In brief: Witness defends Taylor’s claims
NFL: A woman has come forward as a defense witness in the sexual assault case against Lawrence Taylor, saying the 16-year-old girl who accused the NFL legend of rape never had sex with him, according to a statement from the woman confirmed Friday by Taylor’s attorney.
The 23-year-old woman said in a sworn statement that she accompanied an alleged pimp and the 16-year-old girl, who has not been identified by police, to a hotel outside New York City where Taylor was staying. She said the teenager returned to the car with $300 in cash and said: “It was weird. … We didn’t even have sex.”
“He’s innocent. She’s lying. She wasn’t raped,” she said in the statement.
The statement was given to investigators working for the defense team and seen by the Associated Press. Defense attorney Arthur Aidala said he was planning to use the woman’s testimony in the case.
Rice disqualified at Nationwide event
Golf: Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice has been disqualified from the Nationwide Tour event in Mill Spring, N.C., because his caddie used a scope to check yardages.
Rice called the error a rookie mistake and apologized to BMW Charity Pro-Am officials. That means Rice won’t take part in today’s third round, the last one before the field is cut for Sunday’s finale.
•Pak takes lead; Ward second: Se Ri Pak shot a 6-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome and Wendy Ward in the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, Ala. Ward, of Edwall, Wash., had the low round with a 65.
•Texas Open delayed: Rain washed out the second round of the Texas Open in San Antonio, and PGA officials said more bad weather this weekend could push the tournament into Monday. Leader Matt Jones and the rest of the field will try again today, when Jones will start with a one-stroke lead over Paul Stankowski.
•Champions leaderboard crowded: Joey Sindelar, Bobby Clampett, Russ Cochran and Peter Senior shot 7-under 65s in the Regions Charity Classic in Hoover, Ala., to share the lead at the Champions Tour event.
Woodson won’t be back as Hawks coach
NBA: Mike Woodson is out as coach of the Atlanta Hawks after the team was swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Orlando Magic.
General manager Rick Sund said the team will not offer Woodson a new contract. He coached the Hawks for six seasons, and they improved their record every year after managing just 13 wins in his debut. Atlanta won 53 games this season, the most since 1996-97.
•Cavs GM: James needed rest: Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry says the elbow injury that bothered LeBron James during the NBA playoffs was bad enough that the team would have rested him during the regular season.
James was diagnosed with a sprained elbow and bone bruise. Ferry has not been told by anyone that James needs surgery. He said James was informed he couldn’t damage the elbow further by playing with the injury.
•Celtics win draws big audience: The Celtics’ series-clinching victory over the Cavaliers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals is the second-most watched basketball game aired on ESPN. The broadcast Thursday night drew a 6.6 rating on the cable network and averaged 6,552,000 households and 8,983,000 viewers. Game 4 of last year’s Western Conference finals on ESPN between the Lakers and Nuggets earned a 6.9 rating.
Truex on Dover pole for Sunday’s race
Auto racing: Martin Truex Jr. turned a lap of 157.315 mph and won the pole at Dover (Del.) International Speedway for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race, nearly three years after he won his only career Cup race at Dover. Kasey Kahne was second and Mark Martin third in qualifying.
The native of Mayetta, N.J., has long considered Dover his hometown track. He made his first career start in NASCAR’s second-tier series at Dover in the No. 56 – the same number he uses now in his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing.
“All those little things make it special for me,” Truex said.
Truex could use a strong run to make the jump into the top 12 and move closer to securing a spot in the Chase for the championship. He’s 13th entering Sunday’s race, only 16 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 12th.
•Almirola wins first trucks race: Aric Almirola survived a wild end at Dover International Speedway to earn his first NASCAR Trucks victory in a green-white finish.
Canada routs Norway at world hockey
Miscellany: Canada bounced back from an upset loss to Switzerland by defeating Norway 12-1 in the second round of the ice hockey world championship in Cologne, Germany. Canada (2-1) earned six points from three games in Group F in Mannheim.
Earlier, Denmark beat Slovakia 6-0. Sweden also moved to six points with a 4-2 win over Latvia, while Finland beat Belarus 2-0 in Group E.
•Acting Happy pulls upset: Acting Happy was the surprise winner in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes in Baltimore.
Acting Happy, ridden by Jose Lezcano, went off at 10-1 in the Grade 2 race for 3-year-old fillies. She gained the lead in the stretch and beat No Such Word by 11/2 lengths.
•Boxers shove at weigh-in: Junior welterweight champion Amir Khan and Paulie Malignaggi have been trading verbal jabs for weeks, and their mutual dislike escalated into a shoving match during their weigh-in. They’ll finally exchange blows tonight at Madison Square Garden. Khan will be defending his WBA title in his first fight in the United States, taking on former IBF titleholder Malignaggi.