Sports in brief: Bears’ Benson charged with drunken driving
Cedric Benson’s rocky relationship with the Chicago Bears got murkier Saturday after the running back’s arrest on a drunken driving charge in Austin, Texas, his second arrest in little more than a month.
Bears officials said they would treat the matter seriously. Benson’s attorney said the former Texas star had a few drinks with dinner but didn’t think he was intoxicated, and cooperated with police.
Still, attorney Sam Bassett acknowledged, “He’s probably in trouble with his team for breaking curfew and having anything to drink under the circumstances.”
Authorities said Benson was arrested early Saturday after he failed a field sobriety test. The former first-round draft pick was charged with driving while intoxicated and released on bond.
The arrest comes a month after Benson was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. He has said neither charge is true, and those cases are pending.
Coach Lovie Smith said he was inclined to give Benson the benefit of the doubt “like everyone else in society gets.”
“That’s what we’ll do with this thing,” Smith said.
“New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, speaking at minicamp, described the lingering effects of his injury late last season, saying that his ankle feels really good, but joking that he’s still slow and can’t jump.
“The Patriots say that offensive lineman Nicholas Kaczur, who has been charged with drug possession, will remain on the team.
The team did not comment on any disciplinary action it might take against Kaczur, saying it was an internal matter.
“Former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating its substance-abuse policy and will miss the 2008 season.
Under terms of the suspension, the free agent will not be considered for reinstatement until after the season, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
It’s the third consecutive season Thurman will miss.
Miscellany
Knievel lands jump
Motorcycle daredevil Robbie Knievel successfully completed a shortened jump at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Knievel jumped over 21 Hummer vehicles, four less than had originally been planned because of a headwind gusting more than 30 mph. The landing ramp protected the last three of the large SUVs in the line, though Knievel easily cleared all the vehicles and avoided crashing even after hitting the landing ramp off-center.
The 46-year-old Knievel, who has made more than 250 jumps since he was 9 years old, had said this would probably be his last jump in Texas.
“Sergio Mora won the WBC super welterweight title, outpointing Vernon Forrest at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Mora received winning scores of 115-113 and 116-112 from two of the judges and the third judge had it 114-114.
“Thiago “Pitbull” Alves stopped former welterweight champion Matt Hughes 62 seconds into the second round, stunning him with a flying knee and then finishing him with a right to the head for a TKO win at UFC 85 in London.
Alves, a 24-year-old Brazilian who used to earn money as a ballroom dance partner for older women, improved his record to 21-4. Hughes, 34, a fighting farmer from Hillsboro, Ill., who has lost three of his last four mixed martial arts fights, fell to 43-7.
In the co-main event at the Millennium Dome, England’s Michael “The Count” Bisping stopped middleweight Canadian Jason “Dooms” Day by TKO at 3:42 of the first round.
“Crystl Bustos hit a three-run home run and Andrea Duran had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to help the United States beat Canada 9-5 at Oklahoma City, in its first softball exhibition game against an Olympic opponent this year.
“Jimmy Croll, the Hall of Famer who trained 1994 Horse of the Year Holy Bull and won the 1987 Belmont Stakes with Bet Twice, died in Oceanport, N.J. He was 88.