said junior foward Anthony Newell, where he told them he would not be returning as head coach.\nSix players from last year’s 9-22 team are expected to return this season with only three – Newell, senior guard Peyton Stovall and junior guard Brandon Lampley – with more than a year of Division I experience. Eleven of the 14 players currently expected to play for Ball State were recruited by Thompson.\n“We got a lot of new guys and a lot of young guys, and it’s hard for them to understand that kind of business,” Newell said. “Their reactions to it might not be as good as others. There’s a lot of disappointment and a lot of anger, because when the coach who recruits you leaves that disappointment can easily turn to anger.”\nThe university self-reported two sets of NCAA rules violations in the past year after members of Thompson’s staff regularly attended “open gym” for short periods of time. \nIn August, the NCAA accepted Collins’ proposed punishment for the first set of infractions, which included a letter of reprimand to the coaching staff and a loss of 870 minutes of scheduled practice time. The NCAA has yet to inform Ball State of any penalties stemming from the second set of incidents. \nIn addition, Thompson and his staff had anonymous notes, containing racial slurs and the words “cheater” and “liar” written on them, shoved under their doors in late June. The university announced that it would conduct both a criminal investigation into the notes and a “climate assessment” of the athletic department.\nCollins said that the search for a replacement coach would begin immediately. Collins also said multiple calls and several resumes had been sent to the university since Thursday, when it was revealed Thompson left the program. He declined to give details on any possible candidates.\n“There’s a lot of people interested in this job,” Collins said. “I think we want to bring a leader in here, somebody who can recruit Indiana kids, somebody who can coach, somebody that’s a good teacher. Somebody who understands Ball State University and can fit into our community here.”
(07/15/07 11:44pm)
Senior forward D.J. White is one cut away from making the roster for the American team in the Pan American Games after competing in five trial sessions over the weekend. White is one of 14 finalists for the team, which will see two more players sent home before the games begin. The current player pool includes college standouts such as Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert, Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel and Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor.\n“This was definitely the most difficult choice we’ve ever had to make, but I just love this group,” USA and Villanova coach Jay Wright said in a statement. “I think we have great options. We’ve got shooters, we’ve got penetrators, we’ve got size, we’ve got post people – a guy like Hibbert could be a game-changer. It’s just a really diverse group that has great personality, and I think the committee did a great job of putting together a really strong team. Our staff is excited about working with this team and getting them to come together and think like a team.”\nTeam USA’s training will continue until Wednesday this week at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where they have been since Thursday. After that they will train from July 19-21 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.\nFrom there, the team will travel to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, to compete in the eight-team tournament from July 25-29. Team USA will play Uruguay, Panama and Argentina in group play. The semifinals will be held on July 28, with the finals on July 29. \nWhite and Team USA will look to improve on the last Pan American Games, which are held every four years, with athletes from North, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean competing in a variety of sports. In 2003, the Americans posted a 2-3 record to finish fourth in the tournament. The American team has not taken home the gold medal from the Pan Am Games since 1983.\nWhite led the Hoosiers in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 13.8 points per game and coming down with 234 rebounds on the season.
(07/15/07 11:29pm)
SAN JOSE, Calif. – There was only one champagne bottle in the San Jose SaberCats’ locker room, and that fit the spirit of the celebration.\nThe Arena Football League’s most consistent winners were thrilled to reach another ArenaBowl, but they won’t get really excited unless they can raise another championship trophy in two weeks.\nMark Grieb threw for 291 yards and six touchdowns, and the SaberCats advanced to their third title game in six seasons with a 61-49 victory over the defending champion Chicago Rush on Saturday. \nBen Nelson caught four TD passes, and James Roe had 10 catches for 108 yards for the top-seeded SaberCats (15-3), who won their 12th straight game and completed an unbeaten home season. But San Jose depended largely on its defense, which forced turnovers and a quarterback change for the beleaguered Rush (13-5).\n“Everybody talks about offense in this sport, but the defense won the game for us,” said Grieb, the SaberCats’ dependable starting quarterback since 2000. “We played OK on offense, but our defense really got it done.”\nRodney Wright had nine catches for 106 yards for the SaberCats, who will go for their third league title against the surprising Columbus Destroyers in the ArenaBowl in New Orleans on July 29. The sixth-seeded Destroyers (10-9) advanced from the National Conference with a 66-56 upset win over the Georgia Force earlier Saturday.\nConsistency is the SaberCats’ hallmark under coach Darren Arbet. San Jose has made eight straight postseason appearances, playing among the league’s final four teams in six of seven campaigns.\nSan Jose won ArenaBowl titles in 2002 and 2004, but Chicago beat the SaberCats 59-56 in last season’s conference title game before going on to win its first championship. Chicago had won four straight in the Western Conference’s most consistent rivalry – and that didn’t sit well with \nthe SaberCats.\n“Our guys wanted to play Chicago,” Arbet said. “They were focused and played hard. And any time you can play in our building, as loud as it was today, I like our chances.”\nThe SaberCats tied a team playoff record with four interceptions, limiting star Chicago receiver Bobby Sippio’s effectiveness and forcing the Rush to bench starting quarterback Matt D’Orazio, who threw a career-worst three interceptions while nursing a sore back.\n“He knew he was hurt, and we said all week that we’ve got to just get after him, get after him,” said defensive back Marquis Floyd, who had two interceptions. “He couldn’t really get it going.”\nBackup quarterback Russ Michna threw the first five touchdown passes of his career for the Rush, who made the AFL’s fewest turnovers during the regular season. Sippio had 15 catches for 194 yards and five TDs, but Chicago fell irretrievably behind when San Jose scored 28 straight points in the first half.\nGrieb played his usual solid game in the town where he went to high school. He came up smiling and waving after Chicago’s Joe Peters pushed him over the boards on a scramble with 1:40 to play, shaking it off and hitting Nelson for one last score moments later.\nLed by linebacker Phil Glover and a standout secondary, San Jose forced five turnovers – a fumble, three interceptions and a turnover on downs – and blocked a field goal attempt during Chicago’s first six possessions. Rush coach Mike Hohensee then benched D’Orazio, who threw six TD passes in last season’s conference final against San Jose.\n“Once we got the pressure on him, that was it,” said defensive back Clevan Thomas, who had San Jose’s other two interceptions.\nThe SaberCats led 34-14 after scoring on their first possession of the second half, but fumbled at the goal line on their next possession. Chicago scored twice to pull within six points, but Grieb hit Wright with a 33-yard TD pass to open the fourth quarter.\nSan Jose’s Julius Gant, a 314-pound lineman, then returned an onside kick for a touchdown with 5:50 to play.
(07/15/07 11:28pm)
NEW YORK – Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson are in trouble with the NBA again.\nThe central figures in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills were each suspended without pay by the league on Saturday for the first seven games of next season because of their most recent legal problems.\nAnd their history of headaches was likely the reason they were slapped with stronger penalties than other players who have been suspended in recent years for getting in trouble with the law.\n“Both were serious offenses and each are repeat violators of NBA rules,” spokesman Tim Frank said.\nThe NBA’s collective bargaining agreement calls for a minimum 10-game suspension when a player is convicted of or pleads no contest to a violent felony. While the league felt these crimes fell short of that, it came down hard on both players – who are already used to hearing from the league office.\nArtest and Jackson were Pacers’ teammates in November 2004 when they were involved in a brawl with fans during a game against the Detroit Pistons. Artest was suspended for 73 games and the playoffs – the NBA’s harshest punishment for a fight – and Jackson was suspended for 30 games.\nArtest pleaded no contest in May to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge stemming from a March 5 dispute with his wife, the latest in a string of off-court problems.\nPlacer County Superior Court Judge Francis Kearney sentenced Artest to 100 hours of community service and a 10-day work project through the county sheriff’s department. The Sacramento Kings forward also was fined $600 and ordered to get extensive counseling.\nArtest was in Africa on a humanitarian mission at the time his penalty was announced. He is with union director Billy Hunter taking part in the players association’s “Feeding One Million” campaign in Kenya and could be unaware of his suspension.\nA response from Artest and the union, including whether they plan to appeal, might not come until they return to the United States.\nJackson of the Golden State Warriors pleaded guilty last month to a felony count of criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside an Indiana strip club last fall, when he was with the Pacers. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.\n“I accept the suspension, believe it is fair and definitely look forward to having this entire process come to a conclusion in November,” Jackson said in a statement released by the Warriors. “Additionally, I apologize to my teammates, our fans, our ownership and the NBA for the negativity this has created and the poor example that I set.”\nArtest will lose nearly $471,000 in salary, about $50,000 more than Jackson.
(07/11/07 11:46pm)
JOIGNY, France (AP) - Norway’s Thor Hushovd sprinted to victory Wednesday in the fourth stage, and Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara ended the day, for the fifth straight day, in the yellow jersey of the Tour de France leader.\nHushovd triumphed at the end of the mostly flat 119.9-mile ride from Villers-Cotterets to Joigny.\n“Everything took place superbly well,” said Hushovd, who overcame an upset stomach to finish in 4 hours, 37 minutes, 47 seconds for his fifth Tour stage win. “I’m too happy.”\n“I was sure my form wasn’t too bad,” said Hushovd, adding he wasn’t at his best after Monday’s crash.\nRobert Hunter of South Africa was second, and Oscar Freire of Spain was third. They and the main group of riders, which included Cancellara, who finished with the same time as Hushovd.\nCancellara is the only rider to wear the race leader’s yellow jersey this year. He won the prologue and the third stage but lost four seconds from his overall lead Wednesday, cutting it to 29 seconds.\nHushovd, who won the green jersey awarded to the Tour’s best sprinter in 2005, trimmed 20 seconds off his overall time, climbing from ninth to second. Andreas Kloeden of Germany dropped to third, 33 seconds behind.\nAfter a string of mostly flat stages, the race veers into several hilly patches for Thursday’s 113.4-mile trek from the Burgundy town of Chablis to Autun featuring eight medium-grade climbs.\nBold breakaway riders are expected to take the spotlight in the three-week race, before climbers emerge for three days in the Alps starting Saturday.\n“Someone’s really going to have some guts to go for it tomorrow. ... People are going to be biding their time thinking about (the Alps),” said American and Cancellara’s CSC teammate Christian Vandevelde.\nWhen the Tour hits heads into the mountains this weekend, the overall favorites likely will make their moves. Few can be ruled out yet: 160 riders are within two minutes of Cancellara.\nStill, he knows he won’t be wearing yellow for much longer.\n“For me, when I get into the mountains, it’s sure that it’s finished,” Cancellara said.\nKazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov is considered a top contender, though Kloeden, American Levi Leipheimer, Australia’s Cadel Evans, Russian Denis Menchov and Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Oscar Pereiro are all possibilities.\nTwo riders dropped out of the race after crashing early in Wednesday’s stage. Xavier Zandio of Spain broke his right collarbone, and France’s Remy di Gregorio broke his right elbow.\nA total of four riders have withdrawn, leaving 185 riders left.
(07/11/07 11:45pm)
DETROIT – Chauncey Billups signed a $60 million, five-year contract Wednesday with the Detroit Pistons, returning to the team he helped reach five straight conference finals.\nThe contract is worth $46 million guaranteed over four years and includes a team option for the fifth year.\nPistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said he was “very pleased” to have Billups back.\n“We said from the beginning that re-signing Chauncey was our top priority, and now we can move forward knowing that Chauncey will continue to lead this team,” Dumars told The Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon. “One of the toughest positions to fill in this business is the point guard position, and that’s why it was imperative that we re-sign Chauncey.”\nBillups and the Pistons appeared to reach a win-win deal, because even though the All-Star was one of the NBA’s top free agents this summer, other teams didn’t seem to be willing or able to compete with Detroit’s offer.\nRasheed Wallace in 2004 re-signed with the Pistons in a similar situation, for $57 million over five years after he and Billups helped the franchise win its third title.\nBillups has guided Detroit on the court during what has been one of the league’s most consistent stretches in two-plus decades.\nHe was the NBA finals MVP three years ago, when Detroit beat the Los Angeles Lakers with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, and nearly led Detroit to a title the \nnext year.\nSince 1984, only the Lakers have been more reliable in the playoffs with a run that ended with a sixth straight conference finals appearance in 1989.\nBillups made it clear he wanted to return to the team that gave him stability for the first time in his career. The Pistons, likewise, said re-signing him was the No. 1 priority this offseason.\nHe joined the Pistons as a free agent in 2002 after bouncing around the league.\nThe former Colorado star was drafted third overall in 1997 by Boston and was with Toronto, Denver, Orlando and Minnesota within his first four years in t\nhe league.\nIn Detroit, Billups was given a chance to blossom, and he took full advantage of it.\nHe became one of the NBA’s top point guards with his steady leadership and clutch shooting along with the willingness to take something from each of his three coaches – Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders – in Detroit.\nBillups averaged 17 points, 7.2 assists and two turnovers last season, helping the Pistons have the best record in the Eastern Conference. He has career averages of 14.5 points, 5.3 assists and two assists.\nThe player known as Mr. Big Shot was off his game, though, in each of the past two conference finals as Detroit was eliminated. Against Cleveland last month, he averaged 15.3 points, 3.5 assists and 3.8 turnovers while uncharacteristically struggling in pressure-packed situations.\nBut the Pistons wouldn’t have reached the NBA’s final four in each of the past five seasons without Billups, whose unique ability to run the team was underscored when he was sidelined with injuries last season.\nBillups might have a chance to play in the conference finals for a sixth straight year.\nBarring a major trade, he will be in one of the top backcourts with Richard Hamilton. The Pistons also feature three talented frontcourt players: Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess.
(07/11/07 11:42pm)
SAN FRANCISCO – Ichiro Suzuki sped around the bases as the ball bounced away from Ken Griffey Jr. for the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star game history. On a night of tricky hops, Suzuki and the American League rebounded to win – as usual.\nInstead of a Barry Bonds splash shot, the defining hit at Tuesday’s All-Star game was Suzuki’s drive off the right-field wall at quirky AT&T Park.\nHis two-run homer in the fifth inning put the AL ahead, then Carl Crawford and Victor Martinez added conventional shots, and the Americans held on for a 5-4 victory over the Nationals.\n“I thought it was going to go over the fence,” Suzuki said through a translator. “When it didn’t, I was really bummed.”\nIn a decade of dominance, the AL has won 10 straight games played to a decision, with the notorious 2002 tie at Milwaukee interrupting the run. The only longer streak was when the NL took 11 in a row from 1972-82.\n“We’re tired of losing always,” the Chicago Cubs’ Derrek Lee said. “We just want to win one and put all of this to rest.”\nSuzuki’s home run ball – smudged with green and red and signed by the Japanese star – immediately was handed over to the Hall of Fame.\n“He’s an artist with that bat,” NL manager Tony La Russa said.\nThat wasn’t the only drama.\nAlfonso Soriano hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth that made it 5-4, and the NL loaded the bases on three walks. Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez then retired Aaron Rowand on a routine fly to right for a save.\n“I didn’t enjoy it a bit,” said AL manager Jim Leyland, so competitive that he screamed at an umpire in the ninth.\nSoriano, who joined Frank Robinson as the only player to hit All-Star homers with each league, connected off Seattle closer J.J. Putz, who then walked J.J. Hardy. Rodriguez relieved and walked Lee on a full count – Leyland screamed at first-base umpire Charlie Reliford about a check swing. A walk to Orlando Hudson loaded the bases before Rowand’s fly ended it.\n“I just missed it, just missed it,” Rowand said. “I was trying to hit a line drive somewhere, score a couple of runs. I just missed hitting that ball off or over that fence.”\nSuzuki, on the verge of a large contract extension from the Mariners, had been 3-for-15 in All-Star play coming in. He got three hits, was the game’s MVP and will be remembered for his strange shot, unfamiliar even to ballpark regulars such as Bonds.\n“He came up to me and said I’ve never seen that happen before,” Griffey said.\nBonds, the center of attention in the days before the game, had a quiet night. He flied to right field in the first, hit an opposite-field shot to the warning track in left in the third, then departed at the top of the fourth.\nHe received a huge ovation after he came out on the red carpet during the pregame introductions and bowed three times to his adoring hometown fans. Hitting in the No. 2 spot – his last regular-season appearance in that slot was 20 years ago – he even faked a bunt on the first pitch of his second at-bat.\n“There’s too many emotions to be able to explain it,” he said. “This is my family who I grew up for a lot of years. All I can do is say thank you.”\nHis chase for Hank Aaron’s home run record resumes later this week, and the scrutiny will return. But for a night, the swirl of steroids speculation lifted along with the San Francisco fog.\nGriffey was the early star. He put the NL ahead with an RBI single in the first off Dan Haren, then threw out Alex Rodriguez trying to score from second in the fourth on Ivan Rodriguez’s single.\nCrawford homered with two outs in the sixth against Francisco Cordero to make it 3-1. The ball went a little to the center-field side of Suzuki’s shot, about 20 feet from the sign that totals Bonds’ homers, currently 751. A fan appeared to reach over the brick wall, about 19 feet high, and gather up the ball.\nGriffey drove in the NL’s second run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half against Justin Verlander after Carlos Beltran nearly duplicated Suzuki’s shot off the wall but was held to a triple by Vladimir Guerrero. Martinez banged the 18th pinch-hit homer in All-Star history, a two-run drive in the eight off Mets closer Billy Wagner.\nBonds didn’t seem to mind that he wasn’t the hero.\n“It was fabulous. It was great,” he said. “Another chapter to my career.”
(07/08/07 11:26pm)
Gall nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year award\nSenior Jessica Gall from the IU women’s track and field team was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. The 128 nominees were announced July 2 by the NCAA from all three divisions. The award takes into account academics, athletics and community service.\nThe field for NCAA Woman of the Year will be narrowed to 30 contestants in August and to nine in September, with an equal number of athletes coming out of each division. The winner will be announced at an awards dinner Oct. 2 in Indianapolis.\nGall finished her IU career with a ninth place finish in the 10,000-meter event at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that took place June 6-9. She also finished 19th at the USA Track & Field Championships later in the month. In her four years as a member of both the track and field and cross country teams, Gall earned a total of five All-Big Ten and four All-American awards.
(07/08/07 11:16pm)
CANTERBURY, England – Australia’s Robbie McEwen crashed over his handlebars with 12 miles left, got back on his bike and mustered the grit to win the first stage of the 2007 Tour de France on Sunday in a mad-dash sprint.\nWith his wrist aching and right knee cut, McEwen persevered in the English countryside during cycling’s showpiece event. It was a tough, gallant performance and, for a day at least, showed the better side of a sport reeling from a string of doping investigations, admissions and scandals during the last year.\n“This is definitely one of the best ever,” said McEwen, a star sprinter who rides for the Predictor-Lotto team. “After the crash I hurt myself – hurt my wrist – but the boys brought me back. I still can’t believe I won this stage.”\nThis was McEwen’s 12th stage win at the Tour. He finished in 4 hours, 39 minutes, 1 second on a mostly flat 126-mile route to Canterbury that favored sprinters.\nNorway’s Thor Hushovd was second and Belgium’s Tom Boonen was third among the 181 cyclists who had the same time as McEwen.\nMcEwen was tossed from bike during a group crash.\n“The first thing I thought was that I had broken my wrist,” he said. “I couldn’t feel anything. ... It’s worth that pain to have a stage win in the Tour de France.”\nMcEwen tied Germany’s Erik Zabel as record-holder for stage victories among current riders, though far short of Eddy Merckx’s record of 34. Seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong won 22 individual stages.\nSwitzerland’s Fabian Cancellara kept the overall leader’s yellow jersey a day after he won the time-trial prologue in London. Andreas Kloeden of Germany is second overall, 13 seconds back, followed by Britain’s David Millar, 21 seconds behind.\nSpain’s Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez became the first cyclist to drop out of this year’s race after injuring his shoulder in a crash.\nMillar, cheered by local fans, sped ahead for an early breakaway but was caught by a group of four trailing riders and then by the full pack with about 18 miles to go. Millar was awarded the polka-dot jersey, given to the best overall climber in the Tour.\nCycling does not have the same hold in Britain as it does in France. But spectators turned out en masse for the Tour’s first start in London, with up to one million people packing the city’s streets Saturday. On Sunday, tens of thousands lined the route, waving Union Jack flags while brass bands blared jolly tunes. London Mayor Ken Livingstone waved the flag for a ceremonial start on Tower Bridge.\nThe flavor was distinctively British, with some fans sitting in roadside armchairs with potato chips and pints of warm beer to see a race more often associated with wine and cheese picnics in France.\nThe Tour crosses the English Channel on Monday for the second stage, a 105-mile ride from coastal Dunkirk to Ghent, Belgium.
(07/08/07 11:16pm)
WIMBLEDON, England – Improbable as this Wimbledon title might have seemed, Venus Williams knew it could happen.\nFar away as that trophy might have appeared only last week, Williams knew she had the game and the grit to grab it.\nWith a dominant run through the latter rounds, Williams became the lowest-ranked woman to win Wimbledon, beating Marion Bartoli of France 6-4, 6-1 Saturday for her fourth championship at the All England Club.\n“I was really motivated because no one picked me to win. They didn’t even say, ‘She can’t win.’ They weren’t even talking about me,” said Williams, who reached No. 1 in 2002 but entered Wimbledon ranked No. 31. “I never would doubt myself that way.”\nIt was similar to the performance turned in by Williams’ younger sister Serena in January, when she won the Australian Open while ranked 81st. Clearly, rankings mean nothing when it comes to the Williams siblings. Nor does recent form.\nIf they are in a tournament, they can win it.\n“As long as we’re fit,” the 27-year-old Venus Williams said, “we just have so much more to give on the court.”\nBartoli, who hits two-fisted forehands and backhands, learned that lesson quickly.\nShe hadn’t faced Williams anywhere, let alone on grass – where balls skid more than they bounce – and Bartoli quickly discovered it was like nothing she’d ever experienced on a tennis court.\nBy the end, she was flexing her wrists and shaking her hands, trying to alleviate the sting from Williams’ serves at up to 125 mph.\n“I’m not playing against girls every day hitting the balls like this,” Bartoli said. “I mean, it’s not possible to beat her. She’s just too good.”\nAgainst Bartoli, Willams compiled a whopping 27-9 edge in winners and won 13 of the 18 points that lasted at least 10 strokes.\n“I know how to play this surface,” said Williams, the first woman to receive the same paycheck as the men’s champion at the All England Club. “If there’s a surface to pick, grass at Wimbledon’s not a bad choice.”\nRight from the start, Williams took it to Bartoli, going ahead 3-0. But Bartoli, who upset No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round and No. 1 Justine Henin in the semifinals, made things interesting by breaking back with the help of a double-fault and two groundstroke errors by Williams.\nAll the while, Bartoli stuck to her routines. Before each of her serves, she would walk to the baseline and hop high once, then bounce a couple of times, something she said relaxes her legs. Before most of Williams’ serves, Bartoli would turn her back to the court and take two big cuts, a forehand and a backhand, like a batter in the on-deck circle.\nAfter 37 minutes, things were even at 4-4. But Williams held at love, then broke to end the first set with a swinging backhand volley.\nThat pretty much ended the competitive portion of the proceedings.\nPerhaps because the sun finally emerged from the clouds and the temperature was suddenly in the 70s, both finalists needed medical timeouts with Williams up 3-0 in the second set.\nBartoli had her left foot treated, while Williams got down on the court to have her left leg worked on. The American played the rest of the way with a thick bandage under her white spandex shorts, which she began wearing in the second round because the skirt she planned to use was too big.\nWilliams played in her 12th Grand Slam final, sixth at the All England Club, and won her sixth major title. Bartoli was in her sixth tournament final and never before had been beyond the fourth round at a major.\n“You walk into that court,” she said, “and you know you’re a part of history.”\nWhen they walked off that court, the one Williams knows so well, they passed the board that lists the past champions. Already stenciled in, below similar entries for 2000, 2001 and 2005, was Williams’ name, next to 2007. Clutching a bouquet of flowers, Williams stared at it, her mouth agape.\nAt about that time, her father was recalling that when Venus was 9, she would talk about how many Wimbledon titles she wanted to win one day.\n“I think she can win three more,” Richard Williams said, “and I would be disappointed if she didn’t.”
(07/08/07 11:16pm)
WIMBLEDON, England – Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title Sunday, beating nemesis Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic and taking his place in tennis history beside Bjorn Borg.\nThe top-ranked Swiss player was pushed to the limit in a Grand Slam final for the first time, but he held on to win 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2 for his 11th major title.\nFederer is the first man to win five straight titles at the All England Club since Borg did it from 1976-80. The Swede watched the match from the Royal Box with other past champions, and applauded as Federer fell to the ground after an overhead smash on match point.\n“It was such a close match,” Federer said. “I told Rafa at the net he deserved it as well. I’m the lucky one today.”\nFederer stretched his record grass-court winning streak to 53 and his Wimbledon winning streak to 34. He is tied for third on the career list with Borg and Rod Laver at 11 major titles, trailing Pete Sampras’ 14 and Roy Emerson’s 12.\n“Each one is special, no doubt,” Federer said. “To hold the trophy is always the best thing.”\nAfter leaving the court wearing his white sport coat with the gold “RF” badge on the breast pocket, Federer and Borg hugged and visited inside the stadium.\nFederer beat Nadal for only the fifth time in 13 meetings. The Spaniard has defeated Federer in the past two French Open finals to spoil his bid to complete a career Grand Slam.\n“Five titles in a row, so, fantastic,” said Nadal, who also lost to Federer in last year’s final. “Well, anyway, I lose today, but I play great two weeks.”\nFederer saved four break points early in the fifth set, two at 1-1 and two at 2-2. Then, with Nadal serving at 3-2, Federer converted his second break point with a forehand winner after a 14-stroke rally that produced some of the best shots of the match.\nIt was Federer’s first break since the second game of the match.\n“If Rafael had won one of these, I think maybe now Rafael would be the champion,” said Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni Nadal.\nNadal, who also lost to Federer in last year’s final, had been trying to emulate another of Borg’s records by winning consecutive titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.\nNadal, who played two other five-set matches in a tournament plagued by rain, was on the court for the seventh straight day.\nAfter taking a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, the Spaniard called for a trainer to treat his right knee. Although he returned with tape below the knee cap, it didn’t seem to slow him.\nFederer finished with 24 aces, 65 winners and 34 unforced errors. Nadal had 50 winners and 24 unforced errors.\nNadal also used the “Hawk-Eye” replay technology, which is making its debut at Wimbledon, to great effect. One time, a call reversal in the fourth set infuriated Federer so much that he complained to the chair umpire after being broken for the fourth time.\n“It’s killing me today,” Federer said after sitting down during the changeover.\nIn the first set, Federer converted his third break point in the second game, defensively returning a hard serve from Nadal and watching the Spaniard net a forehand.\nIn the tiebreaker, Federer jumped ahead 5-2 and thought he won the set on his third set point when leading 6-5, but Nadal challenged a call and “Hawk-Eye” showed his shot was in.\nFederer wasted another set point at 7-6, but finally won with a backhand volley after Nadal sent a backhand into the net at 7-7.\nNadal broke Federer at 5-4 to win the second set, converting his first set point with a backhand winner. The Spaniard then pulled within two points of doing the same in the third set, coming back from 40-love to deuce. But Federer used a pair of volleys at the net to hold to 5-5.\nNadal was again two points from the set while leading 6-5, but after he put a forehand into the net, Federer served an ace and then finished it off with a service winner. Federer was broken again to open the fourth set, and Nadal added another to take a 3-0 lead.\nThe last Wimbledon men’s final to go five sets was when Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter in 2001.
(07/05/07 5:02pm)
The Big Ten Network is coming to you at 7 p.m., Aug. 30. Maybe.\nWhile this is the date the network is set to launch, who will see it remains a mystery. Viewers subscribed to DIRECTV are set for 24-hour Big Ten programming. Subscribers who use cable or the Dish Network, however, might be out of luck. \nNo deal has yet been reached with many of these services, but Network President Mark Silverman remains optimistic.\n“As we continue discussions with the largest national cable system operators, we’re pleased to know that so many of these Midwestern communities will have the network available to them on expanded basic (cable),” Silverman said \nin a statement.\nThe bad news for Hoosier fans is that none of these companies are located in Indiana. Insight Communications, which currently serves Bloomington, and Comcast Cable, which is expected to take over Insight Communications’ cable services for Bloomington viewers, have not reached an agreement with the Big Ten Network. Comcast wants to put it on a more expensive sports tier while the Big Ten Network wants it on basic cable. The Big Ten Network is asking for $1.10 per subscriber in the Big Ten region, and many cable companies think that price is too high, since it would make it the second-highest cable subscription price behind ESPN.\nAdditionally, it is unclear whether IU’s cable system, which serves students living in dorms and on much of campus, will carry the network. \nThe good news about the network is that it will show more than 105 basketball games and more than 35 football games per year and have other sports available that have never previously been seen on TV.
(07/05/07 4:00am)
Tribute albums typically aren't well-received. The target market is fans of the original versions, so covering them is like trying to hook up with your best friend's ex. You've heard how great it is and you want a piece, but you both know she's comparing you to him the whole time. \nWith a smorgasbord of artists from giants such as U2, Green Day and R.E.M to fresh faces like Matisyahu, Avril Lavigne and Regina Spektor there's something for everyone. \nIU rock music professor Andy Hollinden put it best when he said, "If this album helps the people of Darfur, great. And if it also sends some people toward the John Lennon albums all the better, but I think anybody who just relies on this album is doing themselves a disservice." As he listened to Avril Lavigne's painful rendition of "Imagine," he said, "I love a lot of these songs, I don't love a lot of these artists."\n--Zack Teibloom
(07/02/07 12:37am)
NEW YORK – Scott Boras loves the World Series so much, he wants to make it best-of-nine – and open with two games at a neutral site.\nArguing that the shift would create a marketing bonanza that would rival the Super Bowl, Boras outlined his ideas in a two-page letter he sent to baseball commissioner Bud Selig on April 15.\n“I know from an owner’s perspective, this is a gold mine,” Boras said. “To have a World Series Weekend, WSW, I think it will create a stage that the game has not seen.”\nBoras, the high-profile agent with high-profile clients who earn high-octane paychecks, said in a Thursday interview that he will meet with the commissioner after the All-Star break to discuss his proposal. He would open the weekend on a Friday night with a televised gala announcing the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards and have the five top candidates for each in attendance.\nHall of Fame voting would be announced Saturday, with the opener that night and Game 2 on Sunday night. After that, the Series would pick up the 2-3-2 format that’s been used since 1925 (except for 1943 and 1945, when there were wartime travel restrictions). If the scheduled host club for the opener won the pennant, the Series could become a 3-4-2.\nCities would bid far in advance for the right to host the first two games, and baseball would solicit corporate money, trying to create an event similar to the Super Bowl, Final Four and BCS Championship. Figure on hotels with flowing hospitality suites, ballparks surrounded by champagne-and-caviar-filled tents and tarmacs cluttered with private jets.\n“Create this buzz around it the same way they do the Super Bowl,” Arizona outfielder Eric Byrnes said. “I think (it’s) a very innovative idea.”\nAt the same time, it would add more tense games to a postseason in which World Series champions already have to pile up 11 wins.\n“Nine games? It’s too long,” said New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter, the owner of four World Series rings.\nThe World Series originally was a best-of-nine affair, with the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox) beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in 1903. The Series switched to best-of-seven for the second edition in 1905 and has remained that way with the exception of 1919, 1920 and 1921, when it again was best-of-nine.\nThat, of course, was before television. Extra postseason games these days translate to more broadcast revenue.\n“I could see how that would possibly be a big draw, a big money maker, something cool and new,” San Francisco Giants player representative Randy Winn said. “But I think a seven-game Series is more than enough to decide who the world champion is.”\nBoras is convinced winning the right to stage the first two games would be a windfall for the host club, which would tie access to Series seats to season-ticket plans. Teams currently do that with the All-Star game.\nChicago’s Wrigley Field hasn’t hosted a World Series since 1945. The Series hasn’t been to Washington, D.C., since 1933, and it’s never been hosted by Colorado, Seattle, Tampa Bay or Texas.\n“The World Series is something that rarely gets to a number of venues in professional baseball,” Boras said. “And that’s one problem because we want the fan base of particular cities to participate in the World Series even though there may be a lull in the particular performance of the regional team.”\nGiven baseball’s traditional conservatism and resistance to change, Boras’ idea likely won’t be adopted anytime soon. But it has gotten some people thinking.\n“I’m not a guy that would just want to hold onto the past for the sake of combating change,” said Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten, who had one conversation with Boras about the proposal. “But in this case, I think we have such brand equity in the marketplace established with a seven-game Fall Classic, played in the two home cities. I really like that. For a lot of reasons, I think that neutral sites wouldn’t work the way they do in other sports.”\nBut if baseball ever does include neutral-site games, businesses would salivate to be involved.\n“I think the opportunity to celebrate the ultimate of our national pastime in a neutral location opens up a whole host of opportunities for corporate sponsors,” said Eric Kraus, a sports marketing executive formerly with Gillette and now with Covidien. “Like an All-Star game or like the Super Bowl, you’re bringing in a whole host of fans and corporate partners that you wouldn’t be able to reach.”
(07/02/07 12:33am)
WEST LAFAYETTE – A former Purdue linebacker has been sentenced to 37 years in prison for attacking two women on campus.\nKyle Darnell Williams, 21, of Bolingbrook, Ill., is still awaiting trial in Illinois for a third attack.\nHe was sentenced Thursday on one count of attempted rape and two counts each of battery and confinement. A jury convicted him in April.\n“The elements of the attacks are so similar that it appears to be ritualistic in some way,” Judge Thomas Busch of Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 said.\nWilliams wore similar homemade masks in both Nov. 29, 2005 incidents and attacked the victims from behind, according to court records.\nWhile Williams was free on bond awaiting trial, DuPage County, Ill., authorities say he carried out a similar attack on another woman in a parking garage there. He still is awaiting trial on those charges.\nHe also pleaded guilty Thursday to charges he broke into a teammate’s dorm room 19 days before the attacks and stole his laptop computer.\nWilliams’ father, Steve Williams, said the crimes were “totally out of character” for his son, who apologized for the attacks in court Thursday.\nKyle Williams had suffered two concussions during the previous football season and Purdue officials said he had been released from the team at his own request days before the attacks.\nHis father attributed Williams’ behavior to the brain injuries.\nHowever, his son’s attorneys did not raise the injuries as a defense. Attorney Kent Moore said the brain injuries did not rise to the level of a legal defense but the best explanation was that “something organic happened to him.”\nBut Busch discounted Williams’ claims that the attacks were out of character.\n“There’s clearly a strong element of denial, of evasion, of dishonesty in these statements,” Busch said. “I think you need to come to terms with your own mind and try to find out how this happened.”\nWilliams was one of the nation’s top high school prospects as a senior and was named a first team All-American by Parade, Rivals.com and Insiders.com, according to the Purdue 2005 football media guide.
